Expert: Cleggsan - 11/9/2008

Question
hi!! i got two square l7 kicker subs..they are 1200 watts(2 ohm) ..what amp do  i need for them?! 1000 0 1200 amp?!

Answer
Pay little attention to the power ratings of the speakers. Pay most attention to the sensitivity rating.

Choose an amp that will fit the needs of your car electrical system and the sensitivity of the speakers.  The higher the sensitivity the more sound level you will get out of them.

Most of the Kickers that I know of (you did not give me a model number) are low; around 87db.  Anything under 90db requires lots of power to get them to come up to a good audio level.

For the automobile electrical system you will need a heavy duty battery and alternator if you install a really beefy power amp  - or two.  Just to give you an idea, if a power amp can deliver 500W of continuous power to your speakers it means it must draw at lease 500W from your battery.  If you calculate the current required to do that (P = voltage times current) you find it is around 42 amps.  So, you will need a big fuse and a battery that can sustain that kind of current delivery.  If you want double that amount of power capability then you are looking at an 85 amp system!  

You must decide on how much power you want before you settle on the amp(s) and then figure out the wire size, fuses and additional battery and alternator upon finalization of the system.

Let me know how it goes and if you need more help.  But, with those Kicker subs you want to go as much power as you can get into them.

C