wiring four 12 inch 4 ohm subwoofers
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=119755
Printed Date: May 20, 2024 at 12:39 PM
Topic: wiring four 12 inch 4 ohm subwoofers
Posted By: knotdrummer88
Subject: wiring four 12 inch 4 ohm subwoofers
Date Posted: January 30, 2010 at 11:16 AM
hey guys im new to this forum and car audio in general. My question is how to wire up four 12" 4 ohm subwoofers. right now i have 2 12" 4ohm 250 watt jl audio subs. i want to add two more of the same subs to this setup. i have a jvc 2 channel 250 watt amp stable down to 2 ohms. any help is greatly appreciated, thank you
Replies:
Posted By: kbirtch
Date Posted: January 30, 2010 at 1:57 PM
what model number subs? what model number amp? you need bigger amp before you plan anything further ok wiring 4x subs depends on how many voice coils each has (svc/dvc) so post the model numbers and we can help you decide which is better
Posted By: knotdrummer88
Date Posted: January 30, 2010 at 5:52 PM
the subs are the 12w 1v2's as far as the amp goes im not so sure about that, sorry about that but i gotta dig up the papers on that
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: January 30, 2010 at 6:30 PM
kbirtch wrote:
what model number amp?
Model doesn't matter. He already provided us with all the information we needed. A two channel amplifier, stable at 2-ohms.
kbirtch wrote:
you need bigger amp before you plan anything further ok
Wrong. That amp will be fine. It'll run those woofers all day long. You can run as many drivers as you want on a 5 watt amplifier, as long as you observe maximum load (minimum impedance) safety. You don't HAVE to have a 1kW amplifier to run four 250 watt woofers. The power rating of a woofer means that is the MAXIMUM amount of electrical power that the voice coil can handle. That does NOT mean that
1: ...it will always handle that much power
2: ...you must run it with that much power
3: ...you can't blow it MECHANICALLY with far less power.
D: ...you can't connect them to an amplifer capable of 100 TIMES that rated power.
To the OP: Wire them in series/parallel for 4-ohms, (two in series, the OTHER two in series, then those sets in parallel - see the woofer wiring wizard) then bridge the amplifier. 2-ohms per channel. Done. Max power from the amplifier, and all four woofers. ------------- 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."
Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: January 30, 2010 at 8:11 PM
Connect 2 speakers to one channel and 2 speakers to the other channel. Each channel will see a 2 ohm load. The following diagram is showing the 2 speakes wired to one channel of the amp. You will have to do this twice. The 4 woofers wired for a 4 ohm mono load will yield the same exact amount of power as the following. It is just easier to wire 2 ohms per channel.
Option 1 (parallel) = 2 ohm load
Speakers wired in parallel
Recommended Amplifier: Stable at 2 or 1 ohm mono |
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Posted By: kbirtch
Date Posted: January 31, 2010 at 2:15 AM
thank you for the correction, but seems you've missed the point i was trying to get at... so allow me to clarify
from volume knob to sound, we all know what will happen when the bass sounds good running 4x subs off of a 250w amp. mounted in a trunk where you cant hear the face of the woofer, overworked poor 250w amp starts to square out.
seen it 1000 times, you can throw all the lingo you want at it, but we all know this is the case.
i wized these guys off apparently, but dont let them convince you otherwise, be careful when adding 2x the subs to the same amp. it will overheat and square then pop.
Posted By: j.reed
Date Posted: January 31, 2010 at 2:27 AM
kbirtch wrote:
thank you for the correction, but seems you've missed the point i was trying to get at... so allow me to clarify
from volume knob to sound, we all know what will happen when the bass sounds good running 4x subs off of a 250w amp. mounted in a trunk where you cant hear the face of the woofer, overworked poor 250w amp starts to square out.
seen it 1000 times, you can throw all the lingo you want at it, but we all know this is the case.
i wized these guys off apparently, but dont let them convince you otherwise, be careful when adding 2x the subs to the same amp. it will overheat and square then pop.
Squaring of a wave is called clipping. Which can be done by over gaining the amp or a source sending signal to the amp. The amp does not care what is on the other end unless it is trying to work at a lower independence than designed to do so. This sub to amp combo will be more than fine. Independence will be at an expectable load. The only way he will be "squaring" the wave is if he has improperly set gains, over volume of the deck causing clipping, over recorded track, or another piece of gear over gained. The issues you are talking about have nothing to do with how many woofers are connected to the amp! The issues you are blabing about come from improper gain adjustments, too low an independence and are other wise straight up BS. Clipping could just as easily come from a more powerful amp with improperly set gains. So you my friend are WRONG yet again.
With proper gain setting if he then feels the need for it to be louder. Then would be the time and reason for adding a new amp and more power. Not for the reasons you are stating. ------------- 
Posted By: kbirtch
Date Posted: January 31, 2010 at 5:20 AM
ok, ya got me
sorry for trolling ya thread, hope your subs sound good
Posted By: knotdrummer88
Date Posted: February 01, 2010 at 9:55 AM
thanks a lot guys this really helps. and to wire two subs into one channel should i put the leads of both subs into the channel( either it be positive or negative), like put them both in seperately or should i twist the wires together? sorry if im confusing anyone im just not so sure how to word this thanks again
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 02, 2010 at 12:43 AM
It makes no difference as to whether you twist them together or put them in separately. Ideally with a couple of wires going in I would put them in separately, one on either side of the screw. Even better is to get a proper spade terminal and crimp or solder it onto the wire and put it under the screw. This also makes for a cleaner install. I also agree about the post made about clipping an amplifier. It makes no difference to the amp as far as what is connected to it. It is all about the signal getting into the amp that is important. Feed the amp distortion, the speakers will play distortion until they die a horrible smelly smoky death. While kbirtch is on the right path, he is not quite at the end of it. kbirtch, don't go away, come back and learn. Ask questions, as many as you need. Nobody here is going to judge you, especially the senior industry guys on this forum. Learn and then you are passing along the correct information and not improper information that another person in the future may rely on. Post up a help me understand thread if you want, I would most certainly respond to it when I have the time and I know for sure that the other people here on the site would as well. There is always something to be learned.
------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: knotdrummer88
Date Posted: February 02, 2010 at 10:51 AM
thanks a lot man, your really helping me out here! and also one more thing it doesnt make a differnce when the wire from the driver goes through a terminal in the box, into the amp does it? it doesnt affect the wiring as far as it being wired in parallel?
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 02, 2010 at 1:40 PM
If it makes a difference, you would never ever hear it. Do not worry about it.
-------------
Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: knotdrummer88
Date Posted: February 02, 2010 at 2:01 PM
ok thanks man
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