well i need a new amp, my other went with the car when i traded it in. i have a Infinity Kappa 102.7w 10" sub sitting in my room, here's the specs:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_108K102...7w.html?tp=111

i also found another one in the closet (i know right?), its a kicker sub but the rms on it is pretty low. should i just stick with the infinity and not bother with this one since the watts are so different? or should i go ahead and use them both?

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2065C12...12.html?tp=111

basically i need help picking out an amp for the infinity, or for both if its worth messing with. thanks guys.

 

it is not good to mix subs... use one or the other

 

You are perfectly fine using one amp for two subwoofers AS LONG AS your subs meet certain circumstances.

1) They can NOT have different impedence loads. Since they are both (according to th links you posted) 4ohms, you can parallel them to make a sid 2ohm load.

2) They can NOT share the same chamber in any kind of enclosure. Mechanically, they are different subwoofers and require different air spaces each to obtain optimal performance.

3) You have to match the amplifier power to meet the continuous (or RMS) power rating of the subwoofer that handles the LEAST amount of power. The Kicker can only handle 150Wrms, while the Infinity can handle 350Wrms.

Since you will hook up two subwoofers that are 4ohms each, you will connect them in parallel thus giving the amplifier a 2ohm load. Since your lowest power handling woofer can only take 150Wrms, then multiply that by two (since you have two subwoofers) and you can only run an amplifier that puts out 300Wrms. This will leave you underpowering the Infinity.

Even when two different subwoofers are connected correctly electrically, because they are different you will need to expect some variation of audio coming out of them. It's nothng that is disturbing to someone who just wants some bass, but to the trained ear it can be quite distinct and depending on the setup, can be irritating. I had different woofers hooked together once, it sounded pretty good! It's all a matter of how everything is hooked up and how muc power each woofer is recieving.



That was right after I got done putting he box back in and getting ready to test it out. It was loud! Don't make fun cuz they're Sony sub, they were hairy! They were all single 4ohms, all in their own chambers, and didn't see close to their RMS power. This was in my old Toyota Tacoma.

 

Wrong. You should not mix and match. Just because it says they are both 4 ohm does not mean they actually are. Many times they are within .5ohm +/-. Second, the suspension differences will throw different impediances many different ways. And one can either give or take away power from another (very dumbed down, didnt want to write a book).

 

Can you please elaborate on the point you made? This is something I'm not totally familiar with and would like to know more. I understand the difference in impedance loads at the wire, but I can't see how there would be a huge variance in magnetic resistance in the comparison of two different subwoofers. Also, the OP wouldn't know the actual resistance loads of the voice coils without a meter, and even then different meters will give different readings, and even on one meter you can get a reading (on a 4ohm subwoofer) that can go up and down +/- 0.2ohms or so.

 

They will me moving up and down at different speeds/heights thus causing them to sound out of wack. The different specs and builds of each woofer is different even if they are the same ohm rating.

Think of it as 2 400hp cars. They are both 400hp, but with different acceloration even tho you put both pedals to the floor.

 

In a sense, I can almost understand the analogy, except in the case of subwoofers it would be a light weight 150hp car @ WOT vs a slightly heavier 350hp car @ 43% throttle.

Also I've always thought the speed and height of the cone movement was almost completly dependent on the amount of power you put into the voice coil and the frequency of the amplified signal, which is why it's an active driver because it's movement is based almost entirely on the amplified signal (and the factor of box design).

If, per say, a subwoofer does move out of sync with the amplified signal when connected to another subwoofer of the same resistance but a different model, then the problem wouldn't be in the fact it's connected with another subwoofer unless that connection is creating some kind of variance in amplified power at the amplifier, which is what I'm trying to gather information about.

 

thanks for the help phat. i think i may be better off just sticking with the infinity. any recommendations for amp? or advice on install. i think i read somewhere there's a place in the firewall above the pedals to run the power wire through, right? i also have the rubber floor, will it be any different running wires under then having carpet?

thanks again guys, i put my cd player in last week, trying to plan ahead for the rest of the audio.