YACAT: Does wiring in parallel drop the ohms on just the amp or the speakers too?

[Shawn]

For example if you wire two 4 ohm subs in parallel to run at 2 ohm do the subs themself run at 2 ohm or just the amp? My friend said that it would cause the subs to run at 2 ohm too and cause damage to them if they are not designed to run at 2 ohm. Is this true or does he not know what he's talking about?

 

[ElFenix]

no the subs are still 4 ohm, theres less current running through them. you'd need to set you amp for a 2 ohm load.

 

[Shawn]

Hmm well I got this amp and 2 of these subs. The amp puts out more power than the subs are raited for. I'm wondering if I can use this amp to safely power these subs or should I go for something less powerful...........

 

[BigToquex]

The subs are designed to recieve a 4 ohm current, but it wont hurt anything. Drop your amp's current to 2 ohm, get the extra power and enjoy. Your subs will be fine.

 

[ElFenix]

actually... i think its more current...

 

[Shockwave]

Single voice coils? You can wire either for 2 or 8 ohms. Nothing else.

 

[BigToquex]

on second thought, just run that thing at 4 ohm. You're already overpowering those things even at 4 ohm.

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: BigToque
on second thought, just run that thing at 4 ohm. You're already overpowering those things even at 4 ohm.

I can't run them at 4. The amp only has 1 channel.

 

[BigToquex]

Originally posted by: iloveme2

Originally posted by: BigToque
on second thought, just run that thing at 4 ohm. You're already overpowering those things even at 4 ohm.

I can't run them at 4. The amp only has 1 channel.

I really need sleep...

 

[ScottMac]

"Ohm" is a unit for measuring resistance.

When you connect two identical loads in parallel, the resistance (the Ohmage) is cut in half (4+4=2). If the resistance is halved, the current will double. You may also have an impedence mismatch, which is generally considered a "Bad Thing."

When you connect two identical loads in series, the resistance will double (4+4 = 8), and the current will half. You may also have an impedence mismatch, which is generally considered a "Bad Thing."

Series: (Power source) --->( + thing#1 - )--->( + Thing#2 - )--->(Ground / Negative / Drain)

Parallel: /--------( + Thing#1 - )------\
..................(+ Power Source - )
................... \---------( + Thing #2 - )-----/


FWIW

Scott

 

[NogginBoink]

The current in the circuit as a whole will double.

The current in each individual sub will remain the same. You're not changing the impedance of the sub itself by wiring to subs in parallel, you're changing the impedance of the circuit as a whole.

 

[Triumph]

I think the original question was about changing the impedance of the speakers themselves. No, this does not happen. When you wire the two 4-ohms in parallel, the net effect that the amplifier sees is a 2 ohm load, which means more current being drawn. The impedance of the speakers is a characteristic of them - it doesn't change, only the voltage and current through them change.

Your speakers should be fine running in parallel, and it looks like your reciever can run 2 ohm loads, so I wouldn't worry. Wire those puppies in parallel on the single channel and you'll get 560w continuous at 2 ohms. That's alotta watts.

 

[Analog]

Make sure your amp can handle a 2 ohm load.

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: Triumph
I think the original question was about changing the impedance of the speakers themselves. No, this does not happen. When you wire the two 4-ohms in parallel, the net effect that the amplifier sees is a 2 ohm load, which means more current being drawn. The impedance of the speakers is a characteristic of them - it doesn't change, only the voltage and current through them change.

Your speakers should be fine running in parallel, and it looks like your reciever can run 2 ohm loads, so I wouldn't worry. Wire those puppies in parallel on the single channel and you'll get 560w continuous at 2 ohms. That's alotta watts.

yes, and my second question was would giving 560w RMS(well 280w actually) to 2 subs that run at 120w RMS cause damage to them?

 

[Shockwave]

Will it damage them? More the likely yes. If you keep it turned down, keep the bass boost off and dont crank the gains AND know what a speaker sounds like when its beginning to become stressed, you wont have a problem. You could give them a 1200 watt amp, as long as your smart about it. But, (and not to sound rude) I dunno if your gonna be able to tell when your reachin the limits of your subs.