JBL mono amp with 2 subs

I recently asked about the Profile amps, and got great feedback.  It was suggested that I get a JBL BP1200.1 or BP600.1 .  I've decided I can probably get enough money to buy maybe the 1200.1, but more likely the 600.1 .  Anyway, I am confused about how to wire the amp.  I found a few other forums that touched on using one amp to power two subs, but I didnt really get the information I needed.

1.  When wiring a mono amp to two subs, how do u connect the speaker wire to the amp?  Do you solder the positive speaker wires from both of the subs together and the negative with the negative and then connect to the amp?  That wasnt a very good question, but would you in essence, put two seperate speaker wires of the same polarity into the same terminal?  How will this affect the impedence?  Will this cause the amp to over heat?

2.  The Rockford HE2s I'm looking at (RFP3212) have dual voice coils.  I read that the nominal impedence is 4 ohms.  So can I run 2 ohms into each of the subs?  If so how?

I'm sure you have noticed that I'm basically lost.  I just basically want to hook up two subs to a mono amp, if possible, and get the most power out of them.  Please answer any of the questions above.  Any info or suggestions as to what I should do are greatly appreciated. 

-Jon

I believe that amplifier is 1ohm stable this would probably be the best connection for the amp and the subs listed above

This would give lowest impedence being 1ohm and most power.

Sorry wrong format

All that information helps a lot, thanks.  I'm now lookin more closely at the 2112 Punch HX2 that wvsquirrel suggested.  If anyone knows of where I can get the subs or the amp fairly cheap please tell me.  You can email me at Ziggy1515@aol.com if you have any info.  Also, I'm thinking I might need a cap.  I read a great article on this site before explaining the necesity of a cap, I'll have to read it again and see if I really need one.  Thanks again for all your help.

-Jon

I hate to be a smart ass but I just want you to make sure you're getting the right info.  First let me state that for most amps I would agree 100% not to risk running them at 1 ohm, much less 2 ohms.

However, if you take a look at the owner's manual for the BP series amps (including the 600.1 and 1200.1),  you'll see that the minimum speaker impedence is 1 ohm.  As it notes, there is no increase in power output past 2 ohms, so being 1 ohm stable is really just a wiring flexibility thing.

If you just go to the main product page where it gives you a summary of the product info, it only lists power output ratings for @ 4 ohms and @2 ohms.  Maybe this is what wvsquirrel was referring to.  Because there's no increase in power output below 2 ohms, I guess they don't feel the need to list the power ratings for 1 ohm, but do be aware they are 1 ohm stable.

I have actually seen these amps run at less than 1 ohm, but obviously in your situation there is no need to do so.  I can guarantee you though, that they will be completely stable at 1 ohm.

HX2s vs. HE2s:  That decision is basically up to you, and one way to look at it is that you could get the HE2s and use the money saved from not buying the HX2s, to upgrade to the 1200.1 amp.  On the other hand, the HX2s are a little higher end than the HE2s.  Keep that in mind.

But do keep in mind that the 1200.1 requires significantly more current and requires you to step up to a 150 amp ANL fuse (unless you can find a 120 amp fuse somewhere), at least 2 gauge power/ground wire, etc.  According to the manual max current draw for the 1200.1 is 114A, and for the 600.1 is 57A.  You can still use 4 gauge power and the more common and much less expensive AGU-type fuses with the 600.1.  I have seen these amps run and they do use a whole lot of power so I can vouch for those specs.  Sorry to throw another variable into the whole equation but I wanted to make sure you thought about all the advantages and disadvantages of both amps and both subs.

OK, once again my plans have changed, but I'm sure its for the better.  It is very unlikely that I will run 2 gauge wire anytime soon (thanks to esmith69 for informing me), I currently use 4 gauge.  Now if I was to get the BP 600.1 and the new Rockford HE2s (RFP4112) which have dual 2-ohm voice coils, would it work out?  The 600.1 will put out 600 watts RMS @ 2 ohm, which to me means 300 watts RMS by 2 at 2 ohms (please correct me if I'm wrong).  Does anyone have any opinions on these subs?  I was kind of leanin towards the 2002 models, and perhaps even older because I figure I can get them cheaper and I have also read a lot about them and they seem to be fairly reliable.  Maybe I didn't look hard enough, but I didnt find any HE2 subs with 2 ohm voice coils except these.  I was kind of set on the HX2s, I was gonna sell some stuff I have around the house to pay for them, but it doesn't seem like it will work out for me with those subs if I have to upgrade all my wires and fuse, I think the HE2s and one BP600.1 may be more reasonable for me.  Any suggestions on the subs though?  In your experience, what are some reliable, and hopefully fairly low cost subs?  I'm glad I didn't buy anything yet, I still have an open mind as to anything you suggest.  The people writing have been a great help so far, thanks a lot for your time and consideration.

