amp, load ohms?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=103519
Printed Date: May 13, 2025 at 4:45 AM
Topic: amp, load ohms?
Posted By: speakerbox82
Subject: amp, load ohms?
Date Posted: March 30, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Ok im new here so i hope i put this in the right area, A stereo shop told me when i bridge any amp the amp see's half the ohm's, like say 1 dvc 4 ohm wired @ 8 ohm's. the amp only see's 4 ohm's?? is this true, if so my amp is only able to run @ 2 ohm's stable X 4 and i want to run 2 xtant 10's dvc 4 ohm my amp is a tra 500/4 soundstream. how should i wire it bridged or only run the two channels??? thanks for any and all help 
Replies:
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 30, 2008 at 11:31 AM
A few points. First, the only amp that can be "bridged" is a multi-channel amp like a stereo amp. Second, when you do that, the two amplifier channels equally share the total load. So, if a 4-ohm load is bridged across a stereo amp, each amplifier channel operates into half that, or 2-ohms. If you want to connect two 4-ohm subs to two channels of a 4-channel amp, the only workable method is to either connect one sub to each channel or wire the two subs in series (8-ohms) and bridge the channels. In either case, the load on the amplifier will be 4-ohms per channel. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: speakerbox82
Date Posted: March 30, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Thanks for your help, i ended up running only two ch on my 4 ch amp at 2 ohms each, before i had them at 8 ohms each on only two ch, now it sounds great and i had to turn all my settings down little less than half. do you think its ok to only run 2 of 4 ch? over a long time. Will it do any damage? also i just got this soundstream tra 500/4 (the one im using) is this a good amp? Thanks again, and can you sell your used car audio stuff on this forum? -------------
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 30, 2008 at 12:18 PM
NO, operating two channels of a 4-channel amp will not harm it. Soundstream amps are OK, although I would not use a 4-channel amp for subwoofers, I'd get a mono sub amp. Read the forum rules, you can post in the buy and sell forum once you have attained "Standard" membership status. Oops, I missed in your first post that these are DVC speakers. Yes, your best bet is to connect one @ 2-ohms (wiried in parallel) to each of two channels. Or wire them for 4-ohms total and bridge. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: speakerbox82
Date Posted: March 30, 2008 at 12:27 PM
I was using a alpine m850 mono block and it sounded good but the tra 500/4 sounds soooo much better. i will be upgrading to 4 subs when i get the money. also do you think i should run the 500/4 amp for the mids/highs?? i think it would have to much power -------------
Posted By: willdkartunes
Date Posted: March 30, 2008 at 3:06 PM
I've never known anyone to use a multi-channel amp for subwoofers.... you should definitely do what DYohn said and switch the subs to a good mono amp. Yes, you should use the 4-channel for the mids/highs. 125watts x 4 is certainly not too much power for some decent components.
------------- Do whatever makes you happy in life without diminishing the happiness of others
Posted By: speakerbox82
Date Posted: March 30, 2008 at 7:33 PM
Thanks for the info. The amp i have is the older model which is under rated even at 250 x4 @ 2ohm my subs are 500 rms and cant handle the power this amp pushes. I have heard of people running 4 15's on the tra 500x4 this thing is about 2 feet long by 16.5 inches wide and that is without all the chrome and that spider thing thanks for all your help, Speakerbox -------------
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