Hey guys I'm looking into putting two 12" Kicker CVR's into my car the only problem is I'm confused when it comes to amp selection could someone please try to steer me in the right direction ??
Kicker 07DCVR12 - Kicker 12" Dual 4 Ohms CompVR Subwoofer Enclosure


Thanks

-Mike

If I were you I'd look into putting http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=3546 in. Or even Kicker ZX1500.1 - Kicker 1 Ch 1500 Watt ZX Series Amplifier . It really depends on your money situation. I haven't really looked into amp's much before so this is mostly a guess.

You could just get some nice component speakers with actual crossover's and possibly...Dare I say it...

Enjoy music?

i'm new to the car audio, but i think one of these or this one would work well for your subs. ant eh price is not so bad.

You can get a lot better sub for your money than Kicker... they arent bad but there is better out there. Also - for that sort of money (~$200 right?) one decent sub will sound a lot better than two poorer subs.

If all you want is lots of bass;

How about this for onyl $235 - 15" Diamond D6 would absolutely smoke those two kickers!

Or this seriously bad ass mo' fo' for £220 - Soundstream T5

But for a bit of sound quality as well...

my choice would probably be this: 12" Image Dynamics IDQ - one of the best sounding subs available and will get plenty loud off ~500wrms


When choosing an amp there are a few steps:

1) Work out how much REAL power you need (RMS) for your subs. Dont even look twice at any power value that isnt RMS.

2) Add 50% and that is how much RMS power you ideally would like your amp to kick out. Obviously use some intelligence - it doesnt have to be EXACTLY this value.... eg a 600wrms sub would be probably happiest being fed ~7-900wrms. Going ober is never a bad thing as long as you are careful setting up the gains

There are a coupld of reason why you do this: Firstly an amp will NEVER give out its full rated power unless you are playing 0db sine waves... which i guarantee is not a pleasant experience playing music you are lucky if you hit 75% of an amp output. Secondly is you want some headroom. ie. an amp will perform better and last longer if it doesnt have to push itself to its limits to supply the kind of kick you want.

3) Work out what load you will be showing your amp. if you have a dual 2ohm voice coil sub will you be showing your amp 1 or 4 ohm? is it single voice coil? etc etc

4) Find an amp that can supply the power from 2) at the load 3). Dont get crap. Spend a decent amount on your amp. If you cant afford the power you need then either change subs or buy an amp with less power.

5) ensure you have a good enough wiring kit (high enough gauge wire to supply the current the amp will draw)

6) install

7) SET GAINS PROPERLY!!!!

8) enjoy


However... as waffle says - have you got your front end sorted? No point having bass if your front end cant keep up.


If you let us know what you have already and what you want and a budget im sure we can figure something out lol

There is a good selection of gear on that site so im sure you could have a pretty kick ass system with some careful component choice


Mark

Well im settled on those kicker subs but thanks for the other suggestions reason being I HAVE them already now all I need is an amp to power them


** Edit **

The reason why I went with those kickers is because of there range I need a decent range and the kicker CVR's did it for me

Oh and I already have my componet speakers amp'ed

Mark pretty much summed it up. Just match the real power handling of both of your speakers with the constant power output of the amp... as long as these are matched, there pretty much isn't any amp that won't sound good.

Quote: Originally Posted by markwalker84 You can get a lot better sub for your money than Kicker... they arent bad but there is better out there. Also - for that sort of money (~$200 right?) one decent sub will sound a lot better than two poorer subs. When choosing an amp there are a few steps: 1) Work out how much REAL power you need (RMS) for your subs. Dont even look twice at any power value that isnt RMS. 600 RMS PER SUB So 1200 RMS 2) Add 50% and that is how much RMS power you ideally would like your amp to kick out. Obviously use some intelligence - it doesnt have to be EXACTLY this value.... eg a 600wrms sub would be probably happiest being fed ~7-900wrms. Going ober is never a bad thing as long as you are careful setting up the gains 50% of 1200 is 600 so figure another 1800 RMS There are a coupld of reason why you do this: Firstly an amp will NEVER give out its full rated power unless you are playing 0db sine waves... which i guarantee is not a pleasant experience playing music you are lucky if you hit 75% of an amp output. Secondly is you want some headroom. ie. an amp will perform better and last longer if it doesnt have to push itself to its limits to supply the kind of kick you want. 3) Work out what load you will be showing your amp. if you have a dual 2ohm voice coil sub will you be showing your amp 1 or 4 ohm? is it single voice coil? etc etc Each sub is 4ohm dual voice coil so 16 ohms or a 4 ohm if wired in parallel 4) Find an amp that can supply the power from 2) at the load 3). Dont get crap. Spend a decent amount on your amp. If you cant afford the power you need then either change subs or buy an amp with less power. 5) ensure you have a good enough wiring kit (high enough gauge wire to supply the current the amp will draw) 6) install 7) SET GAINS PROPERLY!!!! 8) enjoy However... as waffle says - have you got your front end sorted? No point having bass if your front end cant keep up. If you let us know what you have already and what you want and a budget im sure we can figure something out lol There is a good selection of gear on that site so im sure you could have a pretty kick ass system with some careful component choice Mark

Hmm I filed out most of the information now to go amp hunting !

