How to Wire Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer

Hey there, fellow music lovers!

Are you tired of struggling with subwoofer wiring diagrams? Do you want to upgrade your car audio system with a dual voice coil subwoofer but don’t know where to start?

Well, fear not! As someone who has been installing car stereo systems for years, I’m here to guide you through the process step-by-step. Trust me; I understand how confusing it can be.

I’ve been in your shoes before and have made my fair share of mistakes.

That’s why I developed this comprehensive guide that will help you wire your dual voice coil subs without any hassle. So sit back, relax, and let’s get started on upgrading your car audio system together.

Warning: Once you hear the difference in sound quality after installing these bad boys, you might never want to leave your car again!

How to Hook Up Dual Voice Coil Speakers

There are two ways to hook up dual voice coil speakers. And your options take another route when you wire the coils. The first step is to wire the coils in series or parallel combinations. You can wire the voice coils in sequence on the same sub, or you can try and wire them in parallel.

Once done, you need to decide if you want to wire the subs in parallel or series. So you get two load options for your dual voice coil speaker’s configuration. Now that you know the several possibilities, the next thing is to check your amplifier. Each amplifier comes with a lower impedance load which is safe for it, and if you cross that limit, you may damage the amplifier.

So if you are buying a new amplifier from the market or already have one, check the lower impedance load it can handle. Now comes wiring the subwoofers. In this step, we will discuss the series wiring for DVC. The following steps are enough to explain the series’ wiring to you. 

Step-by-step Guide

• Gather all the equipment you need in a single place to avoid frustration.
• Take the positive terminal of the first voice coil in your hand. Make sure there is nothing on it. Now you need to fix it with the positive end of your amplifier.
• Now you need to get your hands on the other voice coil.
• Connect the positive end of this voice coil to the negative terminal of the first voice coil.
• Lastly, take the negative terminal of the amplifier speakers, brush the dust off, and fix it to the negative terminal of this voice coil.

Yup that is it. It may sound easy at the moment and is easy to some extent, but if you feel like you went wrong somewhere, it is best to hire a professional to do it.

Wiring a Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer at 8 ohms

For wiring a dual voice coil subwoofer at 8 ohms, you need a subwoofer whose voice coils are 4-ohm each. The connections will be the same, and there will be no difference in connecting the wires. But ensure that you check your connections at every step.

Plus, ensure that both voice coils are at the same impedance and that there is not even a few points difference. As this can harm your amplifier and subwoofer while you connect them both. Once you ensure everything is in the right place, you can start making the connections as explained above.

Moreover, if you want to change the power, you can do so by making separate connections. While using a dual 8-ohm voice coil, you can get a power output of 16 ohms. Likewise, if you use a 2-ohm subwoofer, you can get a power output of 4 ohms. So the power varies accordingly. You just need to make sure that both coils give the same reading.

The guide in the previous section is for series connection. We prefer you go for the series connection as they provide a better impedance load. But if you still want to go for parallel connections for any reason, the next section will guide you through it. So let’s move forward.

Wiring a Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer in Parallel

Wiring a dual voice coil sub in parallel requires almost the same time and effort as wiring the voice coil in series. The main difference between parallel and series is in the connections you make. The first thing, as always, you need to check the lower impedance of your amplifier. Once done with that, you can proceed with making the connections.

But just to remind you, this will lower the impedance, and the results might not be the same as you get from the series connections. Although, wiring a dual voice coil sub in parallel is more straightforward than wiring it in series. So let’s guide you through it.

• Gather all the equipment you need in one place to avoid any halt in the process.
• Take the positive lead of the first voice coil and connect it to the positive lead of the second voice coil.
• Now you need to wire them together.
• Take this wire and fix it with the positive end of your amplifier.
• For the negative connections, take the negative lead of the first voice coil and connect it to the negative lead of the second voice coil.
• Wire them together in the same way you did for the positive terminals.
• Take this wire and fix it with the negative end of the amplifier.
• That’s it; you can now check your speakers.

As we said before, the connections in this method are more straightforward than the one we explained prior. But the results for both are pretty different. There isn’t much difference between parallel and series combinations except for the impedance rate. But whatever you decide, make sure to wear your safety gloves while wiring the dual voice coil subwoofer.

Performance Comparison for Dual & Single Voice Coil Subwoofers

There is not much difference between the two, but the advantages you get from a dual voice coil subwoofer are far more than the ones you get from a single voice coil subwoofer. The first advantage you get from a DVC subwoofer is better power output, and your maximum power output while using an SVC subwoofer is far less than the DVC subwoofer.

You get to divide the power as you use two channels. Better power distribution leads to better maximum output, increasing sound quality to some extent. Moreover, if you have an SVC subwoofer at 8 ohms, it becomes impossible to use it in your car’s stereo system.

But with the help of a dual voice coil subwoofer, you can use two channels and thus use an 8-ohm subwoofer in your car. These subwoofers are not only great for your vehicle but are ideal for home stereo amplifiers too.

You can configure the wiring at different rates, so you get to enjoy different loads. All of this is not possible while using a single voice coil subwoofer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• Is it possible to wire DVC to two channels?

If you want to wire it to two channels, then it is possible. For that, you need to ensure that the inputs to both channels are the same, and the gains for both channels must be kept as close as viable.

• What is the purpose of a dual voice coil subwoofer?

The purpose of dual voice coil subs is to provide better results than single voice coil subs. The wiring allows you to present your amplifier with different loads, which leads to more power capacity.

• Which is better, series or parallel?

You can find this question’s answer in the difference between series and parallel wiring. Parallel wiring has a lower impedance load. Contrary to that, series wiring increases the total impedance load at the same power. But the decision is yours, depending on what suits you the best.

• What is better: dual 2 ohm or dual 4 ohm?

Both are great on their own. The 4-ohm subwoofers provide lower sound than the 2-ohm car subwoofers. But at the same time, the sound quality decreases with the increase in sound rate.

Final Words

Car amplifiers work best with dual voice coil subs, but wiring them is a big task many fail to achieve. You need to keep a check on the positive and negative terminals while wiring, and you need to check the amplifier channels to choose between series and parallel wiring.

Single voice coils are also a good option but not better than dual voice coil subs. 

So this is an ultimate guide and features the steps to wiring your dual voice coil subs in parallel. It also mentions the details of performance differences. So get your tools and start wiring.

Cheers to good music with ultra-quality!

Last Updated on March 15, 2023 by Danny Reid