Finding the right amp for a odd ohm load

[PHATBOi 38]

The first thing I would do is upgrade your ground to atleast as big a wire as your positive. After that, do your Big 3 in atleast 1/0 wire.

Then chuck the crapacitor and get one of these:

http://www.remybattery.com/Products/Deka-Intimidator-Battery---9A31__9A31.aspx

Next I would have a properly ported box built for the AB 12's. I'm sure you could get what your looking for out of them if they where installed in a proper enclosure on good power. There are lots of people on here that can build one for you or provide you wwith a design so you can build it yourself.

Lastly, grab one of those AP10001D's and wire your subs like this:

Just go easy on the gain. Also, NEVER use bass boost on your head unit or amp, and NEVER use the LOUD button on the head unit if it has one. This could cause you to send a clipped signal to your subs.

Hope this helps.

[Aurelios 0]

Yeah, thanks. I was planning on having to do the Big 3 and also figured the battery would be a necessary upgrade. And I do plan on building my own box. Although I have read that not all speakers are made to sound good in a ported enclosure, and even though I cannot find any specs on the subs, when I emailed American Bass, they recommended that they be put in 2 cu ft sealed with 300 rms, which may not get me what I am looking for.

Still interested to hear back about what Impious and everyone else thinks too.

Edited September 7, 2010 by Aurelios

[Impious 1,476]

So we know at minimum you are going to need to at minimum spend some $ on upgrading some wires as Phatboi said. Sounds like you pretty much understand what's necessary there. Depending on where you get your wire and how much you need, you'll probably end up spending ~$50 or so on that. Working on a budget, welding cable is a great option. I'll let others give you links if you need.

I wouldn't necessarily spend $ on a battery yet. I would recommend saving some money back so that you aren't taxing your budget in the event you need one, but I'd recommend getting everything installed first and seeing how your electrical system behaves before spending money. It's up to you though. If you want to buy one now so that you have it, more power to you (does that qualify as a pun?).

I generally dislike giving specific production recommendations since there are so many products available and it's hard to account for everyone's taste and preferences. Generally I try to stick with getting the conversation headed in the appropriate direction and let others take over from there But I would keep the system no larger than around ~1kw or so in power given the electrical you'll be running. You are obviously going to want a ported enclosure (seems like you already have that under control) and subwoofers designed primarily for that purpose. I'm not sure off hand how much space an Altima has, or the setup of the rear seats. But you are probably going to be best served with either a pair of 12's or a single 15, possibly a pair of 15's if you have enough space for a proper enclosure. An 18" would also "work", but finding the room in a trunk car to fit a proper ported enclosure is generally difficult. If you are going to sacrifice the rear seats, I'd suggest you try a setup where the subs fire forward from the trunk through the rear seat opening and seal off the trunk from the cabin.

If you want some options for products, check out the SSA store and product offerings from some of the manufacturers here on the site. I know they offer some products that will fit your goal. The SSA Dcon, Sundown SA-12 and Fi SSD will offer good ported enclosure performance at affordable prices. I don't want to sound like I'm just hocking our brands here, but they are good quality affordable products (which is why they are here on the site!) so it's a good place to start

[Aurelios 0]

Thank you, the information is very helpful. I think I'll take the advice on the battery so I don't short hand my self on everything else. As far as the enclosure, if I do it in the trunk I am limited because I only have about 14" of height clearance in there, so the only thing I could put in the trunk and face towards the cabin would be 12's. Now if it would work to build the enclosure where the back seats were at inside the cabin then I could definitely fit two 15's or one 18. Question is, if that is a good idea then what would be the best way to fire the subs and the port?

[PHATBOi 38]

Thank you, the information is very helpful. I think I'll take the advice on the battery so I don't short hand my self on everything else. As far as the enclosure, if I do it in the trunk I am limited because I only have about 14" of height clearance in there, so the only thing I could put in the trunk and face towards the cabin would be 12's. Now if it would work to build the enclosure where the back seats were at inside the cabin then I could definitely fit two 15's or one 18. Question is, if that is a good idea then what would be the best way to fire the subs and the port?

If you where going to go that route, then you would want to wall it. Subs and port forward. This is one a friend on another forum is just finishing up (still needs to be covered and completely seal off from the front but you can get an idea).

This would be a pretty big build. Need to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

Honestly what your looking for can be achieved with 2 good 12's in a well built enclosure and ~1-2K rms out of the trunk. Here's a suggestion:

2 of these in a D4 option $380 shipped: http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/store/products/Sundown-Audio-SA%252d12.html

1 of these $162.95 shipped: http://vminnovations.com/product_4093/Audiopipe_AP15001D_1500W_Mono_D_Amplifier.html

and a box ~3^3 tuned to 32Hz would cost ~$60-80 to build even if you used birch.

This combination would get pretty loud, low, and still sound good for a daily driver all while not breaking the bank or making you do major mods to your car. Also would leave the money to make sure your electrical is on point (the xtra batt, upgraded ground wire, Stinger volt meter, and possibly an HO alt if needed). BELIEVE me, your electrical is NOT a place where you want to cut corners or cheap out. Doesn't matter how great of equipment you buy, if you can't support it, it's all just paperweights waitin to give up the ghost.

You could even get the AP18001D if you wanted, but I don't think the xtra 300 rms will be audible.

This is just a suggestion of system that will get loud and sound good without breaking the bank. Anyone feel free to critique or substitute equipment if you wish.

Hope this helps.

