Sub wiring problem

[curtis_rak]

How do I properly connect a single 10" dual voice coil Phoenix Gold sub to a 2 cannel amp so I get the most power.?

The sub has 4 wire connectors, (C1+, C1-, C2+, C2-) what is the proper way to hook this sub up

Thanks guys...

 

[boostin]

The easiest way to do it is to run the positive end from the amp to a one of the pos. connections on the sub, then run the neg. end to the opposite neg. coil. Then connect the remaining pos. and neg. ends together with a wire. If that doesn't make sense, let me know and I will post a picture.

 

[MnDSMer]

Hook C1+, C2- up to the amp and , then hook C2+ and C1- together.

 

[dTERM]

WOAH! Take a step back guys!

1 - Is the amp bridgeable?
2 - What is it's stable Ohm Load? 2 or 4?
3 - What is the coil rating on the sub? 2x2, 4x2, 8x2?

If the amp is two Ohm stable bridged and the sub has twin 4 Ohm coils, bring the sub up to 2 ohms and run. Only run the coils off seperate channels if you can make the output mono. You don't need the sub trying to rip itself apart. If you try to run a 2 Ohm load through an amp that's not stable it will clip on and off, unless it's an old cheap amp, them it'll just heat up till it catches on fire. For absolute sound quality apps, run the lowest Ohm load you can. If you can afford to run a 16 Ohm load and a massively over powered amp, do it, It'll sound real nice and clean. (a set of 8 Ohm 300 Watt subs bridged to 16 Ohms will sound great on an amp that delivers 2400watts RMS at 2 ohms) Bridging doubles the distortion along with the power.

 

[curtis_rak]

i have the sub wired in series giving it an 8 ohm load....not too heavy.

I think I am having heat problems now...i can play it for about a minute, them the sub shuts off...really annoying.

 

[dTERM]

Are you sure you have it wired right? At 8 Ohms you shouldn't have any kind of problems. You're amp is only pushing half it's rated RMS power. Sounds like it's set at 2 Ohms. Go to Walmart and get one of those cheap black or yellow analog multimeters (Less than 10 bucks usually), it's worth having if you're really getting into car audio. Set it to test continuity (Ohms) and check the readout. The unit measures in 100's so the needle will shoot all the way to the right, If it stops on the 8th mark...congrats, 8 Ohms and you have a voltage problem with your amp. If it shows 2 you need to change your wiring. If it pegs out you have a coil that shorted to ground and the speaker needs to be repaired or replaced.

 

[dTERM]

What amp (make and Model) and speaker (Size, RMS wattage and Coil resistance) are you running?

 

[curtis_rak]

amp - clarion apa-1101 (monoblock, 100x1)
sub - a single phoenix gold qx10 (dual voice coil, 4 ohm)
head unit - clarion dxz615

i have the sub wired in series to the left pos/neg amp terminals...

 

[dTERM]

Ok, That amp IS 2 Ohm stable so you can connect both positives to positive and both negatives to negative. This will give you your 2 Ohm Load.

Safety steps to avoid damage to subs and amps (My personal prefrences for settin up a stereo):

1. Unplug the sub and set all your EQ (or just your Bass and Treble settings) to ZERO. I only use these to turn problem areas down. My treble is set at -3 and my bass is at 0.

1a. This is a good time to adjust any crosovers you may have
in the head unit. Cut all the bass from your mids and highs and
cut all the treble from your subs.

2. Turn up the volume of your stereo the the point that you notice distortion. Turn it down a notch. This is your maximum volume level PERIOD. Playing distortion will cook your voice coils, midranges as well as subs.

3. Turn the gain all the way down and turn off/down any "Bass boost" that may be present on your sub amp. These boosts or 3/16/12 DB increases just eat up your headroom and you end up losing the good deep drops because all that reserve power was spent on the softer notes.

4. With your Head unit volume at your predetermined max, slowly turn up the gain on your sub amp to the point that you notice distortion. This is your amps absolute maximum output. If it's too quiet for you, you need a bigger amp and/or more speaker surface area. Turn the gain down to a level that matches your systems volume if you need to, and you should have an amazingly clear stereo.

5./6./7./8./9./10. If your sub is too quiet for you, DO NOT resort to living with a little distortion, I have two JL10w0's that lived with some distortion and now the cones will not move a millimeter. The voice coils welded themselves to the magnet.

My system, with the factory speakers, is so clear. I can crank it up to 25 (out of 35) and the subs make my windshield flex. I can still hear the mids and highs perfectly. The head kicks out 21.5x4 RMS to the mids and the internal EQ drops off everything below 120Hz at the front and 50Hz in the back, the subs only see up to 75Hz. My little radioshack DB meter only goes up to 126db and my stereo can hold it there, at the dash. What? I can't hear you.

 

[SPAWN6996]

Also what size of wire you have runing to your amp if it is to small you will starve it of power and tak the chance burning up your car.

 

[dTERM]

Yeah, I was assuming everyone knew about using 4 guage signal cable and twin 0/1 guage power rails...ok, maybe 8 guage signal cables will do. (I use 16awg, in my pics you can see four 20 guage wires, I don't suggest this for anyone, I was in a bind for cable at the time.)

 

[curtis_rak]

Well, after pulling my hair out several times, I found the problem.

My amp went tits up. Either that or, the thermal protection shutdown is waaaaay to sensitive. I hooked up my sisters Rockford Punch 150 and the sub pounded like crazy and with no shutdown.

So, now its time to look for an amp.

Thanks for all you help dTerm...much appreciated.

 

[dTERM]

Well, I suggest that you find an older cheap Rockford Power 200A1 Mono amp. I ran twin 12w0's off it and they rocked...should make that DVC of yours pop real nice. Good luck to ya, and keep a multimeter handy...never know when you might need it.

 

[curtis_rak]

Well...I bought a replacement amp for my Clarion that got fokked. Check it out...tell me what you think.

I bought it brand new for $200 cdn.

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/USAUSX600D

 

[dTERM]

Powerful, but dirty...It sounds fine on big, sloppy subs. Bot don't count on USAUSX amps for tight clean bass.