the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
icon

4 subs/1200rms: 1X1200w or 4X 300w amps


Post ReplyPost New Topic
< Prev Topic Next Topic >
invictuz 
Member - Posts: 28
Member spacespace
Joined: February 05, 2005
Posted: February 06, 2005 at 7:39 PM / IP Logged  

In a discussion yesterday two people explained that it is better to have one big amp @ 1200w RMS rather pushing all four subs rather than four smaller amps.

 

I am trying to determine which will provide the deepest, most accurate bass.

I am not trying to determine which is easiest or cheapest.

 

If all the power in the world is available. If all the best, most conducive cables were used and the perfect sub/box combination is installed:

 

Which is going to produce the best bass at 1200w total rms; one large 1200w amp or four smaller 300w amps to drive four subs.

 

I was almost convinced big amps are better until I went shopping for a larger amp today.

 

Magnolia Hi-Fi

I stopped at Magnolia Hi-Fi to check out the RF T2000bd and T3000bd.

I explained why I was shopping for the amp and at the cost of losing a sales he told having four amps push 300w each is better than have one amp pushing 1200w. He then took me into the install bay and grabbed a technician. Without the sales guy leading the conversation past "he has four amps pushing 300w, one for each sub, but now wants one larger amp to drive all four subs at 1200w" the technician interrupted with "that would be a step back from what you have now"

 

Both guys said having four smaller amps is better than having one large amp....

 

I wanted a second opinion...

 

Cartoys

I skipped the sales guy and started talking to the technician in the bay.

Told him I have nothing but wanted four subs and something to power them.

He called a sales guy over but continued to lead the conversation.

he mentioned some subs then began talking about powering them through a large amp.

I asked why someone would not go with  dedicated amps for each sub. He said "that's only for competition and SPL" "it requires modification like alternator upgrades and harness rewire" ...when I prodded for more info he said that if your goal is to push four subs and you were willing to upgrade your vehicles electrical output the a multiple smaller amps will give you cleaner, deeper bass than a single large amp if all else is equal.

I asked which is better and why one amp dedicated to one sub times four OR one larger amp pushing all four subs.

 

So now I had two guys telling me one amp is better than four amps when pushing four subs and two guys telling me it is better to have four amps pushing four subs rather than one amp.

 

Feedback request

 

What do you think and why?

 

Is it better to have one large amp?

    Its easier to power.

    Its easier to wire.

    Its easier to adjust.

    Its easier to mount.

    But does easier to manage equal better sound from your subs?

    The argument can be made that with a single amp all subs have identically "conditioned" power being fed to them as it all comes from the same single source*.

 

 

Is having smaller, dedicated amps for each sub better?

    You have to match gain on all amps

    You have to match cutoff.

    You have more power draw from alternator/battery

    More wires.

    More overall maintenance.

    But you do have more power sources feeding long, deep, hard bass. (each amp has its own power source to generate its wattage for the sub)

 

 

 

 

* =  I am curious to know what the differences in performance are for sub in the daisy chain that connects multiple subs to a mono amp.

It would seem to me that the sub closest to the middle of a daisy chain connection would receive power before any other (with power working its way from the middle to the ends in both directions)

bullman96 
Silver - Posts: 294
Silver spacespace
Joined: October 03, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: February 06, 2005 at 8:11 PM / IP Logged  
honestly, it doesnt matter whether or not you have one big amp powering 4 subs or four small amps sq wise unless those four small amps were class a's and the only big one you could find was a class d. your going for monoblocks. you will probably get much more volume from one big one. to set up 4 smallers amps correctly you will need to match the gains perfectly. any slight difference will cause cancellation and unless you have a really good meter and are very skilled, there is bound to be 4 slight diferences causing one big one. efficiency and price wise one amp is much better. there is less room for human error.
Pioneer PEH-9660mp
Mb Quart PCE-216 biamped
JL 12W6v2
Sony XM-4026 amp for tweeters
Kenwood KAC-7251 amp for mids
JL-4100 amp for sub
jeffchilcott 
Platinum - Posts: 2,483
Platinum spacespace
Joined: April 11, 2002
Location: United States
Posted: February 06, 2005 at 8:48 PM / IP Logged  
total rms power is total rms power.    If you have 4 amps it will be harder to match gains and other ajustments.   plus the added current draw.   I honestly would recomend the use of a single amp, for complication reasons
jeffchilcott 
Platinum - Posts: 2,483
Platinum spacespace
Joined: April 11, 2002
Location: United States
Posted: February 06, 2005 at 8:48 PM / IP Logged  
total rms power is total rms power.    If you have 4 amps it will be harder to match gains and other ajustments.   plus the added current draw.   I honestly would recomend the use of a single amp, for complication reasons
2009 0-1000 Trunk WR 154.0DB 2009 1001+ Trunk WR
2007 USACI World Champion
2007 World Record
2006 USACI Finals 2nd Place
wheelerdr 
Copper - Posts: 337
Copper spacespace
Joined: October 25, 2004
Location: Louisiana, United States
Posted: February 07, 2005 at 8:47 AM / IP Logged  
I would go with on classd amp very efficient, remember when you hook up 4 subs the ohms will change ex. wiring 4 4ohm subs in parallel all + connected together and all - connected together will produce 1 ohm, connecting them in series will give you about 16 ohms, conecting 2 in series with each other will give you 8 ohm do this with both and then wire them in parallel to the amp and get 4 ohms. different ways to wire subs to get certian ohms.
invictuz 
Member - Posts: 28
Member spacespace
Joined: February 05, 2005
Posted: February 07, 2005 at 9:39 AM / IP Logged  

everything is already install...i have the 10" DVCs in sealed box. Each presents a 2ohm load to a dedicated RF 301m amp/cap combo (4 total).

recently though i have been told that a single larger amp will producing the same wattage as the 4 smaller amps (in this case 1200w) will sound better.

i then went to a couple of local shops to check out some larger amps and both shops told me that my current dedicated amp per sub will preform and sound better than a single larger amp.

so i am looking for other thoughts on the subject.

(should be noted that all other consideration are optimally configured for the scenario: large enough alternator, best cabling, etc...)

in other words...if it were a perfect world where you only had to make one choice to achieve eternal happiness would you choose one large amp pushing 1200w into four 2ohm DVC 10s or would you go with four 300w mono amps (for a total of 1200w); one for each 2ohm DVC 10?


Sorry, you can NOT post a reply.
This topic is closed.

  Printable version Printable version Post ReplyPost New Topic
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

  •  
Search the12volt.com
Follow the12volt.com Follow the12volt.com on Facebook
Thursday, March 28, 2024 • Copyright © 1999-2024 the12volt.com, All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy & Use of Cookies
Disclaimer: *All information on this site ( the12volt.com ) is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular use. Any user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and use of this information. Please verify all wire colors and diagrams before applying any information.

Secured by Sectigo
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
Support the12volt.com
Top
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer