As some of you may know i'm looking to buy up a nice system for my newly bourght Magna TR, and i'm just wondering how second hand parts have faired for you guys in the past. Obviously you can get some dodgey people so try before you buy is what i'll be doing.
But are there some parts that i'd just be better off buying new?

Also, a quick unrelated question -- The ohms i see in amp stats, what the hell are they? I see stats like 2x100W @ 4ohm then 2x200W @ 2ohm. What are ohms? What do they do for my speakers? I figure its power, but if i plugged my sub into a 2ohm port, then a 4ohm port, what would be the difference? Can some speakers only take certain ohm?

Personally, I've only bought one item second hand but it was from a reputable source so it was really no stress...

But as far as ohms go, an ohm is a unit of resistance. I think it has to do with the amount of resistance that the system can handle at a given power output before it will not perform to its max power output.

eg

4 x 100wrms @ 4ohms
means
4 channels of 100 watts (root mean squared) when less than 4 ohms of resistance is applied per channel.

Can someone carify if this is right?

Cheers,

Danno

The last system i put in my gfs soarer was pretty good considering it was using 2nd hand bits... i guess it just depends on where u get em and who u get em off.

im collecting bit n peices for my gfs newly accuired TH magna... ive been getting all my bits off ebay at the lowest prices possible... all brand new BUT ultra yumcha lol

Im going to see if i can put together a full entertainment system in her car for as cheap as possible using no name brand parts but still good quality. So far i have bought 2 x 500w RMS 12inch subs for 100 delivered to my door... 2 head rest 8" monitors for $200... 2 300wrms 6x9s for $70... 4 x 100wrms Amp $190... 2 6.5" 100wrms speakers $50... installation cabling for $20 (will need more)... 1 to 6 video amplifier $30. I am either going to get a yumcha head deck and DVD player or buy one of those JVC jobbies if i can talk JB HiFi down to $650ish. U dont have to go quite so large and just get some smaller gear but as u can see it aint that expensive and its all brand new and with warranty.

I reckon u should have a look on ebay... just a thought

Second hand parts are great, as long as you know the history and trust the seller. No reason why 2nd hand gear cant last a lifetime.

Ohms in amp stats are an indication of the power an amp will put out at running a certain load and an indication of the lowest load the amp can run at. An ohm is a measure of resistance. Each speaker has a certain resistance (eg 4 ohm speaker). An amp that is running a 4 ohm speaker is said to see a 4 ohm load.

An amp will put out more power running a lower load but running a load lower than the lowest rated load can cause the sub to go into protection as you are asking too much from it.

Some subs are dual 2 ohm coils (for instance) These can be wired in parralel to create a 1 ohm load or in series to create a 4 ohm load.

Running at a higher load will not cause you any problems (eg running a 6 ohm tweeter) but this will reduce power output.

Peace

Tim

Second hand stuff is awesome :P

My car audio gear consists of 2nd hand parts where my brand new wiring and tweeter pods cost more than the actual audio gear that I bought :P

The amp was faulty, but I was told about it. I know my way around electronics so it wasn't that difficult to fix :D