I'm looking to buy some 1000 watt subwoofers, either 10" or 12", still not sure yet. Either way i go, is it better to have one amp per sub or get a 1000+ watt amp to power both of them?

Right now I have a 600watt JBL mono amp, I'm curious is it better to get another exact amp to power the second sub or to just geta 1100 watt mono amp to power both of them?

 

all depends on what sub/subs... but that jbl amp will power decently 12's no problem.

 

I'm looking into the JBL P1220D II they push like 1600watts or the Audiobahn ALUM12Q they push like 1000watts. Which one would be a good choice?

 

Its generally not a good idea to run 2 subs off a mono block amp, The Jbl's are amazing products especially their amps, the power rating they give you is RMS watts not Peak like 95% of the companies out there

 

whats wrong with running 2 subs off 1 mono amp?

 

Yeah, I am kinda curious about that too? Please explain.

 

Running 2 subs off of the wrong mono amp will bring the resistance too high or too low for the amp and will cause it to thermal, at least thats what i was told by a few car stereo stores

 

Well i already have one mono amp, the JBL 600watt. I was thinking of getting another one for the second sub. But i was just trying to concerve space and just get one with a lot of wattage.

 

the JBL will go down to 1 ohm and not have a problem. One amp will be fine.

Well, there you go, the "right" amp. Most Class D amps will go to 2 ohms and many will go to 1 ohm. It is just a matter of matching the impedance of the subs to the amp. There is no negative to this unless, like was said, you go under the recommended load for the amp (i.e. a 1 ohm load on a 2 ohm stable amp)

 

actually its rather pointless to run just one 4 ohm sub off a class D amp. you could be running 2 subs at 2 or 1 ohms and get twice as much power.

 

First, subs don't "push" watts, the take the watts delivered by the amp. Second, sub power ratings are thermal power ratings. It's how much power they can handle without the voice coil melting. Third, with the JBL, 1,600 watts is peak. It's rated at 400 watts RMS. Based on their recommended enclosures here, it's mechanical power handling is 400 watts. (Mechanical power handling is the amount of power it takes to push a driver's voice coil to the limit. Either forward, out of the magnetic gap or backwards into the top plate.) And Audiobahn. They are notorious about over-rating their equipment.

What's your current setup? What is your budget? Are you going to re-use your current sub box? Are you going for SQ, SPL or SQL?

-Robert

 

My budget is like $300-$500. If I go for the Audiobahn, yeah it would be for looks. But I don't want to ruin sound quality for the look. See i want to be able to hear those low bass sounds. And be able to hit hard. I have an Alpine radio already so i can control the bass from there. I want to hear that base and high volume. Not distorted bass!!!!! And I'm going to get a new sub box one that's specifically designed for which ever speakers I get.