been a while since ive looked at amp set ups. looking for suggestions on amp brand and size. ive got two 12" kicker cvr's in a ported probox. acording to the multimeter, at the terminals on the box, theres 8 ohms on each (making the dvc of each sub 4ohms each?) they are 400 watt rms 800 max. im looking to spend no more than $150 in the amp. any wiring or specific amps suggestions are greatly appreciated.

not sure it matters but its in a 1992 4x4 4dr s10 blazer

 

First of all, you're correct that those are 4ohm DVC subs wired in series of course. I doubt anyone knows what that box is really tuned to, but we'll come back to the importance of that later.

The amp you need for those subs really comes down to your budget. $150 won't net you a really powerful or fantastic amp, although you don't need a great deal in the first place with them as they're only rated at 400wrms. Now there's no such thing as too little power, however, it is much easier to push an amp into distortion when it doesn't get as loud as one had hoped or loud enough. That distortion almost always leads to some sort of trouble for the subs, the amp or both. Really the best thing you can do is buy the best amp with the most power you can afford. Stay away from brands like Boss, Phoenix Digital, Volfenhag, Power Acoustik, Performance Teknique, and many others. They don't produce rated power, are not built to withstand any abuse, and rarely sound as good or clean as other brands. Basically, if the price/power ratio seems too good to be true compared to other brands, it most likely is. Any amp that reads 2,000, 1,500 or even 1,000 watts of power and costs $150 or less is absolutely full of it. Just from my searching around I had to get into $170 range to find some 2 channel amps that are 2 ohm stable to get around 300wrms per channel built by any brand I would ever consider spending hard earned money on.

At $199 this Cadence ZRS-2002 is rated 400wrms x 2 @ 2 ohms, which would run those Kicker's very well. Or this Hifonics BXI1210D at $189 and that one is only one I would purchase because there was NO way to budget any more money at all, but it would actually have plenty of headroom which would help a lot.

Either way, I know you don't want to hear it, but you should really open your budget up a little more at least. You'll be happier with the purchase in the long run and in the long run likely save yourself some cash because you'll likely only need to make one purchase instead of multiple ones.

Now, back to the tuning of the enclosure. Knowing what that enclosure is tuned to will be very helpful in saving the lives of your subs. On any ported enclosure that is played below the tuning frequency the sub will "unload". Or in other words, play as though it is not even in an enclosure. On a few watts of power, that's no problem. Do that when you're playing them at full power and you'll bottom the sub out and destroy the voice coil, spiders, tinsel leads or all the above and possibly more. If you'd like to know how to find out your enclosure tuning I can post a thread for all, as it may just help everyone out.

 

that would be great if you could post it as well as a link. i had no idea that the box made any difference other than sound.
the local guy at the shop is trying to get me to buy a planet audio 1500 watt mono for 200. says it would run them perfectly. i trust this guy compared to the others around town and hes always willing to help, im just weary as ive never used pa before and have heard some horror stories about them, granted some good though. if i moved up to $200, would that increase my options at all?

here is the amp hes trying to sell me:
PLANET AUDIO | YOUR FINAL DESTINATION

edit: just looked at the cadence. i havnt heard of that brand before so dont know anything about them.. have you had good experience with them?

 

Yep, as soon as I get some real time freed up I'll get that info posted up. I don't think I'd be too afraid of that Planet Audio, I've seen them used a great deal around here and most people have really good luck with them and yes increasing the budget to around $200 opens the realm considerably compared to $150.

Cadence has been around for several years and like most other companies there are people who swear by them and those who swear at them. I've used a few of their amps before and was never disappointed with the results. Very clean and powerful amps. Another option would be Audiopipe amps as well. I've never used any personally, but I know lots of people who have never had trouble with them and they can be picked up at very reasonable prices too.

 

i found that planet audio one on amazon for way cheaper. im really open to all options, but need help on making the final decision on what to get. i miss my shaking mirrors and dirty looks from old people =) and of course the beautiful sound of bass

 

That amp is only 2 ohm stable, which means you'd have to leave your subs in series and connect them together in parallel at the amp for a 4 ohm load which according to the specs will yield you 700wrms in them. That's a little bit less than their rated power to each sub and wouldn't hurt anything to use that way, especially since the amp will be more efficient at 4 ohms than anything less. I think the amp would do well for you. It should be easy on your electrical system, not require stupid large power wires, and there's little chance of ever having a problem with it since you'd have to run it at 4 ohms. As a matter of fact a wiring kit like this one from Knukonceptz will be super affordable and perfect for that amp.

On the other hand, something like the Hifonics I linked would give you plenty of room to upgrade in the future, but it will be harder on the electrical (running at 1 ohm) and would require more money for the power wire, such as this kit from Knukonceptz.

It all depends on what kinds of future plans you have and how much you're really willing to spend.

 

Im already wired up and everything i just need the amp to plug in. I had a system before but i sold it, then realized i missed it as they drove away. Will that hifonics blow the subs? if not ill go ahead and get it so as to leave room for future upgrades.
ive wired power and ground with 8guage wire should i look at going bigger for that amp?

 

The Hifonics definitely has enough power to stress them if not blow them, but that's only if you're irresponsible with the gain and volume *****. With the gain properly set and responsibly listening to the subs for signs of problems then you'll never have a moments trouble. The extra power as headroom will be quite good for them.

As for the wire, you'll definitely want to upgrade that in the event you do upgrade and want to use the full power capabilities of that amp. I wouldn't be comfortable using that amp at 1 ohm with 8 gauge power wire even with it turned down like you'll have it for your subs. 4 gauge wire should do fine for 1200watts of power, although if you have the cash to pony up the 1/0 gauge kit would be the best way to go as it gives you even better abilities to upgrade in the future since that would already be done.

As I mentioned before, it's all up to you and your wallet. I always figure it's best to plan and buy as far ahead as possible it just saves you from having to do it later and in many cases saves money since prices on things like copper go up all the time.

 

alright thank you, ill be working towards that amp and i may as well go ahead and upgrade wires.

next comes the wiring it all together. id need to wire these at 4 ohm due to there being 2 subs. theres no way to wire it to 2 ohms, is this correct?
Dual Voice Coil Wiring Options | KICKER

 

That is absolutely correct.

With two dual 4 ohm subs your only options are 16ohms, 4ohms, and 1ohm.

16 ohms would be the subs coils wired in series with the two subs connected in series.
4 ohms is either each sub's coils wired in series and the two subs connected in parallel or each sub's coils wired in parallel and the two subs wired in series.
1 ohm would be the coils and the two subs wired in parallel.

There would be many other amp options available as well I believe if you could wire to 2 ohms, but that's not an option unfortunately. I would actually wire it to one ohm. That will be running the subs at 150% their rated power but in all honesty that headroom will be more good than it can harm if you're responsible with the gain and volume ***** as I mentioned above.