What’s all this 2 Ohm, 4 Ohm stuff about

[scoob1983]

Been meaning to ask this for a while, but only now when im contemplating what new amp to buy, do i ask it!

I may be completely wrong here, but this is how i roughly see it:-

I have 2 12" subs. If i were to get a 1000W amp, which could also push out 2 x 300W, and wire the subs up to the 2 separate channels, would that be a 4 Ohm setup? & if i were to wire them both up in a circuit, to the bridged channel, would that be a 2 Ohm setup?

Been trying to get my head around this for a while now!

I take it that the amp would have to have a mode to be able to run 2 Ohms?

Im contemplating getting a big power Alpine amp to power my 2 12s you see!

 

[Bryan]

pm me the details of the amps/subs you are planning and ill tell you if they are suitable together

the ohmage is just basically the impedance of the speaker

 

[scoob1983]

Not too sure what i want yet.

Ive got an alpine 340 in the post to me, but thats for the speakers.

Ive currently got a kenwood 1000W amp and 2 12" kenwood subs in the boot. With me getting an alpine amp for the speakers, im thinking best to convert throughout to alpine. Will probably get one of these digital amps, from what i hear theyre very good.

Am just curious more than anything, because ive heard alot about it. I like to understand something which is in my face so much!

 

[Lagerlout]

Your basically right in what you are saying. Impedance is resistance to current flow in an AC circuit. Thus lower the impedance value, the higher the current flow, hence a higher output power. Obviously your Amp has to be rated sufficiently to supply a 2 ohm load. You should also check the rated impedance of your speakers.

 

[1fast6]

yeah your speakers should have a nominal impedance rating that your amp should be able to provide.

Ideally you want an impedance rating of 2ohms so that there is minimal resistance per channel. but as the frequencies and therefore current fluctuate it is impossible to keep a 2ohm resistance and you will lose power as it increases.

basically impedance is a rating to determine how well a channel (amp and speaker) is able to cope with fluctuations in current. the lower the better.