# How would you wire a 4 ohm DVC subwoofer to four channel amplifier?



## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

Most 4-channel amplifiers are only 4ohm stable in bridged mode. If I already own a 4-ohm DVC subwoofer, how would I wire it to the 4-channel amplifier?

It seems like there are 2 possibilities:

1. Connect each voice coil to a separate amplifier channel. The two channels are stereo. Is this allowed? 

2. Wire the subwoofer for 8ohm load and then bridge the amplifier. Is this a good idea? I heard that the amplifier power drops by a factor of two when doing this. If my subwoofer is rated for 300watt RMS, it seems like I would have to find an amplifier that's rated for at least 500watt RMS in bridged mode.


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## smgreen20 (Oct 13, 2006)

bridge channels 1 and 2 and channels 3 and 4, 1 bridged set to each coil of the sub. Just make sure you feed the amp a mono signal.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

You also need to make sure to level match each bridged channel pair's gain with a DMM.


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## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

smgreen20 said:


> bridge channels 1 and 2 and channels 3 and 4, 1 bridged set to each coil of the sub. Just make sure you feed the amp a mono signal.


That's an interesting possibility. However, I forgot to mention that I want to buy 4-channel amp in order to power front components and a subwoofer, so I need those other two channels.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Run it bridge at 8 ohms then. Better for the amp and the sound.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

ZAKOH said:


> 2. Wire the subwoofer for 8ohm load and then bridge the amplifier. Is this a good idea? I heard that the amplifier power drops by a factor of two when doing this. If my subwoofer is rated for 300watt RMS, it seems like I would have to find an amplifier that's rated for at least 500watt RMS in bridged mode.


Power handling is going to be dependent on the enclosure you're using. If you put it in a small sealed enclosure, it will handle more power. If you do a vented or bandpass, it will need less power to reach xmax. Install it Infinite Baffle for even further reduced power handling/efficiency. 

If your plan was to do a sealed enclosure, you could always put it in a vented enclosure to gain the 2-3db back that you'd lose by running the amp at 8 ohms vs. 4 ohms.


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