I'm am going to get two 12" or 15" alpine type-r's and i dunno if i should get the dual 4 Ohm coils or dual 2 ohm coils what do you people think?

 

*id like to take this opputunity to ask a stupid question, what the hell are ohm's and what do they mean to me? i see 4 ohm on my subs, have no idea about my amp settings and stuff...
ill buy some new subs soon, what difference do the ohms make?*

 

shorty, what amp do you have? This will determine what your buy.

jomo, read the first 10 sections here http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/caraudio.htm

As ohms decrease the current needed by your amp increases. If you run your amp at too low of a load(ohms) you get overheating, clipping, or amp failure. If you are lucky it will just cut off or blow a fuse. It is important to match your subs to your amps. You can put as many subs on one amp as you want just as long as the load is right.

 

ive tried to read stuff on that site but im too dumb, my heat hurts after a while and i need to get highthat did it for me, thanks! but how will i know what ohm my amp is running at?(did that even make sense?

 

I dont have an amp yet first i am going to pick out my subs and pick an amp around that probably an alpine MRD-M500

 

"did that even make sense? "

No.

the power output of your amp will say something like:

2 channels X 50 watts at 4 ohms
1 channel X 100 watts at 2 ohms

the impedance (ohms) your amp runs at depends on what the impedance load you show it ( this is your subs and how they are wired)

think of it this way:

more current = less resistance (ohms)
more resistance = less current

higher impedance is also higher fidelity, which is why you see home stereo gear at either 8 or 16 ohms. In a car where power is at a premium, SQ (sound quality) is sacrificed for higher current (and therefore less resistance).

hope that helps

 

this is where i disagree. the impedence does not affect SQ in any audible way. no matter if its 1ohm or 8ohm. if the speaker is recieving the same signal and same power, there will be no audible difference. will there be measurable THD differences between 1ohm and 8 ohm? sure. is it audible? not a chance.

under 1% is inaudible with test tones. i sometimes wonder how people hear the THD with music.

most amps nowadays that are 1 ohm stable will have a THD of under 2% at that impedence, which is still pretty much inaudible with music. so if 1 ohm has an inaudible THD rating, how is 8 or 16 ohm going to sound any "cleaner".

car audio and home audio are basically the same. what changes is the environmental surroundings.