I have two subs for my car... Now what?

Question

My brother gave me 2 DHD subs in an enclosure. I have no wires, a stock head unit, and stock speakers. Basically, all I want to do is to get the subs working. I don't need the best sound system, so I don't think i'm going to replace the speakers... I know that they're 800 watts just cause they say on them, but idk if they're 800rms or 800 peak. Also, they're 12's. What should i do?

Answer 1

get an amp im guessing 400w @2ohms and an LOC if the amp doesnt have high inputs

Answer 2

well, youll need a box. so build one yourself or buy them. Im sure that 800 watt rating is peak and not rms. Those speakers are probably 300-350 rms speakers, which is very loud! So youll need a two channel amp to power them, and a wiring kit. i dont know if those speakers are rated at 2 ohm or 4 ohm, but if you can find a model # you should look so you could get an amp. mine is 4 ohm and thats very common.

If you dont plan on installing an aftermarket head unit, youll need an amp with speaker level inputs. That lets you tap into youre speaker wire to send your audio signals to the amp. Basically, those speaker level inputs (i think theyre also called line level inputs) replace the RCA preouts that youd see on the back of an aftermarket head unit. and youll need what the previous guy said, a line out converter for those level inputs.

Finally, youd need a wiring kit. They get expensive, but i bought mine at walmart. It cost 35 dollars and it was a 4 gauge. And its all copper, not mixed with anything, so its clean power, and copper is copper. Im happy with it, so wire most people say to go with good wiring, and i agree with them. Just make sure its all copper and not the copper thats mixed with someting else.

so to simplify.

2 channel amp with line level/speaker level inputs.

wiring kit

boxes for the subs (there are different types of boxes. ported, sealed, bandpass are the common ones. ported gives you big boomy bass and is louder than sealed enclosures. sealed boxes give you tight accurate bass, but you need to give the subs alot more power to be loud opposed to ported boxes.

the amp is going to be expensive, thats a **** ton of power its goign to take to power those things. Id almost say just to buy a 250-300 rms amp and run one of those subs. I have a 200 watt rms amp and sub and i think its plenty loud enough for me.

i dont know this for sure either, you may want to wait for an answer from an expert. but i know if you start messing around with 500 rms or more, you may need a capacitor to reduce the strain on your alternator. Again, im not familiar with that, but ive read quite a bit before i did my system and ran across that