6 replies to this topic

[Deano89]

Found this great website for any absolute noobies like my self.

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/

Very useful info on:

• the different types of speakers (coaxial, component and subs)
• speaker placement and why
• Subwoofer enclosures and how to build one
• amplifiers
• Head units
• Wiring diagrams

etc etc. Hope this helps, certainly did for me!!

[Ruckus]

Excellent site, worth a read for everybody that's interested in car audio.

Even if you think you understand an aspect its good to read an pros explanation to check your understanding of the theory.

[Deano89]

The only thing I couldn't find on the site that i'm not too sure of is the term 'bridging'.

Any help??

[Ruckus]

Bridging an amplifier allows you to take two of the channels and use them together to make a mono channel, on most amps this will close to double the power. Most amps support being bridged, but always check the spec of the amp before doing it. As it can seriously damage to you and your equipment if done wrong or if the amp does not support it.
Normally you take the + of the left channel and - from the right. But some amps are the other way around, and some need settings changed.

If the amp is only stable with a minimum of a 2ohm load per channel in stereo mode, when bridged then you should not go below a 4ohm load.

This is because when bridged the amp will see half the load of the speaker.. Eg if it's a 2ohm speaker the amp when bridged will see a 1ohm load.

Some better amps can handle loads lower than advertised. Some old Rockford amps could handle bridged loads as low as 0.5 ohm...
I have a RF 1000.2 that was only rate down to 4 ohms but I ran it for 6 years at 2 ohms, pushed out 2kw! But sucked a LOT of power.

Edited by Ruckus, 28 November 2011 - 08:44 PM.

[Deano89]

So I take it you would only need to bridge two channels if you were planning on running a single 10 or 12" sub?

Edited by Deano89, 28 November 2011 - 10:06 PM.

[Ruckus]

Normally yes, but some subs are dual voice coil and that complicates things.

What are the makes and models of the kit your using?

[Deano89]

At the moment I havn't got anything in the mini, just trying to read as many posts and do some research to get a good grasp on everything before i make a decision.

but saying that i'm thinking of having coax speakers either side of the dash, two 8" subs in the parcel shelf, all powered by an amp in the boot. i know u dont get the same sound quility from coax that you do with comps, but i dont like the look of having pods in the footwells and tweeters on the dash. are crossovers really nessecery?

If you could give me a rough idea of a decent system that would really help. been hearing good things about vibe, and like you said in another post, there British