“Which is superior: a 1 ohm, 2 ohm, or 4 ohm subwoofer?”
This question has remained on the front-burner for vehicle owners for years. Ohm subwoofers may appear minor in the grander scheme of things; however, they form an essential part of your vehicle.
Different ohm subwoofers have individual benefits and drawbacks, from determining the volume to the quality of sound produced by your car speaker to the durability of your amps.
But as you’d soon find, whether 1-ohm, 2-ohm, or 4-ohm, the most crucial take-home is to use the ohm subwoofer that best matches your amplifier.
What Does Ohm Mean In Subwoofers?
Ohm refers to the SI-derived unit of electrical resistance of an electric device or a material. It measures the voice coils’ resistance against the amplifier’s flowing current, known as impedance. Ohm in a subwoofer indicates the power the subwoofer can hold and transform into sound.
Car speakers are manufactured in different impedances and mostly in 1 ohm, 2-ohm, or 4-ohm impedance. Higher impedance requires lower current from the amplifier, while lower impedance requires higher current. As such, an amplifier with a higher impedance would be less loaded.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best for you. Please find out more as we progress.
Differences Between 1-Ohm, 2-Ohm, and 4-Ohm Subwoofer
1-ohm, 2-ohm, and 4-ohm subs are the most common kinds in use today. They differ primarily in terms of price, resistance, load amp power, and sound quality. To get a clearer picture of the best ohm subwoofer for you, you need to compare these three types of subs and how they work.
Price
Typically, subs with lower impedance are pricier than those with higher impedance, mainly for their load power, resistance, and other factors to be discussed later. The price range of a 1-ohm subwoofer is $300 to $1500, $50 to $200 for a 2-ohm subwoofer, while a 4-ohm subwoofer ranges from $20 to $180.
Resistance
Recall that ohm is a measure of electric resistance, showing us how much power the subwoofer can hold and transform into sound. By implication, 1-ohm subs have lower electrical resistance than 2-ohm subs, while 4-ohm subs have higher electrical resistance. The broader significance is that subwoofers with lower electric resistance make a louder sound than those with high electric resistance.
So, a 1-ohm subwoofer produces a much louder sound than 2-ohm and 4-ohm ones. Also, the higher the electrical resistance an ohm subwoofer has, the lesser the energy it uses, making it last longer. Therefore, a 1-ohm subwoofer will use way more power and be less durable than 2-ohm and 4-ohm subwoofers.
Load Amp Power
The load amp power depends on the relationship between resistance, current, power, and voltage. The value of one of these factors changes, the output equally changes. No doubt – it’s all science and math, so let’s break it down together.
Amplifiers create the electric pressure in the circuit; ohms measure the load or resistance against the force, while watts measure the amount of power produced. Ohm’s Law helps us to understand this interrelationship even better.
The Ohms formula is as follows:
P = V² ÷ R
Where P represents load power, V is voltage, and R stands for resistance (in this instance, speaker’s ohms).
Therefore, an amp producing 200 watts of power through a 2ohm speaker (the resistance) will provide 400 watts of power through a 1ohm speaker and 100 watts for a 4ohm speaker.
So you may decide to use a speaker with a higher impedance, but you won’t be getting a high load power.
Sound Quality
For sound quality, the lower the subwoofer’s electrical resistance, the louder the sound it produces. As such, 1ohm subwoofers are louder than 2ohm subwoofers, which are also louder than 4ohm subwoofers.
However, subwoofers consuming high power loads are very likely to produce poorer sound quality. So, 4-ohm subwoofers will provide a much better sound than 1-ohm and 2-ohm subwoofers.
For ease of reference, we have highlighted the differences in the table below.
| 1-Ohm Subwoofer | 2-Ohm Subwoofer | 4-Ohm Subwoofer | |
| Price | $300 – $1500 | $50 – $200 | $20 – $180 |
| Resistance | Have the lowest electrical resistance | Have low electrical resistance | Have higher electrical resistance |
| Load Amp Power | Deliver the most power | Deliver much power | Deliver less power |
| Sound Quality | Produce the loudest sound, although the sound quality is inferior to others | Produce loud sound, although the sound quality is average | Produce soft sound with an impressive quality |
Read more: 6.5” vs. 6×9” speakers: Which one is worth your money?
Which Is The Best, 1-Ohm vs. 2-Ohm vs. 4-Ohm Sub?
After examining the differences, the next question is which is the best – 1-ohm or 2-ohm or 4-ohm sub?
