Wiring question

Hey guys, I have used the calculators on the site, but I cant figure out how many ohms this set up would create. I have three 10 inch subwoofers rated at 4 ohms each. Now, I have a 2ch amp, rated at 175x2@4 ohms, 350x2@2ohms, or 700x1@4 ohms bridged. I know if i connected them all in series, that would be a 12 ohm load, and that would suck, or, i can wire them all in parallel, and get a 1.3 ohm load, which would really suck, cuz my amp would fry. Now, I was thinking about wiring two subs, individually to a channel, and the third sub, run it as if it were bridged, but I dont know if thats safe or not, I cant find a way to calculate the ohms. Anyone out there think its safe? or can you tell me what the ohms would be? Here is a link to a picture that shows you what i mean. http://www.geocities.com/sportscar_central/wiring-diagram.jpg Thanks.1990 Honda Civic HB:

Clarion DXZ545MP H.U.

2- 6.5" Power Acoustik interiors

Diamond Audio 600.1 amp

Diamond Audio 15" M6MKII

Pyramid PB881X 4 CH. Amp

You're referring to Tri-Wiring. It's safe as long as the amp is capable of doing it. Since it's a 2-channel amp, running (2) 4ohm subs on each channel is no problem, and each would receive the 175 x 2 @ 4ohms rating (175 watts per sub). If the 3rd sub were bridged it would revceive the 700 x 1 @ 4ohms rating (which is ALOT for a 10" sub). We would need the specific make and model of the amp to tell you if it is safe with tri-mode. I would look in the manual under the available wiring configurations for the amp. If it's there, then you can do it. If it's not listed, then it would probably not be a good idea.Squirrel

"No more Cpt. Kirk chit chat"

If its too loud, then you're too old

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Sorry, i have a Rockford Fosgate 700s 2 channel amp. I forgot to put that in there. Ill go look at the manual, but it doesnt say much. thanks.1990 Honda Civic HB:

Clarion DXZ545MP H.U.

2- 6.5" Power Acoustik interiors

Diamond Audio 600.1 amp

Diamond Audio 15" M6MKII

Pyramid PB881X 4 CH. Amp

I checked and the manual doesn't say anything about Tri-Mode (or Stereo/Bridged mode). So I checked with RF support. According to them, most RF 2-channel amps are capable of Tri-Mode wiring without problems. The main consideration is you don't go below 2ohms stereo and 4ohms mono. In your case, you're looking at 4ohms stereo and 4ohms mono so you are safe in that regard. You would have 2 subs running at 175 watts (175 x 2 @ 4ohms) and 1 sub running at 700 watts (700 x 1 @ 4ohms mono/bridged). I don't know which make/model 10's you have, so be sure that 175 watts isn't too little, and 700 watts isn't too much for them to handle! Here's a link to that RF Support article. Be sure to read the Crossover section at the end of the article. It says how to properly set your amp's crossover when operating in this mode.Squirrel

"No more Cpt. Kirk chit chat"

If its too loud, then you're too old

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The crossover link doesn't work because it isn't a link It's was just in bold. I was referring to the crossover section at the bottom of that article. If you're running RCA's, then you do not want to use the high level inputs. Rockford showed both in the pictures to basically show everything at once (saves from having 2 pictures for the same sub wiring, one with RCA inputs and one with High Level inputs). If you look closer at the pictures, you will notice a bold OR with arrows pointing to the RCA inputs and High Level inputs. The use of High Level Inputs is in case you don't have RCA capability from either a headunit, eq, external crossover, etc... It also negates having to buy an external LOC (high/low converter). However, it is usually recommended that you not use an amps High/Low inputs if at all possible. You usually do not have any type of gain control for the speaker level inputs (unless the RCA gain control works both), and you will usually get a cleaner signal by using a quality external LOC and then providing a Low Level input to the amp. So in short (too late), integrated High Level inputs on an amp are basically useless, unless you have no other choice but to use them.Squirrel

"No more Cpt. Kirk chit chat"

If its too loud, then you're too old

Donate to the12volt.com

The crossover section tells him to set it to full range because tri-mode/mixed mono conventionally is used to run a set of normal speakers off the 2/4 channels and then a sub bridged which is why you need a passive xover on the sub so it doesn't run full range. He isn't running any speakers just 3 subs. I've never tried mixed mono running all subs so I don't know for sure how it's going to work out anybody have any input? By the way I wouldn't recommend this setup mixing subs never quite sounds right IMO..Good luck