Car Audio Classifieds! banner

2 ohm vs 4 ohm

776 views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  Fatboy501 
#1 ·
I'm getting a Skar VVX 15" sometime next month and don't know if I should get the D2 or D4 model. Right now I have a Dual 470w amp that I would use temporarily until I find a better amp to give it ~600w.

I have all stock electrical in my 99 Corolla and don't plan on doing anything but the big 3 electrical wise per budget and the fact that I'm hopefully getting a new car this year.

I've heard that the higher the ohm load the more efficient... Would it be worth the extra money for an amp that would give me 600w at 4ohm or would the difference between that and 2ohm be not worth worrying about?
 
#3 ·
good question, 600@4 is my choice, i got a 600@4 bridged an its a quite a bit bigger than the 601 equivalent of it, vr series amps,

another good thing about 600@4 is that you can always go up in power, if you need it, plenty of overhead

get a 2nd d2 sub later an you can double your power if you have the rite amp
 
#4 ·
Like haze said... depends on your amp choice. You could always look for an amp that does around 1200-1500 @ 1 ohm... that should get you your 600 if you wire it at 2 ohms with a dual 4 sub. It also saves you money if you choose to add another sub in the future, as you can simply get another dual 4 sub and wire it down to 1 ohm without having to get a bigger amplifier. The AQ1200D comes to mind....
 
#5 ·
I guess my budget would be $250 for the amp.

My plan was to run it at 1ohm but I was told on another forum that for daily use a higher ohm load more efficient.

As for getting a second sub that won't happen until I get another vehicle. I can't take up my entire trunk as my Dad uses my car from time to time and needs some trunk space...
 
#11 ·
I guess my budget would be $250 for the amp.

My plan was to run it at 1ohm but I was told on another forum that for daily use a higher ohm load more efficient.

As for getting a second sub that won't happen until I get another vehicle. I can't take up my entire trunk as my Dad uses my car from time to time and needs some trunk space...
....you realize that you will be using 90% of trunk as it is, right? I have same model corolla with one 15" in a smaller sized box and it leaves me with barely any room...
But as far as amps go...don't listen to the efficiency bullcrap...any decent amp putting out ~600-800 watts at any ohm load will not harm you electrical enough to matter
 
#8 ·
I'm going to go Dual 4. Most of the amps that have efficiency ratings only worsen by 2-3% going from 4 to 2 ohms and then drop by around 10% going to 1 ohm.

Plus I'll be able to use my current Dual mono amp and get 470w out of it until I buy a better quality amp.
 
#12 ·
Not so much. THD will be higher at 1ohm but less then 1% is inaudible. Also are you saying that if he gets a 2ch it will be Class A/B? A/B is going away now that class D amps have been evolved, yes even into 2ch and 4ch amps.

IMO efficiency shouldn't even be such a huge problem only running 600w RMS. If you plan to run an amp without any concern to voltage and amperage, you are screwed from the beginning. I dont care if the amp is 100% efficient. There is still added draw to the electrical that needs to be addressed.
 
#14 ·
I just preordered my VVX 15" in D4 configuration.

I know that 600w is 600w regardless of efficiently but if I run at 2 ohm and have an efficiently of 87% vs 1 ohm with 76% that will put less strain on my electrical and let my amp run cooler.
 
#16 ·
Not really. By getting it in D4 I can run at 2 ohms and I'll be able to squeeze out the most power from my current Dual 470w amp since its only stable down to 2 ohms.

Then after I get some more money saved up I'll get another amp that does 600-700 at 2 ohms.

If I ever get a second 15" to add it will be in around a year if not more when I get another vehicle. Then if I want to I'll just order a D2 recone when I get the second 15".
 
#18 ·
also an amp running at a lower impedancy will generally put more of a strain on the electrical system,

i prefer to run at 4 ohm over 2 or 1 ohm because the electrical isnt effected as much and the amp will last longer
 
#19 ·
D4 was the best choice. Just buy an amp that does 1200-1500 @ 1, and say 800 @ 2, and while you have the single sub, wire to @ ohms, keep the gains down. When you get the second sub, wire all in parallel for 1 ohm, and both subs will be happy. As far as electrical, big 3 and a very small battery in the back would be plenty.
 
#21 ·
i was running my 2 8w7's at 1.5 but im running 2 15" CVX's @ 4 right now... or sometimes i run a 18" DC lvl 4 @ 4....

also remember if he doesnt get a high quality amp is his electrical isnt stellar the amp wont last long at 1 ohm (example: HIFONICS and MA Audio are notorious for blowing at 1 ohm)
 
#23 ·
Tru Dat! LOL

But that might be what he might end up getting so i figured lets try to keep him away from 1 ohm... if the amp is not the best quality and is 1 ohm stable lets try to run at 2 ohm at the lowest
 
#24 ·
I'm pretty sure that I'm going to save up a little longer and get a DC 1.2K. I like their basic, clean, and no frills look for their amps.

Sundown amps also fit what I want as far as looks and performance go but why are they so damn expensive. I'm sure they are worth the money but $400 is a bit much for a 1500w amp... Can anyone one explain this to me?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top