Thread: S10 sound system

Originally Posted by Shadow

Read?

Didn't mean 2 channel as in that, wrong use of terminology on my part.
I meant, how do I know that amp puts out to 2 subs? Will it just say in the specs or what?

So, to run a pair of 400w RMS each subs @ 4ohm/each, I will need a 2ohm stable amp that can supply 800RMS, correct?
Thanks for the help red.

An amp that does this:
500 Watts x 1 RMS into 2-Ohms

Would do the job for a pair of Reference's wired in Parallel then, wouldn't it?
(The 10" Reference's I have looked at are 250RMS @ 4ohm)

Alright then, thanks for the help. Looks like I know what I will be getting come pay day.

Hey fatmanmitch,

I'm a noob here but am well-established on a few of the other Car Audio boards.

You will not get very much "kick" out of 4"x10" speakers! They could be used for what is commonly referred to as "rear fill" or to create a bit of ambiance. Generally, Hi-end car audio installs concentrate on getting all the sound "up front" and at ear- or eye-level, just as if you were looking/listening to a concert from the first several rows. You would have all the instruments and vocals coming from in front of you from Left to Right across the stage.

To reproduce all the frequencies evenly, from low to high, you need some type of subwoofer system. If done properly, even with the subwoofers behind you, you can get it to sound as if the bass frequencies are coming from the front of the vehicle. In my system, the bass guitar and kick drum is centered under the rear-view mirror but out over the hood of my car and usually behind the vocalist (on good recordings, of course.) To achieve "UFB," or Up Front Bass, you generally do not want the subwoofers playing any frequencies above 70hz-80hz, and sometimes nothing higher than 50hz. Your front speakers should play down to this frequency and then cut off below that.

For the money, that Infinity Reference sub is a great performer! And as stated above, if each sub has a Single 4-ohm voice coil, and you wire TWO of those Subs in Parallel, you will end up with a 2-ohm load for the amp.

So Yes, for that setup you want a MONO (Single Channel) Amp that is Stable into 2-Ohms with Approximately 350-500watts of Real Power (Look for the CEA 2006 Rating Specs.) Those subs don't need a ton of power to sound good. It's always good to have extra power, but why pay extra for power you don't need?

If you think you will want to upgrade in the future and add an amp to power your front speakers, it is very cost effective to buy a Multi-Channel amp Instead of a MONO amp. A lot of times you can find a good 4-channel amp for the same price as a Single Mono Subwoofer Amp.

With a 4-channel Amp, you would use 2 of the Channels to power your front speakers (Left & Right). Almost all multi-channel amps allow you to "bridge" or Combine 2 Channels into One, more Powerful Channel (usually close to Double the power of a single channel.) So with the remaining 2 Channels (lets call them Channels 3 & 4) you can bridge or combine them to create a single "MONO" channel to power your Sub or Subs, depending on how you wire them. So your 4-channel amp essentially becomes a 3-channel amp...2 channels for your front Left & Right Speakers, and One Channel for your Sub(s).

Or you could bridge Channels 1+2 for One Sub, and also Bridge Channels 3+4 for the Other Sub. As you can see, a 4-Channel Amp is very versitile, and will work with a multitude of setups if you decide to upgrade or change your system in the future. This can usually be done for at, or near the same cost as a Mono Amp!

For an Excellent Tutorial on Amplifier Configurations and Subwoofer Wiring Configurations, check out the Tutorials on the JL Audio web site:

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=127

I have a few more recommedations regarding the subwoofers, if these will fit:

Phoenix Gold Radial RSd 10 or RSd 10d (Dual Voice Coil Model or DVC) Subwoofers. Excellent Sound Quality & Output in a small sealed enclosure.

Links: http://www.phoenixgold.com/2004/rsdspeakers.html

&

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-6WIEWcP...sp?i=218RSD10D

They are a bit more expensive than the Infinity's, but nearly the same mounting depth, but they will work great in a slightly smaller enclosure than the Infinity's (.3 to .5 cu.ft. sealed, as opposed to .75 cu.ft. sealed for the Infinity's.) You can find them cheaper on eBay or pricegrabber.com, etc.

Or the DAYTON RSS265HF-4 10" HIGH FIDELITY SUBWOOFER

These are also Excellent and only 5" Mounting Depth! However, they do not come in a DVC version, only single 4-Ohm voice coils. Again, more expensive, but they have excellent Sound Quality (SQ) and output!

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=295-460

None of these subwoofers will give you massive output, but I don't think you're a bass head and going for that anyway. They all have above average output while still achieving great Sound Quality.

Hope this isn't too much for you to absorb at once...guess I went a little crazy on my first post here! Good luck!