Amp recommendation

[CougarEVO11]

I recently bought 2 Audiobahn 15" Q sound woofer with 1100 Watts RMS and dual 6 ohm operation.

Text Audiobahn 15" sub (http://www.audiobahninc.com/products/results.asp?categoryID=5&seriesID=34#)

I think these woofers looks cool, but I don't know which amp I should buy to get the most performance out of it. I don't even know whether I should get 2 smaller amps to run the 2 subs or should I just get 1 large amp to run both woofers. What would be the difference of these setups? I never bought an amp so I know nothing about it. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Hubie]

I do have alot of the Audiobahn amps up on the site already. If you want to keep it all Audiobahn. There is many different things you could do. Just find an amp that says 1100 watts to two rms or to one rms. It depends on how you want to set it up. I don't really know if there is a big difference in putting one amp or two. Just more wire and stuff to two. It all depends on how much you are looking to spend.
If you need more help PM me and I can try to help you find what you are looking for,
Thanks
Mark
TEaccessories (http://www.teaccessories.com)

[Keane]

Q: "How do I choose the right amplifier?"
A: You choose one that you can afford that will support the impedance load you're presenting.

Q: "What are my impedance load options?"
A: I'm glad you asked that. Most people don't think to ask that question. Option 1: With the two subwoofers you have chosen, you can wire the voice coils in parallel and then parallel the two subwoofers together. This will result in a 1.5 ohm bridged mono impedance. Not many amplifiers can handle this load for very long without burning up. Option 2: You can wire the voice coils in parallel and then put each subwoofer on its' own independent channel (one on right and one on left). This will result in a 3 ohm stereo impedance. Most amplifiers can handle that with ease. Option 3: You can wire the voice coils in series and then parallel wire the two subwoofers together. This will result in a 6 ohm bridged mono impedance. This will work but will not pull much wattage from the amplifier due to the high impedance load. You probably wouldn't be happy with this configuration.

Q: "So what should I do?"
A: Get the highest quality amplifier that you can afford that will provide maximum output power into either a 1 ohm mono load or into a 2 ohm stereo load -- the amplifier you choose must be able to support Option 1 or Option 2 from above. Avoid cheap amplifiers that claim outrageous power, especially if they are protected by really small fuses (i.e. $200 amplifier claiming 2000 watts with a 20 amp fuse). Once you get the amplifier, have someone who has installed amplifiers before install it in your car. Make sure the main power line from the battery is fused as close as possible (no more than 18") to the +(positive) battery post. Otherwise you risk having a fire in your car that could burn it to the ground.

Q: "Where should I buy my stuff?"
A: Don't even think of dealing with anyone except MMXpress.com (http://www.mmxpress.com).

[Hubie]

ooooooo am I getting shot down here. ouch! Hey man shop where ever you want to just look for the best price and a good product. Be aware of the sites that have stuff really really cheap because you might get ripped off, for your money or the product.

[CougarEVO11]

Keane, thanks that's a lot of useful information. However there is still something that I don't understand. According to the Audiobahn web site, the woofers that I bought works normally at dual 6ohm. From the advertisement, I thought that it means it would sound best working at this condition. On the other hand, you seem to be telling me that it would sound better with 1ohm or 2 ohm. Why is that so?

[CougarEVO11]

Of course price is always a factor, but I think that the quality is a much more important factor. Therefore Iam always willing to pay for more(to a certain point of course) if Iam really going to get more out of my stereo system. I was originally interested in the Phoenix Gold Titanium series amps. However I don't think that any amp of this series would work very well with my setup. Since I don't know amps well, I could be wrong. If anyone know of a Phoenix Gold TI series amp that would work well with my setup, please let me know. Oh the other hand, if you think that there is an amp that would work even better than the Phoenix Gold amp, please inform me as well. Thanks everyone for your help.

[Keane]

No, we're not talking about changing the impedance of the subwoofers. The nominal impedance of each voice coil on your subwoofers is 6 ohms. That's what it is and that's what it always will be.

However, in order to connect your subwoofers to your amplifier you will not be connecting one channel of the amplifier to each set of speaker terminals (voice coils) on the subwoofer. If you do that, you will be putting a 6 ohm load on each channel and the amplifier won't put out anywhere near the rated power.

Most amplifiers for car audio use will support a 4 ohm bridged mono configuration, but you can't make a single 4 ohm load from your two 6 ohm DVC subwoofers. Your choices for a single mono load are 1.5 ohm or 6 ohm. Think of it like water through a garden hose. If the resistance to water flowing through one garden hose is 6 ohms and the resistance of another garden hose is 6 ohms, you can put the two garden hoses side by side (in parallel) and reduce the TOTAL resistance to 3 ohms. If you put the two garden hoses end-to-end (in series), you will double the TOTAL resistance to 12 ohms. This resistance is how much more or less hard the water pump will have to work to get water out the other end of the hose and to the garden/fire/whatever.

The options I'm recommending have much less to do with the subwoofers and have EVERYTHING to do with whether or not your amplifier will be able to provide reasonable power without blowing up under the load. Do you still need more information?

There is a FABULOUS tutorial on subwoofer wiring, including SVC and DVC models on the JL Audio website (http://www.jlaudio.com).

