When wiring together two DVC speakers, is there a performance difference when wiring each sub's coils in series then the two subs in parallel versus wiring the coils in parallel then the subs in series? I know both present the same load to the amp:
(4 ohm DVC in series = 8 ohm) x 2 in parallel = 4 ohm
(4 ohm DVC in parallel = 2 ohm) x 2 in series = 4 ohm
As a general rule, when dealing with DVC subs its better to not wire coils from different subs in series with each other. There is a long explination as to why and not everyone believes it.
There are some that say a sub wired in series will not sound as good as one wired in parallel, given that the final ohm load that it presents to your amp is equal. Inductance is increased in a series config, as is resistance. I remember one of the head techs at JL wrote a paper on the disadvantages of series wiring.
But... the focus of these discussions is almost always regarding the wiring of a single subwoofer, not two together. Since the first option places the config in series wiring, and that is the point of everything I have heard or read about -- that is your best option as MS said. I am not sure of the audible effects when two subs are wired together, but there are documented studies that show a single sub wired in parallel has some audible/electronic advantages, but as MS also said, this is a disputed issue.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. It took a while, but after a LOT of reading, I now understand better why the first option is the better solution...
...one of them being that if one of the subs blew, then the remaining sub would present a higher impedance to the amp instead of a lower impedance, potentially saving it (e.g. dropping to 4 ohm instead of 1ohm on a 2ohm stable amp).