Amps, which way to go?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=27558
Printed Date: May 27, 2024 at 3:08 PM
Topic: Amps, which way to go?
Posted By: powerstroke2000
Subject: Amps, which way to go?
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 2:46 AM
First off, this is my first post, so I hope I'm not treading on ground already covered, but my attempts will be to add an amp to a Pioneer MP3 Premier 50x4 head unit, and possibly a couple of 8" subs. This will be going into a mid '90's Ford Supercab pickup if that helps at all? I've been watching Ebay for amps, and I'm thinking I will need a 4 channel amp, as I believe I would prefer to have additional power to all 4 speakers (which have been replaced just last week to the tune of $400.00+). I'm thinking if they don't make them, a custom box of some sort will need to be made to put two 8" subs in to, to fit under the rear seat? My music tastes are more POP, some CW, a bit of dance now and again, and even the odd Mozart, so clearity is an issue as well. As for AMP size (wattage) since I've never had an amp before, I'm not quite sure how much is not enough...and what wattage is too much? I'm not looking at blowing my ears out, but one that can "rock" the music when needed. I believe I'd rather spend a few extra dollars if that's what it takes, but I certainly don't want to break the bank either, so perhaps some advice on the higher end for an Amp...and what kind of money I might be looking at, and some makes/models of decent subs would be beneficial as well. Thanks in advance, as it's much appreciated! :) Dale
Replies:
Posted By: Ravendarat
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 9:09 AM
a very strait forward 50x4 amp is suffiecent to power most speakers out there. If you want something inexpensive you could use a kenwood 4 channel, or if you want something higher end you could get into a mtx or a Pheniox Gold. Dont forget that if you are running a set of eights you are gonna need an amp for them as well. I cant really suggest an amp to power the eights until I know which eights they are.
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 11:53 AM
Ravendarat has made a good point about the second amp. I would not be looking to e-bay for an amp either, it is too easy to get burned with no recourse at all. This just happened to another customer of mine on Friday. $180.00 repair bill for a e-bay amp. Buy local, buy from an authorized dealer, always. Another good basic 4 channel is the Eclipse es3422, Concept CA604, Lightning Audio B2.300.4. All these amps should be in your price range. A good 5 channel amp is the Eclipse PA5422, or Crossfire VR705D should you want to power all speakers from the amp. These amps will easily deliver all the power you need to run all 4 speakers and 2 8" subs. I used a 5 channel for years to run the same speaker set up without fail. ------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: powerstroke2000
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 12:08 PM
forbidden wrote:
Ravendarat has made a good point about the second amp. I would not be looking to e-bay for an amp either, it is too easy to get burned with no recourse at all. This just happened to another customer of mine on Friday. $180.00 repair bill for a e-bay amp. Buy local, buy from an authorized dealer, always. Another good basic 4 channel is the Eclipse es3422, Concept CA604, Lightning Audio B2.300.4. All these amps should be in your price range. A good 5 channel amp is the Eclipse PA5422, or Crossfire VR705D should you want to power all speakers from the amp. These amps will easily deliver all the power you need to run all 4 speakers and 2 8" subs. I used a 5 channel for years to run the same speaker set up without fail.
Thanks alot. Never thought about a 5 channel amp! Most local vendors I've seen, want about $400. for a 400 watt amp, plus installation. That is why I was thinking more of Ebay, thinking that perhaps I could find more of a top quality (perhaps even used) Phoenix Gold (or similar) for about half that cost perhaps? I didn't realize that repairs on amps was so expensive. Any, and all information such as this is quite valuable to me, in that this is a whole new area for me, of which I don't know alot about. Are the other things I should pick up, such as wiring, fuses, fuse boxes or any other incidentals I may need, or just leave that up to whom I get to install it? I did stop at one vendor, who also specializes in making custom boxes for subs, so perhaps I should just leave it up to them? Thanks...great info! Dale
Posted By: soccer_aholic
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 12:31 PM
Where are you located? ------------- Soccer_aholic
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 12:32 PM
Stay away from E-bay, you might just get burned today, there has got to be a better way........no warranty, was it stolen, does it work? E-bay is a prime dumping ground for equipment that does not work, look up the posts from Wayland about his cd player, bought used and it sounds like it has a bad pre-amp. Back to the topic. The dealer that builds custom boxes is your friend, he is probably the one who does the specialty work that you will require. He will also stock the proper wiring that you will need for the amp. I would leave it to them, their pricing is sometimes the same, sometimes a little higher, but what is a good job and proper advice really worth?
