Can someone teach me how ohms works for amps & subwoofers?

Question

i really dont much about them so when you explain dumb it down for me to understand

Answer 1

It is hard to explain this without diagrams, but I will try. Some good ones can be found here: http://www.lalena.com/Audio/FAQ/Wiring/

Ohms is resistance or impedance. When it comes to audio, you just want to make sure that the ohms rating on your amps is lower than or equal to the ohms rating of your subs. Ideally, you want the ohms ratings to be equal, as this will let your amp perform to its maximum potential and produce the most power.

Mono subwoofer amps typically have lower ohms ratings that general purpose multichannel amps. This allows you for a wider variety of subwoofer configurations.

To lower resistance (ohms), wire the speakers in parallel. To do this, connect the positive terminal of one speaker to the positive terminal of the other speaker, and then connect this to the positive negative on the amp. Do the same thing with the negative terminals (negative to negative to negative).

The formula to calculate what the final ohms will be is 1/[(1/r1)+(1/r2)+...]    Basically, do 1 divided by the ohms rating of each of your speakers. Add these values together, and divide 1 by the sum.

This is a common way to connect two 4 ohm subs to a 2 ohm amp, or to connect a 4 ohm dual voice coil sub to a 2 ohm amp while letting the amp produce the most power it can.

The other way to modify the ohms rating is to run the speakers in series. To do this, connect the positive terminal on the amp to the positive terminal on speaker 1. Then connect the negative terminal on speaker 1 to the positive terminal on speaker 2. Next connect the negative terminal on speaker 2 to the negative terminal on the amp.

To calculate ohms in a series circuit, just add all of the ohms ratings together.

A common stereo installation is a 2 ohm sub amp connected to either a 4 ohm dual voice coil sub with the voice coils wired in parallel or two 4 ohm single voice coil subs wired in parallel. Both will produce a 2 ohm load, which will let the amp perform to its full potential.

Answer 2

It would take way to long to explain all of about ohms but here is a link that should help you  with sub and amp wiring diagrams to get a certain amount of ohms.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-UtcSezyD8LG...

Answer 3

Ohm is just a number to measure resistance (electrical engineers like to call it IMPEDANCE - same thing for now) .  All electrical devices (like amp, light bulbs) must pass through some RESISTOR other wise it would be like shorting out the circuit.

So an amp will supply higher current (automatically) when there's less resistance (like more air goes through clean air filter with less resistance). But if there's too little, then the amp will supply infinite current (or try) and blow.

So 4 ohm speaker has TWICE the resistance compare to 2 ohms.  And what matters is that the speaker ohm is NOT lower than what the AMP is designed for.

When AMPS are designed, it is with certain speaker resistance (ohm) in mind.  To little resistance and the amp will think it is being short circuited and blow.

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Important thing to know (in system integration) is that the speaker (sub) should have AT LEAST the same OHM and WATT as listed on the AMP (higher is OK).

OHM too low = BAD, short circuit

OHM just right = GOOD

OHM too hihg = OK, SAFE from blow out, low volume.

Speaker / sub WATT

WATT too low = BAD BLOW OUT

WATT Equal to AMP = OK, distortion at high volume

WATT greater than AMP = good, safe from blow out.

Good Luck...

Answer 4

you need to understand what an ohm rating is.  an ohm is the amount of electrical resistance in an electrical system.  for example-subs that run @250 watts RMS @ 4 ohms would run 125 watts rms at 8 ohms, or they would also run at 500 watts rms at 2 ohms.  The less ohms, means the more power you will need to drive them.  Typically home stereos run @ 8 ohms and car stuff runs on 4.  Ask someone at the store what the proper amp should be for your stuff, and don't worry about the ohms.  Good luck.