Car audio guys explain this to me

[wnaplay1647545503]

I have had this amp for along time now. I knew back in the day that is was a great amp, but I was just going to pitch this at one time. Why would anyone pay this kinda money for a used amp. Certainly the stuff nowadays is better. Right? The bidding was almost at $400 before I removed a bidder that had poor feedback. I am just curious thanks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140173491085&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D140173491085%2B%2B%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1

[NTHER91]

compared to some old school lanzar amps ive had and the ppi amps that amp is junk but hey you got preimium bucks for a 13 yr old amp that stone age old

[turbomark]

You'd be surprised at how little amps have evolved over the past 20 years. A quality amp back then will probably still compete with quality new amps. A lot of amp companies have gone downhill even.

[Ramsey]

You'd be surprised at how little amps have evolved over the past 20 years. A quality amp back then will probably still compete with quality new amps. A lot of amp companies have gone downhill even.

this is why you can no longer buy a "class a" amp anymore. All they are worried about peak numbers. Look at the size of a us amp 200 watt a couple years ago and the size of a 200 amp lighting.

[Nitrousbird]

I wouldn't pay that for that amp, but someone has a reason to I guess!

 

I had a couple of older Audio Art amps I should have never let go of (mainly my 200.2 XE and my 100HC). DAMN good amps. The 100HC is a power hungry Class A.

 

Now every does Class D. Sadly, my Memphis 1000D died (1100 watts RMS @ 1ohm, and it sounded CLEAN). I need another one.

[Big Steve]

That amp u just sold is like a unicorn. You get pure power. The only bad thing is that they are not very durable. 4 HE2 punch 12's was ran off from that amp. I would take alot of the older amps compared to the newer amps. Distortion is alot lower compared to now and days!

[Big Steve]

I never really understood ohm's.. is it best to have a low number? Best to have it match the speaker? Both?

 

If u are trying to run multiple (3+) it is better to have a higher number! Dual VC is a better way to compensate now and days. dual 4ohm speakers= 2,4, or 8 ohm loads. Ohms is simple. Three 4 ohm speakers will get you 1.3 ohm load. Two 4ohm will get you 2ohm load, etc........

[HAOLE]

Sound Stream was top notch back in the day.... I would venture they are as good as any other new amp out now!

[thorne]

That amp > most of the crap out nowadays.

[copperhead]

I never really understood ohm's.. is it best to have a low number? Best to have it match the speaker? Both?

 

 

True Blue isn't completely correct on what he said. Ohm's are the measurement for resistance. The more resistance (higher ohms) the less power, lower resistance (less ohms), more power. That being said, an amp is going to be rated for a certain resistance range. Go below that and you will smoke the amp, go over that and you aren't making any power. If you want to keep it simple, stick with 4 ohm subs, one off each channel. Beyond that, learn yourself some Ohm's Law and do some math.

 

IN GENERAL, the automotive speakers you are going to encounter will be either 4 ohm, 8 ohm, or dual voice coil in either 4 ohm or 8 ohm. I said in general because there are other variations and someone would bring it up trying to be all smart, it's just that nothing else is very common or relevant (like stock GM 6 ohm bullshit). Decide how many subs you want, then you will want to find an amp that can power them in whatever configuration necessary.

 

Now then, there are two different ways to wire it to affect the resistance. Parallel and Series. Wiring something in series is simply connected negative to positive in a loop. Parallel is wiring all the positives together and all the negatives together.

 

Wiring in series will add the resistance of everything in the loop together. Say you have two 4 ohm subs wired to a single channel this way. The resistance will be 8 ohms. Not a great way to do it unless you have to raise the resistance for some reason.

 

Wiring in parallel reduces the resistance, as it's giving the current more paths to follow. I forget the equation for this, but if you are running the same two 4 ohms subs, it will be a 2 ohm load. If you throw in more than that, it's not as simple as cutting it in half, so find an ohm's law calculator.

