Car stereo guru needed.....

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Longgone

Longgone

John/68 Barracuda & Dart
Joined
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I`m installing a new set of 6 x 9`s as well as a pair of 5.25`s in my car and the speaker manufacturer recommends using an additional amplifier in the 80-150 watt @ 4 ohms range to push the speakers. Can you car stereo guys recommend a good quality amplifier that won`t empty my piggy bank? Thanks
 
aftermarket, stereo should not need an amp to run 4 speakers.

especially with 2 of 6x9 and 2 of 5.25"

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Longgone said:
I`m installing a new set of 6 x 9`s as well as a pair of 5.25`s in my car and the speaker manufacturer recommends using an additional amplifier in the 150-225 watt range to push the speakers. Can you car stereo guys recommend a good quality amplifier that won`t empty my piggy bank? Thanks
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Whats breaking the bank? Your looking for a good 4 ch.
 
What do you have in there now? If you are just replacing speakers you should be fine. If you are adding a set to a 2 ch radio, make sure you wire them in parallel and not in series. If you have a 4 ch (front and rear fade) you should be fine too.
 
I have a 4 x 45watt amp in the unit itself and the speaker maker recommends an amp that`s 1-1.5 times the rms wattage of the speakers @ 4 ohms to run them efficiently without square waving. The speakers are rated at 80 watts rms so I`ll need a 4 channel amp that`ll put out 80-120 watts at 4 ohms. Who makes a good dependable amp under 200 dollars? The amp inputs will have to be speaker level inputs too.
 
I don't know of many speakers that want an amp that put out more than the speaker can handle. I'm a DJ and you usually don't want an amp that is 1.5 times higher than your speaker just in case the output goes to max for any reason. I would say an amp that is close to the max of the speaker, even a little bit lower would be fine. This will ensure you can never overdrive the speakers. Square wave or clipping usually occurs when the amp is at its max output and starts to protect itself, not the speaker. If you find yourself having the volume up high all the time just to hear things, you may wish to go to a higher amp that would have more power and not work so hard but watch how high you go. Square waves are not good to send through a speaker because the driver goes from off to max and back quickly. This can tear things loose or fry the driver. Unless you are buying real high end speakers, you will not have a problem driving them at lower watts than they are rated. Highs do not take a lot of power like a sub or low frequency driver. High end speakers with a low frequency rating will want more power to drive the bass but most 6x9 and especially 5 1/4 will not go low enough to really worry about using a separate amp. Unless you want bass you can really feel and the speakers are setup for separate high and low inputs, what the aftermarket radio feeds them shoud be fine.
 
I know in Pro Audio that you always select an amp that`s 1.5- 2 times the speakers continuous power rating so that peak transients created by the amp will be undistorted, thus saving your speakers. Amplifiers with plenty of headroom will apply only clean ,undistorted sound to the speakers. In studios, amps are often selected that are up to 4 times the speakers power. I understand the importance of getting a clean signal to the speakers and how much more power is required to move low frequency waves versus high frequency waves. The speakers I have are rated at 80 watts with peaks at 120 and are fairly inefficient with a 89 db spl. From what I`ve read they are power hungry and will pump heavy bass out of a 6 x 9 but require an amplifier in the 100 watt range to really make them sound good. I already have filters installed in my 5.25`s to prevent the low end from destroying them. I`ve been looking at Alpine amplifiers, any comments good or bad on them?
 
Alpine always seemed to be a good brand to go with. If the specs meet your needs I would go for it. Just to clarify on the amp side of things. I am always thinking of actual output of the amp and not the rated power. For example a 700 watt amp will only really do about 150 watts per channel into an 8 ohm load. So yes for 150 watt speakers I am going with a 700 watt amp but the actual output per channel matches 150 watt rms speakers. This would be the 2 to 4 times amp rating per speaker. Car audio speakers are usually 2 or 4 ohm and not 8 like most pro audio. This way we can add speakers in the chain and not really hurt the amp by not loading it enough. Two 8 ohm speakers in parallel equals 4 ohms on the amp. I understand now why they are recommending the wattage for the amp since actual output is not actually a lot more than the 80 watts the speakers are rated for. Like I said I just convert in my head for actual output most of the time and that's what I was thinking all along.
 
Longgone said:
I have a 4 x 45watt amp in the unit itself and the speaker maker recommends an amp that`s 1-1.5 times the rms wattage of the speakers @ 4 ohms to run them efficiently without square waving. The speakers are rated at 80 watts rms so I`ll need a 4 channel amp that`ll put out 80-120 watts at 4 ohms. Who makes a good dependable amp under 200 dollars? The amp inputs will have to be speaker level inputs too.
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MTX are good amps. That's what I got hooked to my speakers in my Dodge Ram.
 
