Have a pretty old Car audio background however have been out of it for while. I have been using my legacy equipment for years and has served me very well however its time for something new and very interested in Sundown.

I already purchased the Subs a pair of RE MX12's that I want to run ( got a really good deal from a friend who was parting out) and need an amp to power them.

They are Dual 2 ohm Subs so trying to decide if I should go with 2 1500's or If I can get away with either a single 2500d or 3500d I would really like to use a single sub amp for both space and system Simplification reasons. I know running Either amp will be at @.50 which is under its rated capability. Most of the time the volume will be played fairly moderately ( former SQ competitor ) but really like to get a bit loud sometimes..

As far as electrical its going in a 2011 Acura TL Sh-Awd not sure what the alternator is stock but plan on leaving it and upgrading the battery with possible second battery install also if needed..

I appreciate any help or advice out there from those fimilar with Sundowns line..

Thank you,

Brad

so you want to use a single sub system?

i got thrown off in your post

You are going to need substantial electrical upgrades to run either a 2500D or 3500D at 0.5 ohm.

Atleast a +250amp alternator, dual 1/0 runs front to rear and multiple batteries near the amplifer. 0.5 ohm draws alot of current and amperage. I am sure you know 0.5 ohm isnt SQ worthy

2 saz 1500 strapped, and you're fine at 2 Ohms. Safer than running at 0.5 v.

As much as I knew .50 was prob going to be kinda rough I was hoping for a simple solution.. I will start looking into strapped 1500's

Appreciate the information and any further advice ...

@Bigjon no its 2 dual 2ohm 12s sorry if it came off as confusing.

1/2 ohm is just a bad all around idea... You loose efficiency, lose dampening, loose sound quality and lessen parts life. Build an efficient box and run a nominal 2 ohm load with those subs... Your wallet and ears will thank you in the long run...

Also, unless you can't get the power needed out of single amp, strapping (bridging) 2 amplifiers is the worst option. You again loose efficiency, dampening and sound quality.

you could get 2 smaller sundowns like the 1200 or 1500 one one each sub at 1ohm

@jcshort that was my original idea when I mentioned two amps I have never run a strapped setup before so really didn't think about it till mentioned here..

@jcshort that was my original idea when I mentioned two amps I have never run a strapped setup before so really didn't think about it till mentioned here..

you wouldnt have to strap them together to run 2amps one them one and one.. 1sub and amp dont worry about straping them

@jshort... that is what I was saying that I originally meant one amp and one sub .. The idea of strapped never even came to mind until mentioned by @Notorious from FWI

I agree strapped for my situation wouldn't be beneficial..

Edited July 16, 201114 yr by quad150db

Anyone have an opinion on the 1200D vs the 1500D ? Both seem like that would put out enough power for what I need the 1500D would give me some extra headroom though..?

Either would be fine, if you can justify the extra cost then get the 1500

Either go with amp per sub at 1ohm or strap them. Either way you get the power you need. Just make sure you have the electrical. Stock alt wont do man sorry

1/2 ohm is just a bad all around idea... You loose efficiency, lose dampening, loose sound quality and lessen parts life. Build an efficient box and run a nominal 2 ohm load with those subs... Your wallet and ears will thank you in the long run...

Also, unless you can't get the power needed out of single amp, strapping (bridging) 2 amplifiers is the worst option. You again loose efficiency, dampening and sound quality.

This part here doesn't make sense to me, REGARDLESS of strapping vs not strapping with two smaller amplifiers are you not dropping each amplifier down to one ohm each?

Its doubtful I will change the alternator.. I simply change cars to often its a 2011 and prob will keep it another year at the most. I have no problem swapping the battery and adding in an extra battery if that isn't enough then I will reevaluate the new alternator.

As I said I do not listen at full tilt often at all.. Usually fairly moderate volumes however I do have those at a car show moments where things get loud but never for more then a few mins at a time.

@S.DeYoung That is what I am trying to decide if others that are more fimilar with the line feel the cost upgrade to the 1500D over the 1200D is worth it. Being that they are different lines of amp the SAX vs SAZ I didn't know if there were more differences other then just output and footprint.

1/2 ohm is just a bad all around idea... You loose efficiency, lose dampening, loose sound quality and lessen parts life. Build an efficient box and run a nominal 2 ohm load with those subs... Your wallet and ears will thank you in the long run...

Also, unless you can't get the power needed out of single amp, strapping (bridging) 2 amplifiers is the worst option. You again loose efficiency, dampening and sound quality.

This part here doesn't make sense to me, REGARDLESS of strapping vs not strapping with two smaller amplifiers are you not dropping each amplifier down to one ohm each?

You still loose efficiency, dampening and sound quality. Even though amps are stable at one ohms compared to running them at 2 or 4 ohms, running at 1 ohm is still the less efficient method.

Output impedance doubles when strapped, so dampening cuts in half right off the bat...

That much power is going to be tough on a stock alternator. Buy all the batteries you want but it takes power to make power. Usually in cases like these I would suggest the OP does minimal electrical upgrades to start with (big 3, new batt/new alt) and then see what his voltage is like to determine what else he would need. But since your really opposed, and i can see why, to getting a HO alternator... I wouldn't really know what to suggest. I think you'll have a large voltage problem if you keep that alternator stock and run that much power. Anyway you could find the specs of the alt?

Running two 1500W amps on stock electrical is a bad idea. Like FrostedFlakeJake said it doesn't matter how many batteries you add. Your alternator just won't keep up.

That much power is going to be tough on a stock alternator. Buy all the batteries you want but it takes power to make power. Usually in cases like these I would suggest the OP does minimal electrical upgrades to start with (big 3, new batt/new alt) and then see what his voltage is like to determine what else he would need. But since your really opposed, and i can see why, to getting a HO alternator... I wouldn't really know what to suggest. I think you'll have a large voltage problem if you keep that alternator stock and run that much power. Anyway you could find the specs of the alt?

Talked with the dealer and the alternator for my car is rated at 145 amps couldnt get any more details then that and honestly not sure what other details I would be looking for.

That much power is going to be tough on a stock alternator. Buy all the batteries you want but it takes power to make power. Usually in cases like these I would suggest the OP does minimal electrical upgrades to start with (big 3, new batt/new alt) and then see what his voltage is like to determine what else he would need. But since your really opposed, and i can see why, to getting a HO alternator... I wouldn't really know what to suggest. I think you'll have a large voltage problem if you keep that alternator stock and run that much power. Anyway you could find the specs of the alt?

Talked with the dealer and the alternator for my car is rated at 145 amps couldnt get any more details then that and honestly not sure what other details I would be looking for.

not bad but looking at the current draw from the 2 amps with just the sub amps ur lookin at 240 to 320 amps of current draw even with an extra bat big 3 upgrade to be safe you might just have to bit the bullet and get a alternator upgrade with that much going on youll be diffentlly over working the stocker

Maybe you should run a single 12, or both on a smaller amp, they should still perform quite well with half rms.

Maybe you should run a single 12, or both on a smaller amp, they should still perform quite well with half rms.

This is what I would do. If you're not competing I don't see the need to run all that power if you don't want an HO alternator. The amount of output you will lose by halving rms will hardly be audible.

Edited July 19, 201114 yr by Luke.H

Also, consider that RMS has nothing to do with subwoofer power requirements, at all....