[Aurelios 0]

Is building a wall the only option if you put speakers on the inside of the cabin? Would I be able to just build a box that comes out to the back of the front seats, but only goes up to the height of the rear deck? If so, I would have enough room to face the subs and port forward or up. I could still seal the trunk off from the inside if it would help, was thinking maybe I could put all the amps and stuff back there.

And based on what Impious said I was looking at running a Cadence ZRS-2002 on either two SSA DCON 12's or one Fi SSD 18, both come out to about the same price and keep within the power limits mentioned for the good possibility of not having to do any major electrical upgrades while still getting what I'm looking for, any thoughts?

[PHATBOi 38]

Why would you want to run a 2 channel for your sub amp? Just curious.

If your looking for that power range the

AP10001D: http://vminnovations.com/product_5568/AUDIOPIPE_AP10001D_1000W_MONO_Power_Amplifier.html

or

APSM-1300: http://vminnovations.com/product_4493/Audiopipe_APSM_1300_2000W_Mono_Mini_Amplifier.html

would both give you 1K @ 1 ohm (good to have some head room so you don't risk clipping the amp) and be a hell of alot cheaper and more efficient than that 2 channel. Would still leave you in the power range of not having to do any major electrical upgrades other than the big 3 which should ALWAYS be done anyways.

And yes you can build a box inside the cabin without walling but imo it is not going to sound as good or get as loud.

[Aurelios 0]

Why would you want to run a 2 channel for your sub amp? Just curious.If your looking for that power range the AP10001D: http://vminnovations.com/product_5568/AUDIOPIPE_AP10001D_1000W_MONO_Power_Amplifier.htmlorAPSM-1300: http://vminnovations.com/product_4493/Audiopipe_APSM_1300_2000W_Mono_Mini_Amplifier.htmlwould both give you 1K @ 1 ohm (good to have some head room so you don't risk clipping the amp) and be a hell of alot cheaper and more efficient than that 2 channel. Would still leave you in the power range of not having to do any major electrical upgrades other than the big 3 which should ALWAYS be done anyways. And yes you can build a box inside the cabin without walling but imo it is not going to sound as good or get as loud.

I didn't think that there would have been much of a difference between running on two channels for the dual 12 setup or being able to run it bridged for the 18 setup. And not to diss you or Audiopipe, it seems like a viable option, but that is the only thing I have ever seen you suggest to people and I am just trying to get an idea about what all is out there. I know I have heard a lot of good things about the Cadence amps, but you seem to be one of the only ones suggesting the Audiopipe. I am just looking to get as many opinions as possible before I spend my money so I only have to do it once.

Also, would it be advised to get a bigger amp? I would imagine you would want an 800 watt amp for 800 watt speakers, correct? If not, wouldn't you run the risk of blowing the speakers from running too much power?

[jcarter1885 995]

I definitely wouldnt get AudioPipe over Cadence but it all depends on your budget, I recently got a Audiopipe amp because of the low price and size (will be a temporary amp for now). I wanted to see how it would fair against others out there but that doesnt mean I will put it on a pedal stool neither. If you have the money then give us a budget and get what fits within your: price range, budget and size requirements. There are a lot of options out there but first you gotta decide on what you want to do with your system and what your goals are, then go from there and pick out your equipment.

[Aurelios 0]

I posted all of my information on budget, goals and everything else in previous posts.

[PHATBOi 38]

I'm not tryin to pimp Audiopipe, just basing my suggestions off personal experience. I have had great success with these amps. By all means there are plenty of other options out there. The Cadence amps are an excellent choice, the only point I was trying to make is it would be better to run a class d for your subs as they are more efficient went it comes to big power (they take less input power from your car's electrical system than a class a/b amp to make the same amount of output power).

As far as running an 800 watt amp for an 800 watt sub you are correct, this would be ideal if the amp was 100% efficient. But seeing how most amps are 80% average, it will actually help to have a few hundred watts head room so you don't have to push your amp full tilt to get the power you want out of it. Just because you have a 1000 watt amp doesn't mean you have to push 1000 watts out of it. If you set your gain accordingly, you can see your 800 watts for your 800 watt sub and not have to work your amp so hard to get it if you have the head room. This can save you from clipping the signal and damaging your subs.

I will gladly step back and let some others make suggestions. Hope you find what your looking for. Good luck in whatever you choose.

[Aurelios 0]

Thanks for the info, that clears a lot of stuff up. I have been looking at the Audiopipes quite a bit, just wanted to make sure I'm putting my dough in the right place, but it does seem like my best option so far. I'm thinking that the AP1000 with two SSA DCON 12's will get me what I'm looking for and to stay well within my budget after reading everyone's helpful responses this will probably be the route I take.

I do have some more questions if I may. Impious suggested putting them in the trunk and facing them into the cabin which seems like the route to take. I was looking at the optimal dual ported enclosure plans for the DCON 12's and the question is, what would the difference in sound be between putting the port on the driver side, the passenger side or possibly in the middle of the subs (which would require a re-design)?

[Notorious97200 339]

I'd rather get a Cadence amp than an Audiopipe, but that's me !

You need a class D amp for the bass. AP is cheap, Clarion has some cheap & good amps too. Audioque may be a little more expensive, but take a look, you never know.

Even an Alpine pdx 1000 is not so expensive on ebay!

Take your time to choose. There are too much amps on the market to focus only on the Audiopipe !

You can find wonderful deals on used amps or at db-r.com.