hi. i am totally electrical illiterate when it comes to cars. I have a set of audiobahn subwoofers 400 Watts a piece. i want to bridge the subs. what kind of amp do i need? and also how many watts should the amp be? any information would be spectacular. thanks
Replies (5)
cplkittle on 02/6/2007 02:14:04
Let's get a little more information first.
1) model number of the subs
2) the resistance (ohms) of the voice coils
3) the number of voice coils
4) what type of box they are going in (sealed, ported, bandpass)
5) what type of budget you have for the amplifier.
camaro94 on 02/7/2007 14:00:03
Performer series
4 ohms
dual voice coils
sealed box
about $200 budget
thanks
swez on 02/7/2007 14:30:38
OK, these are Audiobahn subs. Are they the 10" or 12" version you have here? (400 watts suggests the 10" version)
Since these are Dual Coil subs, (4+4 DVC's) you have 2 basic options:
1. A Class D Mono amp that is 1 ohm stable
2. A 2 channel amp, bridged to MONO and adequate power for your subs.
If you want to stay with Audiobahn for an amp, the A8001DT Class D is a perfect fit to power these subs. It delivers ~800 watts RMS at 1 ohm loads. The other option would be their A16000V or the A8002V. These both put out 800 watts RMS @ 4 ohms. Which ever you can buy for the right price, is the best option.
As for box parameters for your subs, here are the specs from Bahn's
web site:
http://www.audiobahn.com/Audiobahn06/images/tech/2005/boxParams/AWCT_box_specs.pdf
Tech tip: For the 10" series, look at sealed boxes that offer dual chambers and the internal cu. ft. airspace range of 1.0 -1.5 cf/chamber. This is a bit larger than most off the shelf, (Sealed boxes) typically offer. Some digging may be required. In most cases, it would be easier to find 12" sub boxes and just use an adapter panel to fit your 10's.
Swez
cplkittle on 02/7/2007 20:10:47
You mentioned you wanted to bridge the subs. Bridging refers to pulling from 2 channels of an amplifier to 'combine' the power of each channel for a single output (which can feed any number of subs if the resistance is properly configured).
This is not really necessary, and may not be the case if you are only looking for an amplifier for your subs. With the subs being 400 watts each, an 800 watt amplifier would be ideal, such as the one Swez recommended. This amplifier is 1 ohm stable, and if you wire all voice coils together (all positives to positive on the amp and all negatives to the negative on the amp) you get 1 ohm at the amplifier. (4 ohms per coil divided by 4 coils = 1 ohm).
The reason I asked about the box is because if you have a ported box you can get by with a little less power if needed, and sealed would need right at recommended power.
If you are shopping around I would be very careful shopping for amplifiers, and please ask our opinion before you buy. There are hundreds of amplifiers on the market, but only a handful of them are worth the money. Honestly, there are amps out there that advertise themselves as 1000 watt amps. In reality they can only produce 350 watts on a good day. There are no laws or guidelines for them to follow, so false advertising is abundant.
camaro94 on 02/7/2007 21:11:35
hey thanks a lot guys i really appreciate it
Replies (5)
cplkittle on 02/6/2007 02:14:04
Let's get a little more information first.
1) model number of the subs
2) the resistance (ohms) of the voice coils
3) the number of voice coils
4) what type of box they are going in (sealed, ported, bandpass)
5) what type of budget you have for the amplifier.
camaro94 on 02/7/2007 14:00:03
Performer series
4 ohms
dual voice coils
sealed box
about $200 budget
thanks
swez on 02/7/2007 14:30:38
OK, these are Audiobahn subs. Are they the 10" or 12" version you have here? (400 watts suggests the 10" version)
Since these are Dual Coil subs, (4+4 DVC's) you have 2 basic options:
1. A Class D Mono amp that is 1 ohm stable
2. A 2 channel amp, bridged to MONO and adequate power for your subs.
If you want to stay with Audiobahn for an amp, the A8001DT Class D is a perfect fit to power these subs. It delivers ~800 watts RMS at 1 ohm loads. The other option would be their A16000V or the A8002V. These both put out 800 watts RMS @ 4 ohms. Which ever you can buy for the right price, is the best option.
As for box parameters for your subs, here are the specs from Bahn's
web site:
http://www.audiobahn.com/Audiobahn06/images/tech/2005/boxParams/AWCT_box_specs.pdf
Tech tip: For the 10" series, look at sealed boxes that offer dual chambers and the internal cu. ft. airspace range of 1.0 -1.5 cf/chamber. This is a bit larger than most off the shelf, (Sealed boxes) typically offer. Some digging may be required. In most cases, it would be easier to find 12" sub boxes and just use an adapter panel to fit your 10's.
Swez
cplkittle on 02/7/2007 20:10:47
You mentioned you wanted to bridge the subs. Bridging refers to pulling from 2 channels of an amplifier to 'combine' the power of each channel for a single output (which can feed any number of subs if the resistance is properly configured).
This is not really necessary, and may not be the case if you are only looking for an amplifier for your subs. With the subs being 400 watts each, an 800 watt amplifier would be ideal, such as the one Swez recommended. This amplifier is 1 ohm stable, and if you wire all voice coils together (all positives to positive on the amp and all negatives to the negative on the amp) you get 1 ohm at the amplifier. (4 ohms per coil divided by 4 coils = 1 ohm).
The reason I asked about the box is because if you have a ported box you can get by with a little less power if needed, and sealed would need right at recommended power.
If you are shopping around I would be very careful shopping for amplifiers, and please ask our opinion before you buy. There are hundreds of amplifiers on the market, but only a handful of them are worth the money. Honestly, there are amps out there that advertise themselves as 1000 watt amps. In reality they can only produce 350 watts on a good day. There are no laws or guidelines for them to follow, so false advertising is abundant.
camaro94 on 02/7/2007 21:11:35
hey thanks a lot guys i really appreciate it
Copyright ClubKnowledge 2009 * All Rights Reserved
