Wiring a dual voice coil subwoofer is not hard if you have the right instructions. In this article, Hooke Audio will go through How To Wire Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer with careful detail. How do you wire a dual voice coil subwoofer that is designed to handle the power that the amp puts out without overloading?
This is accomplished by running one side of the subwoofer with a positive voltage, and the other side with a negative voltage. Keep reading to get more information about this process.
What Is A Dual Voice Coil Speaker?
A dual voice coil speaker, also known as a DVC speaker, is a type of loudspeaker with two voice coils instead of one. These voice coils are two separate wires wrapped around the speaker’s voice coil former.
The former is the circular or cylindrical component of the speaker that moves back and forth to produce sound. Each voice coil has connections and can be driven by a separate amplifier channel.
The main benefit of a dual voice coil speaker is increased flexibility in wiring configurations. With a traditional single voice coil speaker, the wiring options are limited to either series or parallel connections. However, with a DVC speaker, there are more wiring options available.
For example, each voice coil can be wired in parallel to produce a lower impedance load, which allows more power to be delivered to the speaker.
Alternatively, the voice coils can be wired in series to produce a higher impedance load, which is useful when driving multiple speakers from a single amplifier channel.
Another advantage of a DVC speaker is its ability to produce more bass than a single voice coil speaker of the same size. This is because each voice coil can move independently of the other, allowing the speaker cone to move further and produce more air movement, resulting in a louder and more powerful bass response.
Why Do You Need A Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer?
Single and dual voice coils drivers have very little in common. The only difference between them is that dual voice coils wind twice as long as single voice coils. This allows for greater motor force and power handling.
Subwoofers with single voice coils have one set of leads. This limits wiring options.
Dual Voice Coil subwoofers come with two sets of leads.
For your wiring convenience, the extra leads in a dual-voice coil subwoofer will be there.
Dual voice coil subs are the most common car audio subwoofers today.
Dual voice coil subwoofers open up the wiring option. You can add drivers to your build and make use of the amplifier’s impedance.
This allows you to adjust the subwoofer’s impedance. You may adjust the impedance to optimize the voltage flow depending on the amplifier you use and how many subwoofers are in your setup.
If your subwoofers had only one voice coil, you would have fewer options for wiring.
Why is that important? We want the best bass our systems can provide.
The lower the impedance, the greater amount of voltage will reach the voice coils. The system’s total output will be lower if there is less voltage reaching the voice coils.
Your subs and amplifier should perform at their best to get the best out of your car audio system.
We can use parallel and series wiring to supply voltage to subwoofers.
When wiring, it is crucial to remember the polarity of the voice coils for each driver and component. Wire drivers with different impedances should not be connected together.
We have already optimized our electric charging system to maximize efficiency if you are following along.
What’s The Difference Between Dual And Single Voice Coil Subwoofers?
These parts are found on standard speakers and subwoofers:
- An attached magnet and metal basket that houses the speaker parts.
- Large permanent magnet
- Speaker cone surround
- Dust cap & surround for speaker cones
- Voice coil bobbin (tube in which the coil is made).
- A “spider”, which is a rigid but flexible material that suspends a voice coil assembly, is called a “spider”.
- Voice coil: A tightly wound, small gauge wire with a long length. This is suspended within a gap in a magnet.
- Voice coil wire leads and connection terminals
A single voice coils subwoofer winding has one speaker voice coil winding, while the dual voice coils model has an additional voice coil with the same Ohm rating (impedance).
An additional pair of wire leads and terminals for speaker wires is also available.
Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer Advantages
1. Maximum Power Output In Amps
Most car amplifiers now have a certain power rating (in Watts) at a particular speaker load Ohm rating. A mono amplifier may have one of the following power ratings:
- 350W RMS at 4 Ohms Speaker Load
- 600W RMS at 2. ohms
- 1,000W RMS at 1 Ohm
Imagine that you want to use one (mono) subwoofer and one bass setup. You’d normally only get 600W from an amp because there are usually only 2 or 3 subwoofers that are higher than the amp.
You could add another 2-ohm subwoofer to the mix, but that would require you to buy a larger box, spend more money, take up more space and use more space.
To allow the amp to produce its maximum power, a 2 ohm DVC Subwoofer could be used. You won’t be able to reach the power you have paid for with your amplifier.
This is particularly true today, as class D amplifiers are capable of generating ratings similar to this.
2. Special Setups And Channels For Amplifiers
As I said, not all amplifiers are capable of being bridged. This is a serious problem when you have a single 4-channel amplifier. How do you add a subwoofer to your amplifier and provide enough power?
A dual voice coils subwoofer can be driven with enough power by using one channel for each voice coils. For truly powerful systems, you can use one amp for each voice coils in a single or multi-subwoofer system.
3. Multiple Subwoofers/Amp Impedance Match
If you are wiring multiple subwoofers to a single amplifier channel, or mono bridging 2 amplifier channels, the Ohms load your amp sees will depend on whether the subwoofers have parallel or series wiring.
Dual voice coils subs give you more options, as they allow you to choose from more total Ohm load combinations that will better match your amp’s minimum rating.
4. Use Them At Home With Car Stereo Systems
It is not feasible to use 8-ohm subwoofers effectively for car audio. They can’t produce as much power as a 4-ohm speaker. Subwoofers for cars with 2 or 4 Ohm ratings cannot be used with home stereo amps, as they are below the required amp spec.
They can cause your home amp to heat up, shut down, or even be permanently damaged.
