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Ohms affect sound? Yes or no?

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Old Jan 1, 2009 | 07:51 PM
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Ohms affect sound? Yes or no?

I don't know a whole lot on car audio so I was wondering if the ohms of the subwoofer affected the sound?
For example, I just bought one 10"W6 dual voice coil, and going to power it with a 500/1. The sub can be wired in series @ 8ohms or parallel @ 2ohms. Would wiring the sub one way vs the other have any affect on the sound?
Old Jan 1, 2009 | 08:07 PM
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This should be good....


Seriously though, some people swear up and down they can hear a difference, others will trot out double blind tests showing otherwise.

Certain members here (Sasha comes to mind) have very, very discerning ears, and almost abnormal hearing, so I would hesitate to say "NO". Just because i cant hear it, doesn't mean its not there.

John
Old Jan 1, 2009 | 08:14 PM
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I can't hear it either.
Old Jan 1, 2009 | 08:35 PM
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My bet is that you will hear a big difference because you will get significantly less power out of the amp at 8ohms...

(I'd definatly run it at 2ohms!)
Old Jan 1, 2009 | 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by JL_sunfire
I don't know a whole lot on car audio so I was wondering if the ohms of the subwoofer affected the sound?
For example, I just bought one 10"W6 dual voice coil, and going to power it with a 500/1. The sub can be wired in series @ 8ohms or parallel @ 2ohms. Would wiring the sub one way vs the other have any affect on the sound?
At subwoofer frequencies it would not sound better either way, only louder at 2 ohms. At high frequencies the series inductance might come into play but that's of no concern here. This of course assumes your amplifier will drive a 2 ohm load without significantly more distortion (which is usually the case these days). Provided your amp is designed for it I'd wire for 2 ohms to get the most power.
Old Jan 1, 2009 | 09:42 PM
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It's all about the amp, some amp will have a higher THD at lower impedance, for mid/high under 0,1% is acceptable, for subs under 1% is fine also. Like John__Taylor said there's always some exception. Also, sound deadening will help tremendously improving the overall sound quality by eliminating rattle and resonance.
Old Jan 2, 2009 | 12:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Haunz
My bet is that you will hear a big difference because you will get significantly less power out of the amp at 8ohms...

(I'd definatly run it at 2ohms!)
Sometimes I miss the forest for the trees.

You make an excellent point, and in fact that may have been his REAL question, re-reading it, he could mean sound quality or "sound" as in volume. I just ASSumed he meant SQL.

John
Old Jan 2, 2009 | 03:48 PM
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The amp will make the only significant difference, but can anyone hear it? My opinion wont be popular but I say no.
Old Jan 2, 2009 | 06:11 PM
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Talking

Here we go...........
Old Jan 2, 2009 | 07:20 PM
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Originally Posted by BigRedGuy
Here we go...........
It's the off season. Gotta stir things up.



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