ehuber87 Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 TGIF! Im working on overhauling my car setup and have a (probably) stupid question. My old setup was 2 12 JL Audio W0's running off of a JL Audio 500/1v2 amp, however, i recently upgraded to 2 12 W3's and I want to throw more power at them. My question is, is ONE 1000w amplifier better than TWO 500w amplifiers? Its about the same price for me to buy a JL Audio 1000/1v2.... or just another 500/1v2. Regardless of the setup, its the same power to the subs. Im just wondering if two amps would result in more current draw from the electrical system, or if draw is solely based on power output. I am running a seperate 4-channel for my mids and highs, so it still a multi-amp system. Any more info ya need to answer the question let me know! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team_DC-Derrick Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 dual 4 ohm or dual 2, or dual 1, i dont know what configuration they have, but D4s, i would take 1 1k Quote The DC Integra 3 18s to 6 15 build log Team_DC-Derrick's Youtube Team DC Audio where theres a will theres a wall....... I just realized Steve has reach Voldemort status, over on JP's site he is the one who will not be named....."We dont speak his name over here, fearing it will destroy us" LOL not even in hush tones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blownengine Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 One amp is always better than two because a single amp will draw less from your batteries yet put out the same power. That is assuming you can wire them in the correct ohm for the single amp. What are the coils on the W3's? Quote 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT (Yea its got a Hemi)Alpine CDA-105KnuKonceptz 0ga CCA Big 3 with Yellow Top 15" SoundQubed HDC3DC Audio 1.2K (Bass)Pioneer 6x9's (Front)Pioneer 6.5's (Rear)Kicker 3.5's (Dash)Sony amp on the highs. (Hey it was free) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team_DC-Derrick Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 One amp is always better than two because a single amp will draw less from your batteries yet put out the same power. That is assuming you can wire them in the correct ohm for the single amp. What are the coils on the W3's? not always true, you could have hella impedance rise with 1 amp, switch to 2 or 4, and have quite a bit less rise, and get more power out of the lower model amps instead of 1 bigger one... Quote The DC Integra 3 18s to 6 15 build log Team_DC-Derrick's Youtube Team DC Audio where theres a will theres a wall....... I just realized Steve has reach Voldemort status, over on JP's site he is the one who will not be named....."We dont speak his name over here, fearing it will destroy us" LOL not even in hush tones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blownengine Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 One amp is always better than two because a single amp will draw less from your batteries yet put out the same power. That is assuming you can wire them in the correct ohm for the single amp. What are the coils on the W3's? not always true, you could have hella impedance rise with 1 amp, switch to 2 or 4, and have quite a bit less rise, and get more power out of the lower model amps instead of 1 bigger one... Hmmmmm interesting. Why would one amp have more rise than multiple amps? Quote 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT (Yea its got a Hemi)Alpine CDA-105KnuKonceptz 0ga CCA Big 3 with Yellow Top 15" SoundQubed HDC3DC Audio 1.2K (Bass)Pioneer 6x9's (Front)Pioneer 6.5's (Rear)Kicker 3.5's (Dash)Sony amp on the highs. (Hey it was free) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team_DC-Derrick Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 One amp is always better than two because a single amp will draw less from your batteries yet put out the same power. That is assuming you can wire them in the correct ohm for the single amp. What are the coils on the W3's? not always true, you could have hella impedance rise with 1 amp, switch to 2 or 4, and have quite a bit less rise, and get more power out of the lower model amps instead of 1 bigger one... Hmmmmm interesting. Why would one amp have more rise than multiple amps? more wire spread over multiple subs.... where as, multiple amps have mainly 1 sub to go to, instead of 1 big amp going to 4 subs Quote The DC Integra 3 18s to 6 15 build log Team_DC-Derrick's Youtube Team DC Audio where theres a will theres a wall....... I just realized Steve has reach Voldemort status, over on JP's site he is the one who will not be named....."We dont speak his name over here, fearing it will destroy us" LOL not even in hush tones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonedeaf Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 (edited) One amp is always better than two because a single amp will draw less from your batteries yet put out the same power. That is assuming you can wire them in the correct ohm for the single amp. What are the coils on the W3's? not always true, you could have hella impedance rise with 1 amp, switch to 2 or 4, and have quite a bit less rise, and get more power out of the lower model amps instead of 1 bigger one... Hmmmmm interesting. Why would one amp have more rise than multiple amps? More resistance due to bigger internals, less wiring, etc. I.E. look at fuses. Using two 150 amp fuses in a block is less resistance than using a 300 amp fuse in a fuse holder. Edited May 13, 2011 by tonedeaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blownengine Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Learn something new every day Quote 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT (Yea its got a Hemi)Alpine CDA-105KnuKonceptz 0ga CCA Big 3 with Yellow Top 15" SoundQubed HDC3DC Audio 1.2K (Bass)Pioneer 6x9's (Front)Pioneer 6.5's (Rear)Kicker 3.5's (Dash)Sony amp on the highs. (Hey it was free) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehuber87 Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 (edited) thanks for the quick replies guys! the subs are SVC 4ohms So i'd be running either a 2 ohm 1000w or i'd have two seperate 4 ohm 500w... one dedicated to each woofer. I was leaning to towards the single amp for a cleaner install, but having 3 identical amps could look pretty sick as well! But without upgrading my alternator, im thinking the less load the better so... the single amp should suffice. And either amp setup would have the same impedance... they're variable from 1.5 ohm to 4 ohm stable. Gotta love JL Audio! Edited May 13, 2011 by ehuber87 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonedeaf Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Since its a lower power build, id say a single amp will do you just fine. Will probably be the cheaper option anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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