Dual voice speakers (which are usually subwoofers) can be confusing, that’s for sure. To make matters worse, if you don’t know how to properly choose or wire a dual voice coil speaker you can get less sound & power than you expect!
To help you figure it all out, I’ve put together this friendly how-to guide with detailed diagrams, answers to several common questions, and more. You can download & print the subwoofer wiring diagrams if you like.
Want to know how to wire your dual voice coil subwoofer or match the right kind to your amplifier? Read on to find out more.
Contents
What is a dual voice coil speaker?
Dual voice coil speakers are extremely similar to single voice coil models except for having a 2nd voice coil winding, wire, and wire terminals. They both use a small gauge wire tightly wound on a speaker “bobbin” (tube) that rests inside a magnet attached to the cone. They produce sound when a musical signal is supplied.
Dual voice coil (DVC) speakers, which are most often subwoofers, are almost the same as standard single voice coil speakers. The difference lies in their design & how they’re used.
What is the difference in dual voice coil and single voice coil subwoofers?
Standard speakers or subwoofers have the following parts:
- A metal basket in which the speaker parts are housed and a magnet is attached to
- Large permanent magnet
- Speaker cone surround
- Speaker cone surround & dust cap
- Voice coil bobbin (tube where the coil is made)
- A “spider” which is a stiff but flexible material that suspends the voice coil assembly
- Voice coil: tightly wound small gauge wire of a large length (this is suspended inside a gap in the magnet)
- Voice coil wire leads & connection terminals
Single voice coil subwoofers have only one speaker voice coil winding while dual voice coil models have a 2nd voice coil of the same Ohm rating (impedance) added in the bobbin.
A 2nd pair of wire leads and speaker wire terminals are added, too.
Do dual voice coil speakers have performance differences?
There aren’t any direct performance differences between a single and dual voice coil model of the same design. However, there are definitely some really nice advantages I’ll explain later.
In most cases, dual voice coil subwoofers are slightly more expensive than the same model with single voice coil design – but not by very much. Power handling ratings are usually very similar (always double-check to be sure) but might be a bit different.
Single vs dual voice coil subs: which is better?
There isn’t a “best” choice when it comes to single or dual voice coil speakers & subwoofers.
When it comes to choosing one or the other, the answer is “it depends.” Whether or not you should use single or DVC subwoofers depends on a combination of things:
- The minimum speaker load (Ohms) rating of your amplifier
- Whether your amp is stereo only or bridgeable
- How many speakers/subwoofers you’ll be using
Most, but not all, higher power car amplifiers are bridgeable while home stereo amplifiers in many cases aren’t. As a reminder, never assume your amplifier is bridgeable – always check!
Dual voice coil subwoofer advantages
It’s true that standard (single voice coil) subwoofers are fine for many systems. But without question, a lot of people are limited by using them, while dual voice coil subwoofers offer some great flexibility & advantages.
1. Maximum amp power output
These days, most car amplifiers have certain power ratings (in Watts) at a specific speaker load Ohm rating. For example, a mono amplifier might have the following power ratings:
- 350W RMS at 4 ohms speaker load
- 600W RMS at 2 ohms
- 1,000W RMS at 1 ohm
Let’s say you’d like to use a single (mono) bass setup and only one subwoofer. Ordinarily, you’d be limited to getting a maximum of 600W from the amp since you’ll usually only find 2 ohms or higher subwoofers available.
While you could add a 2nd 2 ohm subwoofer and wire both in parallel, that would mean having to get a bigger box, spend more money, use more installation space, and so on.
A 2 ohm DVC subwoofer could be used and wired in parallel to allow the amp to put out its full power. Otherwise, you’ll never reach the power capacity you paid for with your amplifier.
That’s especially true today since modern class D amplifiers have ratings like this and some are 1 ohm capable.
2. Amplifier channels and special setups
As I mentioned earlier, not all amplifiers can be bridged. That’s a big problem if you’ve got a single 4 channel amplifier, for example. How can you add a subwoofer and supply it with enough power without having to buy a second amp?
With a dual voice coil subwoofer, you could use one channel for each of the voice coils to drive the subwoofer with enough power. Likewise, for truly powerful systems, it’s possible to one amp per each voice coil for single or multi-subwoofer systems.
3. Multiple subwoofers/amp impedance matching
When you’re wiring several subwoofers to the same amplifier channel or mono bridging two channels, the Ohms load you amp sees depends on the series or parallel wiring combination of the subwoofers.
Dual voice coils subs offer several more options as they let you choose more total Ohm load combinations that can better match your amp’s minimum rating.
