Picking an Subwoofer amp

irondragon013 · Feb 23, 2008

I am laying plans to put a 10 in Sub in my extended cab. I am going to build the box myself. I have the design made up after a lot of math and changing numbers. It is a sealed box and I figured it has around 1.2 cubic ft inner volume without anything in it. It fits where I want it to behind the drivers seat facing forward and can still be covered by the pull over cover. The sub I plan on getting is a Kicker C10-4.

Link: http://bsless.com/c10-4.html

I just need help picking an amp to go with this. My goal is a system is decent sound with a bit of a kick. I don't want to pay more then 200 for the amp. I just don't understand all the numbers that are involved. This is not an imediate project and won't happen for at least a couple of months. I just like to plan ahead :icon_twisted:

Steven

dburton07 · Feb 23, 2008

i was told to pick an amp that matches your subs specs, like if it runs 150w rms at 4 ohms, get a 1 channel amp that does the same (150w rms @ 4ohms). i could be wrong, but this is what ive been told.

this amp looks like it would work good, and its in your price range. i'm sure you could find it cheaper too.
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=120&i=2068ZX3001&tp=115

irondragon013 · Feb 23, 2008

Thanks, that was what I was figuring. That was actually the amp I have been looking at but wasn't sure if it was the right one. Ebay has them for about half that but I hate buying off of there.

irondragon013 · Feb 23, 2008

One more question. Are refurbished amps trustworthy?

Pistons23 · Feb 23, 2008

heres a nice rockford 2 channel. just bridge it and use as a 1 channel
http://www.amazon.com/PUNCH-P325-2-2-CHANNEL-WATT-AMPLIFIER/dp/B000VOT86W/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1203813417&sr=1-29

here are the specs
80W x 2 @ 4-Ohms RMS
160W x 2 @ 2-Ohms RMS
325W x 1 @ 4-Ohms bridged RMS

heres what RF site says
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/product_details.asp?cat_id=2&series_id=6&family_id=20&item_id=106459&locale=en_US

not bad for $99.99+shipping

Pistons23 · Feb 23, 2008

that amp would push this sub very well
http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_21&products_id=30

its $90+free shipping
you get a 5year warranty with it too.

for some reason the sites messed up and says the power handling is 300-600 but its really 100-400. elemental designs recomended ideal sealed box size is .5cf. thats less than half of the one you were planning on building. heres a good place to find out the volume of the box you plan to build:
http://www.bcae1.com/spboxnew2.htm

just find the right calculator on that site for the type of box your building

irondragon013 · Feb 23, 2008

What are the specs on the Elemental designs sub(max watts, RMS, and Ohms)? I'm open to any other suggestions. As I mentioned this is a ways off so I can always change my plans. Also what does bridging involve? (sorry I'm new to all of this)

Steven

Pistons23 · Feb 24, 2008

you can get the elemental designs 11kv.2 sub in either a dual 2 or dual 4 ohms. dual 2 will allow you to wire it for a 4ohm or a 1ohm load. dual 4 will allow you to wire it for a 8ohm or 2ohm load. say your amp puts out 200 watts at 4ohms. youd want a dual 2ohms sub to get a 4ohm load. now lets say that same amp puts out 400 at 2ohms. youd want a dual 4ohm sub to achieve a 2ohm load. the rms is a minimum of 100watts and a max of 400.

bridging is simple. lets use a 2 channel amp as an example. theres channels a and b. channel a has a + and a - terminal. channel b has a + and a - terminal. to bridge channels a and b, you take the + speaker wire and insert in channel a's + terminal. then put your - speaker wire in channel b's - terminal.

irondragon013 · Feb 25, 2008

So if I got the elemental design sub and the RF amp I would bridge the amp and wire the dual 2 ohm voice coils in series? I guess I have to design a smaller box also.

Pistons23 · Feb 25, 2008

yes you would pick a dual 2ohm sub to get the bridged 4ohm load of that rf amp.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/wiring.php

you would wire your sub like the diagram on the right. + of one voice coil to the - of the other. then take the remaining + to the + amp terminal. do the same for the remaining - terminal.

irondragon013 · Feb 27, 2008

Now for HU and speaker stuff. Open to other options within reason.

HU:
http://bsless.com/dehp2900mp.html

Speaker for stock locations:
http://bsless.com/tsa6881r.html

I see that some guys have 6x9's in their trucks. How hard is it to get them to fit? If it isn't hard I may just use the cheap sony explode system from my car. It has 2 6.5's and 2 6x9's. It sounds good for a $100 system from walmart. Parents got it for me for christmas a while back. Not sure if it has pre outs or not.

Pistons23 · Feb 28, 2008

that deck will work fine. i have the deh3900 and have no problems with it. as far as those speakers, i have no idea. ive never heard them.

so what did you end up going with amp/sub wise?

irondragon013 · Feb 28, 2008

Planning on going with the RF amp with the ED 11kv.2. I plan on picking things up one at a time and build the box and put the sub and amp in after everything else. The truck just needs some work finished on it to get it running. I think I may just go with some less expensive speakers. The HU will be the first thing I get. Then the 6x8's, and last the sub. Figure the total cost will be 400-450. Depending on the speakers and shipping costs.

Pistons23 · Feb 28, 2008

heres a new version of that deck
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-AiD44EuFOLX/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?i=130DEH2000

V8RangerBoy · Feb 28, 2008

Pioneer HU's are great unless you listen to alot of CD's. Doesn't take long before they quit spitting them out. I really liked all of the features my DEH6800 had though. Did everything I wanted and more, until it quit ejecting. Alpine makes an excellent head. Not the fanciest displays out there, but they're bulletproof.

Pioneer speakers are awesome. I was glad to see them still in the truck when the rest of my stereo got stolen. Really clear, really loud, and they look really, really good.

Boss makes an EXCELLENT amp for the money. Bigger power, better signal-noise ratio than any Rockford/Kenwood/Alpine/etc can come close to for the money. Both 2-channel Rockford's I've owned have gone dead on one channel after a while, and they run hotter than hell - needless to say, I wasn't impressed at all. Haven't had a single problem with the Boss amp I've had.

I have the GT580 1000W driving a Kicker 10" L7, and it out-thumps the twin 12" Rockfords (ported enclosures)/Rockford Anniversary edition amp combo I had by a mile. It's hardly ever even warm, and has MORE than enough power than I can handle listening to. The sub is rated to 1200W max - I think I've used about 400W on a loud day.

Picking an Subwoofer amp

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