# Wiring different impedance subs together?



## Cy101 (Feb 27, 2010)

I have a friend who has an old school triple JL 10w0-12. Two of these subs popped and were replaced with 10W0v2-4s. He is using an old RF Power 800.2 to power this box. I need a 4 ohm load out of this box. With that being said, is there anything wrong with running two JL 10W0v2-4s wired together in series and a JL 10W1v2-8 wired in parallel to those? Please help!


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## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

I don't think it will work, the 4ohm drivers will still suck more juice and play harder/excurt more than the 8ohm unit. Always stick to the same drivers, regardless of impedence as the differences in T/S can cause cancellation


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

The 4ohmers won't suck more juice, they will get less!
The 2 4ohmers in series together will get the exact same power as the single 8ohmer, so if the 4ohmers get 100W each, the 8ohmer will get 200W.

If each sub has its own compartment in the box, it will work fine, but the 4ohmers won't be able to give their full potential since the 8ohmer will be on it's limit sooner.
If the subs are sharing 1 big compartment, weird things will happen and you'll probably blow the subs...

The only good way to push 3 subs with 1 amp and give them equal power is by using 3 identical subs and wiring them up in series OR parallel! 
(the combination of both does work when you have 4/6/8/9/10/12... subs, but NOT when using 3 subs)

Apart from that, if that box is designed for 3 oldskool 12W0-12's, chances are the box won't work as good with other subs in it.

I'd recommend searching for 2 oldskool 12W0-12's to replace the broken ones, or build a new box so you can use two 8ohm subs in parallel or four 4ohm subs in series-parallel.

If you really want to stick to 3 subs and can't find 12ohm subs anymore, the next best thing is to use 2ohm subs wired in series (6ohms) or 8ohm subs wired in parallel (2.67ohm, those oldskool RF amps should handle that when tuned carefully).

Isabelle


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## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

Doh, looks like I had a brain fart! Had tried it in the distant past-just got the drivers I tried with the wrong way round


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## j sexton (Sep 19, 2009)

i see this question asked alot , I have some 8 ohm subs ,4 ohm dvcs and some 4 ohm single coil all of same manufacture ,going to do some testing to see if i can put them in my boat ,will post results how it works within a few days,whether its good bad or just ok. boxes all have seperate chambers btw


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

As long as the amp can handle the total (the final impendance) impendance of all the subs. Either wired paralled, series or mixed. Just keep in mind that the subwoofers with the lowest impendance will get the most power or sound louder than those with a higher impendance.


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

TrickyRicky said:


> *Just keep in mind that the subwoofers with the lowest impendance will get the most power or sound louder than those with a higher impendance*.


Like I said before, this is NOT true in this case!!!

The two 4ohm subs in series act as an 8ohm load and will get the exact same power as the single 8ohm sub that is in parallel to them.
This means both 4ohm subs will have to share the same amount of power that the 8ohm subwoofer is getting, so in this case, the lower-impedance subs will get LESS power!!!

This statement you are saying is ONLY true when all subs are wired in parallel! In other situations you'll have to calculate the power distribution with:
- Ohms Law
- knowing that in a series-circuit the current is the same everywhere and the voltage is distributed...
- knowing that in a parallel-circuit the voltage is the same everywhere and the current is distributed...

Isabelle


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

I know I had it right some how.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Candisa said:


> Like I said before, this is NOT true in this case!!!
> 
> The two 4ohm subs in series act as an 8ohm load and will get the exact same power as the single 8ohm sub that is in parallel to them.
> This means both 4ohm subs will have to share the same amount of power that the 8ohm subwoofer is getting, so in this case, the lower-impedance subs will get LESS power!!!
> ...


Very good.. 

Big problem IS... 



> With that being said, is there anything wrong with running two JL 10W*0*v2-4s wired together in series and a JL 10W*1*v2-8 wired in parallel to those? Please help!


Would it be a "good" idea to wire up 2 similar but DIFFERENT series subs together... ?

If they were all w0 or w1 sure.... but w0 AND w1... maybe not so much.. 

The electrical part is basically going to stay the same, BUT are the different Thiel smalls going to counteract/interact/detract/react....???


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## Cy101 (Feb 27, 2010)

Will the thiel small parameters make the subs counteract/interact/detract/react if they each have their own chamber/air space?


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

Rockford Fosgate® - Woofer WiringWizard

if you can divide or multiply by two, you should be able to figure out any configuration.

however, do not run multiple DIFFERENT speakers on a single amp channel.


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## Cy101 (Feb 27, 2010)

Thanks everyone. I've talked him into running just two 10w0s for right now and later upgrading to 10w6s


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

good man


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## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

So, svc 4ohm sub and dvc dual 4ohm on same amp. 

Wire the dvc coils in series and the two subs in parallel - which sub gets more power?

Wire the dvc coils in parallel and subs in parallel - dvc gets double the power of svc

Wire the dvc coils in series and subs in series - dvc gets double the power of svc


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