[Inferno Sonoma]

I have a fosgate 200a2 for my mids and highs right now.
The specs say its only 4ohm stable bridged, but you think the amp would be alright at 2ohm bridged stable? Right now its only pushing about 25watts rms a channel and my speakers handle 40 i think, so i could ive them a little more..just don't want the amp to be dead in a month.. thanks

 

[Livewire]

it might die...

 

[Liftedbronco]

its only 4 ohm stable bridged...thats weird cuz most rockfords want to operate at 2 ohm. Seriously...its not gonna hurt it to try...jsut keep a close eye on its temps. if it gets hot quick...it aint gonna work

 

[xtrememeasures]

i know plenty of peeps running there rf's at 2 ohms....just like lifted said watch the m temp...rf's are also known for running hot!!!

 

[Inferno Sonoma]

Well I think I had my two tens bridged off two of the channels for a while back when I didn't know about the bridging and stuff, it worked like that for a couple months with no problem. So i guess i'll give it a shot, if it doesn't work i'll need to by another amp, so its not really a big deal if it dies...

 

[Livewire]

Sell it on ebay while it still works and buy a new amp

 

[Liftedbronco]

keep it! dont fall into the trap of getting something new just because something new came out. Not a good way to be.

 

[Livewire]

fock that, its old, sell it while its still worth something and get something better, nothing wrong with upgrading equipment

 

[MeltingPlastic]

old doesnt mean bad.. it means tried and true! i tried runnin a rf power 551x dual bridged at 2 ohm and it was only 4 ohm stable(people should learn to read specs before telling me they checked it out themselves) and well that ****er got HOT! and they guys headlights kept dimming REALLY bad so just be careful

 

[Livewire]

I never said it was a bad amp, but its getting old...why not upgrade equipment. I upgraded my headunit recently and couldnt be happier. Im looking to upgrade my components and 4 channel amp soon too, not because what I have is bad or old but because there is always room for improvement

 

[Inferno Sonoma]

Well I wish I had the money to upgrade! But I really don't need that much bigger of an amp. I really don't listen to my music that loud, I just want it to sound good, so i'll run it at 2ohms till it dies or catches fire, then i'll upgrade.

 

[Liftedbronco]

i just meant if you have an amp that works, hook it up and move on to another part of your truck.

 

[adam728]

I wouldn't run it bridged for a few reasons.

#1- it's not designed for it. Many people say they take it and just run hot, but I also have seen a 100a2 dead because it ran 2 ohm mono for a few weeks (then kaput).

#2- You are running mids and highs, YOU WANT STEREO SEPERATION! If you run it bridged there will be no right/left seperation

#3- THD increases as you drop the ohms an amplifier is operating at.


To sum it up, you'll be hurting your amp, eliminating stereo sound, and increasing distortion, just to get a few more watts. Also realize that Rockford amps usually push about 40-50% more power than they are rated, so your "25 rms" per speaker is really probably more like 35-38 rms.

As for upgrades, yes it's good, but old equipment isn't bad. I'm running a RF DSM 200ix right now and could not be happier. It's a great solid amp and I currently have no reason to replace it. I've used lots of old equipment and been fine with it. I even have an Orion amp from 91 (I believe).

 

[Liftedbronco]

but most rockford amps ARE made for 2 ohm operation. Thats the argument

 

[Inferno Sonoma]

To sum it up, you'll be hurting your amp, eliminating stereo sound, and increasing distortion, just to get a few more watts. Also realize that Rockford amps usually push about 40-50% more power than they are rated, so your "25 rms" per speaker is really probably more like 35-38 rms.

I kinda forgot about the stereo thing...

Ok well tell me this then..All the settings on my head unit are at zero, volume is at 21...it goes to the eq, then out the eq to the amps, the eq has 2 volt pre outs, so the gains on the amps are set right about in the middle, where 2 volts would be..the volume on my eq goes up to 30, for my usualy listening its at about 25..not to much room left..the way it is right now, i think it would be louder just using the head unit for mids and highs...

 

[Liftedbronco]

the amp gain isnt that simple. find out what number max power is on your radio...probably i guess around 20. Keep your eq and amp gains at 0. now turn up the eq until you hear it distort. if you get no distortion at 30...back it off just a touch and leave it. if you get distortion, do the same, back it off form there a touch and leave it. Now turn up the amp gain (yes its loud now) until either the amp or ur speakers distort.

 

[xtrememeasures]

the rf amps come with slips that say what they put out at 2 ohms...this isn't to say the amp won't fry....like i said already its alright to run the amp like this...every rf amp i hook up i prety much do this way...and once again i also added thats not to say that u won't get one or two or even three bakc that heat up like a motha....rf is known for having some bad amps that heat up and then go...but thats what a warranty is for send it to em they replace the whole board insside

 

[Inferno Sonoma]

Umm, 2ohm stereo..not 2ohm bridged, or however your supposed to say that..I think mine is out of warranty already, its like 2 series ago