Car audio: 2 ohm or 4 ohm subwoofers?

[swezy207]

Ok, so I'm re-doing my gf audio system, here are some specs of the car and the equipment I already have.

Car:
04 Buick Century 4 door no onstar

Equipment:
• Pioneer AVH4300DVD (double din) head unit
•Hifonics Brutus BRZ2400.1D amp. 4/2/1 Ohm Stable
-Power Hadling: 850 Watt x 1 Channel @ 4 Ohm
1700 Watt x 1 Channel @ 2 Ohm
2400 Watt x 1 Channel @ 1 Ohm
•2 12 inch Kicker CVX's max power 3000 watts (pair) rms power 1500 watts (pair)


I need to know if I need 2 ohm or 4 ohm subwoofers.
Please help!

[DiabloPres]

2 2ohm 12s in parallel will put you at 1ohm mono which is the highest power output of your amp by your specs, which puts you right between your rms and peak power. you can always gain down...

[kurtus]

If you want the most out of it get 2ohm subs and parallel wire them to achieve a 1ohm load, that will get you the most boom for your buck. It will run alot hotter like though and draw some serious current so be prepared to get like a 100a alternator to power that and a good cap. You can series wire the 2 2ohm subs to get a 4ohm load as well so they are more versitile in your case I think if 1ohm is way too much power for you.

Dual 4ohm subs paralleled will give a 2ohm load, series will give 8ohms. 2ohms will be more effecient and run cooler than 1ohm so it really depends what you want out of it

[JasonInAugusta]

Originally Posted by swezy207

Ok, so I'm re-doing my gf audio system, here are some specs of the car and the equipment I already have.

Car:
04 Buick Century 4 door no onstar

Equipment:
• Pioneer AVH4300DVD (double din) head unit
•Hifonics Brutus BRZ2400.1D amp. 4/2/1 Ohm Stable
-Power Hadling: 850 Watt x 1 Channel @ 4 Ohm
1700 Watt x 1 Channel @ 2 Ohm
2400 Watt x 1 Channel @ 1 Ohm
•2 12 inch Kicker CVX's max power 3000 watts (pair) rms power 1500 watts (pair)


I need to know if I need 2 ohm or 4 ohm subwoofers.
Please help!

What about mids and highs?

850W setup with a single 12 (in a properly built ported enclosure)

If you plan on powering the mids/highs off the deck your subs will soon drown out the mids/highs.

[swezy207]

For mids and highs I'm also going with Kicker 5 1/4 and 6x9. For now I am going to run them off the deck, maybe in the future I will add an amp. It's not for competition or anything, just want some more bump then I had with the Walmart pioneers.

How do you guys feel about capacitors? I've read about a lot of people not liking them and say to get an additional battery in the trunk.

[swezy207]

So, I should probably go with the 2 ohm subs, since I can always turn the amp down right?

[JasonInAugusta]

Originally Posted by swezy207

For mids and highs I'm also going with Kicker 5 1/4 and 6x9. For now I am going to run them off the deck, maybe in the future I will add an amp. It's not for competition or anything, just want some more bump then I had with the Walmart pioneers.

How do you guys feel about capacitors? I've read about a lot of people not liking them and say to get an additional battery in the trunk.

Originally Posted by swezy207

So, I should probably go with the 2 ohm subs, since I can always turn the amp down right?

One 12. 4ohms. Ported. If done properly that should be all you'll need.

Anything else is going just so you can say "I have XXXX Watts".

And you will - on paper.

It's your girlfriend's Buick Century...

[kurtus]

Originally Posted by JasonInAugusta

One 12. 4ohms. Ported. If done properly that should be all you'll need.

Anything else is going just so you can say "I have XXXX Watts".

And you will - on paper.

It's your girlfriend's Buick Century...

+1, I run my setup with a single 12" hertz 4ohm dvc at 2ohms ported(custom slot port)on a 400w mono block and it is all I could ever stand on a regular basis. Even with that a good set of mids/tweets on at least 200w amp to keep up is a must. You will not hear any vocals when the bass hits or bass quitar is played or you will have to really limit the bass output alot on the subs. I'd look at a good set of seperated for your mids too, cross overs will filter alot of distorion out of your setup as well and you will hear the mids and highs alot clearer. Why buy stuff twice I always say and believe me I've learned the hard way over the years.

[JasonInAugusta]

Originally Posted by kurtus420

+1, I run my setup with a single 12" hertz 4ohm dvc at 2ohms ported(custom slot port)on a 400w mono block and it is all I could ever stand on a regular basis. Even with that a good set of mids/tweets on at least 200w amp to keep up is a must. You will not hear any vocals when the bass hits or bass quitar is played or you will have to really limit the bass output alot on the subs. I'd look at a good set of seperated for your mids too, cross overs will filter alot of distorion out of your setup as well and you will hear the mids and highs alot clearer. Why buy stuff twice I always say and believe me I've learned the hard way over the years.

We tried to get a guy to buy one 12 today but he absolutely wanted two 10s.

For $20 more we could have given him a higher level 12 in a ported enclosure that would have had a higher dB output than what he wanted - Two 10s from the same brand (lower level) but in a sealed enclosure.

Better equipment, AND better output for $20 more. The Dealbreaker? One 12 instead of two 10s. That's it.

"Are you sure you want two 10s? 'Cause for about the same price we can do one 12 and give you...."

"No, I want two 10s."

[kurtus]

Originally Posted by JasonInAugusta

We tried to get a guy to buy one 12 today but he absolutely wanted two 10s.

For $20 more we could have given him a higher level 12 in a ported enclosure that would have had a higher dB output than what he wanted - Two 10s from the same brand (lower level) but in a sealed enclosure.

