Amp for stereo subs


My open baffle speakers have 2, 12" subs on each side, powered by your basic chinese plate amps. They are not mounted on the baffle due to lack of room. I have each one in a separate wooden box a friend built. In an effort to cut back on the equipment clutter and outlet demand, I'm thinking of going to a stereo amp. Looking for recommendations for a modestly priced ss amp in the 100-250 wpc range for that use. I have an outboard crossover to use (oops, there goes the outlet I just got back!) so I really just need the power. No prejudice against Class D if that's what makes sense.
128x128swampwalker

Showing 1 response by ivan_nosnibor

Swampwalker, the Crowns could well be a nice solution here, but you will have to take into account some things - including whether your dual 12-inchers on each side will be seen by the amp(s) as a 8- or 4-ohm load and what their sensitivity is and how loud on occasion you want to go. Let me point out if I may, that all that is especially important since you're considering pro amps here. There is an old rule-of-thumb that says you should divide the pro power spec by 4 to get the equivalent RMS figure we're used to with hifi. That's because the pro spec is always into 1kHz, not 20-20k. Some folks feel it is ok to substitute dividing by 3 instead, but personally I'd resist that...dividing by 4 will at least give you a more reliable Minimum power figure. The 1500 is rated at 525w/ch into 4 ohms and 300w/ch into 8. So, into 4 ohms you'd have at least around 130w/ch RMS...IF you have 8-ohm woofers wired in series per channel, which would allow you to provide stereo power to both woofers per side with only one amp. But, I leave it to you to whether or not that will be enough juice for your listening levels. Stepping up the Crown XLS line to more power is always an option. If your woofers are already 4-ohm, then it may in fact be more recommendable to use 2 amps, one for each pair of woofers. The Crowns can indeed be bridged, and in stereo mode they can safely handle a 2-ohm load, but, while bridged, the low limit is 4 ohms. Keep in mind also that these amps have fans. Normally, they do not, I believe, come on (they are rather audible) all the time or anything, or even at all - under normal conditions, that is. But, buying an underpowered amp to try to save yourself a few bucks will likely not be "normal" conditions. You will want to give the amp the opportunity to do its job, even in the summer, without being taxed often enough for the fan to annoy you, of course, so you must plan accordingly before you buy. As always, erring on the side of a little too much power never hurts! Hope this helps.