Next Q -- Amps
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,226
Likes: 45
From: Castleton VA
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
Next Q -- Amps
As stated in my last thread, I want to go with components in the doors and JL stealthboxes. Should I be planning on:
1) one 4-channel amp (two channels for doors (with cross-overs for each pair of speakers), rear channels for stealthboxes)?
2) two amps (one for the door speakers (with cross-overs for each pair of speakers), one for the JL stealthboxes)?
Last Q for tonight: Should I have separate cross-overs, or can I rely on cross-overs built into the amp(s)?
All help for the clueless is welcome!
Mark
1) one 4-channel amp (two channels for doors (with cross-overs for each pair of speakers), rear channels for stealthboxes)?
2) two amps (one for the door speakers (with cross-overs for each pair of speakers), one for the JL stealthboxes)?
Last Q for tonight: Should I have separate cross-overs, or can I rely on cross-overs built into the amp(s)?
All help for the clueless is welcome!
Mark
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 5,572
Likes: 4
From: Los Angeles Ca
basically you could do one four-chan amp, or a pair of two channel amps, or a two chan and a mono amp.
chan 1 goes to the right crossover then from there you wire that to the right door mid and tweeter
chan 2 goes to the left crossover then you wire the x-over to the left door's mid and tweeter.
the other amp or chans 3/4 power the subwoofer in the stealthbox
those are your basic options, no way is wrong it's a matter of space, power and versatility.
chan 1 goes to the right crossover then from there you wire that to the right door mid and tweeter
chan 2 goes to the left crossover then you wire the x-over to the left door's mid and tweeter.
the other amp or chans 3/4 power the subwoofer in the stealthbox
those are your basic options, no way is wrong it's a matter of space, power and versatility.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,226
Likes: 45
From: Castleton VA
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
basically you could do one four-chan amp, or a pair of two channel amps, or a two chan and a mono amp.
chan 1 goes to the right crossover then from there you wire that to the right door mid and tweeter
chan 2 goes to the left crossover then you wire the x-over to the left door's mid and tweeter.
the other amp or chans 3/4 power the subwoofer in the stealthbox
those are your basic options, no way is wrong it's a matter of space, power and versatility.
chan 1 goes to the right crossover then from there you wire that to the right door mid and tweeter
chan 2 goes to the left crossover then you wire the x-over to the left door's mid and tweeter.
the other amp or chans 3/4 power the subwoofer in the stealthbox
those are your basic options, no way is wrong it's a matter of space, power and versatility.
Ok, with this info my first thought is to go with a 4-channel amp to simplify things and minimize the "stuff" that has to be installed in the car. Two additional questions, then:
Power:
My purpose is to obtain a clean sound at moderately loud levels -- I don't need to set records at an audio meet or get blood draining from my ears. Is ~300W enough to handle the 'vert stealthboxes and a set of 6.5" components? More? Or do I need 250-300W for the stealthbox subs alone?
Any specific model recommendations? (Or do I need to learn more about amps to know what it is I really want first?
)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 5,572
Likes: 4
From: Los Angeles Ca
one of my all time favorite 'all in one' amps was my xtant 603x (replaced with the x603) If you can find a used one in good condition I'd grab it. It'll push 75 watts rms x 2 @ 4 ohm and 300 watts rms x 1 @ 2 ohms. As long as you don't have a loud exhaust and a moderate sub (no jl w7's or idmax's) the power should be more then sufficient.
the more power you have though, doesn't only equate to how loud you can go. more power will increase the sound quality too. it's called 'headroom'. to put this into perspective think of it as powering a honda civic with a 4 banger and an ls1, sure the ls1 can go faster but for normal driving the ls1 will barely break a sweat.
what's your budget?
the more power you have though, doesn't only equate to how loud you can go. more power will increase the sound quality too. it's called 'headroom'. to put this into perspective think of it as powering a honda civic with a 4 banger and an ls1, sure the ls1 can go faster but for normal driving the ls1 will barely break a sweat.
what's your budget?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,682
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta GA
Thanks!