 

Ok, lets say you want a single sub. Ideally, you would get a monoblock amp that's good down to 2 ohm or lower. If you can't find one suitable, you can also get a 2 channel amp that can be bridged to a single channel. Many amps when bridged can't handle a very low resistance, but most should be stable at 2 ohm. Ideally with this, you would get a dual voice coil (DVC) 4 ohm sub, and wire the voice coils in parallel to drop it to a 2 ohm load. This would maximize the amp's output.

 

Lets say you want two subs. On a two channel amp, you can run two DVC 4 ohm subs, one on each channel, with the voice coils in parallel. 2 ohm load on each channel of the amp, and should be stable. You could also run two single voice coil subs, and wire them like I explained in the single sub explanation. Or, just one per channel, and still be fine.

 

Now, unless you are doing something weird, I suggest sticking with single or even numbers of subs per amp and per channel. Also, you will see diminishing gains after 2 subs per channel, seeing how you will have to run a mixture of parallel and series to keep the ohm load in a safe range. Back in the day I was able to get away with bridging my old Rockford "BBQ" amp, and running in parallel my three 8 ohm JL10W0's. IIRC, it was a 1.33... ohm load, and that amp ran it like a champ. New amps aren't built as tough as that amp, and would probably fry at that point.

 

Cliff's - stay above 2 ohms per channel to avoid meltdown. Ohm's law calculator is your friend.

[thorne]

Allot of amps can be pushed a tad further. My 2ohm stable monoblock is running at 1.3333333333333 I think it is (3x4ohm speakers)

[HAOLE]

Allot of amps can be pushed a tad further. My 2ohm stable monoblock is running at 1.3333333333333 I think it is (3x4ohm speakers)

I am not sure if they are still made. The MTX terminator series amps from the 90's could go 1/4 ohm stable. They were great amps!

[thorne]

I had a "40 watt" cheater amp in high school that was like that.

[HAOLE]

Any one see anything wrong with this install?

 

click

[thorne]

other then being poorly done in a bentely ?

[HAOLE]

other then being poorly done in a bentely ?

Almost a 200K car and they do an install like it is a 91 Caviler

[Big Steve]

True Blue isn't completely correct on what he said. Ohm's are the measurement for resistance. The more resistance (higher ohms) the less power, lower resistance (less ohms), more power. That being said, an amp is going to be rated for a certain resistance range. Go below that and you will smoke the amp, go over that and you aren't making any power. If you want to keep it simple, stick with 4 ohm subs, one off each channel. Beyond that, learn yourself some Ohm's Law and do some math.

 

IN GENERAL, the automotive speakers you are going to encounter will be either 4 ohm, 8 ohm, or dual voice coil in either 4 ohm or 8 ohm. I said in general because there are other variations and someone would bring it up trying to be all smart, it's just that nothing else is very common or relevant (like stock GM 6 ohm bullshit). Decide how many subs you want, then you will want to find an amp that can power them in whatever configuration necessary.

 

Now then, there are two different ways to wire it to affect the resistance. Parallel and Series. Wiring something in series is simply connected negative to positive in a loop. Parallel is wiring all the positives together and all the negatives together.

 

Wiring in series will add the resistance of everything in the loop together. Say you have two 4 ohm subs wired to a single channel this way. The resistance will be 8 ohms. Not a great way to do it unless you have to raise the resistance for some reason.

 

Wiring in parallel reduces the resistance, as it's giving the current more paths to follow. I forget the equation for this, but if you are running the same two 4 ohms subs, it will be a 2 ohm load. If you throw in more than that, it's not as simple as cutting it in half, so find an ohm's law calculator.

 

Ok, lets say you want a single sub. Ideally, you would get a monoblock amp that's good down to 2 ohm or lower. If you can't find one suitable, you can also get a 2 channel amp that can be bridged to a single channel. Many amps when bridged can't handle a very low resistance, but most should be stable at 2 ohm. Ideally with this, you would get a dual voice coil (DVC) 4 ohm sub, and wire the voice coils in parallel to drop it to a 2 ohm load. This would maximize the amp's output.

