I currently have a 250watt amp pushing two 12" subwoofers.
If I buy a bigger watt amp:

1. It will make the subs louder correct?
2. Can I just unhook my amp and hook the new one up with the same wires?
3. What do you recommend?

 

Hello!

First of all, how much power can your 2 subs handle? RMS? MAX?

You may need to change your power/ground wires to a heavier gauge (you probably have 10 gauge now). 8 gauge might be required if your new amp is more powerful. But as far as the speaker wire goes, you should be able to continue to use it.

What amp were you looking at? What kind of subs do you have?

 

if your subs can handle the extra power, then a bigger amp will make them clearer at a higher bass volume. there will be no difference at regular listening volume.

 

like gapguy said the only thing you might change would be the battery and ground wires. Its not neccesary but i would recommend it for better performance.

 

If you go to a bigger amp it will probably get a little louder but will be much cleaner bass.

 

SUBS:
Subwoofer Size 12 Inch
Peak Power Handling (watts) 600
Frequency Response (Hz) 28Hz - 1kHz
Sensitivity (dB) 89
Woofer Cone Material Kevlar Reinforced Pulp Cone
Woofer Surround Material Santoprene Rubber
Voice Coil Design High Strength Brass Voice Coil Bobbin
Basket Material Steel
QTS .66
Fs - Free Air Resonance (Hz) 31
Recommended Amp Wattage Range 50 - 200 Watts


http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...3291&oid=70766

That is similar to my amp now.
What should I get?

 

What company are the subs? what is the cone made out of? that will make all the difference with the type and power of the amp you choose to replace your current one with. Also the power wires that run to your battery should be extremely thick. about an 8 or 10 at the thinnest. I have a 1000 watt amp running my 4 150 watt pioneer 3way's and my ground wires are 8. it was the least i wanted to use but considering they are not subs it didnt really make a difference to me. make sure they are suitable for the power you want to put out. also, if you can get a more powerful amp than that I would because a lot of the power the amp says it puts out is lost because of insufficient power from the battery and from the amp to the subs. I would go with a 400x2 channel at the least

 

Your subs are 4 ohms. They take 200 watts RMS each, your current amp gives them only 90 watts RMS each.

This amp would be ideal but it does carry a hefty price tag at $479: http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...=0&cc=01&avf=N

You can find it on ebay for $236: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=39737 NOTE: items sold on ebay DO NOT have a warranty, but I would NOT discourage you from buying there.

I have an amp very similar to this, and I recommend you power it with at least 8 gauge wire.

This would truly be your best bet!

PS. If you ever plan to sell your MTX amp, PM me, I might be interested.

 

Hey gapguy,
Any other amps you recommend?

 

ALSO! IGNORE any MAX power ratings. When shopping for an amp use the RMS ratings. Also, some low end amps like SONY will rate an amp at 1000 watts, and it will actually put out 600 watts at 2 ohms, and 300 at 4 ohms. So beware of cheap amps, they are very close to the heart of your system, and you want them to be their very best.

8 gauge wire should work, however I would recommend 4 gauge. It WILL cost you, but its worth it.

That amp I listed earlier also has a nifty bass boost wired remote which you can remove from its case and install in your dash cutouts.

 

I think that would be your best amp. The price on ebay is terrific, and will actually cost you less than the one you have now.

You MIGHT be able to save money by purchasing two amps, but then you spend more on wiring.

That first amp should do you excellent. Those subs will hammer hard!

 

Better yet, you could bridge your amp and wire the subs in series, to make it push a 2 ohm load, giving you 180 watts each..Which should be enough..PM me if you dont understand.

Or this should help:

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/IS...impedance=SVC4

 

Option #2?

 

If you need not spend extra money, dont. Right now, is your amp bridged? (meaning you're only using one pole (+ or -) on each channel? If it isn't, take the positive wires from each sub, then attach them to one channel's positive side. Then take the negatives and attach them to opposite channel's negative side.. This is make the amp push 180 watts, which is sufficient for your subs.

 

Thank you for the help gapguy.
I will look tomorrow and see how my amp is wired.
I will let you know.

 

Here is what it looks like:


R + AND L - go to right sub
R - AND L + go to left sub

How should I hook it up?

 

WTF??? this is totally wrong, give me a minute and I'll play with it in photo shop. I'm suprised you haven't blown a fuse

If you want your subs in 2 ohm parrallel they should both be on one + and one -

I cannot see clearly, but underneat the blue wires it says bridged. it will have a plus and minus sign where the wires should be connected, do that and you will be much happier. Also make sure your amp is in Low pass on the crossover

 

I did not set this up a local shop did.
make a diagram if you can so i can hook it
up correct! thanks for the help!

 

here you go, let me know if you have any more questions

 

SWEET!
Thanks Eric & gapguy. That is what I needed to do
to get the sound that I wanted. You guys just saved
me a couple hundred bucks!

BTW... What does bridged mean/do?