I am sure others have asked the same question.....here goes...
I have a new Sony reciever with 200W 50W X 4. I have a pair of Polk Momo 6x9 and a pair of 5 1/4 polk Momos. I want good crisp sound what would be a good economical amp to add. Right now I have to crank it up so high to get the volume high enough. I wouyld like to drive these speakers better. I know the 6x9's should sound alot better than they currently do. Thanks in advance.

 

t-93:

That 50W x 4 is the peak power, you are probably only pushing 18 to 22W per channel RMS through that headunit.

Add an amplifier and it will sound much better, will not use the ratigns from the headunit.

It mostly depends on the Power coming from your speakers. Do you have the power ratings for those speakers?

Look at the RMS power and the max.

I am going to be using a JL Audio 300/4 channel amp for my installation.
75W x 4 RMS, more than plenty.

Good luck...

Rick

 

I agree that adding an amp will improve things dramatically, but saying the power coming from the speakings and their ratings have something to do with it is simply incorrect. It is not my intention to say something impolite, flame or otherwise incite argument Rick, but that statement that I have quoted in boldface type is a common misconception and best not allowed to stand without comment.

The power ratings of speakers are what the manufacturer warranties the speaker is capable of handling, not what power they are producing. Speakers don't produce power, only amplifiers do. The sensitivity rating is the most useful thing to look at when you're evaluating output - in other words how loud they get. The key to power is CLEAN power. Speakers usually can handle far in excess of their rating so long as the power being fed to them isn't distorted.

A 4x50 amplifier will produce far more average power output than a 4x50 head unit. As Rick stated, the head like likely producing 18-22W and 50 is its peak output. A 4x50W rated amplifier is likely capable of producing an average output of 50W and able to do transient output as much higher levels.

As far as brands go, I'm not great with listing off names, but the Elemental Design(edesignaudio.com) amps are well spoken of in this forum and are very reasonable. Kicker, Phoenix Gold, Alpine and Kenwood are some of the more mainstream brands that are often mentioned. I'll leave those with more brand-specific experience to make those recommendations.

 

Dan:

Thanks for clearing things up, was just trying to take a stab at it.

I did not forget I will try to get back in touch with you about the C5 front speaker plates....

Rick

 

so will a 200 watt 2 channel be good???

 

Plenty of power with this amp:

Dragster 1.2KW 4ch. Amp ******* NEW? ********* $500 NEW PRICE $250

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1754535

 

You're driving 4 speakers so a 4 channel amp probably makes more sense. My buddy spkrboy often talks about running rears off the same channels only damped down in-line to reduce the level for fill, but that's beyond my mad skillz.

 

I would suggest the elemental designs amps. You will get much more for your money. Maybe consider a sub box for the trunk and get the Nine.5 elemental designs amp. 100X4 and 600X1 from that amp. I have that one and it is nice to have it all in one amp, smooth install. They also have 4 channel amps. Most of the "Name Brand" companies get a large part of the money for the name. eD is an up and coming company that you get much more for the actual product. Check the specs.

Here is the forum site for elemental designs; check it out:

http://www.icixsound.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=24

 

Please correct me if I am wrong, can I just connect a 2 channel amp to my tuner with the RCA jacks and then wire my speakers with the leads supplied by the tuner? Let the tuner manage the output...

 

Not entirely certain what you're saying here.....

But what you do is plug the RCA outputs of the tuner/head unit to the amplifier, then you wire the speakers from the amplifier, not the tuner. The tuner still controls the level.

If your tuner only has 2 RCA outputs then you can use Y adapters to split those channels into the other inputs of a 4 channel amp, however this will not get you fade control. Alternately you could run the front 2 channels using the tuner's RCAs and an amp and run the rears wired directly from the tuner.

 

well, I bought an Infinity 500watt 4 channel amp. I ran a new power wire directly from the battery, wired in the remote switch wire from my Sony 1GIG Tuner(this tuner has a face plate that comes off and you can hook it up to your PC and transfer music-1 gig- of music to play thru the tuner....eliminates caring cd's around in the car..Ive got about 200 songs so far and not even close to full) got it all wired up hooked a pair of Polk Momo 6x9's. Wow does it sound sweet....very crisp....before the amp. I would have to turn the volume up around 15-17 to hear the music.....and it was trashy sounding(distorted). Now average listening around 4-5 for great drum/quitar solo's around 9-10 you can FEEL the music. I swear a deaf person could enjoy Van Halen in my car. I am currently waiting on a pair of 5.25 polk momo's for the front to arrive in the mail.....then the system will be complete. It's amazing what an amp does for the quality of the sound....