The unique advantage of dual voice coils speaker is that you can use them in conjunction with a dual 4-ohm subwoofer for home or car use.
- For home stereo use, wire in series at 8 ohms
- For car audio amp use, you can use a single 4 or 2 ohm.
This is especially true if you can find speakers at a great price. You’ll be able to use them when you wouldn’t otherwise.
How To Wire Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer In Series
To increase impedance, wires are connected in series. The impedance of all components is added together to determine the flow of voltage in series connections.
As with old Christmas lights: If one component is removed, all lights along the line will turn off. This is because they rely on the precedent lamp to transmit voltage along the circuit.
Do you need to wire dual voice coil subwoofers in series?
- Connect the positive speaker output of your amplifier to the Voice Coils 1 positive lead.
- Next, connect Voice Coil 1’s negative lead to Voice Coil 2’s positive lead.
- Connect the negative lead from Voice Coil 2, to the amplifier’s negative output.
Do You Need To Wire More Subwoofers With Dual Voice Coils Than Two?
Voice coil wired in series, speakers wired in parallel.
If wiring multiple dual voice coils subwoofers together, follow how to wire a 2-ohm DVC sub instructions above. Connect the Voice Coils 1 negative lead to Voice Coils 3 positive lead, and then add the next voice coils.
Simply add together the impedances of all the loads to determine the impedance when wiring voice coils in series.
How To Wire A Dual-Voice Coil Subwoofer In Parallel
Parallel wiring reduces impedance. Parallel wiring reduces impedance. Subwoofers are connected to amplifiers in parallel. The voltage is then split so that each driver receives the same voltage.
Do you need to wire the dual voice coils subwoofer in parallel?
- Connect the leads of the positive voice coils together and wire them to your amplifier’s positive output terminal.
- Next, connect the leads of the negative voice coils together and wire them up to the amplifier’s negative output terminal.
Do You Need To Wire 2 Subwoofers With Dual Voice Coils Simultaneously?
You can simply repeat the above process, connecting positive and negative leads.
Divide the subwoofer’s impedance and multiply it by how many subs you use to determine the impedance. If you have two 4O DVC speakers wired together, then 4O divided by 2 Subwoofers will give you a 2O load.
Parallel vs. Series Impedance Loads
Power is drawn from the amp’s positive terminal, routed to the speakers, and then returned to the amp’s negative terminal. The ohm load is the amount of resistance encountered by the current in the circuit. When searching for subwoofers, the “ohm” rating of the voice coils is critical.
The less voltage that reaches the voice coils, the higher the impedance. The lower the system’s overall output, the less voltage that reaches the voice coils.
Series Circuits
The current meet one speaker after another in a series circuit. The impedance load of each speaker is added together. The impedance load of three single 4-ohm voice coil speakers connected in series is 4 + 4 + 4, or 12 ohms.
Parallel Circuits
The current in a parallel circuit is linked to each positive terminal of the speakers and then flows back along with the negative terminals. It is a more difficult computation than a series. Fortunately, for speakers with the same impedance, the impedance may be divided by the number of speakers.
So the net load is 4 ohms 2 speakers or 2 ohms with two 4 ohm single voice coil speakers put in parallel.
Combining Series and Parallel Wiring
When you have a circuit with both series and parallel wiring, things become more complicated. Don’t be concerned! It’s just a question of considering the series “branches” as a single speaker and then computing the parallel circuit’s load.
Assume that each speaker in this design has a single 4-ohm voice coil. To begin, add the impedance for each set of three to get 12 ohms (4 + 4 + 4). If you consider each series group to be a single speaker connected in parallel, the parallel calculation is 12 ohms, 3 or 4 ohms.
If your amplifier produces 900 W RMS with a 4-ohm load, the 900 W will be divided evenly across all of the speakers.
Takeaway: Your choices for connecting to a certain impedance load are determined by the number of speakers, impedance, and power handling.
FAQ
Do you have to use both voice coils on a dual voice coil subwoofer?
Make Sure Your Subwoofers are Wired Properly
To guarantee that the subwoofer retains its power rating and operates as intended by the manufacturer, your installer will need to connect both voice coils to your amplifier.
What hits harder, 2ohm or 4ohm?
Based on the above rationale, the 2-ohm subwoofer generates a stronger sound than the 4-ohm subwoofer. In that sense, the 2-ohm subwoofer is more powerful than the 4-ohm subwoofer.
Can you wire a dual voice coil sub to two channels?
So, how to connect dual voice coil subwoofer? Finally, if your amplifier is not mono-bridgeable or if you are bridging a four-channel amplifier down to two channels to drive your sub, you may connect each voice coil to a different channel.
What is a better single or dual voice coil subwoofer?
Differences in voice coils have no direct impact on subwoofer performance, frequency response, or power rating. A two-voice coil subwoofer does not perform better than a single voice coil subwoofer.
Can you wire SVC and DVC together?
If one is DVC 4 ohm and the other is SVC 4 ohm, connect the DVC one in series, then connect both subs for a 4-ohm final load on the amp. The other two choices are 6 ohms and 1.33 ohms. When bridged, most two-channel amps will only be stable at 4 ohms or above.
Conclusion
There are many ways to wire a dual voice coil subwoofer, but the most common way is to wire it in parallel. This means that the two voice coils are wired together in such a way that they produce the same signal. The main advantage of this type of wiring is that it allows for more flexibility in terms of how the subwoofer is used. For example, if one voice coil is damaged, the other can still be used to produce sound.
