Hi there. Audio Uber-Noob here!!
I bought myself a Elemental Design 10" sub, to go inside my JLaurent enclosure.
What amps should I consider looking into?
I'd like something fairly compact, that can be easily conceled either in the trunk, or perhaps even under the passenger seat.
Also, the amp doesn't have to power the speakers, only the 10" sub.

Thanks!!

EDIT: Oh, and just a reminder I bought the 11Kv.3 10" 2ohm sub.

 

there are a number of options out there that will fit your bill.

you really won't get anything under either seat easily. but there are a number of amps that will fit behind the passenger (or driver) seat if you're willing to sacrifice a couple of inches of legroom.

for the Kv.3 10", i think you're supposed to be in the 300 - 400 Wrms range given that enclosure.

amp manufacturers i'm fond of (for subs) are Alpine, Kicker, JL, Rockford Fosgate, Alphasonik, and Memphis. (not necessarily in that order...) i've installed those amps and/or owned them myself for sub applications (except the Memphis), and they have all been good performers.

pick your model based on power, stability (2 ohm stable), and size. it's hard to go wrong.

 

If I purchase a 4ohm stable AMP, with power ranging from 200-400 wats rms, can I then achieve a reliable setup by Bridging the Sub, and Bridging the AMP?

This is what Elemental Tech support told me to do.
For example the JL 300/2:
On the Sub, bridge + to - on one set of terminals.
According to ED, this makes the sub 4ohms.
The sub has 2 Dual-Voicecoils at 2ohm.

Then run the remaining set of terminals to the AMP.
Do the same on the AMP (bridge one set of terminals).

Does this sound correct??

 

Yes, you could either get a class D 2 channel amp and bridge the channels, and run the dual voice coils in a series (making it 4 ohm) or you could just buy a mono amp, and run speaker wires from the amp to each voice coil, which would run the amp in 2 ohm mode. The only difference is, an amp running in 2 ohm configuration usually runs hotter than when it is in 4 ohm configuration.

 

So is this a 2 ohm dual voice coil or a 4 ohm dual voice coil?

The 2Ohm DVC will need to be wired in series as a 4 ohm load. The 4 ohm DVC can be wired in series as an 8 ohm load, but more likely in parallel as a 2 ohm load.



My recommendation for either version of the sub would be the JL 250/1 (same power at 4 ohm and 2 ohm) mounted on teh wall behind the passenger seat. You will give up about 1" of seat travel/leg room.

This is a JL 500/1 - 250/1 would be a little bit smaller, but the amps is the same thickness.

 

doh. sorry, i missed this part:
yes, you want to run the sub in series (like William shows above) for a 4 ohm TOTAL load.

you don't need a 2 ohm stable amp. you DO need an amp that produces 300-400 Wrms @ 4 ohms. a JL 250/1 will make pretty darn close to 300 Wrms at least.

 

Thanks for that excellent write-up WLAURENT!!!

So, the best way to go is a Mono amp, 4ohms, ranging 300-400 rms.

JL is a bit on the expensive side, no?
Whats another good quality brand of amp, that doesn't burn a hiole in the pocket.
Not super-cheap, just most bang-for-buck??

I found these on Outlet Sites:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Bazooka-Mon...roductDetail.do

And this...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1134701298023


Thanks!

 

www.woofersetc.com will net you much lower prices on those amps, and bring a greater number of comparable amps into your price range.

 

That Alpine is a decent sub amp - will run plenty cool.

Unfortunately I do not think it would work behind the seat. The JL Amps have the heat sink on one side (on the top in the provided image) - most all other amps have the heatsinks on both sides.

 

Thanks Everyone! I now have a much better understanding of car audio and amps/subs.