How many watts RMS for two subs?

How many watts should my amp have if theyre pushing two 12 inch orion xtr series 2 subs with 500 rms 4 ohms?

• Answer:

  The truth is, you do not *need* to power speakers to their maximum potential. If you want strong and undistorted performance you can use from 50 watts up to as much as the speaker can handle without distorting. You have two 500 watt speakers and they each have 4 ohms impedance. If you place each seaker on its own channel, that channel can safely power the speaker up to 500 watts. If you wire both speakers parallel to each other, the impedance changes to 2 ohms total and be sure your amp is 2 ohms stable or less before you go futher. That parallel configuration could handle 500 watts. If your speakers are wired series, of course the impedance total changes again, this time to equal 8 orms, but the speakers in series can dissipate 1000 watts- the sum or two 500 watt loads. With this small guide, decide whether you want to torture yurself and your wallet with a 1000 watt amp or a 500 watt amp. Also, you need to consider the finite source of power you have to feed the amp.