Running too high of an impedance
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=47298
Printed Date: May 16, 2024 at 12:16 PM
Topic: Running too high of an impedance
Posted By: sk8ingsmurf
Subject: Running too high of an impedance
Date Posted: January 09, 2005 at 4:50 PM
So for my new setup part of it was going to be running two JL 8w0s as part of my midbass (dont ask why, its just a multi-sub setup to show the quality and power of the w0 series), well I got the w0s at cost from my local dealer but the only ones he had on hand were 8 ohms. I was like yeah well Ill wire those eight ohms up in parallel which will bring them down to a 4 ohm, powered by the fosgate 351s I want to use that will go great. Well later on when I was already home I realized Ive been dealing with subs too long and not enough with speakers, I want them into a 2 channel load not bridged/mono since they are gonna be part of my midbass. Now as Im typing this I realize my first question should be "does this matter?", the more I think about it probably not. But if running them as a 2 channel load instead of mono makes any slight sq difference then its worth it to me right now, so my other question would be what does it do to a 4 ohm amp to run the channels at 8 ohms? I am guessing it will cut the power in half which I am fine with, but I would also imagine it would have the amp up very quickly with all that resistance on each channel. Thanks a lot, Jeff
Replies:
Posted By: Poormanq45
Date Posted: January 09, 2005 at 5:07 PM
No, if you think about it, extra resistance Should cause the amp to heat up quicker, but that is not the case.
Running an amp at a higher ohm load actually allows the amp to work less. Usually causing it to produce less heat, less distortion, and lasting longer.
You are correct in that the amp will put out Approsimately 1/2 the power.
Now, about your question of does it matter mono vs. stereo. Yes it matters. You have the right idea to hook them up to seperate channels. In multi-channel sound(stereo), the left and right channels produces slightly different sections of the music. In alot of music that I listen to, I have noticed that the vocals are on one channel, and the instruments are on the other. Now sometimes this is not the case, both channels will play the same sound.
If SQ is your ultimate goal, wire the 2 drivers to seperate channels.
If SPL is your goal, wire them in parallel to the same channel
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