JamieHoward Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 Hello all. I have been into car audio for over half my life, but starting very early with kids and such has left me a meager budget to pursue my hobby. That being said, I have a few things that I am trying to piece together a decent system with. My sub amp is an Audiobahn A2300HCT rated at 2.4k RMS @ 1 ohm, and my subs are 3 dual 2 ohm type R 12's, wired down to 1.33. I purchased some of this equipment before I really started learning all this excellent stuff on the SMD forums. Now I would love to toss the stuff and order all kinds of Sundown/ AA/ FI etc etc but cant at the moment so I have to work with what I have. I have recently learned the importance of having solid electrical, so I will be working on that first, but need to know what I need to have. In order to do that though I need to know what will make the components happy. I chose the 3 dual 2 ohm subs because it used to seem to me that the amp wouldn't handle the 1 ohm load of 2 dual 4's parallel, but after a bit of knowledge found here, I think it was cutting out because of the lack of proper electrical. This particular amp is from the "high current" line and I think just may be power hungry. I'm getting to the questions I promise lol. I would ask opinions on a couple of things: Does anyone know if this amp is worthy of my time? Is it clean/ true power specs etc? Or should i be in the market ASAP? I paid alot of money for it a couple years back, so I don't think it is complete crap, just don't think it is givin me a full dose of the power it claims. It has 160 amps worth of fuses - 4 x 40, which best case scenario should be 160 amps x 14.4 volts = 2304 watts at 100% efficiency @ 1ohm, right? I know its not at 100%, probably 60-75% range. What would be the best starting point for electrical that could be upgraded easily when i have the means? Alternator absolutely necessary or could i get away with big battery first then more in the back? Currently on stock alt with big 3 done (in 4 gauge though) with 1/0 from stock battery to Kinetik 600. Currently have 3 12's in a Camry trunk and they seem to be stuffed in there. They are in a box that was made from Alpine specs - 1.5 ft3 net, ported and tuned to somewhere in the 30s (f3 is 27). I am much a fan of the lowest lows and they don't hit them well right now at all. Would I be better off with 2 in a bigger box, or all 3 in a 1 chamber box vs. the 1 box/ 3 chambers which is what I have now? Is it these subs or my current box or my electrical that is keeping me from my low lows? I have always been a fan of Alpine products, and they have never let me down. These subs are economical, but have impressive ratings/ specs, very similar to the FI SSD 12 on paper. I want to redo the box to 1 big chamber in the 6 cube range, but it would be almost molded to my trunk to get the space i need. I would need some help calculating volume and port size if anyone were up to it..... Any and all help is appreciated. I thought i knew alot about this stuff but there are soooo many questions I still have. In case anyone needs to know to help on answers, my current set up is: Aline 9815 HU, Alpine ERA-g320 EQ, RF 400.4 on mids/ highs, RF prime 6.5 component woofers x 4, RF prime 3 way 6x9 rear, RF punch 1.25 tweeters x4 and then the Audiobahn/ Alpine for subs. My goal is to upgrade the prime stuff, which isn't TOO bad to better. But also want to do 4 8's, 1 in each door for midbass with another amp pushing those, and obviously sort out my sub issue. I was thinking that if my subs really rip the 20-45 area, the 8s would pick up from there if done right no? Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lam Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 yeah box is one of the biggest, if not the biggest factor in reaching certain notes. i wouldnt be so quick to jump on throwing all that stuff out. i had 2 type R's and i was hitting lows so low you couldnt hear them, but still see stuff flexing like a mofo. i had 2 type R's in a 4.5cube box and a 6" aeroport tuned to ~33Hz and that shit was slapping. just a side note, that audiobahn you say is rated at 2300 at 1 ohm. so not only do you have to deduct the fact of wiring it to 1.33 ohms, but efficiency and box rise. anyways, i would suggest giving them about 2.25 cubes each and with a bigger box like that, i could definitely do 2 6" aeroports and tune to 32Hz. (so say you give the 3 12" type Rs 2.25cubes each after displacement, that would be 6.75cubes or roughly 7 cubes before putting the subs and ports in. and with a net volume of 6.75 cubes, to reach 32Hz tuning the ports would need to be 17.66" long each.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieHoward Posted September 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 Thanks for the reply Tim. 7 cubes gross, dual 6" @ 17.66 long - got it. That sounds like what i was going for. This amp is realistically only pushing probably a bit more than 1.5k RMS.... Can anyone give me some input on a solid starting point on electrical? Should i go ahead and bite the bullet for a $400 XS power d 3100 to plan for the future and aim for a Mechman alt next? Will that 3100d and a stock alt get me by for now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lam Posted September 4, 2012 Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 1 big 3 upgrade 2 upgrade battery under the hood 3 add battery(ies) in the back 4 high output alternator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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