Subwoofer Wiring

[Waldo]

I just installed my new stereo system in the boat. I have two Fosgate HE 10" subs (4 ohm)and I would like to know the difference between Series Wiring and Parallel Wiring. They are powered by an 800watt 2-channle amp. Thanks!

[Boozer]

Well In your case I would do neither. No matter what you do you are going to be running at 4 OHMS if you go bridged you'd have to run series because if you parallel 2 4 ohm subs and then bridge them on your amp you'll be running at 1 ohm. Most amps cant run at that impedance.
I'd say just run them stereo. 1 output to 1 woofer. Unless running 4 ohms bridged will out put more then 4 ohms stereo.
But... If you have a mono block amp then bridge the amp and parallel the woofers. You'll be running right at 2 ohms and your amp will love you. If it's not mono then you should have definitely gone with 8 ohm woofers.

[mickeyfinn]

Depends on how your stereo and amp are set up. If your output to the amp is stereo and you don't have to option of "bridging" both signals to a single higher power output then I agree your best bet is to run them one speaker to one output and run a 4 ohm speaker system. If the amp is capable of running a higher power bridged and the amp is capable of bridging the two signals into one then I would recommend running bridged with the speakers wired in series. This will provide an 8 ohm load to the amp and allow it to run cooler. Finding an amp with this capability is kinda rare. The most likely situation is that you are pulling your signal from a single subwoofer output from an EQ and are feeding an amp capable of bridging to a "single channel" at higher wattage. If this is the case then running the amp bridged and the speakers in series would again be the best option. I don't know of any reason you would want to wire a two 4 ohm speaker system in parallel. This will produce a 2 ohm load on the amp and cause it to run hotter and will lead to excessive heat and premature failure.
Hope this makes sense to you.

[TrojanDan]

eek! eek! eek! Damn I'm glad I paid someone to figure this crap out for me!

[Havasu Hangin']

Waldo:
I just installed my new stereo system in the boat. I have two Fosgate HE 10" subs (4 ohm)and I would like to know the difference between Series Wiring and Parallel Wiring. They are powered by an 800watt 2-channle amp. Thanks! Parallel= 2 ohm mono load
Series= 8 ohm mono load
Stereo= 4 ohm stereo load
Unless they are DVC...

[ROZ]

Havasu Hangin':
Waldo:
I just installed my new stereo system in the boat. I have two Fosgate HE 10" subs (4 ohm)and I would like to know the difference between Series Wiring and Parallel Wiring. They are powered by an 800watt 2-channle amp. Thanks! Parallel= 2 ohm mono load
Series= 8 ohm mono load
Stereo= 4 ohm stereo load
Unless they are DVC... The Professor has spoken....
P.S. I see you subscribe to the K.I.S.S theory.
wink

[TroubIeOnWater]

Havasu Hangin':
Waldo:
I just installed my new stereo system in the boat. I have two Fosgate HE 10" subs (4 ohm)and I would like to know the difference between Series Wiring and Parallel Wiring. They are powered by an 800watt 2-channle amp. Thanks! Parallel= 2 ohm mono load
Series= 8 ohm mono load
Stereo= 4 ohm stereo load
Unless they are DVC... Correct and not correct.
Parallell = 2 ohm load mono at the woofers.
2 ohm load to a bridged stereo amp will cut that in half and put you at 1 ohm.
Series = 8 ohm load at the woofers.
8 ohm load to a bridged amp will that in hald and put you at a 4 ohm load.
Stereo = correct.
Only time you dont cut the impedance in half between the woofers and amp running mono is when you are running a mono block amp.
Cheatere Amps are safe for running 1 ohm loads but most off the shelf amps are only 2 ohm stable. You go any lower then that and your going to over heat the amplifier.
BEWARE!! There are several companies that claim to produce a 1 ohm stable amp for a cheap price Sony has 1 and Hifonics has 1 and there are several others I have seen. These amps are crap. Yes they will run at 1 ohm but they also give you a lower power output at 1 ohm then they do at 2 ohms.
I did car audio for a long time. I am also MECP certified (which is basically crap, I have seen more hack jobs done by MECP certified best buy techs then anyone else in this world). DONT LET BEST BUY DO YOUR INSTALL!! This stuff is just basic math and impedance is a pretty simple concept. Parallel cuts everything in half. Series doubles it. When you have a DVC woofer it is the same concept. Your impedance just varies depending on whether or not you have your voice coils running parellel or series.

[ROZ]

TroubIeOnWater:
Havasu Hangin':
Waldo:
I just installed my new stereo system in the boat. I have two Fosgate HE 10" subs (4 ohm)and I would like to know the difference between Series Wiring and Parallel Wiring. They are powered by an 800watt 2-channle amp. Thanks! Parallel= 2 ohm mono load
Series= 8 ohm mono load
Stereo= 4 ohm stereo load
Unless they are DVC... I am also MECP certified (which is basically crap, I have seen more hack jobs done by MECP certified best buy techs then anyone else in this worldI hope you didn't pay for that wink
[ May 16, 2003, 12:01 AM: Message edited by: ROZ ]

[Tom Brown]

Havasu Hangin':
Parallel= 2 ohm mono load
Series= 8 ohm mono load
Stereo= 4 ohm stereo load
Unless they are DVC... I'm with HH on this one. Dual voice coils should be treated like two speakers and wired accordingly.
I've never known an amplifier type to alter the reactive resistance of a load. When an amplifier is bridged, the impedance between the output IC and ground is halved. This is the whole point of bridging but none of that has anything to do with the driver load. The amplifier manufacturer will specify the power and stability with different loads and in different modes. Look at those specs and wire accordingly.
I'm with Boozer in that a 2 ohm sub load is a lot to ask of an amplifier. You're probably best to run the amp in stereo mode and have one channel drive each sub. If your amp is rated for a 2 ohm load when bridged, give it a try. It's easy to make the wiring change and then you'll know.
[ May 16, 2003, 03:20 AM: Message edited by: Tom Brown ]

[Rexone]

I am so