Help recommend me a car amp.

[Rock Hydra]

Okay here goes:

I drive this vehicle: 1999 Pontiac Montana

Today, I just got done installing these in the doors: Kenwood KFC-1680ie Speakers

Previously I had this subwoofer/amp kit: 1000 Watt MTX Magnum System

When the amp and subs paired together, they rip! But, the speakers started going bad. Terrible vibrations/rattling coming from one of the subs, so I decided to replace them with two of these: Infinity Reference 1252w Subwoofers

Now, with these speakers replaced, the bass does not seem to hit nearly as hard, actually it seems to be less of the output of the previous speakers. I'm thinking the amp is not a great idea to use with those speakers, therefore I was wondering what is recommended to use to run to my subs.

If there is any other questions or recommendations please add your input. Thanks.

 

[Ns1]

I have great luck with JL amps. They are ridiculously expensive though.

I got a JL 300/2 into my comp's and a JL 500/1 into my sub.

 

[Doodoo]

They don't hit as hard because you probably have them wired to a 4 ohm load instead of the 2 ohm load with the MTX speakers. If you really do have the dual 4 ohm infinity's find an amp capable of handling a 1 ohm load.

 

[alkemyst]

check out sounddomain.com for their sales...there are a lot of reviews too.

Kicker amps are a favorite.

I picked up a MB Quart RAA4200 through a hot deal a few years ago and that amp is gold for the $200 I paid for it.

 

[Rock Hydra]

Originally posted by: Doodoo
They don't hit as hard because you probably have them wired to a 4 ohm load instead of the 2 ohm load with the MTX speakers. If you really do have the dual 4 ohm infinity's find an amp capable of handling a 1 ohm load.

Hmm....okay. Well, dual 4 ohm voice coil speakers, does that effectively double the resistance per speaker?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra

Originally posted by: Doodoo
They don't hit as hard because you probably have them wired to a 4 ohm load instead of the 2 ohm load with the MTX speakers. If you really do have the dual 4 ohm infinity's find an amp capable of handling a 1 ohm load.

Hmm....okay. Well, dual 4 ohm voice coil speakers, does that effectively double the resistance per speaker?

Depends how they are wired.

 

[jamesbond007]

What's your budget? Those speakers are very low-power, so as long as you're powering just those two and on a tight budget or don't plan on upgrading the rear speakers or going with a 4-channel amp for all interior speakers, the Alpine T-220 is a great budget amp. Solid performance, great price.

A guy here is selling a JL 300/2, which is a TON of power what you're looking for, but as long as you keep your gains controlled, you shouldn't have to worry about it. Plus, JL amps put out very clean power.

I was going to recommend a great deal on that same forum for a Zapco amp for $100 (Zapco is STELLAR stuff) which would have been the best amp for your price and setup.

Anyways, hope this helps!
~Travis

 

[Rock Hydra]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra

Originally posted by: Doodoo
They don't hit as hard because you probably have them wired to a 4 ohm load instead of the 2 ohm load with the MTX speakers. If you really do have the dual 4 ohm infinity's find an amp capable of handling a 1 ohm load.

Hmm....okay. Well, dual 4 ohm voice coil speakers, does that effectively double the resistance per speaker?

Depends how they are wired.

Okay, well I have the speakers bridged.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra

Originally posted by: Doodoo
They don't hit as hard because you probably have them wired to a 4 ohm load instead of the 2 ohm load with the MTX speakers. If you really do have the dual 4 ohm infinity's find an amp capable of handling a 1 ohm load.

Hmm....okay. Well, dual 4 ohm voice coil speakers, does that effectively double the resistance per speaker?

Depends how they are wired.

Okay, well I have the speakers bridged.

Take a look at these wiring diagrams to figure out how you need to set it up.

Are you using the MTX box for those subs? What volume is the box?

 

[Doodoo]

I would guess you have each voice coil wired in series and then each speaker wired in parallel giving you 4 ohms. Or you could have each voice coil wired in parallel and then each speaker wired in series...also giving you 4 ohms. If this were the case you are probably only getting 500 watts off that amp if it normally is at 1000 watts. So you really have 250 watts going to each speaker. So find an amp that gives you the desired wattage at either 1 ohm or 4 ohms.

 

[Rock Hydra]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra

Originally posted by: Doodoo
They don't hit as hard because you probably have them wired to a 4 ohm load instead of the 2 ohm load with the MTX speakers. If you really do have the dual 4 ohm infinity's find an amp capable of handling a 1 ohm load.

Hmm....okay. Well, dual 4 ohm voice coil speakers, does that effectively double the resistance per speaker?

Depends how they are wired.

Okay, well I have the speakers bridged.

Take a look at these wiring diagrams to figure out how you need to set it up.

Are you using the MTX box for those subs? What volume is the box?

Sub Setup

This is the diagram that depicts the setup I have. I'll post pictures in a bit.

 

[Doodoo]

Wait...the setup you linked shows 2 single voice coil speakers...the infinity's you linked are dual voice.

 

[minendo]

Since the subs you linked are DVC, they should be wired like this.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra

Originally posted by: Doodoo
They don't hit as hard because you probably have them wired to a 4 ohm load instead of the 2 ohm load with the MTX speakers. If you really do have the dual 4 ohm infinity's find an amp capable of handling a 1 ohm load.

Hmm....okay. Well, dual 4 ohm voice coil speakers, does that effectively double the resistance per speaker?

Depends how they are wired.

Okay, well I have the speakers bridged.

bridged is at the amp. With DVC you can wire the 4 voice coils you have between the two speakers in series or parallel between each other. This should give you either 4 ohms at the amp or 2 ohms depending on how you do it.

 

[Rock Hydra]

Originally posted by: minendo
Since the subs you linked are DVC, they should be wired like this.

Using this wiring, this improved the sound immensely. Thank you. :beer:

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra

Originally posted by: minendo
Since the subs you linked are DVC, they should be wired like this.

Using this wiring, this improved the sound immensely. Thank you. :beer:

Good to hear that it helped. :beer:

Now I'm ready to upgrade my system as I don't feel as though the JL 12w3 and JL 250.1 are cutting it anymore.