single amp vs. dual amps

Hi, right now I have a Sony Xplod 1000w amp (yes, the walmart kind, http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4541643 , my budget=suck). It hits my Sony Xplod 1200w 12" subs hard, but the amp overheats way too easily and frequently (I have the amp bridged...)

Now, let's get this out of the way, I realize Sony isn't recommended, but my budget isn't great, so...

I was wondering this: should I get another amp (same kind), leaving a dedicated amp for each sub, or should I return this amp and purchase a single, more powerful amp from a different store like Circuit City?

My thinking on this is with the dual amp situation, I'll get the same boom with a lot less overheating, and then I can get more. Or am I not thinking about this correctly?

Again, my budget sucks, so let's say if I go the dual amp route, it'll cost a total of $300, so if a single amp is better, I'm open for suggestions up to $300 after taxes.

Thanks.

Anything is better than sony. ANYTHING. My pioneer amp that i bought from wal-mart 4 years ago costs 10 bucks more than that thing did and is still delivering power today. You also may be thinking about the peak power and not rms power. These are the specs for your amp http://www.sony-mea.com/product_details.asp?InpProdId=6168
and i'm assuming these are the subs you have or something similar
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-12-Inch-1200-Watt-Subwoofer-XSL121P5/dp/B00025ELDU
Regardless, this tells me that your sony amp is definitely, positively NOT enough to power both which is why it's overheating. sell the sony amp, buy two good name brand amps from ebay and make sure they're not sony.

it's getting hot because you have it bridged ...... and probably running to low of a load.

So the amp is too weak to power my subs? :(

I don't want to go the ebay route for amps again, last time I did that the amp went up and smoke and it would've cost me $40 in shipping costs to get it replaced through the manufacturer's warranty. Any non-ebay suggestions you can give me? I don't want to waste my money again buying the wrong thing.

It looks to me that it's too weak plus you said you were on a budget, which means ebay is the best place to go. just be a smart shopper. If your subs can handle up to 350 watts like the ones i found that matches your description then i would put in around 250-300 watts each so find something that works whether you get one or two (i recommend the latter). I think you should check out Profile as they are on the cheaper side and i think the AF regulars qualify their amps as at least average (which is better than sony).

I just purchased two of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=017&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=270053770299&rd=1&rd=1

Please tell me this will be more than enough :) Thanks.

if you wire them in 2 ohm you will be golden

Awesome, one more question there:

Is there a tutorial somewhere that will explain how to wire the subs at a 2ohm load with dual amps?

Thanks.

Once again..would have sold a Kicker SX1250.1 for 300 bucks with the SXRC. Maybe I'll drop it down to $250 shipped.:frown:

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/wiringwizard.asp

here you go

Got a small problem:

My xplod's are SVC. I can't seem to find a diagram on there for 2-ohm load svc woofers for a dedicated amp (my subs are 4-ohm svc)

Am I just going to have to run one amp and power them both off of it? I would really prefer to have dedicated amps if I could, but if not... :(

this is from crutchfield, and i didn't see a svc 2 ohm setup in the list.
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/learningcenter/car/subwoofers_wiring.html
at the worst, if you ran an amp to each sub they'd get 200 watts according to the specs. your subs each handle up to 380 and they're in the trunk of an Oldsmobile so it isn't that bad.

Gah, I know it isn't _that_ bad, but it can be better.

I have everything hooked up with the 200w/sub setup right now, and it sounds awesome, it's just I can't help but to think I'm running at just a bit over half power on those subs. (btw, the profile amps don't even get warm O_o)

Is there _any_ way to make this work? What if I hooked up a 4-ohm resistor or something to each of the amps, would that allow the 350w to get to the sub then?

And having said that, if that would work, where could I get a 4-ohm resistor at?

why did you guys recommend two amps? it would have been much easier to get one bigger amp. like a hifonics bx 1000d or somthing. you will only be able to get 200 rms out of each amp since your subs are single 4 ohm.

we didn't he just bought 2

sell the sony amp, buy two good name brand amps from ebay and make sure they're not sony.
find something that works whether you get one or two (i recommend the latter).

he did.

So am I screwed? Isn't there a way I can put on some kind of 4-ohm resistor so the amp can see a 2-ohm load and pump all 350watts to the sub?

no, you just cant get more than 200 rms out of the amps. adding a resistor will not give more power to the subs.

But isn't this just a matter of getting the amps to see a 2-ohm load?

What if I ran two sets of speaker wire to the sub: 2 positive wires to the same positive terminal, and two negative wires to the same negative terminal on the sub?

I am just trying to find _some_ way to pump out the power I was led to believe I could put out >:(

If you put a 4 ohm resistor in parallel with a speaker, the amp will see a 2 ohm load .... unfortunately the resistor will soak up all the extra power your amp will generate. So then your amp will have to push twice as hard to give the speakers the same power as it did without the resistor.

Maybe I should just sell the subs back onto ebay and try to find dvc ones?

I'll wait for tax refund before I mess with it anymore, I'll just live with what I have.

One more question before I end this fight: is there anyway to force the amp to push out more than 200 RMS with the 4-ohm load? Right now the amps run _cold_, so I would think there's plenty, I mean plenty, of room to try to push out more power. Now I'm thinking in terms of overclocking a computer >_>

he did.
he didn't have to listen to me, although he said it sounds awesome and the profiles don't get even warm and it sounds like he plans to get rid of those crappy sony subs down the road anyway so problem solved for now.

Maybe I should just sell the subs back onto ebay and try to find dvc ones?

I'll wait for tax refund before I mess with it anymore, I'll just live with what I have.

One more question before I end this fight: is there anyway to force the amp to push out more than 200 RMS with the 4-ohm load? Right now the amps run _cold_, so I would think there's plenty, I mean plenty, of room to try to push out more power. Now I'm thinking in terms of overclocking a computer >_>


you can get the amp to push more but just not with those subs. and there is no way to "overclock" your amp unless he is made to go lower then 1 ohm

he didn't have to listen to me, although he said it sounds awesome and the profiles don't get even warm and it sounds like he plans to get rid of those crappy sony subs down the road anyway so problem solved for now.

I know, but when you sugguest somthing and no one says there is a better way he will probably listen. I agree the profiles are a good amp for the price, but he could have done better. Problem solved for now, but wasted money in the future.

I realize this thread got a tad old, but I figured it's better to bump this since it already has the background info.

I found these subs from Pioneer:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/product/details/0,,2076_310069927_153020663_tab=B,00.html?compName =PNA_V3_ProductDetailsComponent

400W RMS, DVC.

Do these look like good subs to use, since I should be able to wire them in parallel and pull 350W RMS from each amp?

those are crap. get these:
http://ascendantaudio.com/arsenal12specs.html

or these:
http://www.tcsounds.com/tc1000.htm