oie vay, I'm totally lost

[nova_strife]

Ok, I really hate to be another one of those "zomg! i needz help w1th my stereo!" But I'm just so completely lost.

So I've been looking lately at re-vamping my system, it's nice, dont' get me wrong, but I know it could be alot better. And lately, I've been looking at getting some Infinity Kappa 6.5" in the front and the same in the back, 6x9 size. I've found a nice amp to power them at 70 wrms. I've pretty much decided about my next subs, 2 Alpine type R's, as I've heard nothing but good things about them, and I love Alpine anyways. However, I'm having a difficult time find a good amp for them. They're rated at 200-500 wrms, and I'd like to give them something in the middle, near the 300 watt area. They're dual 4 ohm voice coils.

The part I'm having trouble with is finding an amp. I know that I can't find an amp that's a 2 channel putting that kind of power per channel at 4 ohms without giving up my left arm. I've seen a bunch of people talking about bridging a 4 channel amp so you get twice the power per channel, but does that affect the sound at all? Or is it just a way to get more power? If the amp is bridged, is there a specific way the subs need to be wired?

I know this is like, the evelenty-bagillionth time this kind of question has been asked, and I'm trying to learn, but it's hard for me to learn without something to touch and hold and feel, I'm a more hands on person. I'm a newb with car audio, I really am. I wish I was as good at car audio as I am with computers, I'd be all set then.

Any opinions/comments/criticism/advice about the equipment would be fine, as I don't know the order of the top 10 quality makers in the car audio world. Thanks in advance you guys, I know that someone here will be able to answer this, and hopefully y'all be kind enough to help lil 'ole me.

[DFizzle]

I'm not going to get into the brand debate and you'll get about a million different opinions on the best amp anyway, but to narrow your search a bit I would personally look into a Mono (single channel) amp that pushes 600W RMS. If you HAVE to get the two 4ohm DVC subs then you'd need the amp to push that 600 at 4ohms, and you're right, you'll pay a premium, but if you haven't picked up the subs yet then look into the 2ohm DVC version of the Type R, then you can run them wired together at 2ohms and save some money on your amp since (as only a rough example) a mono amp that pushes 400W x 1 at 4ohms might push 600W x1 at 2ohms. Actually, the Alpine MRP-M650 has those exact specs, but like I said, I'm not going to try and recommend a brand at this point since I don't have experience with enough different amps to make a knowledgeable suggestion.

Your wiring for the 2, 2ohm DVC subs would look like this:
http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/juggleboy720/2_2ohm_dvc_2ohm.gif

[JoeyK]

I have the Kappa 6x9's & don't have near the rms power to them, they sound fine. Very bright. Almost too bright.
- They are 2 ohm, singel coil speakers, not dual 4 ohm coils. Just so you know. They only have one set of inputs for the woofer & one for the tweeter. All the Kappa's are 2ohm, single coils.
Hope that helps.:)

[DFizzle]

JoeyK, I'm pretty sure he was talking about needing an amp for the Type R's, not the Kappas. At least I hope so or I completely read the whole thing wrong and wasted my time posting about sub wiring :)

[Pte Socks]

MRD-M500 bud. Alpine has a new one of these out that makes even more power ( I think its something like M501 or something like that). Either way, they are mated perfectly for the Type R's.

[nova_strife]

Originally posted by DFizzle
JoeyK, I'm pretty sure he was talking about needing an amp for the Type R's, not the Kappas. At least I hope so or I completely read the whole thing wrong and wasted my time posting about sub wiring :)


Sorry I haven't replied, my copmuter is being retarded right now.

Yes, I was talking about the type R's. DFizzle, I've been looking and haven't found anywhere to get the 2 ohm DVC version of the Type R's. I've chekced the major suppliers that I know of (crutchfield, best buy, circiut city). I've yet to get the chance to go to a local audio place tho, so I'll prolly check there next.

I'm still confused about the power needed of the amp, but a little more research and self-teaching should clear that up pretty soon.

Thanks for all the help you guys, I appreciate it.

[DFizzle]

That's really odd that nobody seems to carry the 2ohm type R anymore. Alpine still stocks it, which means it's still available but you'd be crazy to pay the $220 Alpine still chares for a single Type R 12. I know you can get it on ebay, brand new, if you're willing to go that route. That's where I got my Type S (and most of my other equipment) and I've never had a problem. You won't find it at CC because they no longer carry Alpine (Best Buy pretty much stole their contract with Alpine) but I know Best Buy used to carry the 2ohm Type R, as did Crutchfield. Definitely check a couple of local dealers and if they don't have it in stock they can probably order it for you. You may even want to ask your local Best Buy if they can get thier hands on a couple, it'll still be cheaper than getting them from Alpine.

Did you have specific questions about power issues? Here are a couple of good sites to reference but if you still have questions feel free to post away.

bcae1 (http://www.bcae1.com/) - Pretty much anything you'd ever want to know explained in detail

Car Audio Basics (http://www.caraudiohelp.com/car_audio_basics/car_audio_basics.htm) - Not quite as complete but still a great source for all sorts of info

[nova_strife]

After looking at that first site you linked to DFizzle (thanks for that by the way), it seems that you could wire two 4 ohm DVC subs to make a 2 ohm load. Does that imply the ability to use a amp that puts somewhere near 400 wrms at 2 ohms?

If it does, then I've found an awesome alpine amp from Crutchfield (I swear by the customer service of these guys), but it's a mono amp. Mono = 1 channel, which means that that amp can only hook up to 1 sub, correct?

[DFizzle]

Two 4 ohm DVC subs can only be wired to present a 1 ohm or 4 ohm load. A single 4 ohm sub can be wired to 2 ohms, but not two subs.

If you go here (http://www.the12volt.com) and scroll down just a bit, under where it says "car audio" you'll see "subwoofer wiring configurations". Put in the number of subs, and the impedance and it'll take you to diagrams showing your wiring options and the ohm loads they create.

400W (regardless of ohm load) won't be taking full advantage of the subs since you'd like to give them somewhere near their combined RMS (which is 600w) but it would work, as long as you wire the subs to 2ohms and the amp will push that 400W at 2 ohms. Like I said though, in a perfect world you'd like to feed those subs 600W RMS total.