retrodrive

Did you mean class D? The number of channels does not mean the amp draws more power. What matters is the class of the amp. In a basic system I would be looking into Class D or T for subs.

ATL_GS400

[QUOTE]Originally posted by retrodrive
[B]Did you mean class D?

YEAH, I MENT CLASS D . I HAVE THE ALPINE 300, VERY STABLE AMP WITH GOOD CLEAN LOWS, I'VE ALSO HEARD A LOT OF GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE JL CLASS D AMP.

retrodrive

If you going for Class D JL or Zapco are good choices.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

This is misinformation that I feel the need to correct and clarify !!!

Originally posted by mrshabo
"then why do people stress so much about buying nice wires whenever they get subs"

When you get a high-power amp and sub(s) that can handle that power, the relative impedances of the amp output, the WIRING, and the sub's voice coils ALL matter. Any good, high-power amp has a very low output impedance which is generally a fraction of an ohm, and the lower, the better. As the amp's output impedance goes down, it is better able to control the transient motion and impedance characteristics of the sub (the parameter that generally measures this is called 'damping factor', which is the ratio of the impedance of the amp output plus wiring, to the sub's voice coil impedance. Amp designers try to minimize the amp's output impedance (maximize damping factor) as a goal as they tradeoff all of the design parameters during the amp's design). This yields a very controlled cone motion and less distortion. For these reasons, as the current/power of the system goes up, the wiring becomes much more of a factor in the system, due to its relative impedance. Don't forget we're only dealing with a handful of ohms here for the voice coil(s). So not upgrading the wiring can result in a few nasties: too much voltage drop between amp and woofer during high-current low-frequency transients, and compromising of the amp's damping factor, resulting in some loss of control of the woofer cone motion.

Bottom line: The wiring matters. Upgrade the wiring if you're expecting good results - it's silly to spend a heap of money on woofers and amps and then be cheap and use the skinny stock wiring. Besides the fact that the better wiring is more mechanically robust in a car environment.

mrshabo

thanks a lot for the help engin =). i guess i'll have to buy some new wires too

Taka

good info here, thanks