How to Bridge a 4 Channel Amp

By Joseph Eitel

i Michael Gann/Demand Media

Bridging a four-channel car audio amplifier will effectively double your amp's output (watts) so that you can drive more power to your speakers or subwoofers. It's relatively easy to bridge a four-channel amp as long as you have a very basic knowledge of car audio wiring and how to connect an amp to your car's audio system. The most common application when bridging a four-channel amp is to connect the amp to a pair of 4-ohm subwoofers.

Step 1

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Locate the speaker wire terminals on your amp. There will be four speaker wire terminals, or channels, which consist of both a positive and negative terminal with a screw-down clamping system to hold the speaker wire securely in place.

Step 2

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Run speaker wire from the positive terminal of channel one to the positive terminal of the first subwoofer. Use the wire stripper to strip about ½ inch of insulation from both ends of the wire, and clamp the speaker wire down securely in the amp's terminal using the screwdriver.

Step 3

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Run speaker wire from the negative terminal of channel two to the negative terminal of the first subwoofer. Again, strip ½ inch of insulation from both ends of the wire, and clamp the speaker wire down securely by tightening the terminals screw-down clamp.

Step 4

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Repeat steps 2 and 3 for channels three and four. Again, run speaker wire from the positive terminal of channel 3 to the positive terminal of subwoofer two. Finally, run speaker wire from the negative terminal of channel four to the negative terminal of subwoofer two.

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