What to do

I have recently purchased an Alpine 9835 head unit and MRD-M501 Mono amp to drive a sub or subs.  Is this too much amp for one 10 sub?  If it is recomended to drive two 10's then what is the prefered ohm rating and voice coil count?

Thanks much.

So if I go with one Alpine Type R 2ohm DVC and wire it correctly that I will create a 4 ohm load that the amp will provide 225 watts RMS.  This should be safely within the speakers 300 watt RMS rating.  I read some reviews on the speaker and it seemed to please.  It either that or go with an Infinity Perfect 10 single voice coil rated at 4 ohm's but there seemed to be some low frequence rattling a couple people noticed.

One other question I did have last night was if anyone knows of a slick spot to penetrate the firewall on a 1998 Chev pick-up full size on the passenger side.  Or for that matter either side.  I have one small penetration on the driver side for the remote start I installed but would prefer the passenger side due to the fact that the battery is on that side and it means less 4 ga wire I need to buy if I go through this side. 

Lastly, is it recomended that I run a ground for the two amps back directly to the battery as well?   The other amp is an Alpine MRV-301 if I remember right.

Thanks

Here is the real rating of your amplifier.

• 425W x 1 RMS (2ohm;@12V 1% THD+N)

Here is how to get full capability from this amp.

Wiring Option #1234567890

Wiring Option #8648.984

The first pic shows a single dual voice coil sub of 4 ohms per coil wired in parallel. The second pic shows two single 4 ohm subs wired in parallel. Whatever sub you go with, they must be one of these types.

On the passenger side, really, really low, center of the footwell,  there is one spot to drill though the firewall. Pay very close attentiom to any bolt holes and look for them on the other side to get your bearings. Yes you can run the ground line back to the battery if you prefer.

Way cool. Thank you.

This bring s up another question.  If I buy the 4 ohn speakers you have suggested and wire like you have shown I will be pushing 425 watts RMS.  Doesn't this risk blowing the sub which is rated at 300 watts RMS?  I had thought that if I bought a 2 ohm speaker and wired it to create a 4 ohm load it would place the amp at a 225 watt config that would be safer for the sub. Is this correct?  Feedback?

Thanks again

I am going to run one 10" sub for now. 

//Justin

Well that is good news then because I would rather buy the 4 ohm speaker just in case I decide to add another ten to the truck and that if I do I have not purchased a 2 ohm sub I would have to replace with a 4 to run a pair. Did I loose you on that one?  You see I am leary that this one 10" will not be enough.

So basically if I keep a keen ear and don't let it distort and keep the gain turned down I should be fine with the single sub? 

Thanks

Correct

Aside - WOW MAN!

You've got it.  Sounds like it'll be a good setup.  I've got 150 watts running to my Kappa 10" right now.  I had 460 pushing it earlier this year.  Sounded fine but I was a little uncomfortable pushing that much over rms (it's 275 rms).  I would have been fine with like 375 or even 400 but that extra 60 watts was making me go hm.....  I had the sub playing like that for about 2 months then I decided to get another 10" (still in the process)  and run each 150 until I get a new amp.  150 watts with bass boost turned on is making one 10" really thump right now. 

Poorman:  I've seen (and have gone back and checked it out read volt meter and everything) a sub run an endurance test.  For 24 hours a Kappa Perfect ran 500 watts rms.  It played just a normal bass excursion test.  At the end of the 24 hours, they played a normal song with normal bass music and it was perfectly fine.  Seen this done to other speakers too.  Yeah you can run over rms.  The manufacturer gives you a cushion of rating so that the sub is still with-in it's limits.  Because people like us know the sub can handle it.

Thanks for that.  I am now convinced on what I need to buy.  As soon as the enclosure arrives I will see if I can fit the tall type R in the hole.

An a different note.  I need to feed a higher grade speaker wire into the door of this 1998 chev pick-up for the Kappa's that I am putting in.  Any tricks to feed that wire through the factory conduit boot in between the cab and the door?

A hanger worked good for me when getting my power wire through the firewall boot.

Just as a gesture of my appreciation to the people that contribute to this site I would like to say thanks.  I finished this very small system this weekend and it sounds better than I had hoped for.  With an Alpine CDA9835 head signaling a MRD-501(with amp link) and a MRV F340 amps which power an Apline 10" type R and Infinity seperates and rear plates respectively.  I had to cut a hole in the Q-form enclosure so the magnet would clear the back of the box.  I bought some 1/2" plexi-glass and shaped a nice looking plate to re-seal it which also means you can look right down into the back of the sub as it fires at the floor which is cool I suppose.  Managed to hide every last bit of the installation except the tweeters and those are still not easy to find when looking in from the outside.  I took pictures of the whole process as I went along and those turned out well too.

Well my purpose was to say thanks for all of the advise.  I am convinced it made the difference between what I have and what could have been a big dissapointment.

jkyliej wrote:

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I am convinced it made the difference between what I have and what could have been a big dissapointment.

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