system evaulation and questions

First of all, which Audiovox amp did you buy?  Most of their equipment cannot be bridged to drive a single speaker off of two channels.

Secondly, the "Rampage" amps are simply not very good, so you will get much better sound using the amplifiers in your Kenwood head unit to drive your four main speakers.

Polk speakers are generally pretty good.

ok, the rampage is back at the pep boys from where it came...$55 back in my wallet...I am also rethinking my deck choice...basically the only thing i am sure of is the polk audio speakers which i invested in...4x6 in the dash, 4's in the roll bar sound bar and a single ex12 sub. now I need to make a decision and stick with it for the deck and amp or amps? I want my system to SOUNG GOOD, I don't need to break anybodys windows or annoy people at the redlights...(ok scratch that last one...the annoying guy at the redlights ;] I want to BE that guy! so back to my dilemma, i am most likely gonna return the deck to crutchfield, I can barely read the display (bad visual angle) and that annoys me...also doesn't look very nice at night...I am into looks...BUT most importantly it only has one set out pre amp outs...

now based on my speakers (those are not going anywhere) do i get a head unit with 3 sets of pre amp outs? do i get 2 amps...1 four channel for the dash and roll bar speakers and the other amp for the single sub? or is that over kill?  I am very confused, i just want to be able to hear perfect music and feel a little bit of bass

thanks

Good decision!  IMO, everything from Audiovox is a POS and is better suited to being a boat anchor than classified as audio equipment!

Since you don't like the Kenwood head unit, and based on your description of what you want, I suggest you trade it for a Pioneer DEH-P5500MP.  It should be a better choice for you at about the same price.

Assuming you are still on a budget, run your Polk speakers off the Pioneer head unit amps.  Turn on the high-pass crossovers built into the Pioneer to protect the small drivers from low bass.  Get a subwoofer amp like the US Acoustics USB-600D.  This should push your Polk sub very nicely.  It's about three times what you paid for that POS Rampage, but it's one of the best bang-for-the-bucks sub amps going, IMO, and you won't find much in the price range that is any better.  Unless you want to buy used, then cruise eBay and you may find a good deal for less than $100.  Run your sub amp off the rear pre-outs.

Best of luck!

JK,

Welcome, from a fellow newbie!

Just for fun, may I suggest you check out some of the stuff I bought/installed (on a budget, see below sig line), as well as some of my posts over the past couple of weeks, since I've had similar questions/worries.

I'm most pleased with my purchases and setup... and owe it all to these folks...

Seems like a small thing, but in addition to 3 sets of preamp outs on the Sony deck, the 7 colors are very cool, and allow me to change my mind on what I want to see out of the corner of my eye (as my ears bleed).

:D

Have fun, good luck, and happy listening!!!

ok, update...speakers were never an issue, the polks are great...I have finally decided on a head unit... drum roll...... Sony CDX-M850MP now the hard part...I need amps bad.....my head is spinning with all kinds of un-digestable info...somone please help me! numbers like 400 x 1 at 2 ohms and 200 x 2 at 4 ohms and bridgeable and crossable...ugghhhhhhhhh calgon take me away! ok I am done freaking out. how about I say again what I have and someone please help me with what I NEED, it doesn't need to be brand specific (although I will take that into consideration. the most important item I need first is an amp to drive my polk audio ex12 it is a 4ohm subwoofer rated up to 400 watts (if I am saying that right?) the only feature I think I would like in a sub amp is the dashboard remote level control (I know only certain brands have them) also if anyone knows does the sony head unit "control" the sub, I was playing around with one at bestbuy (didn't buy it there) and in the menu it controlled bass, treble, fade, balance etc. and one adjustment said sub? I guess that meant sub woofer right? and if it does is it "total control"

ok now the dash and roll bar speakers...again polk audio gxr's 4inch in the roll bar and 4 x 6 in the dash both sets are 4ohm rated at 88watts? again does that sound right? I just want one amp to control all four of these so what should I get to do it? and should I purchase bass blockers for these 4 speakers or will an amp do that for me?

sorry for so many questions but I am really a car audio dummy and am just trying to learn some things on the road to having a great sounding jeep!

thanks

-kirk

First things first.....I would have recommended as did DYohn, the Pioneer DEH-5500MP, although I have the Pioneer Premier DEH-550MP (means more warranty and that's it). It has three sets of RCA's (front, rear and subwoofer), delivers a very clean 22 watts rms X 4, plays my MP3's effortlessly and looks very cool sitting in my dash. It was also the easiest to navigate of all the Head Units that I tested.

As far as your speakers go, you made a good choice, although I'm sold on MB Quart and will never go back. Check out the rms rating, not the PEAK POWER RATING as this is nothing but a marketing tool. Your 4x6's are rated at 2-35 watts rms and without looking up your 4 inch speakers I would imagine that they are about the same. Your frequency response is 95 - 21,000 Hz. The 95 Hz is your BASS, so you might want to make sure that nothing less than 100Hz gets to them by installing a pair of BASS BLOCKERS inline with the POSITIVE wire of each speaker, otherwise check your owners manual on the SONY HU and see it it allows you the option to make these adjustments straight from your HU. Your HU (Head Unit) puts out 23.5 watts rms and that should be more than enough to drive your 4x6's and the 4" Polk's. You can easily add an amp to run your speakers later, but remember that they are only rated at 35 WATTS RMS and I wouldn't push anymore into them than that. Your amp can push more power, which will provide you some additional HEADROOM, just keep that in mind when turning up your system to annoy the guy next to you at the redlight. There are several good sub amps out there to push your subwoofer and it will be as easy as running the RCA's for the subwoofer from your HU to the amp along with the remote wire, installing your POWER and GROUND and then hooking up your sub. INSTANT BOOM! Just try to match the rms rating of your sub to the rms rating of the amp, and IGNORE THE PEAK POWER MARKETING LIE! If an amp advertises 1000 watts it most likely puts out half of that into a 2 OHM load and then you can cut that in almost half for a 4 OHM load, unless you buy some real high dollar amp, but in your case I would not recommend it.

Keep it simple and don't let all this tech talk intimidate you. I would, before installing anything myself check back here to make sure that you have a complete understanding of all the DO's and DON'T's.

Regards,

Razorbacx

Well the radio that you have does have the subwoofer control.  You may have to activate it on the radio before you can see the options.  As Dyohn said the US Acoustic amp is a very good amp for the money and it has the sub-control.  For your highs since it seems you are on a budget look at the JVC amp.  It is not that expensive and should give your speakers the sound that you want. http://www.thezeb.com/caraudio/jvc_amplifiers.html

hey razor...when you say the 4x6's are rated 2-35watts...is that 2ohms?or just the number two for 2 speakers meaning i should get an amp that puts out 35x2? I am confused. also long term plans are to get two amps. one for the sub now and 1-4 channel amp to run all my smaller speakers...and while we are on those, i understand about checking my head unit to see if it can block out the 95 hz and below but if not...the lowest bass blockers i believe i have seen are rated at 300 watts? will those work? finally my sub says 400 watts...but i shouldn't buy a 400 watt capable sub? what should i be looking at?

thanks

-kirk