i need some help. my stereo knowledge aside from basic electrical wiring is minimal.

i have 2 10's with a hifonics amp, and to me it just doesn't sound like it should. so i have a question about my wiring, and ohms, and how my wiring should be laid down.

i bought the speakers back in 99. ive used them off and on and they're in pretty good condition. but i bought the subs, and the box pre-assembled, and im disappointed in the speaker wire inside and the cheap crimper connectors. should i be using better speaker wire, and connectors? they feel really flimsy, and cheap.. is it that big of a deal?

so here's my pics. tell me if im doing something wrong, or how you guys would do something different.

10W3-D6.
and a old school 100W hifonics centurion X amp.




found this online..



now the speaker photo's.






here's my current wiring configuration...



speker specs off the JL site.




ok. so how would you wire this setup? and should i worry about the crappy speaker wire from sub, to the box terminal's?

 

The way you have the subs wired up is fine if you had a JL audio amp. You would probably have better results if you had a JL amp. Looking at the pictures, it looks like the subs are paralleled. Which would make each sub a 3 ohm load each, and since you are running the amp stereo, your making less power than if the amp was running 2 ohm stereo. So if you where running the amp at 2 ohm stereo, you would be putting about 150 watts on each speaker. But since your running it 3 ohm stereo, its probably about 125 watts to each sub. My best suggestion would be get a JL 500/1 which would make more than enough power to run those 10's at rms power all day long. And since JL amps make the same amount of power at 1.5 ohms or 4 ohms, you could leave your subs wired up the same exact way.

 

The amp is underpowered for these subs. I believe it doesn't sound like you want! Each sub needs 300watts RMS. So you have to make a choice.

1. Get a better matched amp. JL as suggested or whatever produces 600+ watts RMS and at 1.5ohms.

2. Run just one sub. Bridge the amp and parallel wire the sub for a 3 ohm load. Good sound quality and amp will last.

On the wiring. I hate those cheap crimp connectors. You can buy better ones(screw down kind) but I generally run the wire out of the box and seal the opening. and you need to use 14ga. or so. Wire is cheap enough, so definitely upgrade if necessary.

 

ive had this box since high school. lol, 10 years ago.. and ive used it for maybe 2 years.. if that. the subs are nice.. physiaclly, and i thought the amp was pretty decent too.. recomended by a audio nut back in the day..

just for fun, you guys recommend leaving 1 sub unplugged, and run the full bridged power to 1 sub?

i'll give it a shot..

i have a Element, and it has a 6" factory sub in the center console, and after i get that spec'ed out, im going to pull the big *** box in the trunk, and enjoy my trunk area again.

i know the 1 6" sub isn't going to sound like 2 10's anymore, but im ok with it. i plan on using a 6W3 and a decent amp to power that 1 sub.

 

Subs are underpowered and the impedance is too low at the amplifier. When a stareo amp is bridged, it will "see" half of the actual impedance. You have 2 six ohm voice coils per speaker in parallel giving you 3 ohms, and those two 3 ohm loads again in parallel giving you a 1.5 ohm load, which means the amp will "see" a .75 ohm load, damn near a direct short in electrical terms. It would be a good idea to run each speaker in series with itself, and parallel at the amp, this would give you a 6 ohm (3 ohms in bridged mode), you will have less power, but your amp will live longer.

Kirk R

 

As mentioned your amp is under-powered, if you are not careful with the volume and anp gain you can damage the subs, find a mono block sub amp that will produce at least 600W RMS into either a 1.5 ohm or 6 ohm load.94

 

You will want to edit that.94

 

bridge them. i owned that amp b4. and i thinks its enough power. just try bridging them. i think the if you want to use the two channel your gonna have to use two RCA wires but im not sure on that. doing that setup do both subs work? i remember i used that amp to power 2 6x9 and 1 10. one side was 6x9 and the other the sub. had to use two different rca wire. so the tweeters dont have bass boosted on. am i correct about this?

 

This amp is a 4 ohm mono amp, if he just bridged it, it would be running at a 1.5 ohm load which would put the amp in protection. So that isn't going to work. Thats why a JL amp would be a better way to go.

 

No, you are not, about a few things. 94

 

That would be correct, kind of.
The amp would definitely go into protection if turned up even a little.94

 

So we both can agree that bridging the amp would be the incorrect thing to do and running a 4 ohm mono amp, 1.5 ohm is not going to work. Not trying to be a smart *** fcm.

 

Yes, bridging the amp would be the wrong thing to do, but only because there is more wattage avalable in the 2ch mode, bridging the amp and wiring the subs VCs in series, [12 ohm load] and then wiring the subs in parallel, [back to 6 ohms] to the bridged amp would also work.94

 

True but then the amp still isnt going to make full power. So then he would still be back where he's at. Dont you think he's probably going to make the same amount of power if he was to bridge it 6 ohm mono or running it 3 ohm stereo. Roughly!