Engineers out there? 2ohm HK into 4ohm amp ok?
 

Want to add a small 4 ohm amp to my HK factory 2 ohm set up. Then I will run 4 ohm speakers. Is this okay? Tried Hogtunes with amp(thank you PEZ for your help), tried JBL's, just cant seem to find the right combo for my liking. Will add a high-end small amp and some component speakers, but want to make sure I wont fry the headunit. thanks to all.

RE: Engineers out there? 2ohm HK into 4ohm amp ok?
 

What do you intend on feeding the amp with? Do you have RCA jacks on the back of your head unit with a line level output to feed that additional amp? Or do you think that you can take the out put (raw) from the existing amp whats now going to those 2 Ohm speakers and put that into the amp you want to add with out going though some sort of impeadance mathing network to bring that signal back to a line level?

If you have the RCA audio outputs from your head unit its nota problem.

If you don't you have issues and will fry things with out added equipment!

If you don't have the RCA outputs, and your running the stock H-D head unit, you will be better off using Hog tunes or getting an after market head unit with the RCA's providing outputs for additional amps.

Dont' know what your outputs are your wanting to use!

RE: Engineers out there? 2ohm HK into 4ohm amp ok?
 

Hey there

If your using an external amp--and using the speaker wires from the HK radio to supply signal into the amp, the radio simply becomes a signal source and is really "powering" nothing. In this case, the AMP is the power now--so the "load" of the speakers you use is diretly dependant on what the amp can handle.

Alot of guys want to use a amp thats 2 ohm stable, and drive 2 ohm speakers which is OK. In the case of most car stereo amps which are "Class AB", although the amp will usually double its power at 2 ohms from 4 ohms which make that amp appear attractive, the fact is an AB amp at 2 ohms typically will have twice the heat, draw as much as twice the curent, and hurt the damping factor (sound quality)

In the case of the HK radio--it was deigned to run a 2 ohm specific load ONLY--so when its powering speakers, a 2 ohm speaker woks best

For the best sound quality if a HIGH volume application is needed, I would try to find a larger 4 ohm amp, and use 4 ohm speakers. I would also stop trying to "trick" the bike by using car audio gear and get a solid bike amp. I am quite a fan of the Titan by a friend of mine, Mike at Biketronics. Its 75 watts per channel, fits on the radio and has plenty of Jam! To be fair --yes its alot more powerful than my amp--but its alot more money as well-

Hope this helps.......PEZ

RE: Engineers out there? 2ohm HK into 4ohm amp ok?
 

Once again PEZ.....thank you. Thank you for not pushing your product, thank you for being informative, a true gentleman and businessman.

RE: Engineers out there? 2ohm HK into 4ohm amp ok?
 

PEZ Thanks for chiming in. I don't deal with the H-D HK audio system on mine since I'm running a Sony Marine with AUX RCA outs, and speaker combos of 4-8 OHMs.

I don't know what your product does with the H-D system to Z match thats why I mentioned your line of equipment.

RE: Engineers out there? 2ohm HK into 4ohm amp ok?
 

Dealer just installed a 4 ohm Hawg Wired Amp on my new 08 Road Glide. Ran to 4ohm ARC Audio Speakers that also come with a crossover and tweeters. I talked to engineer at ARC and he said no problem with the 2 ohm into 4...

It's a real clear system up to 70mph with a full face. Haven't gone faster than that. Beats the hell out of the stock system that was on my 03 Road Glide.

Bikes to new to know if it's going to burn anything up, hasn't so far and is covered under my warranty since the dealer installed it.

http://hawg-wired.com/

http://www.arcaudio.com/productdescr...ies/fd5000.asp

RE: Engineers out there? 2ohm HK into 4ohm amp ok?
 

Some amps are designed for "line level" inputs, not sure about on bikes, mine have always been motors with handles bars, but I digress.

Once the input is sovled you can do nearly anything

The question is speaker wiring.

Resistance (ohms) is additive in series...i.e daisy chained so if you run two 2 ohm speakers you have 4 ohms of resistance. However wired in parallel resistance is diveded by the number of loads. So two 4 ohm speakers wired parallel to a 2 ohm stable amp will pesent a 2 ohm load to the amplifier.

I know it's basic, but thats the nuts and bolts of it.

Unless speciafically designed for it I wouldn't recomend daisy chaining amps, you will blow the pre-amp or the recieving unit.