bigger sub, now need bigger amp...
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: May 2004
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bigger sub, now need bigger amp... greetings, based on some great advice here, i bought a new spkr and amp system last year. a JBL amp and tarantula spkrs. well my good friend gave me a custom made JL audio 8" enclosed sub. it hits, hard. but it seems when i turn up my volume, it shuts the amp off till i can lower it down and then it kicks back on. im thinking the 4 spkrs and sub is to much for my amp.here is a link to the amp:
http://www.spindocelectronics.com/in...ROD&ProdID=470
i dont have a link for the sub since its custom.
my qusetion, i guess (as im clueless to this stuff), is should i buy a basic mono amp just for the sub, and where is a cheap one to be found?
thanks,
shawn
http://www.spindocelectronics.com/in...ROD&ProdID=470
i dont have a link for the sub since its custom.
my qusetion, i guess (as im clueless to this stuff), is should i buy a basic mono amp just for the sub, and where is a cheap one to be found?
thanks,
shawn
You could try running the front and rear off the front channel and run the rear 8in. bridged off the rear. If that doesn't work than you really do need another amp or not run the rear speakers. A moderate Rockford Fosgate 120.2 or something a little bigger would be enough for an 8in. sub. Just bridge it mono since you only have one and then adjust the gain accordingly. The JBL amp you have there is a very nice amp! It's ususally the wiring that makes everything go screwy. Make sure you used a big enough power wire from the battery to run two amps also. By big I mean gauge wire. For two amps I use at least 4ga for power and the same for the ground. Good luck, MARINE!!!!
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: May 2004
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thanks for the heads up. i am pretty sure the wire from the btry to amp is thick, i have 2 "rows" to connect spkrs on w/my amp. 1 row is for the front and the other is back set of spkrs.. i currently have all 4, 6.5" spkrs, on the front connections and the sub only on the rear connections, what do you mean by "bridge"?
Last edited by golddot; Apr 22, 2006 at 03:54 PM.
TECH Senior Member
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From: Texas
I would buy a monoblock if I was in your situation.
You already have a 4 channel amp and a speaker in each corner so thats taken care of.
Get a monoblock or a two channel (1ohm stable) amp and your good to go.
You already have a 4 channel amp and a speaker in each corner so thats taken care of.
Get a monoblock or a two channel (1ohm stable) amp and your good to go.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: May 2004
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ok, so i did a little experimenting. i "adjusted" some of the amps control *****. 1st time, i melted a 40 amp fuse LOL, i put in a 30 and continued. i found a sttting where the bass is not as hard, but i can crank it and it wont shut the amp down. my next purchase is a small 100w mono or such, do i wire it right off the original amp , sort of "in line" if u will. or run new wires. or better yet, is this a sticky somewhere here?
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Thread Starter
On The Tree
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Originally Posted by rotwiler
Try turning your gains down, might be clipping and causing the amp to go into protection mode.
i think this is what i did it looked like a small adj. db gain ****, and i moved it until it was loud, but w/less bass. does this sound right.
i really appreciate the responses.
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Originally Posted by rotwiler
Try turning your gains down, might be clipping and causing the amp to go into protection mode.
It could also be that the sub has a limit where it distorts the motor so much that it presents amost a short to the amp. That could be why it's frying the fuses. If you have a multimeter you can check the coil/s for short.
Just connect it and test for ohms. Move the speaker all the way down and then up. (make sure to use even pressure when moving the cone). If you start to read in the 1.5 or less area, something is worn out in the speaker.
Teching In
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: Houston, Tx / Vancouver, Wa
Originally Posted by Richiec77
Yup. I agree there.
It could also be that the sub has a limit where it distorts the motor so much that it presents amost a short to the amp. That could be why it's frying the fuses. If you have a multimeter you can check the coil/s for short.
Just connect it and test for ohms. Move the speaker all the way down and then up. (make sure to use even pressure when moving the cone). If you start to read in the 1.5 or less area, something is worn out in the speaker.
It could also be that the sub has a limit where it distorts the motor so much that it presents amost a short to the amp. That could be why it's frying the fuses. If you have a multimeter you can check the coil/s for short.
