I have a component system (JL Audio ZR570-CSi) and just picked up two (JL Audio 8W3v3-4) subs. I'm new to this and not really sure what my best options for amplifiers are. Not sure if I should have a mono for the subs or what. I would like to stick with JL equipment.

 

Are the subs already wired and in a mounted cabinet? If so, the owner's guide will tell you what amp works best.

If you bought them as separates and plan on building a cabinet, you can use a single-channel amp and wire the speakers in parallel (splice the + leads and the - leads together), or use a 2-channel amp to drive each speker seperately.

The 2-channel setup is less fussy. A full-featured amp should have the crossover switch to limit the signal to just bass frequencies (80 Hz or below). There is little to no stereo information at that spectrum, so using a stereo amp to power the subs is essentially like running two channels in mono.

Just make sure that both subs are wired at the same phase (+ to +, - to - ) or you will have noticeably limited bass output.