can u power 2 12" subs with a mono amp?

Question

subs are 1500 watts peak each and amp is 3000 watts

Answer 1

It all depends. If your subs are 4ohm SVC or 2ohm DVC then yes a mono amp will work as far as wiring goes (2ohm load). Even 8ohm SVC or 4ohm DVC will wire up, but you want get full power from the amp (4ohm load). Now as far as power is concerned it depends on what the RMS rating is on the subs and what the RMS power rating on the amp is. If they match up then yes you should have no problem.

Answer 2

vicfta is the only one who makes any sense.

ALWAYS go by watts RMS not peak when matching amp and subs.

You must find out if the amp is 2 ohm stable and what the watts RMS will be from such a load.

You can wire the subs like so IF the amp is 2 ohms stable AND the subs are 4 ohms each:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j230/sparky3489/PARALLEL.jpg

Otherwise, you can wire the subs like this and result in the subs being an 8 ohm load (if the subs are 4 ohm), however, your power will be cut roughly in half from the amp:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j230/sparky3489/SERIES.jpg

Go her for info on enclosures (and other tips):

http://spkrbox1.spaces.live.com

Go here to research car audio terms and information:

http://www.bcae1.com

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To drifter,

The gain has nothing to do with this case. It's all about impedance and not overloading the amp.

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To jparkdzg,

I'm glad to see someone else with their head on straight about gain settings. I can't tell you the number of idiots spouting crap.

Here is one site I find helpful with some basics.

http://www.bcae1.com/gaincon2.htm

Here's how you do it:

Set head unit volume to 3/4 of maximum. Turn off all eqs/presets in the head unit.

DISCONNECT SPEAKERS

P = Power in watts
I = Current in amperes
R = Resistance in ohms (effectively the nominal impedance)
V = Potential in volts (Voltage)

Knowns:
Resistance (nominal impedance of your speakers)
Power (desired wattage)

Unknowns:
Voltage (we'll measure this)
Current

Formulas:
P = I*V (formula for power)
V = I*R (Ohm's law)

So after a little substitution to get Voltage in terms of simply power and resistance we get

V = square_root(P*R)

So, for example, say you have a 4 ohm load presented to a 150 watt amp.

V = square_root(150*4) = 24.5 volts

This means you should increase the gain until you read 24.5 volts AC on the speaker outputs of your amplifier.

As a source, use a sine wave recorded at 0db at a frequency within the range you intend to amplify. You can generate tones in cool edit or use a program such as NCH tone generator.

An oscilloscope is best to use, but very few people have access to that type of equipment.

Source: http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=030419;p=

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To kenwood s,

WTF? How does one wire a sub to "1 or 2" ohms? That's not an an "or" situation. Especially when no configurations were given. Nice guess! $%&#*!!

Answer 3

The answer is yes. But you must calculate the impedance of the speakers. If the speakers are 4 ohms, if you place them in series, they will have 8 ohms total. If you place them in paralell, they will have a total of 2 ohms.
If the speakers are 8 ohms, in series they will total 16 ohms, and will not play very loud, because they will not sink a lot of current. If they are 8 ohms and you wire them in parallel, they will total 4 ohms and probably perform well.
So to recap, if they are 4 ohm speakers, wire them in series for a total of 8 ohms, because the other way 2 ohms is a huge load for the amp. If they are 8 ohm speakers, place them parallel, and you will total 4 ohms, which is still a reasonable load on the amp.

Search the web for the keyword "ohm's law" to find out more, and also "Kirchoff's Law " (on sums of resistances) and also you can search on series and parallel circuits. The rule is, if you parallel them together, the ohms drops to half. If you run them in series like a string of Christmas lights, the ohms add up, which means the resistance is higher, and less power is developed. I hope this helps! :)
With the 3kw amp, it sounds like a good starting place is series, because this will double the resistance and ensure that the wattage delivered is not too much. If you parallel them, and then hook them up to the 3 kw amp, if you crank it, BOOM! or rather, mmmmeeellllt. as in melted voice coil. If they are 4 ohm you parallel for 2 ohms, then you put 3 kw, and POW! you are left with the slight smell of burnt paper. YIKES! :)
Kirchoff's Law is simply that the sum of the resistances equals the voltage drop. Ohm's law is probably better suited to this problem tho :) Again, I hope this helps!

Answer 4

yes you can! all you need to do is hook one sub to other then hook the subs to the output port on your sub box then to the amp, then you should have bass flowing from one ear to the next.
but there are things you need to think about to. like what the resistance is on your amp and your subs (ohms). then what kind of hook up you need for your specific amp.also check your rms on subs then on amp if your rms on your amp is in the range as your sub then you good to go if not get a smaller or bigger amp.
rms is the important thing to worry about if you dont consider to look at your rms then you blow both amp an sub(s).
ie. if your sub has 50 - 300 rms and your amp can power up to 400 rms with a 4 ohm load then you should be fine. or if your subs have 500 - 2000 rms and your amp has 20-150 rms you will blow your amp *(which can result in a fire). if your sub is at 500 rms and your amp is at 2500 rms you will blow your sub.

Answer 5

doesn't matter what the peak is, its the RMS #'s that you need to be worried about. And yes the Mono amp is great for running subs.

Answer 6

take heed to what sparky says, he pretty much owns this section of yahoo answers. lol @ setting gains, they will have nothing to do with it. but, make sure not to make the mistake thinking that gains are a volume setting, as they are not. to set gain levels on amp correctly and accurately, at least from what ive noted, involves a volt-ohm meter and\or other tools.

Answer 7

yeah just run a spliter between the amp and the subs and your 3000(x1)amp becomes 1500(x2)

Answer 8

you shouldnt have a problem bushing those subs with that amp.....also check your subs on the ohms how much is the peak on that usually that will give you true peak wattage

Answer 9

you can not bridge a mono amp from what i heard, so nope.

Answer 10

wire your subs 1ohm or 2 ohm it will work great