How do I wire my amp to a sub?

Wiring your subwoofers to your amplifier can be tricky tricky, that’s why we created these wiring diagrams. You don’t want to blow up your subwoofers OR your amp. (In fact, we recommend that you skip right over to your local Authorized Polk Audio Dealer and get a pro to do your install. We feel we should say that, so you’re warned and all.) If you blipped right over that sentence in the parens, we've gone ahead and made it easy for you to find the proper wiring method with these diagrams.

Below are wiring diagrams for 1, 2, 3, and 4 subwoofer configurations for both single voice coil subwoofers (SVC) and dual voice coil subwoofers (DVC).

1 SVC Driver The simplest way to hook up a subwoofer. The total impedance of this system is 4 Ohms.
1 DVC Driver Parallel When using a 4 Ohm Dual Voice Coil (DVC) subwoofer, the total impedance of this system is 2 Ohms.
1 DVC Driver Series When using a 4 Ohm Dual Voice Coil (DVC) subwoofer, the total impedance of this system is 8 Ohms.
2 SVC Driver Parallel These two wiring diagrams are identical, because the SUB 1 output is paralleled to the SUB 2 output. If you don't want to crimp the wires together, the extra SUB 2 output is an excellent way to connect your subwoofers. The total impedance of these systems is 2 Ohms.
2 DVC Driver Parallel/Parallel DO NOT wire 2 DVC drivers in Parallel / Parallel configuration. Polk PA Series amps are only stable down to 2 Ohms. The total impedance of this system is 1 Ohms.
2 DVC Driver Series/Parallel When using a 4 Ohm Dual Voice Coil (DVC) subwoofer, the total impedance of this system is 4 Ohms.
3 DVC Driver Series/Parallel When using a 4 Ohm Dual Voice Coil (DVC) subwoofer, the total impedance of this system is 2.67 Ohms.
3 & 4 SVC Driver Parallel DO NOT wire your subwoofers in a parallel configuration with 4 Ohm Single Voice Coil (SVC) Subwoofers if you have more than 2 subwoofers. Polk PA Series amps are only stable down to 2 Ohms. You MUST use 8 Ohm or higher subwoofers if you want to configure 3 or more subwoofers in parallel
4 DVC Driver Series/Parallel When using a 4 Ohm Dual Voice Coil (DVC) subwoofer, the total impedance of this system is 2 Ohms.
4 SVC Driver Series/Parallel Total impedance of this system is 4 Ohms.

 

This FAQ was last modified on May 24, 2013

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