Better equipment, AND better output for $20 more. The Dealbreaker? One 12 instead of two 10s. That's it.

"Are you sure you want two 10s? 'Cause for about the same price we can do one 12 and give you...."

"No, I want two 10s."

I guess it depends on what a customer wants, I find that 10's are great for rock and country but throw rap or dance in there and they fall short in a big way or usually end up blown because they just didn't have that low end thump they wanted out of it.

People just don't get the bigger picture and can be very stuborn, listen to the pro's they know what they are talking about for a reason right.

I worked in a small install shop for a while and it was brutal trying to talk people out of what they wanted, they just couldn't believe what a little more money on 1 really nice sub and amp could give them over 2 cheaper subs and an amp of similar value. It was also very painful trying to explain that a nice custom enclosure built around a subs specs can get them alot more efficent performance over the bassworks(premade) enclosures etc. I think a nice slot port 12 inch enclosure with a dual 4ohm is always the best option for the best all around system.

1x 12" sub is all anyone would ever need in the real world of day to day driving, anything more and you are just asking to rattle your car to shit overtime. And I'll say it again, he should get an amp at the very least for the mid/high, even if it is a cheap 4 channel it is gonna be better than any deck can offer. It was a bit of a pet peeve of mine when guys put all the bass in the world but have no quality highs to back it.......it just sounds AWFUL!!

[kurtus]

Here is some food for thought, you want to run that system at 1ohm and if you run at full rms you will be pulling upwards of 170amps. It's highly unlikely you will ever hit that but it is a possibility, how many amps is the alternator in the car?

Running at 2ohms will peak 120a so thats why I think with that kinda power your gonna need atleast a 100a alternator or a second optima battery for the system. Deep cycle marine batteries can be a good alternative over an optima.

I like the idea of the cap and it will help some with dimming headlights at night when the system sees more of a draw.

[disco]

kind of off topic, but in regards to the above post, i have had country hit alot lower and harder than rap almost 90% of the time

[JasonInAugusta]

Originally Posted by kurtus420

I guess it depends on what a customer wantsIt was also very painful trying to explain that a nice custom enclosure built around a subs specs can get them alot more efficent performance over the bassworks(premade) enclosures etc.

There are no pre-made enclosures at the shop. Everything is done in-house to spec. The only pre-mades are the RARE order for a JL Stealthbox. Very rare.

[kurtus]

Originally Posted by disco

kind of off topic, but in regards to the above post, i have had country hit alot lower and harder than rap almost 90% of the time

Haha, good point I was just trying to say that 10's give good punch but there is no woof, 12's I find to be a nice balance and 15's are all woof and not so much punch. I'm not a fan of country and never listen to it so I probably shouldn't have referenced it.....my bad. The point is that the 10's will not stand up to the abuse and 9 time out of 10 they are overdriven to death after the user gets used to them, the bass knob tends to move up a notch every other road trip lol.

[kurtus]

Originally Posted by JasonInAugusta

There are no pre-made enclosures at the shop. Everything is done in-house to spec. The only pre-mades are the RARE order for a JL Stealthbox. Very rare.

Thats the way it should be, don't give them a choice but to have a properly built enclosure. Unfortunatly the company I worked for didn't see it that way.

[boosted4lyf]

Originally Posted by kurtus420

Haha, good point I was just trying to say that 10's give good punch but there is no woof, 12's I find to be a nice balance and 15's are all woof and not so much punch. I'm not a fan of country and never listen to it so I probably shouldn't have referenced it.....my bad. The point is that the 10's will not stand up to the abuse and 9 time out of 10 they are overdriven to death after the user gets used to them, the bass knob tends to move up a notch every other road trip lol.

i hear ya, i currently run 1 simple jl flat sub and an arc audio amp, ive done the 2 10's thing, and ran 3 15in planet audio big bangs in local db drags. im good with 1 12 now.

[swezy207]

Ok guys, if this was your system, would you choose 2 kicker CVX's or 1 kicker L7? What are the pros and cons? Is the one sub easier on my electrical system? Will it be plenty loud? And if I got the one L7 then what ohm would I want to get with the above stated amp? 4 ohm and wire it to 2? I imagine I'm going to go with a sealed enclosure too.

[kurtus]

1x L7 for sure, the solo-baric line of subs are the only kicker I have experiance with but I can assure you that you will have more bass than you know what to do with. Get a 4ohm dual voice coil 12" L7 and it will be run paralleled into your mono at a 2ohm load.

For the amount of power you want to run the l7 is the best option, the cvx is more of a mid level sub and would work well too but can't handle the demand that that amp is gonna put out imo. The L7 is a comp worthy subwoofer built to handle extreamly long excursion so you wont bottom it out on the hardest hits or tear it apart.

[swezy207]

Does any one have experience with the cvx? It is supposed to be equivalent to the L7, just in a round cone, its fairly new still. They both handle 750 rms, but the L7 square shape is supposed to "push more air".

She listens to mainly rap, I listen to rap and rock...

[opek]

Originally Posted by JasonInAugusta

We tried to get a guy to buy one 12 today but he absolutely wanted two 10s.

For $20 more we could have given him a higher level 12 in a ported enclosure that would have had a higher dB output than what he wanted - Two 10s from the same brand (lower level) but in a sealed enclosure.

Better equipment, AND better output for $20 more. The Dealbreaker? One 12 instead of two 10s. That's it.

"Are you sure you want two 10s? 'Cause for about the same price we can do one 12 and give you...."

"No, I want two 10s."

One of my friends ran 8 8's on 800 watts. It was pretty brutal. Maybe he was sure your 2 sealed 10's would hit faster and tighter than a ported 12?