what amp(s) should i get to power 3 audiobahn subs?

[gaowner757]

alright im looking to upgrade my subwoofer look from the 2 12 in cheapo dual's i have. I'm ordering 2 AW122N 12" 4 OHM Subwoofer-550 watts and a single ALUM12N 12" Dual 6 OHM Subwoofer-1000 watts so what i want to know is what kind of amp or amps is going to serve my purpose and maybe any suggestions on caps or anything else i might need info on. Oh and there going in a custom fiberglass encloser just for detailed info. thanks in advance

[MantaGreen97]

I don't really recommend mixing subs, particularly if they are different impedances and particularly if you're trying to run them off one amp. (Are those the RMS or peak ratings for those subs? Without bothering to look it up, I'm just basing the below power estimates on what you'd want if those were the RMS ratings.)

The dual 6 ohm sub you can only wire for either 3 or 12 ohms--not really ideal on it's own. It would probably have been better if you got three of those subs because then you could wire all three together for a 1 ohm total load.

If you wire that one sub for 3 ohms and then wire the other two in parallel, you'll get to 1.2 ohms which isn't too bad.

You'll have to get a 1-ohm stable mono amplifier to drive all the subs wired in parallel. However note that with most amps you're going to get slightly less than the 1-ohm power rating for the amp. (How much less depends on how the amp is regulated.)

Also if you run them from one amp the 3-ohm driver is going to get slightly more power than the other two from the amp. This might be desireable since the 3-ohm driver will be capable of handling more power, but you wouldn't get to the 1000/500/500 power split you might want. For example if you had an amp that put out 1700W at 1.2 ohms then the two 4-ohm drivers would get ~500W each while the 3-ohm driver would get ~700W. (I'm pretty sure that's the right calculation, lol)

The alternative is to drive the two 4-ohm drivers with a 2-ohm stable mono amp, for about 1000W at 2 ohms. Then select another amp to drive the dual 6-ohm driver. This is probably going to be more expensive though, particularly if you want a good bit of power going to that one sub. For example if you want 1000W RMS going to that sub you're going to have to find an amp which does at the very least ~750W at 4-ohms, possibly more (again depending on regulation).

Personally I'd rather use 3 of the same driver and one amp as it makes things easier.

[gaowner757]

thanks for the info. I dont mind running 2 different amps money isnt really a problem its not an overnight process so im not in a huge hurry.

[hamiltonaudio]

Originally posted by MantaGreen97
If you wire that one sub for 3 ohms and then wire the other two in parallel, you'll get to 1.2 ohms which isn't too bad.

I strongly don't recommend wiring three identical drivers at two separate loads. You'll have several issues crop up, most notably a measureable differential in power distribution....one sub will receive less power than the rest.

I also can't imagine what this will do to the overall phase of the system...one sub playing "less" than the rest..its sure to wreak havoc on the overall system performance.

If you can't afford to get a single 1 ohm stable monoblock, I believe you simply have the wrong drivers here. Making compromises as above will most certainly yield lack luster performance and a disappointed owner ;)

bmoney

[VanishingImage]

run 2 amps. 1 amp to drive the 2 speakers that are the same then another amp to drive the other.

Your going to have a hard time figuring out how to wire the subs and get an idea on how much power to have.

I suggest getting all 3 subs at the same impedence before going any further with the setup,meaning buying or selling the sub that doesn't have the same ohms as the others

[epicenterdesign]

I also suggest not running different subs.
Not only will the impeadance issues arise, but different subs will peak in at different frequencies.
This will creat nasty peaks and vallies in your sub bass.

Your best bet would be to stay with the 2 matching subs and sell the 3rd sub you have.