The choice of the subwoofer depends on the details of the amplifier to use. In the table below, we can see different types of amplifiers and the corresponding type of subwoofers.
| Type of Amplifier | Type of Subwoofer |
| 1ohm amplifier | 1ohm subwoofer or 1ohm total speaker load |
| 2ohm amplifier | 2ohm subwoofer or 2ohm total speaker load |
| 4ohm amplifier | 4ohm subwoofer or 4ohm total speaker load |
In every case, an amplifier will produce its highest power at the exact ohm for which it was created. So, there’s no such thing as the best ohm subwoofer. Instead, it would be best to always use the subwoofers with different impedances that best match your amplifier.
Matching the minimum ohm subwoofer to the amplifier helps to provide the best power and, invariably, the best value for your money. For example, a 4-ohm subwoofer is best suited to a 4-ohm amp with a maximum capacity of 4 ohms. Similarly, a 2-ohm speaker load using multiple speakers or a 2-ohm subwoofer will perfectly fit a 2-ohm amp with the full power of 2 ohms.
Read more: Top 5 shallow mount subwoofers for cars and trucks – 2021’s pick
How to change ohms on speakers
Wiring One 2-Ohm Dual Voice Coil (DVC) Speaker Wiring Diagrams
Option 1: Wiring dual 2-ohm speaker to 1-ohm load
It involves wiring a dual -2ohm speaker to a 1-ohm amp load, where the voice coils are in parallel wiring.
Take the positive wire (+) from both voice coils, connect it into the positive terminal on the amplifier, and join the negative wire from both voice coils into the negative terminal on the amplifier.
This is best for an amplifier that’s stable at 1-ohm mono.
Option 2: Wiring dual 2-ohm speaker to 4-ohm load
Here, a dual 2-ohm speaker is wired to a 4-ohm amp load, with the voice coils wired in series.
Here’s how:
- Connect a positive wire from the amplifier to the positive terminal on both voice coils.
- Likewise, attach the negative wire from the amplifier to the negative terminal of both voice coils.
- Now connect the negative wire from the first voice coil to the positive wire of the second voice coil.
The recommended amplifier for this type of wiring is stable at 4, 2, or 1ohm mono.
Wiring Two 2-Ohm Dual Voice Coil (DVC) Speakers Wiring Diagrams
Option 1: Wiring 2 dual 2-ohm speakers to 0.5-ohm load
This involves wiring 2ohm dual voice coils in parallels, where the speakers are also in parallel wiring.
Here’s how:
- Connect the positive sides of speakers 1 and 2’s voice coil until two wires come from four terminals. Join the two together and connect to the positive terminal of the amplifier.
- Do this for all negative voice coils from both speakers and connect them to the negative terminal of the amplifier.
- Also, connect the negatives of a speakers’ voice coils and connect the positives similarly. Replicate this in the second speaker as well.
The recommended amplifier for this type of wiring is stable at an ohm load of 0.5-ohm load.
Option 2: Wiring 2 dual 2-ohm speakers to 2-ohm load
Here, two dual voice coils are wired in series, while the 2-ohm speakers are wired in parallel.
Here’s how:
- Connect the positive sides of the voice coil of speakers 1 and 2 until two wires are coming from four terminals (2 terminals each from both speakers).
- Join the two together and connect to the positive terminal of the amplifier.
- Do the same for all negative voice coils from both speakers and connect them to the negative terminal of the amplifier. This leaves both speakers with two unconnected negatives and positives each.
- Join the unconnected negative of the first speaker’s voice coils to the unconnected positive of the other voice coil of the same speaker.
- Similarly, join the unconnected positive of the second speaker’s voice coils to the unconnected negative of the same speaker.
The recommended amplifier for this wiring is stable at 2 or 1-ohm mono.
Option 3: Wiring 2 dual 2-ohm speakers to 8-ohm load
Wire the voice coils in series when wiring two dual 2-ohm speakers to 8-ohm load.
Here’s how to do this:
- Connect a positive wire from the amplifier to the positive terminal of the first voice coil of the first speaker.
- Then attach the negative terminal of the same voice coil to the positive terminal of the second speaker’s first voice coil directly beside it. This leaves the negative terminal of the second speaker’s first voice cord still unconnected.
- Take the negative wire from the amplifier and connect it to the negative terminal of the first voice coil of the first speaker, and attach the positive terminal of the same voice coil to the negative terminal of the second speaker’s second voice coil directly beside it.
- This leaves the positive terminal of the second speaker’s second voice cord still unconnected. Connect this with the negative terminal of the second speaker’s first voice cord still unconnected.
The recommended amplifier for this wiring is also one that is stable at 4, 2, or 1-ohm mono.
Read more: How to Make Car Door Speakers Sound Better?
Conclusion
Determining which ohm subwoofer is best for your amplifier depends on your budget, the load amp power, volume, and sound quality expected to produce. But again, an amplifier will only provide its highest functioning power at the exact ohm load for which it was created. In all, the simple hack is to use the ohm subwoofer that best matches your amplifier.
