Mono vs. Stereo amp for Car Stereo Systems?

Question

I love music. Now that I have a car I want to enhance my car's sound system. I'm not going crazy and replace all my speakers and factory sub. But I am going to add two Kicker Comp 12s" or 10s" subs. I haven't decided yet. The price is so little between the models I figured I should pay the extra 10 bucks for an extra two inches and get the 12s. My Question is whats better mono or stereo amp to power the subs? I like the fact that I can hear differences in the left and right speaker in my car when listening to music, which means the speakers are stereo. But I can't decided wether I should have a difference in my subs and match the speaker, but all the subs do is pound extra needed bass. Should the subs pound together as a whole or independently. So whats the right amp? What are the differences in two types of amps? Whats more efficient? I am going to purchase two 12s or 10s Kicker Comp series subs. 300/150 Watts Peak/RMS they come either 4 or 8ohm. Which should I go with? Which is better my research tells my the 4ohms are better becasue they handle resistence ,independence, and heat better? I have researched the difference between the 12s and 10s the only difference is the frequencies. With the minute difference being 27/500 (12s) and 30/500(10s). I'm not going to test my subs to my friends subs to see who's is louder, but im not worried about a small 75 dollar disturbing the peace ticket because there to loud for my neighbor. I also need to know what is my max Watts Peak/RMS for my amp(If I have read correctly its 600WP/300RMS) and should I match the the RMS of my subs and amp or have a little extra power in the amp. I have read that you can have about 10-15% extra amp power and not blow your subs. Becaues I buy kicker subs should I go with a kicker amp. What kind of wire should I use? I have an 08 edge should the subs and amp work with the current speakers and sub. I think it has a sub because it tries to pounds, but nothing like my friends with subs:- ). Last question do I need to supply the installer with wiring or should he have it? If I have to buy what is a cheap but good brand that I won't have any problems with? I am new to this car audio and trying to get some info before I buy so correct me if I am wrong without the brutall comments I find on Yahoo Answers. Thanks, open to all suggestions.

Answer 1

Ok first things first. Subwoofers dont need to run in stereo. Mono is fine. You will not notice it in stereo due to the subs running at low frequencies. As far as what type of amps are more efficient....that would be class d mono amps.



When matching amps to speakers you always go by the rms ratings. Ignore the max and peak ratings. These ratings are stating what the subs capabilities are in short burst. Rms ratings are what they can handle continuously without any damage.



Both subs rms ratings add upto 600 watts so you want a amp thats in that range. And yes you can go slightly larger. All amps have a adjustment called "gain level" adjustment. This control is for matching the output voltage of the radio but when running amps that are larger than the speakers intended rating this adjustment gain be used to back down the wattage slightly. You will still get them power spikes your wanting to make them subs bump. That being said I wouldnt get a amp over 800 watts.



As far as what ohm to get really depends on what type of amp your gonna use. Most mono amps operate better at lower ohms like 1 and 2 ohms. If you get single voice coil 4 ohm subs then you can run them parallel to get a overall 2 ohm load so u can get a mono amp rated 600 to 800 watt x 1 @ 2 ohms. When you get dual voice coil subs this gives you more available options because being that they are dual voice coil they can be wired a few different ways. This begins to become confusing if your not familiar with series or parallel wiring. Fortunately help is available on the internet. Here is a link that will help u. Find out which type of subs will give u a overall load of 2 ohms and go with them. You can run at 1ohm but running that low makes the amp work harder and makes the amp run hotter. For a 2 ohm config you need two single 4 ohm voice coils or two dual 2 ohm voice coil. For a 4 ohm overall load u need two single 8ohm voice coil or dual 4ohm voice coil. Heres the link http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/woofer_wizard.asp



Last answer. If you have it done professionallt then they will supply the correct power wire. They will charge u for it. With power supply its best to go with name brands to ensure good quality. The cheapest brand I know of is scoshe but there are other cheaper brand$ that perform just fine but I cant remember them cuz I use either monster or rockford or stinger. You might want to post a seperat question about the wire. Good luck!

Answer 2

Car Stereo Amp

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

Mono vs. Stereo amp for Car Stereo Systems?

I love music. Now that I have a car I want to enhance my car's sound system. I'm not going crazy and replace all my speakers and factory sub. But I am going to add two Kicker Comp 12s" or 10s" subs. I haven't decided yet. The price is so little between the models I figured...

Answer 4

Wow, that was long.



If the point of origin were critical in the subwoofer region mono amps never would have come to the market.

Bass is as much of a "feel" as it is a sound - it is all around. It doesn't need to function in terms of L and R to sound natural.

Stereo seperation is critical to good sound everywhere that isn't sub-bass.

Most people consider a mono amp ideal to power multiple subs because if there are stereo differences between subs they can actually work to cancel each other out slightly.



"resistance and independence"? I think you meant "impedance".



Typically a pair of 4 ohm subs would be more useful given today's sub amps that usually function best at 2 or 1 ohm. The svc 4's would be wired in parallel for 2 ohms which would match them up well with many smallish mono amps.

The 8's wouldn't be that practical IMO. I guess a pair of them would work with a bridged 2 ch (parallel wiring resulting in 4 ohms).



With a pair of comp's I'd recommend amp power of 300-400w rms.



No advantage to using a kicker amp w/kicker subs.



For a 400w rms amp you'd want an 8 awg amp wiring kit.



Installer will have wiring, but I would expect them to charge you quite a bit more than what you can find a decent kit for online. http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_20526_Absolute-KIT-8-KIT8.html



I would try to disable the stock sub if there is one.

Answer 5

LMAO! Anyone who's been in the business knows "that guy" . How ya been? Still trying to decide on those 10s or 12s ? lol .

Answer 6

dont pay attention to peak. rms means thats the power they can handle when you play it constantly