[Keane]

Mark Hubert (Hubie),

It's nothing personal. I looked through your website. Your product choices and your prices aren't that inspiring, and it looks like you've just recently gone into business. We have no way to know who you are or who we are dealing with when we look at your website. I don't even have any sure way to know if you own a Cougar or not. For all I know, you could have signed up here as a member for no other purpose than to advertise your own business and try to sell "Group Buys" to the NECO members.

MMXpress.com (http://www.mmxpress.com), on the other hand, has been in business for nearly five years at the same domain name. John (john@mmxpress.com) runs the show, answers the phones and the e-mails and makes things happen. It is NOT some fly-by-night operation where you don't know if there will even be someone there to answer the phones next week after you place an order this week. It is NOT one of these internet businesses that doesn't have any stock on hand and simply advertises at 3%-5% over their own cost and then relies on drop-shipping to get product out to customers. If you see the item advertised on MMXpress.com (http://www.mmxpress.com), you can rest assured that it is in stock and that it is shipping the same day you place the order or the next day. Unless otherwise stated, their products are all newly manufactured equipment -- not refurbs or gray market goods intended for sale in other countries like you find with some other internet merchants.

[CougarEVO11]

Thanks again Keane. Your garden hose metaphor is very useful and Iam getting the idea of how it works now. From what I understand, I would get the strongest punch if I do a 1.5 mono load setup. In order to do this though, I would need a powerful amp that could handle this. Did I get it correctly?

Well so what amp would be best in my situation? What should the minimum handling power of amp be in this case? One last thing, does the amount of channel on an amp matter? Thanks.

[Keane]

You have two reasonable choices, either 1.5 ohm bridged mono or 3 ohm stereo. Nearly all car stereo amplifiers will handle a 3 ohm stereo load. Look for one that specifically advertises 2 ohm stereo capability and then you're all set for the 3 ohm stereo option.

If you are willing to pay more for a high current amplifier, then choose one that specifically advertises a 1 ohm bridged mono capability. Many of these amplifiers today are class D models. One of your best bets (and the best value for the money) in this area would be a Directed 600d, which puts out 600 watts into a 1 ohm mono load. If you want absolutely insane power and SPL competition level loudness in your Cougar AND you don't mind spending serious wads of cash, get the Directed 1100d, which puts out 1100 watts into a 1 ohm mono load.

Of course, there are other brands that make class D amplifiers. Some of the more reputable ones that you could choose from are Crossfire (good value for the money), Kicker, MTX, US Amps, Orion, Rockford Fosgate, etc.

[ignernt]

Mark Hubert (Hubie),

It's nothing personal. I looked through your website. Your product choices and your prices aren't that inspiring, and it looks like you've just recently gone into business. We have no way to know who you are or who we are dealing with when we look at your website. I don't even have any sure way to know if you own a Cougar or not. For all I know, you could have signed up here as a member for no other purpose than to advertise your own business and try to sell "Group Buys" to the NECO members.Ditto.

[Hubie]

Yeah I just got into buisness and I am trying my hardest to hook everone up. My prices are low. I don't have alot of buying power and I don't sell remanufactured products like many online sites that have really low prices. O yeah and If you would watch the boards I posted some Pics of my car not to long ago when I got the decals on. HERE

[CougarEVO11]

Keane, once again thanks for you inputs. I really learned a lot from you. I still got a question and hopefully this would be the last one. What is the difference between the number of channels on an amp? Is there an advantage of one over another? Thanks.

[Keane]

<u># of amplifier channels:</u>


1 channel, also called a monoblock amplifier -- these are generally designed for use only to power subwoofers and are often class D amplifiers. Class D is the name assigned to the type of switching power supply used in the amplifier (and does NOT mean "Digital", like some car stereo marketing departments claim) and is generally much more efficient than standard (Class AB) amplifiers.

2 channel -- these are "stereo" amplifiers and are usually used to power a left/right pair of speakers. Many of today's amplifiers are designed with the flexibility to be "bridged", which means combining the power of the left channel and the right channel into a single channel. Generally speaking, if an amplifier is stable at 2 ohm stereo, it will be stable at 4 ohm bridged mono. Generally, if an amplifier is stable at 1 ohm stereo, it will be stable at 2 ohm bridged mono. There are a few amplifiers that are marketed as "high current" amplifiers that are stable to 1 ohm bridged mono, which means that they are also stable at 0.5 ohm stereo.

4 channel -- these are also "stereo" amplifiers and are usually used to power a front left/right pair AND a rear left/right pair of speakers. Another common use for these amplifiers is to run the front speakers off of two of the channels, run the rear speakers off of the head unit's rear speaker outputs and then bridge the rear channels of the amplifier to power a subwoofer. See above for bridging.

5 channel -- these are like the 4 channel variety except that they will include a fifth channel with extra power for a subwoofer. No bridging required.

6 channel -- these are like the 4 channel variety except that there are an extra two channels for you to use however you need them. You could bridge them for a subwoofer if you wanted to, or you could use the extra channels to bi-amp a set of component speakers.

There are a few oddball amplifiers that don't fit into these categories. One is one 3 channel amplifier. It is made by Xtant and can be set up with what Xtant calls "phantom" rear speaker channels so that it becomes something like a 5 channel amplifier. Another is a 7 channel amplifier (I think it's 7). It is made by Memphis Car Audio and is called the Memphis Belle. The last one is an 8 channel amplifier, and it is made by a/d/s/. This thing is huge and is quite expensive.


I hope this helps.