Ok, with this info my first thought is to go with a 4-channel amp to simplify things and minimize the "stuff" that has to be installed in the car. Two additional questions, then:
Power:
My purpose is to obtain a clean sound at moderately loud levels -- I don't need to set records at an audio meet or get blood draining from my ears. Is ~300W enough to handle the 'vert stealthboxes and a set of 6.5" components? More? Or do I need 250-300W for the stealthbox subs alone?
Any specific model recommendations? (Or do I need to learn more about amps to know what it is I really want first? )
Ok, with this info my first thought is to go with a 4-channel amp to simplify things and minimize the "stuff" that has to be installed in the car. Two additional questions, then:
Power:
My purpose is to obtain a clean sound at moderately loud levels -- I don't need to set records at an audio meet or get blood draining from my ears. Is ~300W enough to handle the 'vert stealthboxes and a set of 6.5" components? More? Or do I need 250-300W for the stealthbox subs alone?
Any specific model recommendations? (Or do I need to learn more about amps to know what it is I really want first?
)
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 229
Likes: 0
From: FT Lauterdale Florida
I have 2 amps in my c4
the kicker 350w by 4 channels puts off 75w each channel ( all 4 ) at 4 ohms - perfect for the door speakers , and the rear 6by9's
the second amp is powering my sub, amp is "600w" but actually puts out 270w at 4 ohm bridged to one channel
it would put out the claimed 600w bridged but at 1 or 2 ohm load.
amps are funny like that. the higher the ohm load there is on the amp the less power it will be able to send to the speaker.
the lower the ohm load on the amp is the more power it can send , but at a price of heat build up in the amp. pretty much all amps are designed to handle a 4 ohm load, some can do 2 ohm load in stereo configuration ( not bridged ) and the better amps are capable of handling a 2 ohm load ( but be careful of max power vs rms power )
rms is the real power handling
max power is some fake marketing scheme.
the kicker 350w by 4 channels puts off 75w each channel ( all 4 ) at 4 ohms - perfect for the door speakers , and the rear 6by9's
the second amp is powering my sub, amp is "600w" but actually puts out 270w at 4 ohm bridged to one channel
it would put out the claimed 600w bridged but at 1 or 2 ohm load.
amps are funny like that. the higher the ohm load there is on the amp the less power it will be able to send to the speaker.
the lower the ohm load on the amp is the more power it can send , but at a price of heat build up in the amp. pretty much all amps are designed to handle a 4 ohm load, some can do 2 ohm load in stereo configuration ( not bridged ) and the better amps are capable of handling a 2 ohm load ( but be careful of max power vs rms power )
rms is the real power handling
max power is some fake marketing scheme.
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Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
The Stealthbox's are all 4 ohm mono loads.When you bridge an amp into a 4 ohm load you are running each channel with a 2ohm load. So, you want a good amplifier that will double its power when going from a 4ohm load to a 2ohm load.
As another note, the doubling of the output power when going from a 4-ohm load to a 2-ohm load is a sign of a better amplifier. Not the only one but it's a good indicator.
So, you could easily use 1 3-channel, 1 4-channel, 2 2-channel or 1 2-channel with 1 1-channel as your basic combinations. Any of them will work.
If the amps have crossovers built-in then you can use them. It seems fairly typical that only the 4-channel amps have high and low crossovers but that is not always the case. You also have to look at the head unit. Many have a crossover built-in to it and provide a dedicated sub output.
Peter
As another note, the doubling of the output power when going from a 4-ohm load to a 2-ohm load is a sign of a better amplifier. Not the only one but it's a good indicator.
So, you could easily use 1 3-channel, 1 4-channel, 2 2-channel or 1 2-channel with 1 1-channel as your basic combinations. Any of them will work.
If the amps have crossovers built-in then you can use them. It seems fairly typical that only the 4-channel amps have high and low crossovers but that is not always the case. You also have to look at the head unit. Many have a crossover built-in to it and provide a dedicated sub output.
Peter