General Sub Wiring Connection Question

vinkalmann

Hi guys,

Can someone tell me if the following would work for hooking up a sub? I have a feeling it won't.

Two channel amp with speakers hooked up in the traditional way. Then going from the left channel (positive hooked up to positive input on sub, negative on amp to negative on sub) AND the right channel (positive hooked up to positive input on sub, negative on amp to negative on sub).

Will having both channels going into the sub cause problems as described above? The sub is unpowered.

Thanks in advance for any help!!

Matt

HBombToo

You'll nuke the amp since your crossing/shorting the left and right amp sections. If you have 2 seperate subs for left and right then you won't blow anything but the resistance of the load will be dangerously low and you could blow the amp or clipping which could damage your speakers.

vinkalmann

Thanks a lot for the quick reply! I thought that might be the case. Thanks for your help!

vinkalmann

So to follow up with your resistance point. Here's what I'm trying to do, I realize that this is a complete hack and basically only being done out of necessity. I need to run a pair of 8 ohm speakers to the l and then hook up a 4ohm sub to one channel on the amp. The amp is stable down to 2 ohms. Am I asking for trouble? Is combining two different resistances on speakers on the same channel a bad idea?

What would be the best wiring method?

HBombToo

The resistance provided for speakers really don't address the extremes due to the complex waveform of music. So what I'm saying is, during certain musical passages the impedance of a speaker could easily tend to 2 Ohms or even below. If that happened coincidently across both speakers you would be left with an effective impedance of only 1 Ohm or less which could really damage your amp.

I would not even suggest playing with that configuration. If your on a tight budget then save up for a sub amp so you don't destroy what you have.

Also, by adding a sub onto your left or right channel you will severly limit the dynamic range of that channel thereby effecting the stereo image.

What speakers and amp are you running?

vinkalmann

Thanks again for the reply. I won't be trying this. I'm having a party tonight and wanted to give the low end some oomph using my car sub of all things. Again, that was a hack and wasn't intended as a long-term solution. Sounds like it wouldn't be the best idea at all.

The amp is an Adcom gfa-5500 and the speakers are B&Ws. The sub from the car is a Polk sr104 in a sealed enclosure.

Again thanks for saving me a potential big headache!