3 channels into a 2 channel amp

[mother_russia]

i have a profile ca600 2 channel amp. my friend needs an amp so i was going to give him mine. he needs to power 2 6x9s and one single vc sub. the amp has enough power but does it have enough channels? is there a way we can wire both speakers to one channel? sounds like a bad idea, but he wants to try it. he doesnt care that it wont be stereo, if it will work at all.

[dice daniels]

If the amp is able to be ran in tri mode he can wire the 6x9's left and right, and bridge the sub with a passive subwoofer crossover safely. I dont know how it would sound though. If the 6x9's can only handle 50-70 rms and the sub can handle 250 it may not even out.

check uot page 53 of this site you can use the bar to the right to go directly to it or read up to it and learn everything there is to know about car audio if you want. thank the member (gsm13) for the link cuz he's the one I owe thanks to for giving it to me.(www.bcae1.com) Just call him "the link master".

[germanyt]

some amps will allow you to do that. run speakers in each channel and another in mono(bridged). i have an old Koiiler 800w that actually has a switch on to run 2,3,4 channel. check and see if the specs on the amp show the output of running it like that. if it looks good, its worth giving it a shot.

[bumpinstang77]

it's a 2 channel amp guys.... and to answer your question you couldn't do this unless you have crossovers in you head unit. If not you would have to buy crossovers (not to mention also have a mono signal to your highs) and you'd end up paying more then to just get a 4 ch amp or another amp. If the head unit DOES have crossovers the run a high pass for the front speakers (Use one of the front RCA outs) and plug that into either the left or right side of the amp then connect both speakers in parallel to that channel then the sub out should be low passed and run one RCA channel from on of the sub RCA outs and run the sub off the channel you run that too......the amp will need to be ran in full range...... That can be done IF the HU has built in Xovers and IF he doesn't mind his highs in mono.... if he has the money tell him to just get a cheap profile 4 channel.

[dice daniels]

I just downloaded the manual for your amp and "yes" it is trimode capable. This is all it said to be careful of:

CAUTION! In Tri- mode operation, the amplifier must see a 2 Ohm load or higher for the
stereo satellites and no lower than 4 Ohms for the subwoofer(s). Any lower than the
above mentioned impedance will cause the amplifier to overheat and possibly cause
permanent damage to the amplifier.

So all you got to watch is the impediance of your subwoofer. Your 6x9's will be ok though.

[germanyt]

burn!!!

[bumpinstang77]

Dice. The amp only has one xover it CANNOT be used unless there is an outboard xover or one on the head unit.

[ponchonutty]

Originally Posted by bumpinstang77

Dice. The amp only has one xover it CANNOT be used unless there is an outboard xover or one on the head unit.

Yep you'll need to run it without the crossover on and coils/chokes for the subwoofer. If you don't it will sound like ass.

[mother_russia]

hmmm... so what should i do then? how much will it cost him to get the amp working for him and what are some specific instructions for him to get it installed. by the way, he has a sony m630 hu.

[dice daniels]

Originally Posted by dice daniels

If the amp is able to be ran in tri mode he can wire the 6x9's left and right, and bridge the sub with a passive subwoofer crossover safely. I dont know how it would sound though. If the 6x9's can only handle 50-70 rms and the sub can handle 250 it may not even out.

The only thing "I didd'nt" say originaly was to run the amp in full range. A coil "Is" a "passive crossover". and If he was to go into an electronics store and ask for a crossover with out telling them he needed it to be passive he would get an in line crossover. It would actualy be called a low pass passive coil/inductor to be exact.

As far as using a passive crossover myself I have never used one on the low end of a car audio system but I have used capacitors to tune my highs before. I probably would'nt know exactly what value of coil to have him buy so if anyone does know He will need the info before he goes shopping. They dont cost much, I do know that.

[ponchonutty]

Originally Posted by dice daniels

The only thing "I didd'nt" say originaly was to run the amp in full range. A coil "Is" a "passive crossover". and If he was to go into an electronics store and ask for a crossover with out telling them he needed it to be passive he would get an in line crossover. It would actualy be called a low pass passive coil/inductor to be exact.

As far as using a passive crossover myself I have never used one on the low end of a car audio system but I have used capacitors to tune my highs before. I probably would'nt know exactly what value of coil to have him buy so if anyone does know He will need the info before he goes shopping. They dont cost much, I do know that.

the biggest problem is knowing what the cutoff you need. He might need a cutoff at 50,80,100htz or anywhere inbetween. I haven't sold or used one in years because no one seems to want to do anything like this. Also, almost every sub amp already has a pre-amp crossover. I think I have 6 or so chokes in the shop but like I said, I have no idea where he needs to cut things off.

[dice daniels]

yea I figured he'd have to find Somebody that could look at what he had and give him an idea of what he would need. I have'nt seen chokes used in car audio for a realy long time. I just knew it was possible to do what he wanted to do. I do know that radioshack sells a multi pack of assorted coils for like 5 bucks or so but I dont know if any of them could do what he needed them to do. If he could buy like 5 or 6 of them ranging from like 50 to 100 htz he could do some exsperimenting I guess. But then again it could just be a lost cause.

[ponchonutty]

Originally Posted by dice daniels

yea I figured he'd have to find Somebody that could look at what he had and give him an idea of what he would need. I have'nt seen chokes used in car audio for a realy long time. I just knew it was possible to do what he wanted to do. I do know that radioshack sells a multi pack of assorted coils for like 5 bucks or so but I dont know if any of them could do what he needed them to do. If he could buy like 5 or 6 of them ranging from like 50 to 100 htz he could do some exsperimenting I guess. But then again it could just be a lost cause.

No, those at Radio shack probably won't be strong enough to be able to run that much power through them. Stinger was the company that made it big with these things. Then, they later changed gears and basically just sell wires, fuse holders, and stuff like that.

[dice daniels]

Yea they diddnt seem to be made out of a thick enough gague of copper to handle those kinda amps, but It was the only place I ever saw them in multi paks like that.

got any ideas for the guy cuz thats all i had.?

Do you realy have to run your 6x9's off of the amp. Can you just run them off of the deck? You'll get more power to the sub if you do. Plus you'll reduce the risk of overheating the amp. The way I figure it you'll be pulling close to a 1 ohm load by running it with all three and that will heat the amp up pretty quick. You'll get more life out of it if you just bridge the sub into it at a 2 ohms. You're gona play hell getting a passive crossover with the right values to get the job done right. It is possable but It would take alot of surching and asking questions.

Did you get the manual?

[mother_russia]

sorry, i've been out of town and unable to check email. yeah i got the manual, i am going to ask my friend tomorrow about powering the 6x9s off the hu. i have no idea why he wants to use the amp for both, i assume he should be able to use the hu. i'll get back to you, but thanks for the manual.