 

Lets say you want two subs. On a two channel amp, you can run two DVC 4 ohm subs, one on each channel, with the voice coils in parallel. 2 ohm load on each channel of the amp, and should be stable. You could also run two single voice coil subs, and wire them like I explained in the single sub explanation. Or, just one per channel, and still be fine.

 

Now, unless you are doing something weird, I suggest sticking with single or even numbers of subs per amp and per channel. Also, you will see diminishing gains after 2 subs per channel, seeing how you will have to run a mixture of parallel and series to keep the ohm load in a safe range. Back in the day I was able to get away with bridging my old Rockford "BBQ" amp, and running in parallel my three 8 ohm JL10W0's. IIRC, it was a 1.33... ohm load, and that amp ran it like a champ. New amps aren't built as tough as that amp, and would probably fry at that point.

 

Cliff's - stay above 2 ohms per channel to avoid meltdown. Ohm's law calculator is your friend.

 

No I just did not want to type all the bullshit BTW: 4 ohm speakers can be a hassle if you just stick with those! That is why the converted to dual 2 & 4ohm subs. If you wanna stick with just 4ohm subs than get the dual 2. However you can run multiples using dual 4. I would go further into it but too much typing. BTW: you are missing some key elements there buddy! Total Harmonic Distortion, db(signal/noise ratio). Alot to talk about on the car audio subject!

[copperhead]

No I just did not want to type all the bullshit BTW: 4 ohm speakers can be a hassle if you just stick with those! That is why the converted to dual 2 & 4ohm subs. If you wanna stick with just 4ohm subs than get the dual 2. However you can run multiples using dual 4. I would go further into it but too much typing. BTW: you are missing some key elements there buddy! Total Harmonic Distortion, db(signal/noise ratio). Alot to talk about on the car audio subject!

 

Brian asked about ohms. THD and signal to noise ratio have nothing to do with that, therefore I didn't talk about it.

 

Why do you think 4 ohm subs are a hassle? That doesn't make sense to me, seeing how that's been the standard for decades.

[copperhead]

Any one see anything wrong with this install?

 

click

 

Uhhh.....capacitors in that fashion are a gimmik item that does nothing. ZOMG MY HEADLIGHTS DIM KEKEKE I'M LOSSING MY BASSES OH NOES! Get a bigger alternator god damn.

 

Shitty off the shelf box. And, if they left the box facing the side, then the soundwaves will cancel themselves.

 

Brilliant!

[Big Steve]

The 4 ohm subs become hassles when it comes to amps. Runnin at a 2 ohm load can be hell to alot of amps. Most of them are stable at what 4ohm bridged. Unless you plan on runnin one sub. Even the amps that are rated @ 2 ohms bridged can be hell. Dual 4 can be easily ran @4 ohms. Well it is just a personal opinion. From all the years I have been dealing with car audio I just choose them. Unless u plan on spending the penny on the good monoblocks. Basically I am sayin more flexibility

[copperhead]

Dual 4 can be easily ran @4 ohms.

 

 

Ok, you have a DVC sub, 4 ohms per coil. How do you wire it so that the load on the amp is 4 ohm?

[Big Steve]

Like any other speaker, hook up one coil. 4, 8, 2 is what loads they can be ran at. Instead of just having 4. That is why I choose dual 4's.

[HAOLE]

 

Shitty off the shelf box. And, if they left the box facing the side, then the soundwaves will cancel themselves.

 

Brilliant!

 

I wasn't going that deep.... I thought it was funny to have a 200K car with an install like that.

[copperhead]

Like any other speaker, hook up one coil. 4, 8, 2 is what loads they can be ran at. Instead of just having 4. That is why I choose dual 4's.

 

So what you are saying, is get a DVC sub and only hook up one side? Are you really saying that?

[Big Steve]

I am saying more flexibility with them.