-Jon 

HE2s will do you just fine and I've never had a problem with them in terms of reliability.  Of course use your common sense and if you hear distortion turn down the bass.  Do this and you'll be boomin for a long time.

As for the power, that amp will put out 600 watts total RMS at 2 ohms or 1 ohm.  So if you had two subs hooked up each would be getting 300 watts RMS (150 per voice coil).  That's PLENTY of power, trust me.

If you're getting two subs, you can either get the 4 ohm voice coils HE2s, or the 2 ohm voice coil HE2s.  It's really up to you, as both models should technically allow you to maximize the power output of the amp.  With the 4 ohm ones, you'd wire each sub's voice coils in parallel, and then both subs would run from the single amp output channel via parallel wiring.  The impedence on the amp would be 1 ohm but these jbl amps can handle this just fine.  Or you can get the 2 ohm voice coil models, and wire each sub's two voice coils in series, then both subs in parallel to the amp.  This would give the amp a total impedence of 2 ohms, which should give you the same power output as the other method.  Both wiring methods are shown in those diagrams posted by other members.

I prefer parallel to series wiring just cuz it seems less complicated but it's up to you really.  If I were you though I would get the 4 ohm version.  Here's why:  although you're gonna be using the jbl amp which is 1 ohm stable, let's just say it gets stolen or bites the dust, and you can only afford to replace it with some typical class AB 2 channel amp that's only stable at 2 ohms stereo or 4 ohms bridged.  If you had the 2 ohm voice coil subs (they were not stolen, for the purposes of this example)  you'd only be able to wire them up for an 2 ohm load or an 8 ohm load to the amp, but most amps are not 2 ohm stable when bridged.  So your only other option is to go with series wiring, putting the total impedence at 8 ohms and you'd be using significantly less power than the amp is capable of putting out.

With the 4 ohm voice coils, however, you would be able to hook them up in series parallel and give the amp the 4 ohms bridged impedence that is needed to use all its available power.  I know this situation is not very likely but since the two subs are basically the same, if you needed something to make you lean towards one or the other that might be it.

The HE2s aren't really low cost, although the answer to that question kinda depends on how you define "low cost".  But they definitely do provide very good bang for the buck overall--especially when compared to subs costing two or three times as  much.

Sorry, but once again I am back.  I looked around on Yahoo and on eBay for the 600.1 fairly cheap.  When I had my heart set on the 1200.1 and I was looking on eBay I came across a few 600.1 amps.  Now the auctions are over and the cheapest 600.1s I could find through Yahoo were $183 plus about 20 shipping.  Now there are a few 1200.1s still on eBay.  One with a buy it now of 256, another with an auction starting at 375 (good luck to that seller, both are new).  Anyway, my main question is this.  Is there a great risk to hooking up a 1200.1 to my existing 4 gauge wire with an 80 amp AGU fuse and setting the gains at 1/2, or maybe even 1/4?  I mean, if I can spend roughly another 80 dollars to get an amp that is twice as powerful, with a higher resale value, and more potential in case I ever get enough money to upgrade to better subs, why shouldn't I?  Please tell me if I am thinking about this all wrong.  I understand that with the 4 gauge wire, and the 80 amp fuse I will not be able to use the amp to its full potential.  But this way I can always decide to upgrade the wire and fuse later, I'll have the ability to upgrade to more powerful subs if I can in the future, and I think I may have a better chance selling the 1200.1 in the future if I chose to do so.  Please give me any feedback.  If you think I should wait for a cheap 600.1 to come along and forget about the 1200.1, please tell me so.  I know if I get the HE2s I could potentially over power them with the 1200.1, but If I set the gains down and dont turn up the volume after the sound starts to distort it should be ok right?

Here's another curve ball.  What do you think about the MTX 6000 series in a 12 inch running off a 600.1?  They are 250 watts RMS and I'm pretty sure they don't have dual voice coils.  The 8000 are gonna cost too much for me.  A pair of the MTX 6000 will set me back about 130 plus shipping, not bad, not bad at all.  What do you think?

Always another question.  Know of any reasonably priced (preferably around 100) 6.5" component sets?  I was looking at Audiobahns, but any suggestions are welcome.  You are helping me to build the hardest hitting Volvo on my street.  (I don't want to be too boastful)

Once again, thank you to all of the people who have been helping me along the way.  Any feedback, positive and negative alike, is greatly appreciated.

-Jon

If you only have to pay 80 bucks to step up to the 1200.1 then definitely go for that.  The 2 gauge thing is not all that critical, especially if you're not gonna be pushing it very hard just yet.  As long as you make sure to not over-power the HE2s you will be good to go sticking with those as well.

I'd probably pick HE2s over thunder 6000s if I had to pick between the two.

As for $100 component sets, I like infinitys but I dunno if you could find them cheap enough.