Right way to wire amp w/ sub

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Did a quick search on here, spent 30 mins on google, and 30 more on Chacha, lol. Anyways couldn't find any good wiring diagrams on how to wire my amp with sub.

It's a Phoenix Gold 8.0:1 Class D Monoblock Amp @ 800W

And the sub is a 12" Pioneer TS-W306R
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10060201&catid=&test%5Fcookie=1

Bought from here: http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&postid=1631547#post1631547

Still have it in that box as well... Anyways, I'm just not getting the bass I want out of it... I've gotten way more out of a smaller amp and sub that were XS cargo specials... I think i'm doing something wrong.

PS: I also have a sting 1 farad capacitor in there too.. And yes, it is in my 92 Civic Hatch.

[gp36912]

hahaha i'll help ya out if ya need, with a cap you need 2 grounds. otherwise it would be a easy setup.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by LilDrunkenSmurf
Did a quick search on here, spent 30 mins on google, and 30 more on Chacha, lol. Anyways couldn't find any good wiring diagrams on how to wire my amp with sub.

It's a Phoenix Gold 8.0:1 Class D Monoblock Amp @ 800W

And the sub is a 12" Pioneer TS-W306R
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10060201&catid=&test%5Fcookie=1

Bought from here: http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&postid=1631547#post1631547

Still have it in that box as well... Anyways, I'm just not getting the bass I want out of it... I've gotten way more out of a smaller amp and sub that were XS cargo specials... I think i'm doing something wrong.

PS: I also have a sting 1 farad capacitor in there too.. And yes, it is in my 92 Civic Hatch. From what I can tell, it's a SVC 4ohm sub that can take 400w, whereas your amp puts out 300w at 4ohm. That's fine and there really is only one way to wire up a single SVC sub...

So in this case, it's time to check the gains. First off, max out your sub-out control on the headunit if it has one and turn up the volume to as loud as you will ever listen to it. Then crank the amp gain up slowly until you're happy with the bass.

[GTS Jeff]

Oh yeah, you shouldn't need a cap for a measly 300w if your battery and alternator are in good shape.

[jza71]

youre not doing anything wrong. that sub does not match that amp. single 4 ohm voice coil and 800w @ 2 ohm amp. get a different sub (dual 4 ohm or single 2 ohm)

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Alternator's about to go... I'm just looking for a replacement... same with batt... :thumbsdow Optima here I come!

I don't have a sub-out which is weird, because i have front and rear pre-outs... deck is a cq-c1333 i believe

Also, does it automatically bridge or match the 4 ohm setting for the sub? Or do I need to configure that myself... As for wiring, do I put it across both channels or pick L or R?

Last thing, I hear a lot of rattling... any idea's on where to check where it is without pumping the bass? Because... then it drowns the rattling enough that I hear it, just not the location of it... I mean, I wanna tighten stuff down, as I don't want to spend too much money on dynomatting @ this point. (I have enough in the front, lol).

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Originally posted by jza71
youre not doing anything wrong. that sub does not match that amp. single 4 ohm voice coil and 800w @ 2 ohm amp. get a different sub (dual 4 ohm or single 2 ohm)

Any recomendations? I'm not looking for some insane bas,, something decent, but clear.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by jza71
youre not doing anything wrong. that sub does not match that amp. single 4 ohm voice coil and 800w @ 2 ohm amp. get a different sub (dual 4 ohm or single 2 ohm)

What are you talking about? If an amp is 2ohm stable, it is 4ohm stable as well, but with less power. In this case, I just said it puts out 300watts RMS @ 4 ohms. That's plenty for some 12" Pioneer.

Originally posted by LilDrunkenSmurf
Alternator's about to go... I'm just looking for a replacement... same with batt... :thumbsdow Optima here I come!

I don't have a sub-out which is weird, because i have front and rear pre-outs... deck is a cq-c1333 i believe

Also, does it automatically bridge or match the 4 ohm setting for the sub? Or do I need to configure that myself... As for wiring, do I put it across both channels or pick L or R?

Last thing, I hear a lot of rattling... any idea's on where to check where it is without pumping the bass? Because... then it drowns the rattling enough that I hear it, just not the location of it... I mean, I wanna tighten stuff down, as I don't want to spend too much money on dynomatting @ this point. (I have enough in the front, lol).
Ok, don't even think about resistance. You have a 1ch amp and a SVC sub. There is no messing with resistance. It's 4ohms and that's that.

Now, you did mention that you don't have dedicated sub pre-outs. Ok, so you're obviously using your pair of rear pre-outs. Fine. Just make sure you set your crossovers on the amp properly. And do the gain as I said.

And yes, fix your electrical system first. No point modding a car when it's not being properly maintained.

[gp36912]

your rattles can also be wireing, stuff like trunk release etc. can rattle around.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff


What are you talking about? If an amp is 2ohm stable, it is 4ohm stable as well, but with less power. In this case, I just said it puts out 300watts RMS @ 4 ohms. That's plenty for some 12" Pioneer.

Ok, don't even think about resistance. You have a 1ch amp and a SVC sub. There is no messing with resistance. It's 4ohms and that's that.

Now, you did mention that you don't have dedicated sub pre-outs. Ok, so you're obviously using your pair of rear pre-outs. Fine. Just make sure you set your crossovers on the amp properly. And do the gain as I said.

