I just bought a pair of HIFONICS HFi12S4 and I now need an amp to push these. What kind of amp would you guys suggest?

Specs on Subs:
# 2) 12” Single Voice Coil 4 Ohms HFi Series Subwoofers
# 1200 Watt Total Power Handling (600 Watt Each Sub)
# 600 Watt RMS Power Handling (300 Watts Each)
# Impedance: 4 ohms Each
# Injected Poly Light Rigid Cone
# 1" NBR Reinforced Rubber Surround
# Integrated One Piece Poly Cotton Spider
# Nickel Plated Push & Insert Speaker Terminals
# Poly Light Dust Cap
# Heat Dispersing Ported Back Plate
# Ultra Ridged Chrome Stamped Steel Basket
# High Strength ABS Motor Cover
# Large Air Cooled Magnet Assembly
# Sensitivity: 88 dB

I do not really have any specific things I want just an amp that can give me good performance out of these subs. I don't need comp level sound just a little more omph to my stock set up. I like the Hifonics stuff. I was told that I should get a mono amp and wire the subs in parallel to get the impedance down to 2 ohms for better sound. Is that right?

 

With single 4ohm voice coils you can only wire them for 2 ohms or 8 ohms. 2 ohms will be louder, so if that's what they meant by better sound, then yes.

There's all kinds of mono amps that'll push decent power at 2 ohms. You mentioned liking Hifonics stuff, so maybe a Hifonics BXi 1210D would suit your liking. It'll push around 900 watts RMS at 2 ohms. I think Hifonics inflates their numbers a little bit, but it should still be plenty of power for those two subs. I've never used any Hifonics equipment, so I'm not 100% on how much power it would actually push. Just take it easy on the gain/bass boost setting.

If it were me, I would probably grab something like a Kicker zx750.1, or maybe a Rockford Fosgate T500-1bd. Just personal preference. I've owned plenty of Kicker and RF amps, and never really had a problem with any of them.

 

Thanks. I ordered the Hifonics but only because the other two you suggested were a little more than I wanted to spend. I will probably be kicking my self in the ass later for being a cheap ass but right now I was just looking for a budget build to give my car a little more power until I finish a few other planned mods then I will probably beef up my system if this does not suffice.

Thanks again for all the help!

Thanks. I ordered the Hifonics but only because the other two you suggested were a little more than I wanted to spend. I will probably be kicking my self in the ass later for being a cheap ass but right now I was just looking for a budget build to give my car a little more power until I finish a few other planned mods then I will probably beef up my system if this does not suffice.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

your not a cheap ass... hifonics is good stuff...

i would have recommended another sub, but its all preference... i used to run 1 12 kicker compcvr pushing 900 rms to it... lol... that thing hit hard..

 

Nah, not being a cheap ass. Hifonics makes decent stuff. I just have never used any of it, so I can only go on what I've read and heard from people who have used it. I'm sure you'll be just fine with it.

 

id stay away from hifonics just because they do tend to inflate there acctual wattage on amps. but your going to want a amp that does 600rms x 2 ohms...and yea a mono amp is what your looking for

as he said ^^^ a fosgate t500.1 would probably be a good choice because fosgate amps usually put out more than what there rated at (t10001bd says 1000rms but is known to be good for 1400-1500rms)

 

I didn't mean cheap ass as in buying crappy stuff i meant this whole set up is only setting me back about $400 bucks.

$60 for the pair of subs.
$190 for the amp
Projected $150 for the supplies to make the box and all the wiring and what not.

However, my budget may have to increase because I am really tempted to buy me an aftermarket head unit just to make things a little easier. But I am not a 100% on that idea just yet. Any suggestions? I would like a double din in-dash dvd player. I hear pioneer is the way to go but again trying to keep it as cheap as possible without sacrificing to much in quality. Best bang for your buck kind of deal.

Thanks for the help. I went with the HiFonics so I hope it will do just fine which I don't see why it wouldn't even with what you guys have said because then both the speakers and amp will be over rated so it should equal out.

 

Even though that Hifonics says 900 watts rms at 2 ohms, I figured that the numbers were inflated some when I mentioned it, so I figured that it would match up pretty decently with those two subs. Just be careful setting the gain on the amp and you'll be ok.

As far as head units go, I have a Pioneer F700bt double din nav unit in my car, and I like it pretty well. Doesn't play DVD's though. If you were looking for DVD playback maybe a Pioneer AVH-P3100DVD or AVH-4100DVD. Or the higher end Nav units by Pioneer have DVD playback also. The touch screens on the Pioneer units tend to be a little sluggish in response though. At least mine is, but they've recently fixed that with a firmware update. You might also check out the Kenwood and Eclipse units, but I have zero experience with them, so I'll save that to someone who knows more about them.

You gonna go with a sealed or ported box?

 

Alright. Thanks. I will look into those. I do not NEED dvd playback as long as I have a way to hook up my ipod I will be set.

I am not sure what kind of box I am going with. My original design was for a sealed box because it is an easier one to do but now I am not sure. I was wanting to have my subs pointing at one another and have plexiglass on 3 of the sides and have my amp inbetween where the two subs are firing. I may have to hook up my scanner and scan my sketch to help you better understand because I barely know what I am talking about and I have the sketch infront of me.

