Just wondering if there was a site that explained the differences in ohms in subwoofers/amplifiiers. 2ohms 4ohms 8ohms. which is the best. Thanks!

 

8ohm are usually for home entertainment systems

4ohm are most of the car audio

2ohm is mostly used with subwoofers to squezze all the power out of the amps

2-8 ohms is just the resistence rating

 

1 ohm is the best thats me

 

Less resistance means more noise from the amp. Subs can run at 2 or 1 ohm because noise is less noticable at lower frequencies. More resistance will give you a clearer sound, but you need a bigger amp to push the watts at higher resistance. That's why car speakers are 4 ohm instead of 8 like home systems, to reduce the size of the amps. That's also why Bose systems in cars run at 1 ohm, so the amp can fit in with the speaker in the door.

If interested, check the specs on your amp, or an amp you are looking at buying. A typical THD % (total harmonic distortion) is like 0.08% at 4 ohm, but more like 0.3% at 2 ohm, and ever higher, like over 1%, at 1 ohm (if the amp is 1 ohm stable).

 

http://www.soundinstitute.com/article_detail.cfm/ID/99

 

speakers are rated in impedence, not resistance

 

a speaker is a resister in a way

 

...a speaker is a coil