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 12:37 PM
Forbidden is located in Courtenay and Nanaimo, BC. I usually respond from the Courtenay location.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: powerstroke2000
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 12:51 PM
I'm in the suburbs of Vancouver.. Dale
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 1:07 PM
Nanaimo? GO SLUGS!!
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 1:11 PM
Well, I must be missing something, I opened a second location there but I certainly do not go there any too often, fill me in dude.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 1:59 PM
I spent a lot of time there in the 70's on a Nuclear Submarine. We used to come up there to shoot torpedos. There was a local soccer team called the Slugs (in honor of the rain forest fauna) and there was a bar band I spent many hors listening to as I sampled local liquid refreshments called Doug and the Slugs. Nainamo is a cool little town as I recall.
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 2:15 PM
Well have things ever changed, Nanaimo is no longer a small town, it is a huge eyesore that takes forever to drive thru, the land of the strip mall and now bathtub races acroos the water to Vancouver. Doug and the Slugs are no longer around but they made it big as well.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: powerstroke2000
Date Posted: March 02, 2004 at 10:15 PM
Do all decent priced amps have the "crossover"? I don't fully understand how this all works, but there is so much technical information on many of the higher priced amps, that it really doesn't make sense to me. I do understand to look for a low distortion number, although some don't show this figure for some reason. There are "new" amps on Ebay for sale, although I'm not sure how they are able to keep the price lower than most local vendors? Do they just buy in bulk, to get a good deal, thus be able to sell on Ebay cheaper than vendors? Thanks... Dale
Posted By: ksin291
Date Posted: March 03, 2004 at 9:08 AM
Most of the time the "new" amps are refurbs or discontinued models, in my opinion it's worth it to pay more for an amp from an authorized dealer. First of all you have someone local to go back to if there is a problem with the merchandise and second you are covered under the manufacturers warranty. If you buy something from ebay you almost always are buying something from someone who is not local and you don't know where you stand if it fry's on you. Trying to save a couple of bucks can cost you a lot more in the long run than if you would have bought it from an authorized dealer. I'm not saying that ebay doesn't have it's uses but for something as important as your amp I would definitely stay away from buying it on ebay.
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Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 03, 2004 at 10:31 AM
I agree, it is always better to buy equipment from an authorized dealer. EBay is a great big flea market. You can get some decent deals there, but don't expect to purchase something and then get warranty service should it break. The only thing I recomend people to buy off eBay is used equipment from private individuals, not "new" from a large seller. If you intend to get new equipment, buy it from a REAL dealer.
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: March 03, 2004 at 4:18 PM
Forbidden just happens to be an authorized dealer in his neighbourhood.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: March 03, 2004 at 4:54 PM
A crossover is built into almost all newer amps. It can be set to keep low frequencies from distorting your small speakers or keep the higher frequencys away from your sub. I thinkn forbidden has some good suggestions on what to get for your amp. Try looking at any of JL Audio's 8" subs. They make some good speakers. You might want to also consider just buying a single high quality 10" sub from someone like Infinity, JL Audio, or Eclipse(Infinity Kappa, JL Audio W3v2 or W6v2, or an Eclipse Aluminum). This would still give you sq but you would get a lower frequency response(most 10" subs can play lower frequencys then an 8" sub).
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