Sub Wiring

September 15, 2005

I have just ordered a 2005 12" Alpine Type-R sub. It is rated at 500W RMS @ 4ohms.

The amp I also ordered is the Alpine MRD-M605 as part of a deal.

It is rated as:

# 600W x 1 RMS [2 Ω @14.4V (1%THD)]

# 400W x 1 RMS [4 Ω @14.4V (1%THD)]

# 400W x 1 RMS [2 Ω @12V (1%THD)]

# 250W x 1 RMS [4 Ω @12V (1%THD)]

What is the best way 2 wire this sub?

It is a dual voice coil sub.....so parallel or in series?

Dont hav a clue as last sub wasnt DVC.

September 16, 2005

we're not psychics here... 1st things 1st, what's the exact model of the woofer?

September 16, 2005

Well its gona have to be the SWR-1242D if its the 2005 Alpine Type-R and rated at 500W RMS at 4 ohms :P

So whats the best way to wire it? As if wire it in parallel then the amp will give it 600W RMS at 2ohms and surely this would blow the sub?

If in series it will be running at 8ohms and so not running at its full potential?

September 17, 2005

okaaay, let's take this one from the top.

the 1242D is a 12", 2 times 4 ohms (double voice coil) subwoofer. you cant change that. it's 2x4 ohms, and it's capable of handling 500 Watts of TRUE power.

the M605 is a class D (digital class) amplifier. that means it can take anything you toss at it, and it should be able to support impedance as low as 1 ohm (at a loss of sound quality of course). it offers 400 watts in 4 ohm mode. you can forget about that. you have a TWO times FOUR speaker, you can either hook it up in series or in parallel (or hook up only one voice coil to get 4 ohms and screw it all up). so you're going to hook it up in parallel - thus lowering the total impedance of the subwoofer to 2 ohms (note - the monoblock amp sees the DVC woofer as only one). hence you will get 600 watts fed into a 500 watt speaker. since alpine is a premium company, you dont have to worry too much about blowing it, unless you're insane. first of all, use premium cables, EVERYWHERE. 2nd, match the input sensitivity of the amp with the output voltage of the head unit (usually it's 2 volts). now set that a bit LOWER, so you DONT DRIVE THE AMP INTO CLIPPING. also, get an alpine recommended box for the speaker, or better yet, get it custom built for your car specifically (lots of money but worth every penny). now, when you're tuning it up, get the most saucy, bassy song on a cd you'll ever listen to and play it. the point is to adjust the head unit/amp/speaker to sound as loud as possible WITHOUT ANY DISTORTION coming from the speaker. this is hard to do if the box is in the trunk and you're adjusting from the driver's seat. get an infrared remote. experiment. don't drive your amp into clipping, because the speaker is the one who has to deal with it.

also, SIX HUNDRED WATTS are an aweful amount of power. i have 300 and it's moooore than enough for a compact car. make sure you have an either really good head unit (with a v-hybrid or really really really good mosfet built in amp) or get a separate small amp for the other Speakers in the car. running that sub of THAT amp and the other Speakers of a regular head unit will result in you not hearing anything but the bass. hey, but maybe that's just what you're looking for, right?

PS dont forget to put the other Speakers in the car on HIGH PASS FILTERS - no reason for them to bother producing bass that you'll never hear from the woofer.

it's late and i'm sleepy, make sure to write back tomorrow and tell me what turnes out.

September 17, 2005

Thanks very much for the reply.......very helpful :D

Well this is what I have ordered:

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/p...ts_id/1028.html

Also got a 1.5F power cap as well, as I will defo need it!

Unfortunately still on the way :( Ordered it over a week ago....they had run out of the amp so had to order some from alpine.

It has a generic sub box.......but has the rcmnd volume for the sub.

I was thinking that parallel was the best way to wire the DVC.......but my current sub is a single voice coil and I wanted some confirmation on this.

My front components and 6x9s are already powered by an amp on HPF. They are focal Speakers and a panasonic amp which is actually quite good......step dad bought it in 99 for quite abit of money. The Speakers are v loud/clear so that department is sorted.

Thanks very much once again! :thumbsup:

Now just gota wait for it all to arrive before I can install it :(

September 18, 2005

Also got a 1.5F power cap as well, as I will defo need it!
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give that stupidity back immediately, that's the biggest waste of money i've ever seen!!! a "power" cap isnt gonna help you out... do you really believe that a 400 euro alpine amp needs a POWER CAP????? since you're gonna be running 2 amps of a poor little yaris's alternator+tiny Battery, i recommend you use the money you'd waste on the capacitor and get an alternator upgrade. or at least an excellent Battery. like an exxide maxxima, or an optima yellow or red top. now THOSE things make a difference!!! :hokus-pokus:

September 18, 2005

Yes I do believe a it will need a power cap! Everytime the sub will "thump" it requires power and since it will use a lot of power then the cap will store power for the "thumps".

But i will upgrade the Battery later on, but tbh its not a bad Battery.

September 18, 2005

Yes I do believe a it will need a power cap! Everytime the sub will "thump" it requires power and since it will use a lot of power then the cap will store power for the "thumps".
But i will upgrade the battery later on, but tbh its not a bad battery.
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have you ever seen a "power" cap manufacturer put up demo cars, showing, car A, w/o a cap, does xxx decibels, and car b, with our "ultra power cap" does xxx+yyy decibels????

NO.

and you will never see that. power caps are just a fad made up to sell people another round of placebo they dont need. like all those "super turbo" chargers, and petrol "demagnetisers" all and the other crap you can make up. save yourself those hundred pounds and put it away towards a decent Battery, which is about a 150 i believe. the only "evidence" of power caps being useful is that people who own them tell me "i THINK the bass is really clearer now when i pump it to the max". does that sound plausible to you? if it made a difference, trust me, you'd KNOW immediately. the only reason people keep recommending them is that nobody wants to admit they threw away a lot of money on soemthing they dont need. send it back and get a decent Battery, or an alternator upgrade. (for example, with an exxide maxxima, you can start the engine while the music is full on without drop-outs. now THAT'S a huge difference)

and dont run your system full on when you finally get it going. good Speakers need break in time. after that, thump away... i just hope your poor yaris can take the beating of that powerhouse you'll install in the trunk :eek: ... i don't think you're aware of the sheer quantity of the bass those alpine's can make...

September 18, 2005

I remember when i first got my JL Audio sub installed into my car, MY GOD :eek: , did it have a solid beat, now thats it mellowed out it's sounds much smoother :thumbsup:

I agree that power cap have very little help in a system, if you bass needs power, and the cap is there, it won't last very long, because when it discharges from a surge it will need time to restore, and i bet it won't be that quick.

Remember, a cap it like a small Battery in essence :yes: