05FMtC

ok so i have a JL audio 10w1v2 which is a 4 ohm sub. the amp that i have is a JL audio e1200 amp. now the amp is rated at 120 watts at 4 ohms and 200 at 2 ohms. right now it is hooked up in the 4 ohm configuration but i can also hook it up as a 2 ohm configuration where it will be putting 200 watts to the sub. now my questions are.
1. what are "ohms" and what do they do?
2. will it be safe to run my sub which is a 4 ohm one on the 2 ohm setting?

thanks. sorry im kinda a newbie to this kinda stuff. thanks again

tikbhoy

its confusing to me but you can read here

http://www.the12volt.com/info/diagrams.asp#cal

very good info

Flecs

i woulod also like to see somone answer this question

illiniguy

Thats a single voice coil sub, so how do you plan on dropping it down to 2 ohms?

In general I would drop it down to a lower resistance and give it more power, but Im not sure how to do that unless it has multiple voice coils

05FMtC

so basically, if i were to change the configuration, it will not get any ouder since i only have a single voice coil. am i correct? and also, i wont be hurting the sub in any way correct?

2006Sciontc

i dont tihnk you will be hurting the sub man.

L4rry_B1rd

you have a single VC. you cant change configurations even if you wanted to, unless you can perform a miracle and add another VC. Or you can just buy another sub and wire them in parallel to achieve 2ohm load.

even though this might be technically wrong, I like to think of ohms as resistance. The higher the ohms, the more resistance their is to a current of power. That is why amps give more power 1ohm>2ohm>4ohm. The lower the ohm, the less resistance/ more open for current to go through.

Shoelesscraig

Oooook, check it out. Ohms Law 101:

Ohms are a measure of resistance between 2 points. Subwoofers and speakers are rated at certain ohm loads. Most regular door speakers are 4 ohm speakers. Subwoofers can be many different ohm loads, and you would buy certain ones based on how many subs you are hooking up and what kind of amp you are hooking them to. Some subs are 4 ohms, some 8, then you have dual-voice coil subs, which means that it may have dual 4 ohm coils, dual 2 ohm coils, some even have oddball dual 3 ohms.

When you read the amp and it says that it puts out 100 watts at 4 ohms, this means that if you hook up a 4 ohm load on it, it will put out 100 watts. If you have a 4 ohm sub, there is no physical way to hook it up at 2 ohms, the sub is only 4 ohms. If you had 2 - 4 ohm subs, then you could hook them together in parallel (meaning the positive terminals are together and the negative terminals are together). 2 - 4ohm loads in parallel would make a 2 ohm load. So, if your amp does 200 watts @ 2 ohms, and you hooked up 2 - 4ohm subs in parallel then you would be putting out 200 watts, but you would be putting it out to 2 subs, so each sub would get 100 watts.

Bottom line is, you dont change the amp to put out different ohms, the amplifier has nothing to do with the ohms. The ohm part depends on WHAT you hook up to it. The lower the ohm load, the more the power the amp will put out. Problem is, most amps are not stable below certain ohm loads (depends on what kind of amp it is). Most 2 ch amps are not stable below 4 ohms when bridged (thats a whole new topic there, ask if u wanna know). Most mono (single channel) amps are not stable below 2 ohms. Again, it all depends on what you do with the amp as to which one you should buy.

Hope this helps and didnt confuse you more than help you out. If you have questions, ask. I'm definitely not Mr. Knowitall when it comes to this, but I DO do it for a living. I'll help clear something up if I can.

I said all that to say, if you have 1 - 4 ohm sub, you cant hook it up anyway but 4 ohms. The 2 ohm configuration is for multiple subs, or a dual voice coil sub, etc. 120 watts is all you can do!

Shoelesscraig

Haha, looks like I just said the same thing he did, took me a while to type it, lol!! Sorry!

illiniguy

Thats what I was saying. He cannot drop the resistance with hois sub, since it is a single VC.

L4rry_B1rd

thats why i quoted you.

05FMtC

ahhhhh i now know. thanks alot guys.

scionofPCFL

Dropping ohms puts the amp more in danger than the speakers. Less ohms = more power. More power = hotter amp. I knew a guy who ran 12 15" Fosgates on 2 Punch 45's. That's 90 watts of total power. Until you start dropping the ohms. When all was said and done, he was pushing about 250 watts into each 15, and the Punch could have melted an igloo. Those old Punches were nasty.

The_Sciontist

OMG!!! duh..theres more than one way to lessen the load (ohms). TRue, he is limited by the fact that is a Single Voice Coil sub (i don't know the sub, just taking yur word for it)...so you can't wire the sub down to 2 ohms. But..

Bridging the amp (assuming its got atleast 2 channels and is stable at 2 ohm) aka. combining the two channels Halves the resistance the amp sees..and therefore makes more Power=probably around that 200 watts that JL claims.

Take a positive from one channel, and wire that to the positive terminal on the sub. Now take a negative from the OTHER channel and wire it to the negative terminal on the sub. Usually, these are the two outermost channel terminals.

and voila! instead of having to send power to TWO channels, the amp is functioning as if it only has ONE channel, making more power, lowering the impedance, and making the amp not have to work as hard (because it has more power at its disposal). Only downside, is yes, it will heat up more quickly.

illiniguy

That just bridges the power, and doesnt change the resistance ( I am pretty sure). Just beacuse you bridge the amp it doesnt mean that you change the resistance.

L4rry_B1rd

exactly, that doesnt have to do with ohms. that just means that you are using the power of two seperate channels for one speakers. obviously if you have say 75w x 2, then bridge will mean ~150w x 1.

Shoelesscraig

The amp doesnt have to be stable at 2 ohms in his case. He has a 4 ohm sub. When you bridge the amp you arent changing the ohm load at all, you are simply combining the power of both channels, therefore putting out more power at 4 ohms when you bridge than you would if you just put the 4 ohm load on 1 of the channels.

SCI_TC_GUY

Original Poster:
you have an e1200, which is a MONO amp (one channel)... you're stuck at 4ohm since you have a SVC 4ohm sub.... there's no way to get 2ohm or more than the 120 watts out of that setup....

The_Sciontist

well, this answers the question. If it IS a mono amp, then you are limited (to 4 ohm configuration)...

But..HELLOO noobies!!!!!!!! Bridging the AMP HALVES the resistance/load (ohms) therefore allowing the amp to make more power!!!

eg. an amp will be rated: 200x2 Watts @ 4 ohms. THis Means the amp puts out 200 watts into 2 channels at 4 ohms.
Now watch... 400x1 watts @ 2 ohms.. this means the amp CAN put out 400 watts to ONE channel if you BRIDGE The channels!!! Did you ever notice how
the power goes up as you BRIDGE THE CHANNELS?!!! Lets see, is it more EFFICIENT to power 2 channels, or just 1?? EXACTLY..1!!! which is why the amp sees a lower resistance and will put out more power!

DUH!.. omg, i can't believe i just had to explain that. Thats just the kind of thing that you can figure out on your own..really makes me wonder about some of you people.

L4rry_B1rd

Im sorry but your the biggest n00b in the world!!!

I just looked up a random 2channel amp for specs. Its specifically says

CEA2006 Specifications:

• 125 Watts x 2, at 4 ohms
• 380 Watts x 1, at 4 ohms BRIDGE

Look up any amp and thats what it will say. Some people really have nothing better to do than try to pass their stupidity onto others.


Its the configuration of the voice coils that determines resistance. Go read up before you try to sound smart.