And yes, fix your electrical system first. No point modding a car when it's not being properly maintained.

Alright, so fix the car, and screw with the crossover/gain till I like it... Got it :thumbsup: Thanks alot, I really appreciate the help!

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

In reference to my earlier post, I think something is wrong, because I KNOW after screwing around with my amp for the last 30 mins, that before christmas, I got much more bass... I mean, now, I get bass, and it still rattles the car, but I don't feel it anymore, it's like it's traveling around me, but not in the air anymore. About a week ago, (or a little longer, right before christmas) I had to open up my sub box because a wire had come loose and I had to fix it... and about 2 days before that, when it started cutting out, I noticed I had loss that original bass. So my question is, what's wrong? Should I get a new sub? Way to get original sound back? New box? Reseal the box?

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by LilDrunkenSmurf
In reference to my earlier post, I think something is wrong, because I KNOW after screwing around with my amp for the last 30 mins, that before christmas, I got much more bass... I mean, now, I get bass, and it still rattles the car, but I don't feel it anymore, it's like it's traveling around me, but not in the air anymore. About a week ago, (or a little longer, right before christmas) I had to open up my sub box because a wire had come loose and I had to fix it... and about 2 days before that, when it started cutting out, I noticed I had loss that original bass. So my question is, what's wrong? Should I get a new sub? Way to get original sound back? New box? Reseal the box? Try reversing the polarity.

[Annoyingrob]

Originally posted by LilDrunkenSmurf
Also, does it automatically bridge or match the 4 ohm setting for the sub? Or do I need to configure that myself... As for wiring, do I put it across both channels or pick L or R?

Check the manual for the amp. It will tell you.

It sounds like it might be a gain issue, like was said above, but if you have the gain turned up and it's still not making much noise, there's probably a problem elsewhere.

What sort of box ar you running the sub in, sealed or ported?

Check your headunit, make sure your subwoofer lowpass filter is set around 80hz. Make sure you don't have any sort of EQ settings in your HU turning down the bass.

Out of curiosity, what head unit are you running?

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

It's the same box that was in my original post (the beyond link). It is sealed. HU is the panasonic CQ-C1333U. Bass is turned up. Gonna try the polarity issue.

[soupey]

i can take a look at it if u live closeby (im in the NW, hidden valley), ive installed a few systems before. but yea everything GTS Jeff has said above is spot on. the only way u can take advantage of max power ur amp has is by switching to another sub or buying another matching sub to lower the impedance. but at the same time 300 rms should still be enough to power the one pioneer sub which is rated 400rms...also u have to remember that phoenix gold amps are higher end and will usually give more power than whats stated on the outside of teh amp/boxes. so ur likely getting a little over 350rms, u just dont know it. (unless uve seen ur specific amp's specsheet that came with it...but u bought it second hand so im guessing u never saw it).

i'd say scrap the cap for now, its not really going to do much for ur system, it wont help a failing battery/alt, and it'll also stop any possible complications with the wiring for now. make sure your ground is tight and has extremely good contact with the chassis...your power source is only as good as its ground, so u NEED to make sure that u have good contact, if u have shitty contact ur amp will not be getting the power it needs. u can always use a multimeter to check the resistance your getting from the battery to the amp, and from the amp to the ground..

other than that, make sure all ur connections are tight, that no wires are crossing each other at the terminals on the amp and sub box, ur deck may use ur rear outs as sub outs...u jus need to make sure its set up to work as a sub out (many pioneers including mine are like this, u need to hold down the source button to get into the setup menus and set the rear signal to be a sub out, then u'll gain sub control from ur deck), if not, u wont have controls from ur deck, which sucks like GTS Jeff said.

hope that helps

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

The amp isn't second hand... I just don't know where all the manuals went. I live in the NE, but am willing to head to the NW.

As for holding the source button, that's also the power button, so i don't think that will work. And I've never seen a menu like that, but if it's possible, I hope I can find it. :thumbsup:

[soupey]

what kind of HU is it? mines a pioneer and u need to hold down the source button (which also powers it up too)...if u got a model number or something i can look it up.

[hoamic11]

Originally posted by soupey
what kind of HU is it? mines a pioneer and u need to hold down the source button (which also powers it up too)...if u got a model number or something i can look it up.

cq-c1333 , that's his HU, it's a panasonic from what i can tell by teh model number, also that it doesn't have much features to it


where are you in the NE, b/c I also live in the NE

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

I live in monterey.

And yes, it's the CQ-C1333U.
Basic model, just wanted some mp3 and pre-outs.

[hoamic11]

Monterey, hmm, not sure where that is, but pm your number or what not and if you wanna get together i could take a look at it

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

PM'ed

[hifiguy]

Hey just a suggestion, you described that you had "more" bass before and now you get everything shaking but "less" bass. I think you may have set your crossover setting too low by accident. This would result in say lots of bass in the 40 hertz and lower frequencies and not much above that. So the "more" bass would have been in the 40hz to 100hz category, which may be accidentally filtered out by setting the xover point too low. Look for a knob to adjust the frequency if it is continuosly variable or if it is a switch which may have been accidentally bumped. Sometimes if you have set x-over settings on your deck, they will default to original settings from disconnecting power to the deck. Maybe while you were checking or testing your faulty battery/alternator issue the deck settings may have been reset? I can have a look at it too if you want. PM me your number and we can meet or something. I'm in the NW too. Good luck.