wiring 12's

[mattymatt]

What's up, I just had my system installed this weekend. My question is about wiring subs for the best performace. The subs I am using are Alpine 12in type r's, and the amp is an Alpine v12 mrd-m500. I was told that the best way to wire them was to run the wires parrallel and to set it at 2ohm's(the subs are 2ohm speakers) and this way I would get 500w peak out of each sub. First of all is this true? After they installed everything I asked the guy what kind of power was going to the subs and he said 250w per sub. Do you think he set it at 4ohm's? The way he wired the amp to the sub was from the + on the amp to the + on one sub, then the - to the - on the opposite sub, then to connect the two he has it going from + to -. Following so far? Is that the way it should be wired? I'm clueless when it comes to this stuff. I guess what I'm getting at is, what is the best way to get the most out of the amp and the best way to wire it and if I have to change the ohm from 4 to 2 how do I do this? Any other advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

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[Bellz]

I'm cutting and pasting the following from a previous thread that asked a similar question. It sounds to me like he wired it in a Series, which isn't giving you the full power. Change it to Parallel and you should see a major difference.


"Note that the impedance of two speakers in parallel will be one-half the rating of the subs, if both speakers are of the same impedance. This will result in a greater load being placed on your amplifier, so it is a good idea to make sure that the amp is stable for this lower impedance."
So, if they're 4ohm speakers, you're bringing them down to 2ohms. Most quality amps are 2ohm stable, but check their specs to make sure.

"Please see the diagram below, and note that the total load impedance will be the sum of the impedance of each speaker. This results in an easier load for the amplifier, resulting in cooler operation and cleaner signal, but less power output."
In this case, the 4ohm speakers will be 8ohms and draw less power and produce less power.

[mattymatt]

On the Alpine website it says under features that the amp will produce 500w x 1 (2ohm 14.4v). Does this mean that it's 2ohm stable? Thanks for you help, I really appreciate it.

[Bellz]

Yes, it is 2ohm stable.

[mattymatt]

I set it up parallel and there is a big difference although I do have one more question. It says under features that the amp will produce 500x1 @ 2ohms (14.4v) but now that I'm running it @ 2ohms it still says 12.3 volts or something like that. Do I have to change it to 14.4v or is something not right? I looked in the manual and it didn't say anything about that.

[LudlamTheory]

you dont change it, the voltage is what your alternator/battery provides

[Ed]

when it sas 500x1 at 14.4 volts, that means when your alternator is putting out 14.4 volts, you'll get that much power. your car's electrical system varies from 12- like 14.4 volts, you'll make more or less peor depending.