sub ohms, What is best?

What is the better route to go when wiring two subs, the reason why I am asking is because i dont know much on this subject and am in need of upgrading my sounds and am wondering what this affects.  I am thinking about going 1 or 2 ohm with either two dual 4 or 2 ohm subs so either I buy the 4 ohm subs and wire them up to get a 1 ohm load or wire the 2 ohm subs to get a 2 ohm load to the stable 1or2 ohm amp.  If anyone can help me into the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it. 

First, there is no "best". If your amp is not loaded "enough" it won't make the power you paid for, but the power it DOES make will be clean, efficient (cool) and your amp will last longer. If overloaded, it will fry, but the power it could make (for whatever time frame that might be), will by highly distorted, inefficient (hot) and your amp won't last as long as it could.

My suggestion is this: buy how much amp you can afford, but still maintaining a quality name, THEN load the amp to it's optimum, by buying whatever woofer suits your needs then. i.e. power handling, impedance, DVC vs. SVC, enclosure size, etc...

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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."

Just to add to what haemphyst said...  The lower your ohms load, usually the worse the sound quality.  You might want to keep that in mind if you are looking for something that sounds good.

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That's my opinion. Take it, leave it, or correct me.

I wouldn't run an amp at lower than 2 ohms for subs in everyday listening situations.  That's a 4 ohm bridged load if using a two-channel amp, or 2 ohms if using a mono amp.  But if you are in the planning stage for an upgrade, you should set your sights (and budget) on running the subs at 4 ohm...same as the rest of the speakers.  That requires a higher power amp, and I hope you're not like the seeming majority of new car audio fanatics who think they have to "get all the power they paid for", but the overall sound quality and amplifier health will thank you for it in the long run.

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

well what I want to run is 2 new kicker L7s at 1 ohm on a HiFonics BXi 2006D which handles 2000w RMS and the subs are 1500 RMS, but Im not sure if this is good.  Basically I already have the subs, but was wondering what amp I should get to get the most out of them, I have them in both 2 and 4 ohms, but how should I wire them and what amp.  I know I sound like a stupid @*& kidd that just wants to be the best and all that, but thats not what it is about, just need some help.  Thanks Guys. . .

hey stevdart, why isn't it a good idea to run an amp lower than 2 ohm for daily driving? thnx.

Heat and excessive wear on the amp. Also the amp will pull more amperage at a 1 ohm load versus a 2 ohm load, causing more stress on the electrical system.

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mustangfoo, how much room, in cubic feet, do you have available for the sub enclosure?

You said that you already have the subs, and that you have them in both 2 ohm and 4 ohm.  I can't figure out what you mean by that.  The L7 is available as either a dual 2 ohm sub or a dual 4 ohm.  If you are using two subs and want to make a total 1 ohm load, both subs have to be the dual 4 ohm version.  Voice coil and sub-to-sub wiring is all parallel (see wiring diagram).

There are box-building diagrams in the manual that you can follow.  You will see that one sub can handle 750 watts in a sealed box, whereas in a ported box the power handling goes down to 500 watts.  You don't need to match those wattage numbers...they are to tell you not to exceed those quantities of power.  You can use a mono amp that outputs (up to) 1000 watts into 1 ohm for either application.  But you can't use an amp that outputs 1500 watts if you are using a vented box.

Aruman, what he said^^.  I also wouldn't sit on a bridge that was built to support 100 loaded trucks...along with 100 loaded trucks!  But I'd sit there all day with 50 of them.  (...you'd still have to pay me, though ;)

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

ok so then you are saying that 1 ohm is bad 2 ohm is ok but not recommended, so I should then go with 2 dual 4 ohm kickers wired into a 4 ohm load with an amp that will handle 1000W RMS at a 4 ohm stable then correct???

thanks Dwarren and Stevdart.

That's not really what I was saying.  I was giving you some info so you could decide for yourself.  I wanted to find out what size and type of enclosure you are going to use - re: the difference in power handling.

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

Im going with the sealed due to space in my car, I can get a box for 2 subs at 4 ft.cu. and it is easier to build and all, but later on may change it up to a ported depending on how I like it.  But I think the two 12'' kickers at dual 4 ohm Voice Coils to make a 4 ohm load and hook it all up to the 2006 HiFonics Zeus ZXi1006 which handles 1000W RMS at 4 ohms.  You think that is good??? Or do you suggest something else???

The box size for a sealed application with those subs is great.  But since you haven't decided on an amp yet, I would recommend using a mono amp instead of a class A/B for subs...it'll pull a lot less power from your car's electrical supply.  But if you already have a big H.O. alternator with plenty of power to spare, go ahead with the Zeus.  The amp would be powering the subs at 2 ohms/ channel (4 ohm bridged).

If you haven't gotten the subs yet (I forgot if you said), use the dual 2 ohm version if you want to arrive at a final 2 ohm load, and use a mono amp that will output around 1000 watts into 2 ohms.  The mono class D amp is more efficient than A/B and is perfectly suitable for subs.

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

Alright sounds good then, maybe i will go with the 2 Ohm class D better, I dunno we will see how money is since I havent got the amp yet.  Thanks a lot for your help my man!!!