Reliving my youth

[Jbaker33]

For the last 6 months or so I've been wanting to get an audio system put into my 06 QC 1500. Well about a week ago I finally did something about it. I found a "kit" online through google Express. It came with the custom box that fits under my rear 60/40 split bench, 2 12 in kenwood subs (400 watt rms each), a 4,000 watt boss AR4000D monoblock amp and the amp wiring kit. I have a Chinese android aftermarket head unit. I mounted the amp underneath my drivers seat and the subs wired in parallel. I've been fine tuning it since then and I think I'm as good as im going to get. Overall I'm satisfied with the way it sounds. I really like the remote bass adjuster. It allows me to turn up the radio as loud as I want it first, and then add as much bass as I want 2nd.

I do have a question or two, for you guys who can understand all this craziness lol. Would I be better off wiring the subs in series, or keeping it in parallel. The subs are SVC 4 OHMs each and the amp is 1 ohm stable. My confusion is I think in parallel, I'm 2 ohms at the amp? Maybe? If I wire in series I think I read that I'd be at 8 ohms at the amp. I also read that lower ohms that what your amp is rated at while destroy your equipment but haven't seen much about going higher in resistance like 8 ohms helping or hurting the system..I'm basically trying to get more umph out of the subs. I know for sure I need an upgraded alternator for sure. I was listening to it tonight with the torque pro app on both voltage settings and it would swing from 14.4 to like 13.5ish. I've downloaded like 10 EQ apps to see if that helps any, just haven't had a chance yet. Any thoughts or ideas would be much appreciated..heres a couple of pics of my box and amp in my truck.

P.S. dont be judgmental, I installed in myself after not doing it for over 15 years. I've learned a lot since then and although I didnt take pics of the install, it is pretty clean(except under the seat/amp area) for what my back could handle. Lmao that makes me sound really old. In 32 but I fell 15 ft and crushed 3 vertebrae, among other broken bones. Had my 2bd spinal surgery this last January. Also, my truck is lived in by two slobs aka my kids so its not super clean but I try, hence the towels covering the carpets, to try and protect my poor carpet

 

[Jbaker33]

 

[justin13703]

You have the subs wired up correctly if they are in parallel. You have a 2 ohm load that way. If you wire them in series you will be at 8ohms which will massively reduce the power they will be getting. The higher the resistance (ohms) the less usable power you will get. That amp puts out 1500 watts rms at 2 ohms, and 750 at 4 ohms, which would put it at around 375 watts at 8 ohms.

That being said, that amp at 2 ohms is way overkill for those subs. The subs are rated for 400w rms each, and that amp has the potential to put 750w rms to each sub (1500w divided between the two). Just keep the amp adjusted correctly and don’t slam the **** out of them and you should be ok.

 

[Jbaker33]

You have the subs wired up correctly if they are in parallel. You have a 2 ohm load that way. If you wire them in series you will be at 8ohms which will massively reduce the power they will be getting. The higher the resistance (ohms) the less usable power you will get. That amp puts out 1500 watts rms at 2 ohms, and 750 at 4 ohms, which would put it at around 375 watts at 8 ohms.

That being said, that amp at 2 ohms is way overkill for those subs. The subs are rated for 400w rms each, and that amp has the potential to put 750w rms to each sub (1500w divided between the two). Just keep the amp adjusted correctly and don’t slam the **** out of them and you should be ok.

Ok cool. Thanks for the info. I am actually just checking this today but earlier today I did switch them to series wiring and it sounded like crap lol. I ordered this online, already put together thankfully..im.starting to understand it all a little bit..so basically, I have too much amp for the speakers? I've been actually wondering how to get more.out of them. Dont get me wrong, they sound good, I just wish they'd hit harder. Would there be any benifit to adding a 2nd identical amp and running each sub off it's own amp? I'm prolly answering my own question but that'd make each load at 4 ohms, which puts out less power than at 2 which they are currently at..is there anyways to bring a single 4 ohm speaker down to 2 ohm? Thanks again for all the info

 

[justin13703]

Ok cool. Thanks for the info. I am actually just checking this today but earlier today I did switch them to series wiring and it sounded like crap lol. I ordered this online, already put together thankfully..im.starting to understand it all a little bit..so basically, I have too much amp for the speakers? I've been actually wondering how to get more.out of them. Dont get me wrong, they sound good, I just wish they'd hit harder. Would there be any benifit to adding a 2nd identical amp and running each sub off it's own amp? I'm prolly answering my own question but that'd make each load at 4 ohms, which puts out less power than at 2 which they are currently at..is there anyways to bring a single 4 ohm speaker down to 2 ohm? Thanks again for all the info

No getting another amp wont be a good idea. You already have way more wattage than you need. If they aren’t loud enough for you, it can be many things. It could be settings in the radio, settings on the amp, a combination of the two, the box they’re in (sealed is much quieter than ported), or just that they aren’t powerful enough subs. I have a single alpine type R 10” on 500w rms in a ported box and the thing absolutely slams. It’s louder than I’ll ever need it to be. So chances are you just need the radio/amp to be set up right. This can be very complicated to most people when trying to figure out gain adjustments, low pass filters, crossover adjustments etc. So it may actually be worth running it by an audio shop and throwing them a couple bucks to set it up for you if you’re not confident with all the settings.