Multiple amp question

[SilverGS]

I have a Directed 1200 watt amp with a cap for my 2 10" kickers.
And I bought an ancient smaller amp off a freind for a couple bucks (a Pioneer GM-H50) with intentions to run my 4 alpine 6.5s off of it.

Q:
is this second amp neccassary?
Can I simply run my power from the capacitor to the new amp?
My directed amp has an audio out. Can I run that right to my second amp? Or do I have to run another wire back to the deck. (which has multiple outputs on it)
here's a crappy iPhone pic of what's going on

(The black one is the Pioneer)

ask me more questions if you have. But mainly I'm looking for the best ways to hook this up.
I'm still an ellectronics noob so I'm looking for education

 

[Legacy]

what 6.5's are you running?
and i dont think that Pioneer GM-H50 is a four channel amp is it?

 

[inteeegraaaaaa]

Your car is going to be hurting for power, but you can run the + side of your cap into a distribution block then to both amps, and as long as your head unit isn't set to either lp or hp mode, you can use the pass through on your current amp.

Turn those subs around, from your picture it looks like you have them facing into the car, face them toward the back and they will sound better.

 

[dc2b18]

You need to post the specs of both of the amps. If it's not a 4 channel amp then you need to get one. I'm assuming the other is a mono amp, in which case you shouldn't be running more than two subs off of it anyway. It's probably hurting the SQ as is. Like I said, post the specs on the amps and I'll be able to give you better information.

 

[TegSox]

Is the second amp necessary? Not if your radio has speaker outputs, I guess it's not necessary.
An amp will be more powerful than deck power (duh, right?), so you'll be able to reach higher volume levels (something most people enjoy, lol), and the sound will be more dynamic and clear/cleaner. So yeah, having an amp is an improvement over running speakers off the deck.
It does look like your amp is a 2 channel, but if it's 2 ohm stable, you can run the 4 speakers wired in parallel.
Wire the front left and the rear left to the left channel, and the front right and the rear right to the right channel - that's wiring in parallel. The only detrimental thing about doing it that way is A. The amp will run warmer, but if it's mounted in a place where it's not confined, where it has some breathing room, it'll be OK. and B. You'll lose your front to rear fader function. But, when an amp runs at 2 ohms instead of 4 ohms, it put out twice the power.

You can have your cap power both amps, but caps aern't really necessary for non-sub amps. It's the subs that require sudden big bursts of power, not the regular speakers so much. I'd concentrate my cap power on the sub amp, that relatively small Pioneer will be just fine without it.
I don't believe in capacitors anyway, they're a gimmick. They take away charging power from the alternator to juice up, then after they blow their load on the first big bass hit, they're taking away alternator amperage again to recharge. It takes them longer to recharge than to supply the juice for a bass drop - it only supplies less than a second of power, then it's just an additional drain on the charging system, using power that could be getting used by the amps is getting taken away by the cap instead.

Your last question depends on your deck. Does it have multiple RCA outputs, or just one for a sub amp?

 

[dc2b18]

Well said, tegsox

 

[SilverGS]

Thanks tegsox.

If my car is underpowered how can I fix that? Will I need a bigger altenator and battery..?

And I found some specs on the amp (sorta)
GM H50 is rated a 2x25W 4ohms, 2x40W 2ohms, and 1x80W 4ohms and 2 ohms mono.

and heres the Directed specs

Class-D Monoblock Amplifier
Super-efficient Class D PWM design runs much cooler than conventional amps
RMS Power Output:
300 watts x 1 chan. @ 4 ohms
400 watts x 1 chan. @ 2 ohms
600 watts x 1 chan. @ 1 ohm
High-speed MOSFET switching power supply
High-current complimentary Class D MOSFET outputs stable into one ohm loads
Thermal, DC offset, reverse polarity, and short circuit protection with status LED
Continuously variable 12dB/Oct low-pass crossover
Master/Slave Function
Variable input sensitivity: 150mV - 7.5V
Chrome-plated wire terminals and RCA connectors ensure maximum signal transfer
Rugged 2-piece heatsink and cover
RCA Outputs: 1 pair


And the deck is an Alpine CDA 9886
has 3 outputs sub out, front L+R, and back L+R

My amp is currently running from the sub outs

 

[SilverGS]

I understand OHMs is the amount of current running across a connection? I dont fully understand what the rating means and googled it, but i still dont really understand it.

 

[TegSox]

If your not going to be running the amp @ 1 ohm I definitley wouldn't worry about the alternator. The battery, maybe a little, it'll last quite a while, but don't worry about it it's not something to concern yourself with.

Since your DEI amp is a monoblock, I doubt that it's RCA output is a full range signal, it's probably just bass signal, but the manual should tell you for sure. If it's just bass signal, you can't use it for the Pioneer amp. But hey, you got 2 more pre out's coming off the deck anyway, use one of those.

 

[dc2b18]

If your car is underpowered you have a few options.

Batcap- a pretty overpriced but proven mobile audio battery

Yellow top- deep cycle battery

You should wire this in series to your amp(s) and it will eliminate your problems. |I don't really see why you're having issues though, because that amp should not be pulling enough current to do anything. What size fuse are you using coming from the battery? Just curious. I had a JL 1000/1 that would easily eat all the current coming from my battery but that amp pulls 120 amps of current, more than most amps for non competition set ups.

 

[TegSox]

The OP never said his car is underpowered. inteeegraaaaa told him his car will be hurting for power, but I don't think so, and am just trying to tell him not to worry about it.
But a Yellow top Optima is a good idea, but not a necessity, I'd wait until your current battery dies before you get an Optima SilverGS.

 

[suspendedHatch]

Ohms is a measurement of resistance, not current. Current is measured in amps. Current is the amount of flow. Voltage is potential energy. All three are tied together by a formula. Voltage = Current x Resistance. You can't change one w/out changing the others.

Anything that runs on electricity causes resistance. Even the wiring causes resistance. If there was no resistance, the full power of the battery would flow straight to ground and burn the wiring and then quickly drain the battery.

It's really not that critical to know that. Subs come with diagrams of all possible setups. Speakers are almost always 4 ohms, and come in pairs so it's quite easy to remember how to wire them. And you can physically measure voltage, current, and resistance.

Run your pre-outs directly to the deck. Don't use the amp pass through. Decks have separate adjustments for sub volume, frequency cut off etc that come in very handy.

I understand OHMs is the amount of current running across a connection? I dont fully understand what the rating means and googled it, but i still dont really understand it.

 

[SilverGS]

Thanks Tegsox and Suspendedhatch for the info.

So in conclusion I should be able to run the 4 speakers off of the pioneer amp right?

The left side speakers on to the left, and same for the right. i will just lose my front/back fader options.