I may even say to hell with it all and build a real quick basic box and leave it all ugly mdf untill I have some time to fab a fiberglass or like I really want a red kevlar carbon fiber box. But, with the ECC meet coming up I am not to sure if I will even do that or not. I can't have an ugly looking box when I meet up with cobalts from all over the east coast.

So, I dunno. As always I am open to suggestions.

 

Sounds like you're more planned on the box than I was. I have zero fiberglass skills, so I just built a quick and dirty box and covered it with carpet. I'm a minimalist though. I'd rather have everything but the box tucked away and hidden. As long as it's functional and neat, I'm ok with it.

I personally prefer the sound of a sealed box, but I've built both.

 

I have no skills with fiberglass either but I figure in order to learn you got to try it some time and what better time than the present. That is why I am thinking of just throwing a box together to give me time to try fiberglassing out. My only problem is I hate the carpet look and no one around me (except maybe one store but I can not find it for the life of me) sells leather or vinyl so I guess I am S.O.L.

I figure I have a good week before my stuff will be here and ready to install. I was planning on getting some cardboard from one of my jobs and doing a mach up so that I know exactly what size plexiglass and mdf I will need because I have no means of cutting it myself.

 

You're a braver person than I am.

Have you tried looking someplace like Jo-Ann Fabrics or Michaels? They usually sell some sort of Vinyl material. Or maybe searching online for some? Once you get your box mocked up, you'd know about how much you needed. A quick search brought up this:

http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/S...7535/SFV/30046

I've bought a few odds and ends from there before and didn't have any real problems.

 

lol. Why is everyone saying that? Is fiberglass really that hard to work with?

Yeah, I have been to all the big names Michaels, AC Moore, and all those. I have been to all the small mom and pop places around here. I have been to walmart even. I even went to a store that was just called FABRICS and they said the only place that might carry Leather or Vinyl would be this one place and I can't seem to find it granted their directions were not the best. They said it was on HWY 17 and 21st AVE and we have at least 4 21st ave and 2 hwy 17s lol.

The problem I have with buying online is I do not know what I want exactly. That was where I first looked but they had some many different kinds I do not know what is what. I have no knowledge what so ever with Fabric. I don't want to buy something and think I am getting a soft material and it be one of those shitty near plastic version or something like that.

 

I have just gotten my subs and I noticed they sent the wrong ones. The sent me the HFi12D4. Now from what I have noticed they only differance between the two is the ones I have are a Dual Voice Coil whereas the ones I ordered were single. Should I keep these speakers or send them back for the Single version?

 

Ouch. Well, you could keep them and wire them down to 1 ohm, since the amp says it's 1 ohm stable, but that'd be pushing approximately double the rated RMS power per sub to each sub. I've pushed subs over their RMS before just fine, but with a lower priced sub like that, I'd be willing to bet it's just a matter of time before they blew. I could be wrong though; I have been plenty of times before. You could also wire them for 4 Ohm, and push each sub with around 225 watts RMS of power, but that not might be enough juice for your liking.

Personally, I'd probably send them back and get the single voice coil ones, even though you do get more flexibility when wiring for different ohm loads with the dual voice coil ones.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

Whats the model number on the DVC ones they sent you, and sorry if this was already posted what amp are you using

 

He ordered 2 Hifonics HFi12S4's but they sent him 2 Hifonics HFi12D4. Both are rated for 300 RMS. He bought a Hifonics BXi 1210D to run them. He was originally going to run them at 900 watts at 2 ohms. I figured he would be alright doing this since Hifonics usually inflates their numbers a bit, but if he wires the HFI12D4's down to 1 ohm, he's be pushing 1200 watts to them by Hifonics numbers. I'm guess it'd be a bit less, probably closer to the 900-1000. Just by my thinking, that'd still be an awful lot over RMS for such a lower model sub, and it might smoke them no matter how low the gain would be set on the amp.

He could always wire it up and see what happens since he could set them up to produce the ohm load within the amp specs, but then I dunno if they'd actually let him return the subs if they blew.

Am I nuts for thinking this?

 

Yeah, they are the HFi12D4 speakers. No worries just remember that when I ask my inevitable stupid questions

 

The subs should be ablt to take running at 1ohm, its the amp that usually has the problem with ohm loads.
Just start at half gain and slowly work up a little bit if needed, but give them some time to work in before you set the gain any higher, and I do mean slowly, baby steps, and give it a few days inbetween ajustments.

I'm running 2 4ohm DVC 12's off a mono amp, so a 1 ohm load and have no problems, mine are DD subs however but the 1ohm thing shouldn't play a part just the power you run into them that can make or break the situation.
Is the box ported or sealed

 

Even with the size of amp being so much more than my subs? Well, I guess half of 1200 is 600 so if I am only giving my subs half of my amps power it should work in theory.

It will be a sealed box unless I get convinced other wise.

 

lol the 1 ohm load isnt the issue the issue is more power then the subs can handle. you can blow any speaker with any amp. nothing is invincible. just be careful and set the amp conservatively. also look at the subs movement. if they look like they are going crazy then you need to turn it down.