Just get a deck like caveman, pioneer, that has good power and great featurers...it's so easy a caveman could run it...LOL...
 
depending on what speakers you have would determine whether you need an amp. your saying they can handle 80 rms, so id say yeah an amp will help allot. without one your sound quality will definately suffer. most stock cd players are rated at 40 to 50 watts MAX WATTS. but they auctually only put out around 10-15 RMS sometimes less . ive owned a few amps. heres amps id buy. mtx, rockford, alpine, kicker, even pioneer is decent. i do also own an amp that is best buy brand (insignia) its 1000w 2ch. for subs. i bought it for dirt cheap $100 new, and it has powered my sub nicely for the last year with no problems. id look online for the best deals. i got my polk momo speakers that were normally around $300 a set, for $90 a set brand new through amazon because they were 2 or 3 year old models. they also have good deals at crutchfeild. as far as wattage goes, whoever you talked to is correct on the numbers. preferably you want an amp larger than what your speakers auctually need. try to get one that puts out 100 rms or more if you can. this will allow you to turn down your gain (power control) at the amp. this will ensure you dont blow it or over heat it for one, and it also provides better sound quality because the amp isnt running at full bore. the lower you turn the gain the better the sound quality will be but obviously it will also turn down the power level,, hence getting a bigger amp than your speakers need will be the best route. although if you get one smaller than what your speakers are rated, your can always still turn down the gain a little anyway.

in my ride, im gonna be running polk momo 6.5, and 6x9 rated at 100 and 120 rms. im running a 4ch. kicker amp for the mids at 75 rms x 4 turned down a lil and im sure they'll sound great. only reason i didnt go bigger is because i got a good deal on this one.

you wont be dissapointed with the upgrade to an amp i promise you that!



if you want anymore help or have any Q's let me know


good luck


jason
 
I myself am a huge fan of Pioneer amps! You should be able to pick up a decent 4 channel for 70 bucks used locally, or 100 new off ebay, if you shop around.
 
go to ikesound.com they have super good deals on there and you should be able to get something. Most of their merch is last years model. i used to buy from them as a wholesaler. you can purchase from their site without any certain credentials.
 
I have for years been juiceing up my car stero's. It's nice that these days the head units have some decent power. It really helps clean things up. But, I really do not think the extra power they have is worthy to power car speakers by themselfs. It's still whisper quite IMO.

Longgone, IMO, without getting into the in's and out's of every manufacture of audio equipment, and I've been through a number of names, theres nothing wrong with an old major companys equipment like Pioneer or Kenwood.
Your going to have to shop around to find a good price on a AMP.

IF the 4 channel amp is a bit much to pay for now, grab a nice 2 channel unit and just power the rear 6 X 9's with it and let the head unit power the front's with a bass blocker to protect them from the low sounds since there really to small to handle any low tones and live.
 
74valiant said:
depending on what speakers you have would determine whether you need an amp. your saying they can handle 80 rms, so id say yeah an amp will help allot. without one your sound quality will definately suffer. most stock cd players are rated at 40 to 50 watts MAX WATTS. but they auctually only put out around 10-15 RMS sometimes less . ive owned a few amps. jason
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Longgone

This is very correct info! I've got a system in my Dodge Ram that is very loud but sounds good both at the same time. Subwoofers etc..etc.. Without going into a long winded post do the above and you'll have a nice sounding system.
 
mullinax95 said:
Longgone

This is very correct info! I've got a system in my Dodge Ram that is very loud but sounds good both at the same time. Subwoofers etc..etc.. Without going into a long winded post do the above and you'll have a nice sounding system.
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you are also correct on this sr as i also have a massive sound system in my ram with multipul amps pre amps and high end deck. on a good day i can hit 142 spl.
take the advice every has given you. and you should be happy with what you end up with when its done.
 
Speakin of uping the system, the one in my Magnum isn't super powerful, but it does get the job done.

The sub woofer only see's 180 watts and is enuff that I turn down the bass in order for a balanced sound. The rear deck are 5 X 8 infinity kapa and the 5-1/4 door speakers are regular infinity's.
They each have there own amp to drive them and see max or near max power IF it gets turned up all the way.
 
rumblefish360 said:
I have for years been juiceing up my car stero's. It's nice that these days the head units have some decent power. It really helps clean things up. But, I really do not think the extra power they have is worthy to power car speakers by themselfs. It's still whisper quite IMO.

Longgone, IMO, without getting into the in's and out's of every manufacture of audio equipment, and I've been through a number of names, theres nothing wrong with an old major companys equipment like Pioneer or Kenwood.
Your going to have to shop around to find a good price on a AMP.

IF the 4 channel amp is a bit much to pay for now, grab a nice 2 channel unit and just power the rear 6 X 9's with it and let the head unit power the front's with a bass blocker to protect them from the low sounds since there really to small to handle any low tones and live.
Click to expand...

Kinda what I did. Clarion H/U(CD,aux-in,USB),Rockford-Fosgate 2ch amp,6x9 Infinitys. I thought I would add 2 6"'s up front and power them from the H/U. That won't be necessary. This thing sounds awesome w/just the 6x9's. Loud and clear at 60mph,windows down and Flowmaster 50's w/3" pipes! Under $500.00 for all(including amp install kit) delivered to my door from Crutchfield! I say Amp it up,you'll love it!!
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I`ve heard nothing but good things about adding a power amp to existing systems. After reading many articles the names Alpine, Mcintosh, JL Audio, and Rockford Fosgate seem to come up the most. Kicker, JBL, and Pioneer are popular as well. There doesn`t really seem to be one amp that is that much better than the others so I think I`m just going to shop for an amp with the proper wattage and a low THD and hope for the best.
 
My Dart AM radio sounds good to me....... when I don't want to hear the exhaust pipes........
 
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