Quick question what is the difference from wiring an amp for 4 or 2 ohms ??? Is there a performance difference ?

Not really a performance issue - purists will say to try to keep as high an impedance as possible as it may make a small difference... but buggered if i can hear it! lol

Good luck finding 2kwrms at 16ohm! lol

If both subs are dual 4 you can actually make 1 ohm load...

Each voice coil in parallel (ie parallel voice coils and parallel subs). This makes life quite a bit easier Yay!

Suggestions (Warning - not cheap! lol):

Powerbass ASA 1500. 1500wrms @ 1 ohm. $300 VERY decent price!

Soundstream PCA2000 2000wrms @ 1ohm. $440. Awsome stuff!

Either of these hifonics would do the job Option 1 Option 2 would probably be worth the extra $100 for option 2 out of those for the extra wattage.

Or if you are feeling a bit flush for cash US Amps XT-4000D $575.

My choice would probably be the Powerbass. At $299 that is silly cheap! Will almost definately be underrated so will likely kick out nearer 16/700 watts of lovely kidney punishing bass


Remember to budget in a wiring kit - your going to need 0awg for this sort of power.

Also do a 'google' for The Big 3 (TB3) as you may want to consider that aswell.

If all the above seems a little pricey there is always eBay or get yourself onto a forum that does second hand stuff.



Oh - and finally... what are your plans for sub box? Gotta make sure that your box is properly suited to the style / type of bass you want, and also is the right size for your sub(s) or else you risk having a lot of expensive gear sounding like a great big load of arse! Dont underestimate how important the sub box is. Best option is to build your own. Pretty simple stuff.

Anyways - any questions please ask away



Mark

Yeah Mark the subs come in the box made by kicker and its a kicker specs for a ported box

PS

You have a pm and +rep

** Edit **

what about this amp Mark ??

Kenwood KAC-9152D - Kenwood 1800W Mono amplifier

I kinda have a connection with Kenwood stuff

Thanks for the reppage

Not on MSN much but will add you when i next get on

The kenwood would struggle to be honest... only 900wrms at 1 or 2 ohm.

If you wanna go with kenwood, or have connections etc you could possibly go for one of these on each sub...

Kenwood KAC-9102D - Kenwood 850W Mono amplifier

850wrms each. Perfect.

You would need to be careful settin up though - making sure the gain levels set equally (ideally using an oscilloscope but can be done using a multimeter - just not as accurately)

Just a thought...???


Mark

How about the KAC-9152D but two of em I can get the 9152 and the 9102 at the same price

-Mike

The only problem with two amps is that the box only has one terminal for the sub any ideas on ways around that ??

Hmmm...

So your subs are coming in a ready made double box with one terminal which connects to both subs?

Not the best news there im afraid! lol

That means you have no idea what impedance the subs are wired to...

Ok... the only way to get around this would... ummm...

when you get hold of this double sub box, remove the subs. Take them straight out. You are going to want to check the wiring anyway.

Then

Either buy another one of those terminal connector thingies and fit it to your box. Or just drill a hole big enough to get some speaker cable through and as long as you seal all around the hole with some silicon sealer or something similar that would be fine.

Either way to use two amps is going to involve cutting up that box of yours a bit.

Then

When you put the subs back make sure each one is wired IN PARALLEL and then take one sub to each set of terminals.




Mark


P.S. If you can get both amps for the same price then defo go for the more powerrful!

alpine is great cause they tell you the actuall tested wattage of their products and they even give you the sheet from when they test it

but that is what my friend has

i have a 1ohm stable "1000"watt (wonder what it really is) digitalaudio it's great you can hear the bass a few blocks away

Quote: you can hear the bass a few blocks away

Why is that a good thing? Just means you are pi$$ing off everyone in a 'few-block' radius?!

I never turn my system up when im either in a town or a residential area simply out of respect. Also you are pretty much advertising to all the scummy little theiving ba$tards out there that there is something in your can worth nicking.

Quote: alpine is great cause they tell you the actuall tested wattage of their products and they even give you the sheet from when they test it

Most of the decent amp makers do that - is always nice to know exactly what your getting


Mark

Well we may have a change of plans instead of the 2 12" subs I think I might be going with a single Comp VR from kicker

Reasons
Ca$h
I really dont listen to music that damn loud that I need two big mofo subs

Hey well I ordered everything tonight and here is the final setup

Kenwood KAC-9103D Mono subwoofer amplifier 500 watts RMS x 1 at Crutchfield.com

Kicker CompVR 07CVR122 12'' subwoofer with dual 2-ohm voice coils at Crutchfield.com

and a box that is being built by a friend of mine to kicker specs

and the wiring kit from

Knukonceptz product detail for COMPLETE 4 GAUGE AMPLIFIER INSTALLATION KIT



Mark I really appreciate all your ideas and input if you need anything please dont heisitate
to ask I will be glad to help you

No wrroies dude.

Glad to hear you are building a box rather than buying one. Good way to save a few $$$


Should have a pretty nice setup there! Enjoy


Mark

Well its done finally after 6 hours of wiring and ripping apart my car its all done
and its awesome ! Pics will be coming shortly

Here's an update my amp just took a nose dive and is now DOA

Due to a kenwood recall that is pending currently