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3 subs, 500 watts rms each, what amp?

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=98753
Printed Date: April 24, 2024 at 7:31 PM


Topic: 3 subs, 500 watts rms each, what amp?

Posted By: wolf56
Subject: 3 subs, 500 watts rms each, what amp?
Date Posted: November 07, 2007 at 11:47 PM

im looking towards buying a tri 12" box for $50 this weekend, and im less concerned about the subs, knowing there gonna be 500 watts rms since i dont want extreme power, but my noticable issue is the amp to power them. currently i have 1 12" koiiler 500 watts rms, being powered by a "1600"watt sony amp.

but im getting a 1000 watt rms xtant amp, i may even get it free, im just wondering, would the xtant power all 3 or would i need to use the sony for one of the others and the xtant for 2? the whole amp powering multiple subs is something i havent been able to find out about

so would this 1000 watt rms amp be able to power 3 500 watt rms subs? logically i think no, but i really dont know and want to learn. part of me thinks yes though, but i was only in 1/2 semester of electronics
and kinda forgot most of what i learned, but i thought current increases but the voltage doesnt, so wouldnt the amp just overheat easier? or does multiple subs cut the voltage down?



Replies:

Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: November 08, 2007 at 10:36 AM
Whoa, whoa, whoa...   WAAAAAYYY overthinking this... (and by the way, 1500 watts IS extreme power... Any electronics student should know that 770 watts is one horsepower, so you are talking about ALMOST 2HP! posted_image I'd call that extreme power.)

What woofers are you using? What impedance are they? Can you wire all three of them to provide a safe load for the Xtant amplifier?

As far as powering three woofers, you can power 12 THOUSAND woofers off a 50 watt amplifier, as long as you make certain the impedance lands within the safe load carrying capabilities of the amplifier. Typically, and with nearly ALL car amplifiers, that means between 1 and 4 ohms. The Xtant gear was safe to 2 ohms per channel, I think. You can load with a higher impedance, but the amplifier will just make less power.

What woofers are you using, and what impedance are they? Let us know a COUPLE things, at least... posted_image

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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."




Posted By: wolf56
Date Posted: November 08, 2007 at 11:42 AM

sry for not saying what they are im hopefully getting the amp this weekend, and im for surely getting 2 12" alpine type-rs, the impedence of them idk, i use to have 2 b4 they were stolen and they were wired to 2 ohms each though

so basically if i wire the subs to 2 ohms and the amp does 1000x1 at 2 ohms rms, then i should have the amp at 1/2 power? would i have to worry about it overheating or should it do that just fine and have no problems

so 500 watts rms can power an infinite amt of subs as long as the subs stay within the amps impedence limits??? what about overheating





Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: November 08, 2007 at 12:09 PM
The overheating issue occurs when you overload it. An amplifier doesn't know how many speakers it is connected to, it only knows what the load is. As long as the load is "safe", no matter how many drivers are connected to it, it won't overheat... It can't.

Is you amplifer a stereo amp or a mono amp?

If mono, your best bet is 2 DVC 2 ohm woofers, which you can wire series/parallel for 2 ohms.

If stereo, your best bet is 2 DVC 4 ohm woofers, which you can wire series/parallel for 4 ohms, then bridge the amp to, for a net load of 2 ohms per channel.

Other options exist, but without knowing which woofers EXACTLY you are getting, and without knowing whether the amp is stereo or mono, I'm grasping at straws, here. I also forgot you were going to be using three woofers. In that case I REALLY need to know all of the above requested info. EXACT woofers, and stereo or mono amp...

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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."




Posted By: coppellstereo
Date Posted: November 08, 2007 at 3:41 PM
https://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=145




Posted By: wolf56
Date Posted: November 08, 2007 at 4:29 PM
the amps mono, and ok, haemphyst u answered my question lol, a little more technically but answered it very well none the less, so if i hook my subs up to the amp ill have to turn the amp down a bit even if theres 2 subs




Posted By: wolf56
Date Posted: November 08, 2007 at 11:25 PM
sory for double post... but im iffy on running 3 subs, im looking towards 2 alpine type-rs at the moment, and i cant get ahold of the lady with the xtant so im stuck with my 1600 watt sony, it says it'll do 900x1 at 2 ohms bridged rms, but i doubt its that powerful, but it should power them if i wire them to 2 ohms, right?




Posted By: coppellstereo
Date Posted: November 09, 2007 at 12:55 PM
Yeah, if you can get whichever woofers you choose to 2 ohms, that amp will make its maximum amount of power.




Posted By: wolf56
Date Posted: November 09, 2007 at 11:17 PM
alrighty cool, also having a issue with my deck, and i know its the deck, im discussing it in my other topic though




Posted By: wolf56
Date Posted: November 10, 2007 at 9:25 PM
alrighty i got my 2 type-rs and there in a ported box, i also have the box for 3 12" subs too, i have 3 subs but the other sub is a 12" koiiler dvc 500rms/1000peak

so if i put the type-rs and koiiler in the tri box it would be loud and nice and look even better, BUT the box isnt chambered, its one big sealed box,
my rough diagram of the box

..........
.    .   .
.    .   .             
   \      /
    \..../
its got that shape and theres a middle support board going up the middle, i could chamber it but i dont want to risk messing the box up
so would the subs be able to work together in a 1 chambered box, or no?




Posted By: wolf56
Date Posted: November 10, 2007 at 9:26 PM
Alrighty it decided to distort my masterpiece of a diagram




Posted By: wolf56
Date Posted: November 20, 2007 at 9:00 AM
ok, i dont think my amps giving each sub 500 watts rms each, their wired together at 2.6 ohms, but my amps not even all the way up to power them and its only a 1600 watt sony, its 3/4 the way up, how can this 1 amp power 3 subs... shouldnt i need a 1500watt rms amp?




Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: November 20, 2007 at 9:27 AM
No. As I told you earlier, you can provide all the woofers in the array (thousands of them, literally) with one watt, and they'll still function.

You are apparently expecting too much from the amplifier, and you think you are not getting it...

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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."




Posted By: wolf56
Date Posted: November 20, 2007 at 1:44 PM
nah im not expecting alot from sony, its just idk, its odd, i never thought this sony would be able to power 3 12s...

im trying to think of it logically instead of electronically sorta... its odd that i can explain how im thinking, but its just odd that that sony amp i got for $50 is turning out to be a "good" investment at the moment




Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: November 20, 2007 at 2:30 PM
Any amp can be used to power any number of speakers, it really does not matter.   It's all about what you are trying to accomplish.

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Support the12volt.com




Posted By: wolf56
Date Posted: November 20, 2007 at 3:56 PM
hmm kool... i didnt realize that... atleast i didnt think 1 amp could power x amt of subs as long as the impedence is within the amps limits





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