Alright, Im not too good with audio stuff...

I have a 800 watt Pioneer amp powering 2 10" Pioneer subs. I want to add another amp so that I would have 1 amp for each sub. What do I need to do in order to accomplish this? Do I need to run more wiring to the battery, HU? Or is it just hooked up to the existing wires that are hooked up for the first amp already? Also do I need to get one of those "farad" caps since Im running off the battery and hooking up a 2nd amp?

 

We would need more info like what size cable is being used to run from your battery to amp, how is the amp connected to the HU in the first place? Do you want to have the same amp to power each sub or different amp? Does your current amp have RCA output so you can output to another amp? What model amp do you have?

 

well, im pretty sure the cable is 8 guage. the amp is a Pioneer GM-7100M. This is a link to specs:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...786553,00.html

the amp is connected to the HU using the line out converter. This will change in a few months but for now, thats what im using. I dont think it has outputs. And Im looking for this type of setup:

AMP1 AMP2
SUB1 SUB2

 

The 8 ga should be sufficient for two amps. Does your amp connect to both rear speakers or just one? If it's one, then you can connect the other amp to the other side via line out converter and use a power block (preferably a fused power distribution block) to distribute the power between the two amps along with a ground distribution block. You will, of course, have to increase the fuse rating that's near the battery, and that should be it.

 

Just to be safe I would upgrade to 4 gauge, or 4 gauge from the battery to the distribution fused block then 8 gauge to the amps, IMO.





John

 

definitely go with 4 gauge when running two amps its always a good idea to atleast run 4....less problems, no needing to re-wire in the future giving yourself the potential to upgrade, and also better current

 

I'd agree w/ jallamas and flint....4 awg would be best.

 

and make sure your subs will handle the added power....

 

thanks for the help guys. i'll def rewire with 4gauge but i'll think i'll wait for when I put in the new HU to setup the 2nd amp with the power distribution block per instructed by you guys. I just got amp wired and i'm too low on cash at this point to have to rewire everything since schools about to start and need money for books.

 

4ga to distribution then 8 out to each amp

 

i do tech support for a major car stereo company so please trust me when I tell you that you do not want to go smaller than 4 AWG and if it's possible I recommend running 4 AWG to each amp off a distributiuon block ot sufficient capacitor as well. For two of those amps I would recommend getting at least a 1 farad capacitor to help maintain your voltage. You need to be careful when adding to your system, those amps are made to perform at 2 ohms and you'll only get half the amps potential at 4 ohms. so if you're going to keep the subs you have now and run one per amp then they should be dual 4 ohm voice coil subs, if they are single 4 or dual 2 then that is not a good combination and you might as well stick with one amp or get new subs. "Ohms Law" can be tricky if you don't know much about it and it can destroy your system if not used properly.

 

that amp runs on 4 ohm or 8 ohm as well. i had one

 

well sure it does, but if you look at the stats it will not put out as much power. so if you're not conceerned about getting as much power out of it you're fine but if you want to get what you paid for then you want a 2 ohm load. Generally the impedance or "ohms" that you can present on an amplifier can go up to whatever you want, whenever you double the impedance you decrease the power output by half. What a person needs to be concerned with is to not go BELOW the minimum impedance, for example his amp is only rated at 2 ohms so you should not put a 1 ohm load on the amp otherwise it could ruin it. Another example is that most 2 channel amplifiers can only be ran down to a 4 ohm load when bridged, if you run a 2 ohm load on that amp when its bridged it can damage it.

Running an amp at a higher ohm load will not damage it except in the case that you will not be getting as much power so you end up turning up the gain more to make up for hte loss of power which causes distortion and can damage speakers as well as the amplifier.

 

as far as halving the output this is incorrect. it does decrease it but doesnt actually halve the power output.

 

So, realistically, that amp is 250x1 @ 4 ohms, 360x1 @ 2 ohms.

Good place to answer your questions about wire:

http://www.bcae1.com/wire.htm

8 awg is more than enough to run from a distro block to the amp. Even at 5 feet, you're loosing .1 volts on that amp if it was putting out 300 watts, nothing to worry about.

Also, a cap would be rather pointless with that small of a current draw from your amp. Unless you want to spend the extra money, don't get one.

 

In this case you are correct, you are not losing half the power by running at 4 ohms. Normally on most amps though if you drop the impedance from 4 ohms to 2 ohms you double the power output.

 

Actually, it's usually a little less than double due to the way amps are built...in a perfect world, yes...doubling impedence=1/2 power and vice versa, in the real world, 1/2ing your impedence will get you a little less than double the power. Unless the amp is manufactured specifically to double power at 1/2 impedence.