Need advice on picking a amplifier....

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Well, i am slowly picking a stereo system for my car and need some tips on what i need-

Right now i just need some advice on an amp to run my ALPINE SPR-694A 6 x 9 TYPE R 2-WAY SPEAKERS , my specs are 50w and 200peak watts 4 ohm... i dont know what watts i should run them at, i assume a amp 100w x2 would be fine.....

I havent picked out a 12inch sub, but i want to find a amp and bridge it down to 600watts x1 at 2 ohm....

Well i could just purchase 2 single amps, on being 2 channel for the 6x9s and the other mono amp for the sub...

My question is, if i could find a amp.... possibly a 4,3,2 channel amp, then could i just purchase one larger amp that would be 100w x 2 for the 6x9s and bridge the 3 and 4 channel down to 2 ohms to get enough watts for the sub? HOW IS THIS DONE?
I havent ever messed with bridging them down too much.. Do i need to find a different amp then the 4,3,2 channel amp for my 6x9s and one 12 inch sub?

I really dont want to bother my buddies all the time trying to find the right amp for what im looking for, i could easily just purchase 2 amps, but im sure someone here might teach me something...

I prefer alpine and kenwood

Here are the 2 amps ive been wanting,

for the 6x9s

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39740&item=5782490101&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

for a sub that i eventually will purchase

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=79825&item=5783307659&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Now i will need to find a sub that will match that amp, or find a new amp that will run both, but ive yet to find a sub i want.

I have a alpine SWR-1041d type r 10 inch sub in my truck and love it....

Anyway, i am up for any and all advice on what to do, i want to try and buy the best stuff once, still looking for a head unit, my 8 year old pioneer is getting out dated...

Lastly, clarion has a few head units that have a feature called music catcher, it will store up to 80 songs on the hard-drive. I really like that feature because i dont even have a CD burner, but the clarion ones look cheap. Do any other manufactures have that feature?

Thanks for the tips guys

BW

 

[Dan K]

Originally posted by Quick6'n'-K.C.
Right now i just need some advice on an amp to run my ALPINE SPR-694A 6 x 9 TYPE R 2-WAY SPEAKERS , my specs are 50w and 200peak watts 4 ohm... i dont know what watts i should run them at, i assume a amp 100w x2 would be fine.....

I probably wouldn't suggest anything over 50w rms to those speakers. They would probably be able to take more power and handle it without having a problem as long as the signal is kept clean, but I'm not sure you'd gain much.

My question is, if i could find a amp.... possibly a 4,3,2 channel amp, then could i just purchase one larger amp that would be 100w x 2 for the 6x9s and bridge the 3 and 4 channel down to 2 ohms to get enough watts for the sub? HOW IS THIS DONE?

Most 4 channel amps won't handle a 2 ohm load when bridged, as they are intended to handle a minimum of 4 ohms when bridged. Some of the more expensive ones will. Budget probably being the limiting factor here.

I prefer alpine and kenwood

I've always liked the V12 Alpines. But there are a lot of good amplifiers out there for less money than what you could buy the Alpine for. Sort of paying for the name. With that being said, I just bought another Alpine amp about 2 months ago.

Now i will need to find a sub that will match that amp, or find a new amp that will run both, but ive yet to find a sub i want.

IMO, you're sort of doing that backwards. Find the sub that will play to your tastes and find out what kind of enclosure you need to put it in, and how much power it will need....then buy an amp based on that.

 

[thunderace31]

Get 2 amps 2 due the job I have been building Stereos for to many years you will end up with a better sound and cooler running amps if you use 2.
I would Recomend an 80 Watt peak (40Watt RMS to each speaker) for the 6X9's Going larger will not net you anything but a blowen speaker. Also you should by a head unit (CD Player for dash) that has 3 sets of pre-outs, One for front one for rear and one for sub. Most better stereos have these
This way you will have a mono signal going to the sub right from the radio (Makes for better sound)
Keep your gains down on the amps as low as posible this will keep the noise down to the speakers and give a cleaner sound. For the best resauts you will need 3 amps on for the front one for the rear and one for the sub or a good 4 chanel that will run the front and rears and one for the sub.
This way you have control over the sound going to all the speakers and can then set the gain on each amp to get the cleanest sound posibale.
Again always keep the gains down to advoid the dirty sound.
Set your valume on the radio to the max with all of your gains down as low as they can go. Then turn each one up to the point that you still have clean sound (No distortion)
I have used many brand amps I prefer Rockford Fostgate, Alpine and Kicker.
You can get a boat load of info on www.Crutchfield.com they also have a great tech line that will get you the items you need and most of the time will cut you a good deal if your buying a bunch of stuff at the same time. Make sure you use the same style/Brand speakers front and rear this also helps with a clean sound.
Kicker makes great subs the L7's are nice and dont need a ton of power to run them and fit in really small box's. Audiobahn also has some great subs that take a real beating lots of power and look really cool
Hope all this helps you out some

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Sorry for the delay, been away from the puter for a bit-

Guys i really appreciate the info, ive spent soo much time under the hood of these cars i really dont know much about the stereo stuff.
I do know i will eventually get a new head unit with more than one output, i was hoping to put bass blockers on the infinitys up front, and just run them and my concert 2 lower door panel infinities off the head unit-
I dont plan on running a competition setup, but want the best bang for the buck.

Most 4 channel amps won't handle a 2 ohm load when bridged, as they are intended to handle a minimum of 4 ohms when bridged. Some of the more expensive ones will. Budget probably being the limiting factor here.

So if i did find a good 4,3,2 amp that was stable to 2 ohm i could do it right?
OR should i just buy 2 amps and do it that way?

I've always liked the V12 Alpines. But there are a lot of good amplifiers out there for less money than what you could buy the Alpine for. Sort of paying for the name. With that being said, I just bought another Alpine amp about 2 months ago.

i hear ya, i have one in my truck running my TYPE R sub, really neat setup, but its been a year since ive done it, kinda forgot alot of stuff...

IMO, you're sort of doing that backwards. Find the sub that will play to your tastes and find out what kind of enclosure you need to put it in, and how much power it will need....then buy an amp based on that.

I need one for 1 cubic foot, guess its time to do some searching...

thunderace31-
You da man! Im going to do some searching ... if you dont mind, what kind of sub and amp would you suggest for my 1 cubic box?
thanks alot guys.

BW

 

[highboost]

a jl 12w0 should take care of you low end nicley,they are one of the more efficient subs you can buy on a budget!

if you go much more than 50watts rms on the amplifier make sure its a very clean power output! remember distortion kills speakers!i would recomend a alpine v series or a pheonix gold xenon amp both have very clean power output.

if you do use a 4ch amp the manufacturer will recomend the best way to bridge there product, but i have found in my 15yrs of professional installing experience that left pos and right neg is the norm on bridging amps


keith

 

[thunderace31]

Like I said the Kick L7's will work for you can go in a very small box .5-1.0 qf and will hit very well with all types of music. You can even get Rock to hit hard with them and they will last for a long long time
I have yet to blow one up!

 

[thunderace31]

Also you can get a nice CD Head Unit for under $300 with the preouts you want. Look at the alpine with bass eng. tech and Sony even has some nice Head Units with 3 sets of preouts for under 250!!!