Subwoofer Amp

[JoshMcMadMac]

I have a 2 channel sub amp that runs 2 10" pioneers in a sealed box. It runs 300watts RMS at 4 ohm, and was working great. I also have a 4 channel amp for my door/deck lid speakers. This amp blew, so I removed it and am sending it back for replacement. Since I removed the second amp from my setup I have been experiencing a strange problem.

Now, with the second amp removed, the subs do not put out like the should. If I run only one speaker at a time (remove one of the RCA lines, but not the other) the one sub really thumps. This works with either sub by itself, with any RCA input. I used the sub preamp, front, and rear. Same thing happened everytime. When I hook up both subs, it sounds like crap. I would blame it on the box they are in, but they sounded really good a month ago, and the box is just about the right size. Any ideas?

[SQ_LSC]

I have some ideas but I need a little info first. Were your RCA's running from one amp to another and did the configuration change now that the one amp is removed?

Could the sub box have always sounded like crap but have been masked by the deck speakers that you didn't notice it?

[JoshMcMadMac]

Thanks for such a quick response SQ. I sat and thought about it for a little bit and figured out what was wrong. I had the two sets of speaker wire negating each other. Instead of, say, - + - +, it was - + + -. So with both speakers attached, they were basically fighting each other and killing the sound. Good ol' deductive reasoning. I swear, without my common sense I would have a whole lot of problems on my hands. Of course if I didn't do stupid stuff in the first place these problems would never happen.

"Could the sub box have always sounded like crap"
Very eloquent, I like the way you put that. I know I might not sound like I know much about this stuff, but in reality I do know quite a bit. There is definately a fine art to designing speaker boxes, and although I may not know a whole lot about it, I know enough to build a decent sub box and I know how to get good sound out of a sub. You do make a good point though, and easily could have been the problem. I just didn't describe the problem well enough for you.

Again, I greatly appreciate your help. Your first customer is definately satisfied, keep up the good work and good luck!

[SQ_LSC]

I wasn't trying to diss ya man but those were your exact words up above. smile.gif
I'm glad you figured out you had it wired in series instead of parallel. How did the sub wiring get changed by pulling the other amp out?

[JoshMcMadMac]

quote:Originally posted by SQ_LSC:
I wasn't trying to diss ya man but those were your exact words up above. smile.gif


Understood, man. Completely understood. I just like the way you worded it. ;)

quote:Originally posted by SQ_LSC:
I'm glad you figured out you had it wired in series instead of parallel. How did the sub wiring get changed by pulling the other amp out?

Of course I forgot to mention the key factor. When my other amp died, I lost sound from all four panel speakers. I didn't care for that too much, so I ran the 4 speakers through my sub amp so I could at least have audio. When I had time to rig the 4 speakers back through the factory wiring I reconnected the subs...incorrectly. :rolleyes: Simple as that. Thanks again! :D