What is the best way to wire a dual 4-ohm voice coil subwoofer to a 2-channel 2-ohm (4-ohm stable bridged) amp

Question

Kicker Solo-Baric L5 - 12" subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils
Rockford Fosgate Punch P550.2 amplifier

When the voice coils are wired in parallel the woofer presents a 2 ohm load. When the voice coils are wired in series the woofer presents an 8 ohm load. In addition, each coil may be connected to a different amplifier channel and each channel will see a 4 ohm load.

Answer 1

That amplifier is not a good match for a single subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils. However, if I were doing it I'd wire the sub for an 8-ohm load, then bridge the amp to run it. This is the best of a set of bad options.

If you wire one 4-ohm voice coil to each channel, you'll get about the same amount of power as above, but it would be more difficult to wire up and easier to accidentally wire the voice coils out of phase. If you wire the sub for 2 ohms, and bridge the amp, you run the risk of overheating the amplifier and damaging it.

Answer 2

Kaezoo is exactly right, but I just want to add... The wiring scenario you're asking about would create a short between the two channels of the amp and COULD cause instantaneous damage to the amp. Don't do it. Bridged at 8 will give you 200w rms vs 320 you're trying to get. The difference actually won't be that drastic anyway.

Answer 3

Time to get a matching Subwoofer....wire the voicecoils in series.....then wire the remaining connectors parallel.....this should show your amplifier a 4 Ohm Load and Increase your SPL.

Answer 4

In this case 8 ohm is the best bet.

Running each coil to each channel isn't recommended as the slightest differences in component values of each channel can cause uneven heating of the coil and cause it to warp.

Answer 5

to get the 550 watts x 1 at 4 ohms.take each sub and wire them in parallel so each sub is at 2 ohms then take the negative of 1 sub to the positive of the other sub and then take the one positive that is not hooked up to the positive side of the amp and the negative thats not hooked up to the negative of the amp.