Reason for Dual Amplifier inputs?

[NancyDrew]

From what I understand there will be no benefit from this as per Kirchoff's laws on voltage drop. Both wires would split the current and combine together giving you the same result. Electrons will still flow at the same rate as your driving force (volts) remains the same. As for Amperage splitting uhm, the current is the same (you know the flow of electrons). If you run the correct size wire, there would be no problem with fires, thats why the NEC has a wire ampacity chart! Why not build the amplifier to begin with, to run ac, and run a inverter. It would gain more wattage without the excessive amperage. 120 vac at 20k Watts would be 166A. 18vdc at 20k Watts would be 1111A. Keep in mind that new model homes have a 200A service with 2/0 awg wire at 240vac. Do you realy think that 1 car amplifier should be pulling more amperage then most homes do, with a/c, oven, dryer, air compressors, furnace, heat pump, hot water tank, 4 tvs, hair dryer, microwave, toaster oven, iron, aquarium, stereo, cable boxs, lights and the list goes on. So if they would increase the voltage, it would save alot money, on the large builds. The average joe smo, more then likely does not need dual inputs on a 2k amplifier as 2/0awg THHN is more then suffecient. Does this not make any sense.

Sure looks cool tho:)

[Wicks]

Dual inputs allow you to run twice the wire to the input of the amplifier.

Two conductors of the same resistance in parallel will halve the resulting resistance.

Therefore with less overall resistance, you get less voltage drop.

Sure, stock amplifiers work fine with their single inputs, as they're designed to.

Dual inputs just give you more headroom or even less drop.

They may not be needed on smaller 2kW amps but they would definitely help on 10kW amp(s) where your input currents are very high.

Amplifier manufacturers need to make products for the environment they are used in.

Vehicles use 12VDC systems (12-18V), therefore very high currents are required to reach those high power levels.

Custom setups are possible but the manufacturers are going to make product for the masses.

Amplifiers already have inverters in them.

It's what they use to boost the input voltage up to reach the require voltage for the internal power rails. You could have an external inverter and a custom amplifier to utilize it, but most people wouldn't want to mess with that.

You also wouldn't want those higher voltages exposed to a general customer. Way too dangerous.

Much better to keep it internal to the amplifier.

To properly utilize an AC power system, you'd want the alternator/generator to produce AC which is possible but you can't store AC power in battery's. Therefore you'd also need converters to pull/push power to a set of DC batteries which would be $$$.

[ChevyBoy95]

you cant pull 10kw (or 800-1000A) through 1 run of 1/0 without having resistance and wire failure issues.

[mrd6]

Wicks nailed it, pretty much everything I would have said

[EVL-100]

In my setup the dual inputs have helped a tonne with efficiency.

[AMI CUSTOMS]

I have gained with copper dual inputs on my 4300 watt amps. Mine are solely for SPL and to help with voltage drop.

[NancyDrew]

Yes, amplifiers invert the volage to AC, and it only takes .01 milliamp to kill you if it travels across the heart. Thats ac or dc. Just because its DC dosent mean it will not harm you. A phone wire will kill you on a incoming call at 5V. You can still be injured off the secondary of the amplifier very easily. I dont think my post said 10k with 1/0awg. In regards to supply being AC I was regarding this for the large builds, not the baby boomers I would think you would require alot less to run AC as the Generator would do most of the work, or plug it in to a secondary source ie. 240V four prong plug at a show. Just an idea. As for using larger Awg wire in vehicles, why does it seem that the industry standard is 1/0awg, when there are larger Awg wires that can be used. Everyone is stuck on the flex of the wire. Who ties their wire in a knot anyway??? Why would you want to? Yes it is harder to work with like 2000 Awg it would be like a baseball bat but the current rating will meet the requirement. I'm kinda struck when i see these things because there is better, but the miss info is horrible. If a Amp needs two runs of 1/0awg why not one 3/0awg? Will the amplifier still bottle neck at the connection of the wire to the amp if it is only designed for one due to the resistance of the amplifier. The amplifier resistance has to be lower then the total resistance of the wire according to Kirchoff's law on voltage drop. In order for the current to half which again combines for a total at the load side. Two wires carring 45A will be 90A at the primary side of the amplifier. How many people actually done a load test on their vehicle with a test tone at say 40db. I have, and the amplifier is rated at 36Amp. It had 68V sec. and 7A on the primary which according to ohms law is 476W. Close to its 500W rating. Which I could see a huge improvement if the gain was turned up more then half, and the volume was only set to about 60% when i done the test. Again it only pulled 7Amps rated at 36A. That is one fifth of the actual rating. Yes, there are many amplifiers that pull more then 7A, I just think everyone is stuck on 2 runs of 0awg, as if that is as high as you can go on wire size. I guess what im getting to, is the marketing tactic that is being used on people.

Wisdom is not earned through schooling, but the life long pursuit of....

[SnowDrifter]

Not a marketing tactic.

Having double the cross-sectional area of the wire halves your voltage drop from source to amp.

You always get voltage drop. It's mathematically calculateable. Buy just because it's a few millivolts on paper doesn't mean it will make a difference realistically.

If you are only pulling 30a of power (at most) I doubt you will notice a difference

But if you are pulling say... 375a through a run of wire with a 7.5k amp for example, then you will get more voltage drop and you may see some benefit from dual inputs.

Make sense?

We don't use something like 750mcm to wire the amp because it's large wir, tough to manage and bend in an automotive environment, and there is no good way of getting that big of wire into the inputs on our amps

[Jessica]

Lets not forget, a circuit board for an amplifier is only going to allow so much current at one point on the board. When you have dual inputs on an amp then internally it is easier to get that current to the board. Also, manufactures know that running 2/0 or 3/0 is not easy, not always readily available and hard to cut.

1/0 is made by lots of companies, in lots of colors and is easy to get and easy to work with. Plus what wicks and snowdrifter and others have said.

[TaylorFade]

Math, theory... acting smart. It's all well and good. But I don't meter from a desk using thought experiments.

Duals are worth + .5db on my amp.

Calculate that.