I have an Alpine M12 Amplifier, I have purchased two Alpine 12D2 Subs, but now I'm wondering whether the amp will be able to handle both of the subs as they are powerful. Would it be ideal to buy another M12 amplifier? What could be other solutions other than just running one sub? I have one sub wired directly to the amp, and the other sub is split from the 1st sub. If I was to purchase another amp how would I wire it in? I have 4 gauge wire. My head unit is an Alpine stereo also
Zaphod Beeblebrox2015-08-11T10:04:29Z
Don't you think you should have asked this BEFORE you bought those subs, or would that have been too logical and easy?
While that amp can run both subs at moderate levels it cannot supply enough power to do so at, or even near the maximum power required by two of them. If you don't adjust the gain properly and can't keep the the volume control turned down to a reasonable level, with insufficient amplifier power you'll risk causing sound distortion and signal clipping that can quickly burn up the voice coils and destroy your $500 investment in subs.
If I were you I'd either run one sub or get another amp that can run both, or get a second identical amp to run the second one. No matter what you do you're going to require an alternator and wiring upgrade for your car. That'll set you back another $400 to $500. Didn't think of that either, did you? There's no way a stock alternator is going to handle a 1200 watt amp bumping hard much less two of them.
How do you wire two amplifiers? A simple Google search would have provided the answer. Here: http://www.caraudiohelp.com/newsletter/multiple_amplifiers.html
While you're still using that amp with 2 subs, be sure you've got them wired with the voice coils in series and the subs in parallel for a 2 ohm load: That amp isn't stable below 2 ohms you'll fry it if you wire the subs parallel/ coils parallel. If you scale back to one sub, which is what I recommend, you'll need to wire the voice coils in series for a 4-ohm load. How to properly wire speakers: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Y8h73d2kSTB/learn/learningcenter/car/subwoofers_wiring.html
To state or imply that the type R won't run well on 600w rms is wrong. They will run VERY well on that amt of power. It could be argued they'll run better at 600 than they will at 1000.
If the subs are wired correctly for 2 ohms and they're in a quality enclosure there's no reason they shouldn't be performing exceptionally well. 2 ohm wiring: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/product/img/subwoofer_wiring/2_subs_DVC_2_ohm_mono.jpg
If you were to increase your amp power to something closer to 2kw the difference in performance of the subs (slight) vs the time and investment to get it done (significant) would be very hard to justify.
The speakers do not have power. They have the potential of handling up a certain amount of power in certain frequencies ( response). If your amp outputs less than the highest rating of the speakers, that fine. Do a well-designed installation, or hire a shop to do it, then enjoy your stereo at a comfortable volume.