Ok so heres my plan

2000AccordSE

1st ill be buying a polk momo 12 inch sub and some kinda amp to go with it, probally a sony 500x1
a bit later ill b buying new speakers and a amp for them
then possibly months later i may get another momo and amp
heres how i kinda wanna mount it all. got ne suggestions or changes i shuld make? i dunno if it will fit yet and if ill have enought air behind the subs so i gotta measure that out. but i want to false floor the amps and put the subs in the corners like so... lemme know what u think.

2000AccordSE

also please disreguard all my other threads cause there all useless questions.
except, i still dunno what dvc is
i think it means dual voice component but is that a good thing or what, cause its same price so i dunno

Greg Peters

Save yourself the hassle- skip the Sony amp step.

DVC means dual voice coil. Usually dual 4 ohm voice coils. SVC means single voice coil, usually 4 ohms.

Why the difference? Some (quality) amps are able to run at lower than 4 ohms impedance with optimum performance and much higher output power than their 4 ohm rating.

A dvc sub can be wired to present a 2 ohm load (if desired) and many decent amplifiers put out a whole lot more watts at 2 ohms. Two dvc subs can be wired to present a 1 ohm load, and high end amps can put out incredible wattage levels at 1 ohm. Two traditional 4 ohm svc subs can also be wired to present a 2 ohm load, the plus being an additional 3db over running a single dvc sub (but usually at twice the price for the additional 3 db, because you are buying two subs rather than one).


The impedance (ohms) of a subwoofer, or multiple subwoofers represents a changeable load for your amplifier to drive that can be configured to wring the most power out of your particular sub and amp combo, if you choose wisely.

That Sony isn't good for much. If you haven't bought it, keep saving. Some may be stable at 2 ohms, but will probably put out a whole lotta distortion while doing so. They usually don't put out their rated power very cleanly either. Not the best way to go, unless sound quality isn't an issue for the system you are planning.

2000AccordSE

umm, i got very little knowledge of what u r talking about... so what should i do instead? im gonna only be using 1 amp for a while till i get a bit of money paid to my parents and mabey a few other things. so what amp should i get then, and it can run 1 or 2 dvc subs?

Greg Peters

Two dvc subs would take more amplifier than you probably want to spend on.

Think about either getting one Momo dvc and a monoblock amp stable to 2 ohms and then call it a day, or one svc and a monoblock amp... with the option to add a second svc sub for an eventual 2 ohm load down the road if your install calls for two subs.

You can get a basic no frills (but still decent quality) mono amplifier from the likes of Profile, MTX, Rockford Fosgate, Phoenix Gold, Kicker that would run circles around anything from Sony.

You could pick up a nice Polk 500.1 that would nicely power 1 Momo svc sub at 4 ohms, and would also nicely power a second at 2 ohms, wired parallel, if you chose to add a second at a later time (without the need to upgrade or buy a second amplifier).

http://www.cardomain.com/shoplist~b~Polk+Audio~t~Subwoofer+Mono+Amps


The number of ohms is the impedance of the speaker. Most 12V car speakers- either components/coaxials or subs tend to be 4 ohms in impedance. Some of the better sub manufacturers fill a need for complex systems by making a range of different speakers with differing impedance so that you have more flexibility in designing and wiring your system. The impedance of a speaker is determined by the design of the voice coil ( or voice coils in the case of a dvc).

Some of the better amplifiers on the market can handle impedance of less than the typical 4 ohms. You can wire subs either in series or parallel to change the impedance (or load) your subwoofers present to an amplifier. This then effects the power output of the amplifier.

One 4 ohm svc subwoofer will usually get the 4 ohm rated power specified from a decent amplifier when wired up straight to the + and - terminals of the amp. Two 4 ohm svc subs wired in series present an 8 ohm load to an amp- this doesn't make the amp "work" very hard, but also gives you half the amp's rated power listed for 4 ohms. The same two 4 ohm subs wired in parallel present a 2 ohm load to an amp, making it work harder, but also making up to twice the power the amp was putting out compared to the rated 4 ohm load.

Most better amplifiers have a power rating at 2 ohms as well as the typical one at 4 ohms. These specifications are important if you are planning to buy a system in stages, and want to plan for the best possible outcome without having to upgrade your equipment along the way. It is important to properly match your amps and subs so they work best together, and most information to do this is found in the RMS wattage ratings for both amp and sub at the impedance you intend to run them at.

If you're not familiar with car audio, search the threads on this and other forums- read all you can before spending your hard earned money on your audio system. There are some excellent posts online that explain most things car audio related.

2000AccordSE

so what would u recommend buying ocnsidering money is a factor and that i will only have one with a 2nd as an option. and what do i need for my door speakers? like a 200x4 amp?

Greg Peters

If money is a factor (it is for almost everybody), get the best you can afford, because you'll have to live with it for a while. You can piece together a system from Walmart for a couple of hundred that will sound terrible, and you can spend upwards of $10,000 on car audio too. To a point, you get what you pay for, so the trick is deciding what you want and planning accordingly.

Sometimes its best to save up for something decent (that you know you'll be happy with) and buy your system in stages. Buying cheap and finding out the product sounds like garbage can waste a lot of your money (that could've been better spent on quality mid-price gear that doesn't really cost that much more). You could even piece together some quality used or refurbished gear at huge savings, but you do take some chances if you buy stuff like that on eBay.

What door speakers do you have? You have to match any amp you put on them to their specifications (within reason). 200 X 4 seems high, unless you have some power-hungry speakers and your goal for your system is high sound pressure levels. If you plan on 300-500 watts for a sub amp, expect to need about 50-100 watts ballpark to each door speaker to keep up with the subs for balanced sound.

The Profile line of amplifiers get recommended alot on this forum, because they are fairly inexpensive and because they actually put out the power claimed in their specs. While I've never owned Profile, they seem pretty well received by people who have bought them.

MTX, RF, Alpine, Clarion, Kenwood, Pioneer, PG, Orion, Crossfire...all of these (and more) offer some decent 2 and 4 channel amps that don't break the bank. Polk is well known for sound quality (even in the lowest price bracket) and "good bang for the buck" performance. Polk amps are very nice for the money they cost, perform above the price range (but they still aren't cheap).

http://www.cardomain.com/item/POLC4004
http://www.cardomain.com/item/POLC5001


Basically, stay away from Pyle, Pyramid, Soundstorm, Dual, Sony Xplode, Lightning Audio for example- anything that promises huge wattage for minimal coin. Most poorly made products rate the "max power" they put out (with huge amounts of distortion) in hopes you'll confuse that with RMS power and actually expect them to perform.

Give this a read (though it is a "subjective" thread):

http://www.caraudioforum.com/vbb3/showthread.php?t=211119&highlight=ranking+mainstream
CarAudioForum.com - A ranking of mainstream and smallstream brands