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SVC / DVC Subwoofer Wiring
Subwoofer Quantity:
Subwoofer Impedance:
Table of Contents:
- Step 1: Matching Speakers with Amplifiers.
- Step 2: RMS Ratings.
- Step 3: Why Wiring order Matter.
- Step 4: Single Voice Coil vs. Dual Voice Coil.
- Step 5: Series Circuits.
- Step 6: Parallel Circuits.
- Step 7: Combination Series AND Parallel Circuits.
- Step 8: Understanding Wiring Formulas.
The most important thing to keep in mind when matching speakers and amplifiers is that you want to match your speakers RMS Input rating as closely as possile to your amplifiers RMS Output rating. If you can not match speaker & amplifier RMS ratings then we suggest going with an overpowered amplifier, and turning the gains on the amplifier down.
A good analogy between speaker & amplifier power is to think of them as a car & engine. Just like a car, it's better to have more horsepower and not use it than it is to have less horsepower and drive the car with the pedal to the floor. Sticking with the car analogy, stronger amplifiers will run cooler and with less distortion than weaker amplifier when powering the same system. A 1000 Watt X 2 channel amplifier is just crusing when powering 2 X 600 Watt speakers, but a 600 Watt X 2 channel amplifier is burning up at full throttle to power the same speakers. -Keep that in mind if you want to avoid overheating your amp or even fires.
Now that we know what we need to do, where do we find components that compliment each other? Speaker and Amplifier RMS ratings are listed in the product descriptions. Here are the 3 things you should definitely look for:
- RMS Power rating for speakers ( ignore "Max Power" ratings since those are only designed to be hit for a seconds.)
- Impedance Rating in Ohm's on the speakers.
- RMS Power for amplifier @ Ohm's.
First thing you'll notice the amplifier is rated to deliver different RMS power levels at different Ohm's. Ohm's are a measure of resistance, so logically the amplifier will deliver less power with the greater resistance load.
How you wire your speakers will determine what resistance is met at the amplifier, and how much power your amplifier can deliver. The less resistance (Ohms) the more power delivered to your speakers. The amplifier above delivers 1000 Watts of power @ 1Ω. However, if that amplifier & speakers are wired incorrectly then you won't be delivering the power your speakers need.
Let's pretend we want to set up a 2 speaker system powered by 1 amplifier. If the speakers we choose are rated for 600 Watts RMS then we should aim to meet less than 2Ω's of resistance in our speaker circuit. Remember, it's best to overpower the speakers and turn down the gains so your amplifier stays cool and powers with less effort.
Wiring Scenario A
If we wire the speakers in this configuration we get 4Ω's of resistance at the amplifier which means we are only delivering 300 Watts of RMS power to each speaker. Much less than what the speakers are rated to handle.
Wiring Scenario B
Using the same amplifier & speakers we can reduce the Ohm load by wiring the speakers in a different configuration. At 1Ω we are capable of delivering 1000 Watts of RMS power to each speaker. Much more power, and we can easily lower the gains on the amplifier to avoid blowing your speakers.
SVC & DVC speakers are not inherently better than the other. They are made to offer different wiring options so you can acheive the optimal Ohm load at your amplifier. DVC's can be slightly more expensive because they are manufactured with more terminals, however in exchange you have more impoedance connections for your amplifier.
- Performance and frequency response are identical between SVC & DVC speakers.
- Power Rating is identical for the same base model speaker offered in SVC and DVC configuration.
- SVC & DVC speakers are designed to offer different wiring configurations for the same base model speaker. THAT'S IT.
SVC (Single Voice Coil )
SVC speakers have 1 length of wire wrapped around the speaker former.
DVC (Dual Voice Coil)
DVC speakers have 2 lengths of wire wrapped around the speaker former.
Wiring In-Series:
Wiring in Parallel:
So wiring in parallel returns less resistance... Why not always wire in parallel configuration? Well that depends on each user case scenario. Sometimes parallel wiring is not attainable in the vehicles speaker configuration. Other times when workig with fewer speakers a 4Ω or 8Ω load is acceptable.
Wiring in Parallel/Series Combination:
You can wire both SVC & DVC speakers in a combination of in-series & parallel configuration.Content coming soon.
