Not getting enough bass

Doombious, “I'm getting a little confused on the sub/amp.” And no you are not confuse, you are just not understanding the terminology. I’ll try explaining it to you as best as I can. “I wrote earlier that I wired them in parallel. That drops it to a 2ohm load. Now since my amp is 2ohm stable I did not bridge it because from what I've read that would drop it to 1ohm. So I wired it to one channel. So I was wondering if this was an ok way to do that. I'm also wondering what RMS power is going to each speaker now. If anyone can help on that, this is what I know...100Wx2 rms@4ohms...150Wx2 rms@2ohms...so if I'm only using one channel would that mean each sub is getting 300rms?” This is where I believe you are confused. Here goes. 100 watt X 2 RMS @ 4ohms, means 1 sub woofer is connect to channel one and another sub woofer is connected to channel two. There are 2 sub woofer in total used in this set up. The amplifier will supply 100 watt of power to each speaker. 150 watt X 2 RMS @ 2 ohms, mean 2 sub woofers connected together to channel one and 2 more subwoofers connected to channel 2. There are a total of 4 sub woofer used in this set up. The amplifier will supply 150 watt of power to each speaker. “ Now since my amp is 2ohm stable I did not bridge it because from what I've read that would drop it to 1ohm.” To get 1-ohm, means you have to have 4 sub woofer all at 4-ohm impedance and connect them all in parallel. In your case you only have two, you need to get 2 more. “I'm only using one channel would that mean each sub is getting 300rms?” No, you are only getting 150 watt. Does this help? Keep asking if you don’t understand. We will try our best to help you out. Here are some terminology that might help you out. Ohms The measurement of electrical resistance and system impedance. It is a measure of the degree to which electrons are limited in both velocity and quantity in passing through a circuit. In Impedance measurements, this takes into account, the mechanical resistance inherent in the motion of transducers. The standard is usually 4 ohms for car audio and 8 ohms for home and commercial audio. Some specialty woofers may be rated at 16 ohms. Channel Common name for a complete amplifying stage in any audio amplifier. Most amplifiers are denominated as 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6 channel units. Each of these is a discrete audio amp on its own, capable of taking a small line signal input and amplifying it sufficiently to be heard on an appropriate speaker. Some amplifiers are capable of bridging two channels together, to form one channel of double the power of each separately. The manufacturer's instructions differ widely on how to accomplish this, and each must be followed exactly. Bridged Power Bridging an amplifier, combines the power output of two channels into one channel. Bridging allows the amplifier to drive one speaker with more power than the amp could produce for two speakers. Because of this high power output, bridging is the best way to drive a single subwoofer. If the amp is bridgeable, the owner's manual will have directions that tell you how. Usually, an amp is bridged by connecting the speaker leads to the positive (+) terminal from one channel and the negative (-) terminal from the other channel. However, be sure to consult your owner's manual before attempting to bridge your amp! Also, keep in mind that most amplifiers need to see a 4-ohm load when bridged to mono operation. When bridging an amplifier, use one 4-ohm speaker or, if you prefer multiple woofers, connect two 8-ohm speakers in parallel. Again, consult your manual before operating your amp in bridged mode. Impedance The totality measured in Ohms of all electrical opposition to current flow: resistance, reactance, capacitance, as well as all mechanical factors inhibiting the completion of energy transfer in a contained system. In practical terms, this means that most Drivers are assigned a certain nominal impedance based on their DC voice coil resistance and mechanical stiffness. For car audio this is usually 4 ohms; for home stereo, 8 ohms is the standard. Parallel Wiring A circuit in which two or more devices are connected to the same source of voltage, sharing a common positive and negative point, so that each device receives the full applied voltage. Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.

I think the JBL 600.1 will deliver more power, and is stable down to 1 ohm, which allows somewhat for later system upgrades, and doesnt really limit you so much... as far as that head unit, I would probably use the crossovers and EQ on both, but I would ensure that everything matches all the way around as far as setting everything up...I am not sure really what is best there, because I know people that do it all 3 ways...some run both, some run the deck exclusively, and some run the amp exclusively...and then there are guys who buy fancy EQs and crosssovers and leave the deck and amp all at zero and just use the other equipment...

RMS stands for Root Mean Square, in English what it really mean is the continuous power, measure in watts, which your amplifier delivers to your speakers. The higher the RMS figures, the louder and cleaner your music sounds. As for “Power”, this figure tells you the maximum wattage an amplifier can deliver during a brief musical burst, like a dramatic drum or bass guitar accent. The RMS figure is more significant.    “I was thinking I should have had a 1000w amp.” It doesn’t hurt to get a bigger amp because you can always turn the gain down when you notice that you are over powering your sub woofer. “Does having more power with less watts mean less pull from the alternator than an amp with the same power and more watts?” Now that you understand what RMS and Peak Power means I think you can answer your own question. Here is something that you can use to help you out a bit more. Before you go out and get an upgrade on your alternator. You can actually do a bit of math to see if it is necessary to upgrade for one. First you have calculate the current draw from your amp. To calculate this you need to multiply the number of channels by the RMS watt per channel. If you have two amps you need to add both of them together to arrive at a grand total. Double it, then divide by 13.8, which is the average number of volts an alternator produces. The result is your system’s approximate current draw in amperes. For example, if you have a two channel amp that puts out 50 watt rms each. You would multiply (50 x 2)=100, 100+100=200, 200 divided by 13.8 = 14.49, 14.49 is the approximate current draw of your amp in ampere. To calculate if your alternator can handle your current system or the system that you are planning to put in, you would then take your alternator amp rating and multiply by 40%. This will give you a rough idea of your electrical system’s reserve capacity. Say you have a Honda Civic that has an alternator rate at 50 amps, Multiply 50 x 0.4 = 20, 20 amps is what is left to power your sound system. This is just a rough guide and for reference only, so changes the number to reflect what you have for your car. “I was wondering if it is better to use the filters on the amp or the HU or use them both” As Big Purds said, used both of them. The only thing I can see adding in here is that if you use both filter you might find a sharp roll off in your slope. But again, your ears would be your best tools to make the adjustment to your music according to your liking.       Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.

the way I have always determined if my system was too big for my alternator was to add the values of the amps fuses...when the amps have fuses anyways...right now I have 2 amps in my car, each with 3 30A fuses...so thats 90A maximum potential draw, per amp...so 180A for my stereo, and I happen to know that my car, with absolutely everything else but the stereo going at full bore, happens to only draw 17A...heh, this is my anti-technology car, lol... so 180A + 20A = 200A...so at this point in time, I would go out and buy an alternator capable of doing 200A or greater...typically greater, cuz that allows for further upgrades without further upgrading my alternator...since high output alternators arent really that cheap, I figure I may as well only do it once per vehicle, lol... personally, I just slammed a 250A alt in there, cuz I know I am going in a different direction soon, and will need a wee bit extra power... but, as I was saying, if you add the total values of the fuse ratings for the amps, you should be safe, cuz that would lead you to believe that if that amp were to draw more than the fuse rated current, the fuses should pop fairly quickly... again, this isnt a very scientific method either, its just my common sense method, lol...it hasnt failed me yet!

Nice and quick. Thanks for the tip Big Purds! Never thought of it this way. Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.

lol, it sounds fairly n00bish and is extremely simple, but I havent been decieved by it yet...

well, sometimes when an amp goes low impedance, it will take something out with it...but, if your amp shuts itself down with an overload protection circuit, you should be fairly safe...you might end up spending alot of time without bass until you replace it, but it shouldnt hurt too much... however, without the protection I would not play it at all or rewire for a higher impedance...