Dual channel running in mono?

[Zackster]

My amp (crunch powerzone psi 2250) is a dual channel amp, but it has a mono setting. Does that mean I can bridge my subs to get more power if I use this setting?

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[garychoffmann 10+ year member]

Depends on your subs. If you can wire them to a single 4 ohm load.

 

[Zackster]

SUBS: 2 Pioneer TS-303R 12'' 250watt rms 1200watt max 4ohm SVC

 

[garychoffmann 10+ year member]

Nope

 

[Umbra]

SUBS: 2 Pioneer TS-303R 12'' 250watt rms 1200watt max 4ohm SVC

To elaborate on garychoffmann's response: the minimum impedance your amp can handle bridged is 4 ohms. Since you have two 4 ohm SVC subs you can either wire them to 8 or 2 ohms. 8 ohms will probably give you less output than you have now (or comparable), but you could try it anyway. If you wire it to 2 ohms the amp will either go into protect mode or outright die.

 

[Zackster]

So 1 sub per channel is, overall, 8 ohms, and bridged is 2 ohms? Less resistance is hotter? Sorry, I'm new to this kind of stuff. I have noticed that the amp will go into protect mode if there is too much bass, even on 8 ohm config. I'm fairly sure this is due the amp just being old and ******... I also have the subs in a non-ported enclosure, which, I think, adds more strain on the amp? Correct me if I'm wrong. Like I said, I'm new to this

 

[Umbra]

So 1 sub per channel is, overall, 8 ohms, and bridged is 2 ohms? Less resistance is hotter? Sorry, I'm new to this kind of stuff. I have noticed that the amp will go into protect mode if there is too much bass, even on 8 ohm config. I'm fairly sure this is due the amp just being old and ******... I also have the subs in a non-ported enclosure, which, I think, adds more strain on the amp? Correct me if I'm wrong. Like I said, I'm new to this

We were all new once, don't sweat it.

Your subs each have one voice coil each with a 4 ohm impedance. Your amp is a two channel amp that says it can do 250W @ 4 ohms per channel (so 250W on each channel to each speaker) - 8 ohms doesn't come into play because it's two different channels. When you bridge it, instead of having two separate channels you combined the power to one, more powerful mono output (good for subs, or multiple subs wired together). The amp puts out different power depending on the load it's presented (either in stereo or mono). Yours does 250W @ 4 and 500W @ 2 per channel, or 1000W @ 4 mono (if you bridge the two). You bridge subs by wiring them together, either before or at the amp. You can wire in series or in parallel between subs. If you have DVC (dual voice coil) subs you have even more wiring options because you can wire in series or parallel between each sub's coils, then you wire between subs.

Two 4 ohm loads can be wired to either 8 ohms in series or 2 ohms in parallel. Whether we're talking about subs or not - it's an electrical thing. I can't say outright that less resistance equals more heat, but that might be a fair assumption. Many cheaper amps don't go below4 or 2 stable, others 1. Competition ones sometimes do .5 or .25 ohms. It depends on the build. If you're interested in seeing how these combinations work out check out RF's wiring wizard: http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/support/wiringwizard.aspx

I don't think having the sub sealed works your amp harder. If anything I think it's the other way around due to box rise, but before I give you misinformation I'd prefer someone else chimed in.

I know Crunch isn't the best brand, but it shouldn't be going into protect powering two 4 ohm loads. My guess is maybe you're being too liberal with the gain and bass boost.