Just connect it and test for ohms. Move the speaker all the way down and then up. (make sure to use even pressure when moving the cone). If you start to read in the 1.5 or less area, something is worn out in the speaker.
sounds like youre simply running the amp at too low of an impedance to me.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
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well, its still doing it, even with teh gain adjusted. i am going to just buy a basic mono 100w amp for the sub. do i need to run the pwr cable from teh battery and the wires from my jbl amp to my new mono amp and then on to my woofer?
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From: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Originally Posted by golddot
bump for the amp wiring info... 
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From: Showing Italians the power of LS1
Hi Golddot! (For everyone else, here is Golddot's original post where I helped him configure a system.)
You have this amp right?
You need this to split the power wire to the amps. You are using 4 gauge to the battery? right? Run your 4 gauge wire to it, then run two pieces of 8 gauge out of it, one to each amp.
Run your amplifier 4 gauge ground into this, and run two pieces of 8 gauge out of it, one to each amp.
I would recommend this amp, since it matches your existing amp.
Although, we need to know the specs of this 8 inch subwoofer. What brand is it? what is the RMS power handling? How many voice coils? What is the impedance? Here's info on this amp, such as how to wire it for briged mono operation to a 4 ohm subwoofer:
This amplifier, if bridged (or connected mono, as in the above pic) to a single 4 ohm speaker, will produce 300 watts RMS. Make sure the 8" speaker you are using can handle this. (EDIT: I just looked, and most of JL's line of 8" subs will handle either 75, 125, or 300 watts, depending on what model it is. Unless the speaker is a W7 8" it is not going to handle 300w. I would use this amp, but keep the gains way down, and be nice to it. See the next pic
The arrows are all of JL's current 8" subwoofers. The blue line is the max RMS power this amp can put into it. The only 8" sub that can handle the power is the 8W7.
And Here are the specifications for the amp:
Here's the site with the lowest price: http://www.starmarinedepot.com/detai...duct_id=JS1111
I did find it at a lower price at etronics.com, however it is not in stock.
I think the reason your amp shuts down when adding the sub, is caused by an overload. Those Soundstream Tarantula speakers you have are 3 ohm units. Most door speakers are 4 ohm units. The 3 ohm speakers run louder on the amp, due to the lower impedance drawing more current from the amp. This is normally a good thing, as that amp is stable down to 2 ohms per channel, and can handle each of those speakers. The problem is occuring when you try to parallell all 4 of your speakers on the front channels. This makes the amp's front channels "see" a 1.5 ohm load per channel. This is below the 2 ohms per channel what your amp can handle. Usually though, for good quality amps, they can handle a .5 ohm difference, as long as the amp is cooled more than adequately, and the gains are set right. When you bridge the rear channels, and connect them to your 8", (assuming this is a single voice coil, 4 ohm speaker) This makes the amp "see" a 2 ohm load per channel. This is normally fine, but remember, you are already maxing out the front channels, and then some. So, when you crank on it, the amp goes into protection mode since it is being overdriven.
I recommended the 3 ohm speakers, because you said that you were going with a self-amplified Bazooka tube for bass. A seperate amp for bass is the way you want to go anyway. Fire away if you have questions.
You have this amp right?
You need this to split the power wire to the amps. You are using 4 gauge to the battery? right? Run your 4 gauge wire to it, then run two pieces of 8 gauge out of it, one to each amp.
Run your amplifier 4 gauge ground into this, and run two pieces of 8 gauge out of it, one to each amp.
I would recommend this amp, since it matches your existing amp.
Although, we need to know the specs of this 8 inch subwoofer. What brand is it? what is the RMS power handling? How many voice coils? What is the impedance? Here's info on this amp, such as how to wire it for briged mono operation to a 4 ohm subwoofer:
This amplifier, if bridged (or connected mono, as in the above pic) to a single 4 ohm speaker, will produce 300 watts RMS. Make sure the 8" speaker you are using can handle this. (EDIT: I just looked, and most of JL's line of 8" subs will handle either 75, 125, or 300 watts, depending on what model it is. Unless the speaker is a W7 8" it is not going to handle 300w. I would use this amp, but keep the gains way down, and be nice to it. See the next pic
The arrows are all of JL's current 8" subwoofers. The blue line is the max RMS power this amp can put into it. The only 8" sub that can handle the power is the 8W7.
And Here are the specifications for the amp:
Here's the site with the lowest price: http://www.starmarinedepot.com/detai...duct_id=JS1111
I did find it at a lower price at etronics.com, however it is not in stock.
