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i have a 4 channel amp. the front two are used by my front doors (polk 6.5's), and the rear two are 111x2 @4ohms and 240 bridged @4ohms (all rms numbers).

the question is what will work best for these last two channels?

should i put one sub on each such as the rockford punch stage 1's?
Rockford Stage 1 12's

or should i bridge it for 278rms and use one of the following?
Alpine 12

Infinity Reference 12

if the correct answer is to bridge it, then which of those two subs will be a better match for my 240rms? thanks in advance.

 
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bridging will get the better power. imo your the alpine type 3 is gunna suck. I personally run 2 amps... a 4 channel for my speakers, and another for my subs... if you don't have the sub yet, Im selling a 10" alpine type R with box AND i have a rockford fosgate 1500w (500rms @4ohm x 1) amp for sale as well. That would be plenty for the type R. Personally, I don't like running cheap subs... it shows. You already have one amp, just get one more the the seperate sub. You'll be more satisfied.

You weren't going to by the Type E for that price were you? Id sell you a type R in box for a lil more than that

GL

 
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thanks for the reply, and i pretty much agree with your opinion (after further research). i'm leaning more towards the infinity sub not the alpine. too bad your alpine is a 10 btw (i'm set on getting a 12).

the two amp idea crossed my mind but i'm not sure i like the idea of adding a h.o. alternator, new grounding kit, optima battery, capacitor etc. in order to compensate. what have you added to keep up with your two amp setup? if you haven't done anything then have you experienced any problems?

 
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If you are going to buy a sub out of those 3, go with the infinity. Im not a big RF fan and in my experience, alpine subs tend to have a lot of problems. Infinity seems to make a solid speaker for the money, but I have only had personal experience with their Kappa Perfects and not with the reference series.

To be honest, you shouldnt have any problems adding another amp, if its around 500RMS. If you keep it around 700RMS, you shouldnt run into any real problems as long as you upgrade your big three to at least 4GA cable. HO Alts are really needed after you pass the 1000watt mark so you arent overstressing your electrical system. Spiral cell batteries like optima are rumored to have there own problems like not starting in the cold etc, and as long as you arent taxing your alternator by sitting in a parking lot with your car off blasting music, a regular cheapo battery should be just fine. If you do go the 2 amp way, I would recomend using a distrobution block for routing power cables. Just whatever you do, dont waste your money on an amp wirining kit from places like crutchfield/CC/BB. You end up paying over a $100for wire that is labeled a gauge higher because they use more insulation and often is made with CCL (copper clad aluminum) or with just less copper content than the wire should have. In other words, expensive price tags for cheap wire. I get all mine from knuconceptz.com, good prices, kolosus cable uses pure copper and is oversized.

Whatever you do, dont cheap out on the sub enclosure. If you have any kind of woodworking knowledge, make the enclosure to fit whatever sub you end up buying. A great box can make a crappy sub sound amazing and a crappy box can make a great sub sound like crap.

 
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Yeah what he said Also I have a capacitor in the middle so that should help keep the current steady. My amp is over 1500w just for the subs and I don't see any problems yet. I have my laptop cooler underneath both amps just to keep them cool. make sure you secure your cables and don't let anything touch. Also a fuse breaker in the front would be nice. I have one right after the battery for safety.

ALSO on a side note... on Rockford Fosgate subs.. I get discounts... ie: P312D4 - $159 instead of its retail at $249. Prices might be able to go lower as well. Don't know if that would help you. I can get most all models of RF but supplies are limited. Let me know if you need some.

 
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WoW, JMUCivic03 you have answered ninety of my questions in one post. thanks for the help. i will definitely be holding off on a sub purchase until i upgrade the "big 3" (i think i found a thread on that). I will simply use my current multichannel for all four of my interior speakers, and use a second amp for the sub. hey, since i'm getting an amp specifically for subs then maybe i'll get two of those infinity's'. but i will definitely be getting the infinity's.

thanks

 
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actually i can bridge both sides of the amp. so instead of 111x4, i can have 278x2. this way i can have both my subs now and worry about a weaker amp for my interior later. bwahaha.

 
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No problem, I love audio...both home and car, so I try to stay up to date and help everyone I can. 111watts RMS is a lot for every speaker in your car, unless you are running high end component speakers everywhere, so that power is probably better suited for larger speakers such as subs (good thinking on your part). Upgrading the Big 3 is easy and you should have no problem. Again Im going to plug knukonceptz.com here because thats where I bought all my cable (no I dont work for them in any way). I bought the battery terminals (for easier hookup and to look cool), 10 feet of 4 gauge cable (always use at least the same gauge as you run to your amp or larger), 4 ring terminals, and an inline fuse holder (to fuse the alternator to positive cable). I fused it with a 60amp AGU fuse (free with the holder i think) because the alternator is rated at 70 amps max and if it ever even reaches 60 amps, something is wrong.

Then just run the power cable from the negative on your battery to any ground point on your chassis (if the place is painted, sand it so you are getting a bare metal contact), run a cable from your engine mount to a ground on your chassis (again sand a little if it is painted), and run a fused cable from your alternator to the positive lead on your battery. Ring terminals and the battery terminals make the job a lot easier. I can try and get some pictures of my big 3 when the rain stops here if you like, and give you more detailed descriptions if needed. Shoot I should probably just write a DIY .

 
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pics are always helpful. all you have to do is paste some pics in the middle of your last post and theres your diy lol. i expect uncle sam to payout by the end of the month, so this will all be purchased before may. can't wait.