I addressed this earlier and got a good response from esmith69, but I need a little more advice regarding my set up. I've got a Coustic 161SE 2 Channel amp running in stereo and powering all 4 of my speakers (front - JBL GTO635, rear MB Quart DKC169). I've got them running in paralell, which gives me a 2 OHM load on the amp. The amp is installed under the passenger seat of my 96 Honda Accord and for those unfamiliar with Accords there is an air vent that is located right at the base of the seat, so I have a constant airflow going to the amp. Even with the cool air going to the amp it's still heating up more than I would like it to, although it has yet to reach a point of thermal shutdown. I spoke with the Tech guys at Coustic and they told me that as long as the amp stays below 150 degrees F, then I should be OK. I was also told that by running the amp at a 2 OHM load that I was pushing it hard, which I would agree, but I do keep my volume level fairly respectable. I am considering reconfiguring my system as follows to save this amp from premature ejaculation and this is what I am proposing.
Run the MB Quarts off the amp alone and bring the amp back up to a 4 OHM load and then run my JBL's off the builtin amp in my HU (Pioneer Premier DEH-550MP). The amp advertises these specs: 40 watts rms X 2 into 4 Ohms, 80 watts rms X 2 into 2 Ohms and all this with 0.1% THD. My HU puts out 22 watts rms X 4 into 4 Ohms. The advantages to this is that I can actually play with the HU's builtin crossover network for the front speakers and then the amps crossover for the rear speakers. My concern is staging and that my rear speakers will completely drown out my fronts. The JBL's are great for that Mid to high freq's whereas the Quarts easily achieve the lower freq's with some serious thump to them. I'm not running a sub (maybe later) and am very satisfied with my curent 4 speaker set up. Now, I know that I will have an issue with volume level as we are talking about two different amplification sources with one producing 40 watts rms and the other 22 watts rms. Is there anything that I can do to even this out so as to avoid distorting my front speakers to an early death? I do have my install plans in CAD and in a PDF format and will be happy to send it to you for evaluation if you provide me your e-mail address. Any assist will be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Razorbacx
razorbacx wrote:
Is there anything that I can do to even this out so as to avoid distorting my front speakers to an early death?
Do you mean because you'll have to turn the volume up so high to make the output match the rear speakers, and that you're worried that's going to be louder than the head unit's built-in amp can put out?
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Ethan
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"Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success"
Donate to the12volt.comOk you definately need to out that coustic back up to four ohms. Because a two channel amp bridegs at 4 ohms and by bridging the amp you'll be running it more efficiently with more power. All of those speakers you have take a lot out of a 2 channel amp. I would agree with your second paragaraph, but put your more thirsty pair of speakers to the amp and the less thirsty ones to the 550mp. Don't worry about the volume of each pair you can adjust that by finding a happy medium between the amp and the deck you'll just have to sit there and play with it for about a half an hour. Most likely and obviouslly you will have to turn that amp down to be at the perfect listening level with the deck then you can move your volume up on the deck and both fronts and rears will go up. But that pretty obvious you sound like you already knew that. But anyway hope that helps and if you need anything else you know how to contact me
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Sonic
Pioneer AVH-P4000DVD
Zapco 360.4
Zapco 500.1
Zapco SP-4SL Processor
Two JL 10 W3v3d2
Alumapro 15 Farad Cap
esmith69, you're right on target and sonicsound you nailed it right on the head. I was concerned by having my rear speakers hooked up to the amp and my fronts to my HU that when I crank it up my fronts won't beable to hang because the amp in my HU is much less powerful. I guess I can adjust the sensitivity on the back of the amp and drop it down some. It seems, that the more power I pump into the Quarts the better they sound and I DON'T want to loose that, but I will sacrifice until another amp falls into my lap. Too bad there's no way to bridge the amplifier in my HU.
Thanks gentlemen!
Razorbacx