I think the reason your amp shuts down when adding the sub, is caused by an overload. Those Soundstream Tarantula speakers you have are 3 ohm units. Most door speakers are 4 ohm units. The 3 ohm speakers run louder on the amp, due to the lower impedance drawing more current from the amp. This is normally a good thing, as that amp is stable down to 2 ohms per channel, and can handle each of those speakers. The problem is occuring when you try to parallell all 4 of your speakers on the front channels. This makes the amp's front channels "see" a 1.5 ohm load per channel. This is below the 2 ohms per channel what your amp can handle. Usually though, for good quality amps, they can handle a .5 ohm difference, as long as the amp is cooled more than adequately, and the gains are set right. When you bridge the rear channels, and connect them to your 8", (assuming this is a single voice coil, 4 ohm speaker) This makes the amp "see" a 2 ohm load per channel. This is normally fine, but remember, you are already maxing out the front channels, and then some. So, when you crank on it, the amp goes into protection mode since it is being overdriven.
I recommended the 3 ohm speakers, because you said that you were going with a self-amplified Bazooka tube for bass. A seperate amp for bass is the way you want to go anyway. Fire away if you have questions.
Last edited by Snootch; Apr 28, 2006 at 07:01 PM.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: May 2004
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I recommended the 3 ohm speakers, because you said that you were going with a self-amplified Bazooka tube for bass. A seperate amp for bass is the way you want to go anyway. Fire away if you have questions.
[/indent][/QUOTE]
SNOOCH YOU DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!
i was stoked to see ya chime back in, had to re-install my fav.'s on IE and lost that thread.
i appreciate your time to help me, i was excited to get such a nice sub for free, but it is in an enclosed box and i cant (tried) open it to check the sub, it is a 6" not an * i think.
i printed all the info you told me, i hate to sound like a cheap *** , but i guess buying a basic 150$, mono amp is outa the question. i just dont wanna drop 300 if i dont have it.
i do have all 4 spkrs on the front channel and your right about overloading it. if i have to buy an expensive amp i may just unwire it, go back to original set up until i can afford the correct amp. i was hoping to buy a basic amp and be done with it. what do you think?
[/indent][/QUOTE]
SNOOCH YOU DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!
i was stoked to see ya chime back in, had to re-install my fav.'s on IE and lost that thread.
i appreciate your time to help me, i was excited to get such a nice sub for free, but it is in an enclosed box and i cant (tried) open it to check the sub, it is a 6" not an * i think.
i printed all the info you told me, i hate to sound like a cheap *** , but i guess buying a basic 150$, mono amp is outa the question. i just dont wanna drop 300 if i dont have it.
i do have all 4 spkrs on the front channel and your right about overloading it. if i have to buy an expensive amp i may just unwire it, go back to original set up until i can afford the correct amp. i was hoping to buy a basic amp and be done with it. what do you think?
Last edited by golddot; Apr 29, 2006 at 11:20 AM.
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From: Showing Italians the power of LS1
Well, being that you are on an extreme budget, I think you should really look at your friend Ebay. What is your budget? I can do some research and see how much it would cost you for a single 10" sub, and a used amp. If you have budget constraints, then I guess matching amps are out of the question.
The only way I can see you powering a sub off of that amp is by using a 8 ohm sub. It will not stress the amp out as much, since bridging the rear amp channels put the same amount of stress on the amp as a pair of 4 ohm speakers. However, the downside will be that it won't be as loud since it would be recieving less power.
What is your budget? I can do some research and see how much it would cost you for a single 10" sub, and a used amp. If you have budget constraints, then I guess matching amps are out of the question. The only way I can see you powering a sub off of that amp is by using a 8 ohm sub. It will not stress the amp out as much, since bridging the rear amp channels put the same amount of stress on the amp as a pair of 4 ohm speakers. However, the downside will be that it won't be as loud since it would be recieving less power.
Last edited by Snootch; Apr 29, 2006 at 04:20 PM.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: May 2004
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snootch, would it be possible to keep my current amp (JBL) to run just the sub but get a higher watt JBL for the spkrs (4 doors and panels)? i just figured if i was going to buy one, buy a louder one LOL...any suggestions? im staying w/my tarantula spkrs.
thanks
thanks