mwakeboard

I just installed my new amp. It worked fine. i wanted to see what would happen if i combined the two subs and plug it into the amp as bridged and now everytime i turn the gain up at a little above half way, the subs make a continus booming noise.
So, theni put it back to the normal way and it still does it.... What did i do?
whats wrong with it?

MP3Car.com

 

Deliriousvision

its possible that you are hooking it up in a setting that the amp doesn't support.....for ex. most two channel amps bridged cannot handel a 2ohm load....post the specs on the speakers and the amp and ill check it out further

mwakeboard

Well, the subs are:
200 watt rms
4-0hm single voice coil
10"

the amp:
100x2 rms
150 x 2 (2ohm)



i put it back to normal and it still does the booming noise.....

hithere

Some amps (like yours) are bridged by connecting across two channels. When you do this with a 4-ohm load (like ONE of your speakers), it appears as a 2-ohm load to the amp. When you connect two 4-ohm loads in parallel (like two of your speakers), they become a two ohm load. Connect this load across two channels in parallel, and you effectively present the amp with a 1-ohm load (the act of bridging effectively halves the load the amp sees, connecting your subs in parallel also effectively halves the load your amp sees).

Take a look at your amps instructions, they should provide you with example configurations, make sure that a two-ohm load connected across two bridged channels is ok. My suspicion is that the rating on the amp represents a mono, 4-ohm load connected in a bridged configuration, which presents the amp with a 2-ohm load...not a mono, 2-ohm load connected bridged for a total loading of 1 ohm.

My guess is the booming noise is telling you your amp is screwed up. Don't know if it's in some sort of protection mode, but I doubt it. Usually, protection mode means no sound comes out and a red light goes on somewhere. Check fuses, perhaps open the amp up and look for burns.

hithere

Oh, and make sure you're setting your gains properly. It's definitely possible the maximum output power of the amp in a bridged configuration with your particular input signal ends up being with the gain knob below half way. Look at it as a multiplication factor...you're matching the max power the amp/speakers can handle to the peak power of your RCA inputs. It's like setting up the linkage to the gas pedal on your car....putting a hole in your car's floor so the gas pedal can touch the ground ala Fred Flintsone will not make your car any faster. Your job is just to make sure that "pedal to the floor" exactly equals "maximum engine output"...so the point that the RCA input is at max volume should exactly equal the maximum power your amp/speakers can produce. Everyone's RCA inputs are different, they travel different distances, like different gas pedals, that's why there's a gain knob....it's not a volume adjustment, nor can it tell you by itself how much power your amp is producing. That's like saying I can get horsepower from anyone's gas pedal by measuring distance between the gas pedal and the floor...I can't, not unless I know about the size of the engine, air intake, etc...and an improperly set throttle, either way, can cause me problems.

MP3Car.com