Subs and amplifiers.

I’m looking at getting 2 12” shallow subs that have 500 rms power and 800 peak power. I was wondering to run these two do I need a separate mono amp for both of these, or can I get a amp like a 4 channel that can power both? I was thinking of getting one 1200w amp to power both. The speakers are 2 ohm. Idk if that makes a difference.

 

You can use just one amp. You could use a mono, 2 ch or 4 ch bridged down. You'll find more options in mono amps for this application. 2 ohm drivers will make it a little more challenging as you'll have a 1 or 4 ohm final load. A final 2 ohm load would give you more options, but you can make it happen as is.

 

To add to what @rob feature said, you dont want to use a 4 channel amp and bridge the channels to make a 2 channel amp. Since your subs are 2 ohms, the amp will probably go into protection mode pretty fast. A mono 1 ohm stable amp, or a 2 channel amp(not bridged) will do the trick

 

I’ve got a pioneer 1600w model number GM-D8701 mono block amp ive never used that I believe would work for you. It’s not got a scratch on it and Its posted in my marketplace fs thread. @5nahalf may know for sure if it would or not if you’d be interested in it. All specs on it are posted in thread. It is 1 ohm stable

 

Good point on the impedance - bridged channels in most multi-channel amps tend to prefer higher impedance.

 

Errr, he should be OK with a 2 ch bridged as well. If those subs are wired in series he'll have a nominal 4 ohm load. Problem is - not too many 2-channel amps out there that make that sort of power.

 

If you can avoid wiring in series, that would be preferable. Wiring a DVC in series is fine but two separate drivers isn’t something I do any more.

 

I gotta say, I'm curious why

 

Any speakers you wire in Series/Parallel will interact. It's caused by the motion of the coil through the magnet, basically generating voltage that transfers to the other speaker.

Take two speakers and wire them up in series and tie the leads you would normally connect to an amplifier together. Push on one of the cones and you'll see the other cone move in the opposite direction. If you do the same thing with them wired in parallel, the second speaker will move in the same direction as the one you are pushing on.

Obviously, connected to an amplifier that is sending signal they will play in phase, but damping won't be the same on both speakers due to their interaction. Does it matter really? Probably not. Do I try to avoid it? Yup. There's really no reason, in this day where we have the kind of options relating to driver impedance and the flexibility of DVC drivers to actually intentionally go out and buy shit that it will be necessary to wire in series.

Why doesn't it matter with DVC? Because the two coils are wound on the same tube and mechanically connected to the same diaphragm. You essentially create a SVC by wiring them in series. Multiple DVC drivers that are wired identically that are wired in parallel will all have an identical effect on the circuit.

Besides the old school home theater application, where DVC was used to connect a left channel and a right channel input to a single sub driver, the reason DVC drivers exist is to give us more wiring options so we can get the impedance we want without resorting to too much fuckery. I think we should always take advantage of that and spec out accordingly.

 

Just a feast of points there. Word up!