More of electronic basics - Arc amp Ohm question

[talltigeguy]

I was talking with SBFan about getting a KS 900.6 to power my 6 interior speakers and my sub. Looks like it might do the trick.

http://www.arcaudio.com/productdescr...ies/ks9006.asp

Here is my complaint: The amp puts out 60 Watts to each channel at 4 Ohms and 100 watts at 2 Ohms. Sbfan suggests I wire the two right cabin speakers in Parallel to get a 2 Ohm load and then connect them to one channel, and the two left to another channel. Then I can use one channel for each bow speaker. That leaves me to bridge the 2 remaining channels to get big sub power.

The Wetsounds XS 650's are said to handle 100 Watts each. If I wire 2 speakers in Parallel I will reduce the resistance to 2 Ohms. Then the amp will put out 100 Watts, or only 50 Watts per speaker, right?

SBFan says that each speaker will get 100 watts if I do that.

I say that I am right. I am concerned that this amp will not maximize the speakers' abilities.

[da.bell]

I would call ARC Audio and talk with them. Their customer support is great. That means you will need to wait until Tuesday.

[chpthril]

You are correct, what ever the amp puts out per channel, will be divided be each speaker on that chnl.

A 12oz can of soda will fill 1 12oz glass, but will not fill 2 8oz, but put 6oz in each one.

I would look a 4chnl that would give you near 200w x 4 @ 2ohm. Wire the 2 bow speakers to their own chnls (they will receive what ever the amp output is @ 4ohm, but how load do you want in the bow anyway) and then wire the left and right main cabin pairs in parallel (2ohm) on the other 2 chnls.

You could also wire the 2 bow speakers to the head unit, and go with a 5chnl such as the Kicker 700.5, this will give you 70 x 4 @ 4 ohm and 420w for the sub. I'm reconfiguring mine this way.

As far a bridging your sub.....what are the specs? how is it wired? if it's a 2ohm DVC, will the amp handle a 1ohm load bridged???????

[da.bell]

The Arc Audio KAR 300.2 will give you 175 RMS watts per channel.

http://www.arcaudio.com/productdescr...ies/ks3002.asp

They also have the 300.4 would also work.



I have the 300.2 and the 1000.1. Both are very, very clean sounding amps IMO.

[wetsounds1]

Get that amp. Arc underrates all their amps. That amp does more like 75 to 80 watts on the 4 ch section. It has gobs of power. You will not be disapointed. The XS650 can take a lot more if you want. I am running 140 watts rms to each in my boat. But they perform great on less power. And I have heard lots of systems with our speakers and that amp.

Tim
Wet Sounds

[evil0ne]

I have that amp and can't complain. I believe I have the bow at 2 Ohm and the cabin at 4 Ohm and then adjusted the gains so they match. What Sub do you have? That amp is putting some stress on my W3. Come on down and I'll let yo see what it does first hand.

[talltigeguy]

You are correct, what ever the amp puts out per channel, will be divided be each speaker on that chnl.

You could also wire the 2 bow speakers to the head unit, and go with a 5chnl such as the Kicker 700.5, this will give you 70 x 4 @ 4 ohm and 420w for the sub. I'm reconfiguring mine this way.

As far a bridging your sub.....what are the specs? how is it wired? if it's a 2ohm DVC, will the amp handle a 1ohm load bridged???????

Mostly I just wanted someone to tell me I was right. J/K.

I have been looking at that kicker amp as well and it seems like it would do the trick. The sub is a DVC 4 Ohm JL 12W3. So I have been running it in Parallel to get it to 2 Ohms, and then I have it bridged to my cheapo Boss amp. It pushes it pretty decently, but I suspect it can do more.
The wierd thing about the Kicker amp is that when you put the regular channels to 2 Ohms, it only goes from 70 to 85 Watts, so I worry that it will not leave me as happy with the interior speakers.

Thanks for the input, Tim. I have a guy who can get me the Arc amps at a good price. But they still will be considerably more than a Kicker.

The main thing I want to do is get the front speakers off of the HU without adding a 3rd amplifier.

[da.bell]

Arc audio amps are competition rated developed by Robert Zeff. He worked for Zapco at one time from my understanding.

[wetsounds1]

Robert Zeff was the founder of Zapco (Zeff Advanced Product Co).

He sold ZAPCO and has his own engineering company. For companies like Arc Audio and others.......

Tim
Wet Sounds

[xpjim1]

. The sub is a DVC 4 Ohm JL 12W3. So I have been running it in Parallel to get it to 2 Ohms, and then I have it bridged to my cheapo Boss amp. It pushes it pretty decently, but I suspect it can do more.

.

Ok this brings up my question. If the sub is going to be at 2 ohm and the amp is bridged across 2 channels and rated at 4 ohm. Is that amp 2 ohm stable bridged. When shopping amps I was told some amps were not stable at anything other than 4 ohm load. Not sure what it all means but I thought I would ask and get more education

[dogbert]

Usually, the specs in the amp will say whether or not it is stable at 2 Ohms. You'll see a power rating specifically for 2 Ohms.

[xpjim1]

Usually, the specs in the amp will say whether or not it is stable at 2 Ohms. You'll see a power rating specifically for 2 Ohms.

I have never seen any amp specs under bridged that gives any thing other than a rating at 4 ohm.

[talltigeguy]

I have never seen any amp specs under bridged that gives any thing other than a rating at 4 ohm.

Interesting that you bring that up, Jim. Maybe I will have to run the 900.6 with 1 channel to each voice coil. That will still give me 155 Watts to each coil and hopefully that will sound good. I'd like to hear what the experts say.

Can I bridge that and then run it in Parallel to my sub?

[xpjim1]

So far I am pretty happy with the 5 channel cadence amp . Granted it has not been out on the water yet but boat sounds good in my storage building and in my driveway. regular channels are 100 at 4 ohm and 150 at 2 0hm. Sub chnnel is 500 at 2 ohm.

I am only pushing the stock clarions but I do think they sound better. I really like the new sub, but that might be because the old sub only made a humming sound. I still expect more from the sub though and hopefully tuning the amps will make it thump more

[chpthril]

Ok this brings up my question. If the sub is going to be at 2 ohm and the amp is bridged across 2 channels and rated at 4 ohm. Is that amp 2 ohm stable bridged. When shopping amps I was told some amps were not stable at anything other than 4 ohm load. Not sure what it all means but I thought I would ask and get more education

I have never seen any amp specs under bridged that gives any thing other than a rating at 4 ohm.

This was my concern in my first post! I agree with Jim, I have not seen an Amp with specs for a 2ohm load bridged. From what I've read, posted by Phil, in this case, the amp will see a 1ohm load. This may not be true with all amps, but it was the case with the ZX350.4 and the 4spkr Tower O Power from parallel and bridged, Tige.