4. Ability to use them for home for car stereo systems
Ordinarily, it’s not possible to use 8 ohm subwoofers efficiently for car audio since they can’t produce the same power as a 4 ohm speaker of the same kind. Car subwoofers with 2 or 4 ohm ratings can’t be used with home stereo amplifiers because they’re below the minimum amp spec.
They’ll cause a home amp to overheat, shutdown, and even become damaged permanently.
Dual voice coil speakers have a unique benefit here as you could use a dual 4 ohm subwoofer for both car or home use:
- Wired in series for 8 ohms for home stereo use
- Using a single 4 ohm or parallelled to 2 ohms for car stereo amp use
It’s especially nice if you’re able to get a great price on speakers as you’ll be able to use them when otherwise you couldn’t.
How to choose & match a dual voice coil subwoofer to your amp
To get the right dual voice coil subwoofers, you’ll need to note a few things:
- The minimum speaker load (Ohms rating) of your amplifier at the power level you’re interested in
- How many subwoofers you’d like to use
The rest is relatively easy! Just use my wiring connection diagrams below and you’ll find the right subwoofer(s) configuration you should use.
You’ll need to check the owner’s manual (or labeled printed) for the amplifier to get the minimum speaker load you can use along with the maximum power rating Ohm load. Then pick the right number of dual voice coil subwoofers that can be wired to match that required by the amp.
If you’re unsure of anything feel free to ask me by commenting below or sending a message.
4 Ohm dual voice coil sub wiring diagram
2 Ohm dual voice coil sub wiring diagram
8 Ohm dual voice coil sub wiring diagram
Hello, I have a Kicker 46CXA1800.1T amp and I want to wire a single American Bass ELITE1244 12 4Ohm 1500w 150oz Mag subwoofer. What are some options I have? I’m new to all of this and it all sounds confusing but I’m kind of starting to understand a little. I want to get the best power out of my amp to the subwoofer. Thank you in advance! 🙏🏼
Hello, Juan. It’s pretty simple in this case: if you want the maximum power from your amp, you would wire the American Bass subwoofer in parallel for 2Ω total.
It’s also the best way altogether, since 1) using only one voice coil (4Ω) would halve the power capability, and 2) wiring the voice coils in series for 8Ω would severely limit the power the amp could supply.
(To explain a bit: In most situations, when possible, the ideal way (for max. power from an amp) is to wire the speaker(s) for the amp’s minimum rated Ohms load. In this case, the Kicker amp can provide higher power @ 2Ω.)
Best regards!
Hello, I have 4 pieces dual coil 600 rms subwoofer, these are 4+4 ohms. and I have 1 piece 2500 rms mono amplifier. Can you show me the connection method?
Hi there. I’ll need more information in order to best help you: the power & Ohms specfications for your amp.
You can also look at my diagrams and wire your subwoofers to meet the minimum Ohms rating for your amp. Best regards.
ı have 2500 rms 4 ohm mono ampfilier
Hi, that info helps a lot. I am surprised it is only stable to 4 Ohms minimum, but that’s ok.
To get the most from your amp, you will do the following: 1) wire each subwoofer’s voice coils in parallel for 2Ω each, then 2) wire both subwoofers in series for 4Ω total. This will allow up to 1,250W to each subwoofer (as it will be allowing the maximum power rating of your amp to be used).
Best regards!
Your answer was very helpful, thank you✨
You’re welcome! :)
Any concern with amplifying each coil on a separate amp? I have a Polk MM1040d, which is a 4 ohm 300 watt RMS dvc sub. I typically wire it in parallel for a 2 ohm load, but am considering an upgrade to a 6 channel alpine r-a90s amp which has 2x 250 watt 4 ohm channels for 2 subs. It offers 500 watts bridged, but is only stable down to 4 ohms, so I can’t get efficient use of the sub. I could just wire one half and only use half the power from the bridged channel, I suppose, but I hate not using both coils!
Hi David. In this case yes, you could bridge the Alpine amp for 2x 250W channels then use one channel per voice coil. Ideally you’d have the gain equal to the voice coils and use a mono bass signal, although that’s not critical.
You can use a voltmeter that can measure AC voltage and play an audio test tone track of about 50-60Hz in order to match the amp gains on the bridged channels, using a small voltage on the speaker output terminals. Then adjust the gains until they’re about the same.
Using two channels separately wired to each 4Ω coil will allow you to get the same applied power as an amp that’s rated for 500W @ 2Ω. You definitely don’t want to wire it for 8 Ohms as that would reduce the total applied amp power by 1/2.
Best regards!