Hey whats going on fellow audio heads. Ive got a question when it comes to matching amps too subs. Im trying to find out if I am powering up my subs correctly. I thought I was but now my coworkers are confusing me and causing me to doubt myself. Im currently running 2 JL w3 v2, which is about 400rms recommended. I have both of them wired up in parallel at a 4ohm load. My amp is an Alpine v12mono block which puts out 400rms@4ohms X1. So my question is, are both of my subs getting 400rms? Or are they just getting less then that? Any feed back would be great!

 

Using the information you provided to keep it simple, your amp outputs 400 watts into 4 ohms. You have two subs reportedly providing a 4 ohm load wired together. 400 watts/2 subs = 200 watts per sub at the rated power output. Of course, the subs don't always receive 200 watts each otherwise you couldn't adjust the volume.

 

I just looked at the spec. By your description, I'm guessing you have the d4 version of the sub (Dual 4Ohm Voice coils). Each sub is wired in series to get 8 Ohms, and then you put both subs in paralel to get 4 Ohms total.

You didn't list what model amp you have, but I will assume (and correct me if I'm wrong) based on your description that it's this one (MRP-650)
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/prod...model=MRP-M650

If you look at the spec for your subs, (http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_s...p?series_id=11) you will find that each sub is actually rated at 300W rms (Not 400 like you thought).

You're splitting 400W between 2 subs like Gilley pointed out, so each one is getting 200W. They're rated for 300W each, so you're underpowering them by 30%.

You really have no better way to wire them. The only other option (Everything in parallel) gives you a 1 Ohm load which your amp can't handle.

Basically, you're doing the best you can with what you've got.

If you're happy with your sound then don't worry about a thing. If you feel like you need more, I would replace your current W3v2-D4 with the D2 version of that sub. It's the most cost effective way to upgrade, since you can use the same box (per JL Audio Spec), and you could wire them into a 2 Ohm load that perfectly matches your current amp.

You could replace the amp, but i wouldn't go this route because it's hard to find good amps that can put out 600w into a 4 Ohm load at a decent price.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the help! Im Just going to get another amp. But you were right on the money with the equipment!

 

If i'm correct, mono block amps, especially from the major brands, are usually stable down to 2 ohms. If your amp is rated 400w RMS @ 4ohms...then at 2ohms you should be squeezin' out more than 400w if you have your subs wired correctly.

although i don't understand why the 2 subs would be splitting the power getting 200w each if it's being run with monoblock amp meaning that both subs are acting as one speaker.

 

for 2 4ohm DVC they can only be wired at 1 ohm and 4 ohm as stated earlier. So if thats what they are wired at then thats the amount of power they are getting. For example if an amp is rated a 600 at 1 ohm, 400 at 2ohm and 300 at 4ohm and you have the subs set at 4 ohm you will be getting 300 watts for both the subs meaning that one sub will get half the power and the other sub gets the other half. It doesnt matter if it is 2 ohm stable if its wired at 4ohm thats what you are getting. And since its two subs you will be getting half the power to each sub. If it were 3 subs it would be 1/3 to each sub. If anything you should be looking at 1 ohm stable amps to get the most for your money, if thats what you are looking for.

 

Even though amps claim to be 1 ohm stable, you dont want to run an amp at 1 ohm. You are just working it hard.