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four channel amp to subs and 6x9's


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green.note 
Member - Posts: 5
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Joined: August 09, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: August 09, 2005 at 1:40 AM / IP Logged  
Im a new guy and joined because I have a coupla questions. First of all I have Two MTX thunder 4000 10" in a double bandpass box. My old alpine V-12 2 channel amp blew so I ordered a new Phoenix Gold 5.0.4 4 channel amp. The subs are 4 ohms, and the amp is 4 ohms. I believe the subs are hooked up for parallel hook-up. I would like to also hook my two (stock unfortunatley) 6x9's to the amp as well as the subs, will I run into any problems here, is this unheard of? I just want to be sure everything can be hooked up without me pushing anything too hard/far. Will my speakers handle my new amp? any advice?
stevdart 
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Joined: January 24, 2004
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Posted: August 09, 2005 at 4:47 AM / IP Logged  

First thing you have to do is to know why the Alpine amp isn't working anymore.  Worn out?  No, not likely.

Then you look at a subwoofer wiring wizard like this one.  Select two single voice coil 4 ohm speakers and look at the diagrams available....and the type of amplifier you can use with those available configurations.

When you say you "believe" the subs are wired in parallel, that's not good enough.  They're your subs, the amps are your equipment, and you're going through amps unnecessarily.  You have to actually LOOK at the sub wiring and make sure you know how they are connected, and what impedance load you are putting onto the amplifier.  Compare the sub's wiring configuration to the diagrams in the wiring wizard.

My guess from 500 miles is that they ARE wired in parallel and that you have a 2 ohm load with that setup.  Look in the wiring diagram and see what kind of amplifier will handle a 2 ohm load.

Don't ruin your new amp with the same hookup you used with the Alpine.  And good for you for searching out some help and asking about it here.  There IS a way to use the new amp for the subs alone, but the subs will have to be separated electrically from each other...or wired together in a different way.  Post back after you've removed the subs from the box and inspected the wiring.

And no, the stock 6x9s can't be hooked up to an aftermarket amp.  Replace them with just about any aftermarket speakers that are built to handle more power than the car's radio alone would put out.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
green.note 
Member - Posts: 5
Member spacespace
Joined: August 09, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: August 09, 2005 at 11:04 PM / IP Logged  
Well my old V-12 was bought in 98, and hasn't had problems, originally the fuse was burnt, so tried to replace it and there was sparks, and the amp smoked. Toasted. I Just bought some 150 watt 4 ohm 6x9's to hook up, and havn't looked at my subs yet but when I do I will/ might hook them up differently as needed, probably get a smaller guage(bigger)wire as well. Will the chart afore mentioned work with two tens, and two 6x9's? Thanks for your help I appreciate it.
green.note 
Member - Posts: 5
Member spacespace
Joined: August 09, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: August 09, 2005 at 11:08 PM / IP Logged  
Oh yes, and Im just going for quality not quantity, I may eventually tune my tens differently in separate boxes. I dont listen to as much bassy music as I do classical or jazz. Stuff with a wider range of Hz. So if theres any advice along those lines...
stevdart 
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Joined: January 24, 2004
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Posted: August 09, 2005 at 11:39 PM / IP Logged  

Your two subs will wire in parallel to 2 ohms, and that is too low of a load to bridge to two channels of that amp.  I don't know what the continuous power rating of the sub is, but you could possible use just one of them and bridge its 4 ohms onto two channels of the Octane amp and get 250 watts.  If it will handle that power that might be your best solution for sub bass considering the types of music that you prefer.

If the subs handle considerably less continuous power you could wire the two of them in series for an 8 ohm load and bridge that to the two channels.  The power output will be cut....probably to the 160 watt range... but you would have an increase in db by virtue of having an additional sub in the mix, so it would come out about even either way.

Consider building a new enclosure for the sub (or subs), too.  You can learn a lot about that here.

The other two channels can power a set of speakers.  For now, you have the 6.X 9's, and the 2 X 80 watt rating of the amp is appropriate to power those.  Use the high pass filter for the front speakers and the low pass for the sub.  And it is best to allow only one frequency range to a subwoofer, as opposed to your suggestion that you might run the two differently from one another.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
green.note 
Member - Posts: 5
Member spacespace
Joined: August 09, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: August 17, 2005 at 2:10 PM / IP Logged  
Ok. I have successfully installed new 6x9's, my new octane amp, and rewired my subs. I hooked my two tens in series to bridged rear outs on my amp, and my 6x9's each individually to the two front outs. I used 16 guaged speaker wired. and everything should be working ok. I was curious though why I am recieving a whining sound from the amp when the engine is running, when i accelerate it accelerates. I think Im also getting some engine noise from the speakers as well. This never happened before. I am not recieving correct levels from the speakers either, but am afraid to tune them with the amp. until I figure out why the amp itself is whining.
green.note 
Member - Posts: 5
Member spacespace
Joined: August 09, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: August 17, 2005 at 2:53 PM / IP Logged  
Oh yes, I am securely grounded to the chassis so that rules that out.

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