3 subs, 500 watts rms each, what amp?

im looking towards buying a tri 12" box for $50 this weekend, and im less concerned about the subs, knowing there gonna be 500 watts rms since i dont want extreme power, but my noticable issue is the amp to power them. currently i have 1 12" koiiler 500 watts rms, being powered by a "1600"watt sony amp. but im getting a 1000 watt rms xtant amp, i may even get it free, im just wondering, would the xtant power all 3 or would i need to use the sony for one of the others and the xtant for 2? the whole amp powering multiple subs is something i havent been able to find out about so would this 1000 watt rms amp be able to power 3 500 watt rms subs? logically i think no, but i really dont know and want to learn. part of me thinks yes though, but i was only in 1/2 semester of electronics and kinda forgot most of what i learned, but i thought current increases but the voltage doesnt, so wouldnt the amp just overheat easier? or does multiple subs cut the voltage down?

Whoa, whoa, whoa...   WAAAAAYYY overthinking this... (and by the way, 1500 watts IS extreme power... Any electronics student should know that 770 watts is one horsepower, so you are talking about ALMOST 2HP! I'd call that extreme power.) What woofers are you using? What impedance are they? Can you wire all three of them to provide a safe load for the Xtant amplifier? As far as powering three woofers, you can power 12 THOUSAND woofers off a 50 watt amplifier, as long as you make certain the impedance lands within the safe load carrying capabilities of the amplifier. Typically, and with nearly ALL car amplifiers, that means between 1 and 4 ohms. The Xtant gear was safe to 2 ohms per channel, I think. You can load with a higher impedance, but the amplifier will just make less power. What woofers are you using, and what impedance are they? Let us know a COUPLE things, at least... It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

The overheating issue occurs when you overload it. An amplifier doesn't know how many speakers it is connected to, it only knows what the load is. As long as the load is "safe", no matter how many drivers are connected to it, it won't overheat... It can't. Is you amplifer a stereo amp or a mono amp? If mono, your best bet is 2 DVC 2 ohm woofers, which you can wire series/parallel for 2 ohms. If stereo, your best bet is 2 DVC 4 ohm woofers, which you can wire series/parallel for 4 ohms, then bridge the amp to, for a net load of 2 ohms per channel. Other options exist, but without knowing which woofers EXACTLY you are getting, and without knowing whether the amp is stereo or mono, I'm grasping at straws, here. I also forgot you were going to be using three woofers. In that case I REALLY need to know all of the above requested info. EXACT woofers, and stereo or mono amp...It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=145

the amps mono, and ok, haemphyst u answered my question lol, a little more technically but answered it very well none the less, so if i hook my subs up to the amp ill have to turn the amp down a bit even if theres 2 subs

sory for double post... but im iffy on running 3 subs, im looking towards 2 alpine type-rs at the moment, and i cant get ahold of the lady with the xtant so im stuck with my 1600 watt sony, it says it'll do 900x1 at 2 ohms bridged rms, but i doubt its that powerful, but it should power them if i wire them to 2 ohms, right?

Yeah, if you can get whichever woofers you choose to 2 ohms, that amp will make its maximum amount of power.

alrighty cool, also having a issue with my deck, and i know its the deck, im discussing it in my other topic though

alrighty i got my 2 type-rs and there in a ported box, i also have the box for 3 12" subs too, i have 3 subs but the other sub is a 12" koiiler dvc 500rms/1000peak so if i put the type-rs and koiiler in the tri box it would be loud and nice and look even better, BUT the box isnt chambered, its one big sealed box, my rough diagram of the box .......... .    .   . .    .   .                 \      /     \..../ its got that shape and theres a middle support board going up the middle, i could chamber it but i dont want to risk messing the box up so would the subs be able to work together in a 1 chambered box, or no?