Car Audio - Amp suggestions.

[JHarris1385]

Alright I have had it with not being able to listen to my radio in my VX. The amps were intermittently not working. They would kick back on after I beat on them a bit but now that does not work. This was installed by the PO. It is a dual amp set up, two small ones.

I am not a car audio guru. What I would like to do is get a single amp set up but I am not sure what to look for. I have an aftermarket CD player, decent speakers and a two sub set up in the spare tire enclosure (which I have issues with and need to fix as well). What should I look for or get and would this be a quick and easy swap from set up to set up? I don't even know what watt rating to stay above of or anything. Any advice would be appreciated.

[joshi]

Go for a Kenwood eXcelon XR-5S This is what i have in my vx for the front speakers , back speakers , and for the sub in the spare tire area (still in progress ) I got it from ebay
This one is fit perfectly under the front seat , with a capacitor , or a High Current Car Audio Power Cells

The amp dimmensions are :
• Width: 9-1/4” (235mm)
• Height: 2-3/16” (55mm)
• Depth: 7-9/16” (192mm)

[joshi]

There is a picture

[Ascinder]

Some stuff I have picked up browsing through amps over the years is that most of the watt ratings are BS. You want RMS power not PMPO which is what many manufacturers publish on their junk. RMS is usually a lower number and is a better way to describe what is actually going on. PMPO is there to sell amps to people who don't know any better. If it doesn't say which it is then nine times out of ten it's PMPO they're listing. Also, generally amps are set up along two lines, the first is to power your normal midrange speakers (usually two to four outputs) while the other type is for pushing subs only and is rated for quite a bit of power out of one output. It is also generally accepted that it is advisable to overpower your speakers rather than under power them. Hope this helps, I'm by no means a guru, but maybe it will point you in the right direction. It's also important to match up your ohm ratings, if I recall, they run either 2 or 4 typically.

[JHarris1385]

Joshi thats a nice set up. I had no idea what price range I would have to play with either.

So what ratings should I look at number wise? How high or low. I keep meaning to read up on car audio but never seem to do it. But this no radio crap is killing me.

[tom4bren]

So what ratings should I look at number wise? How high or low. I keep meaning to read up on car audio but never seem to do it. But this no radio crap is killing me.

If you have to ask, you shouldn't have one. Just throw a boom box in the back seat.

I'm just kidding - I still have the stock system in mine ... & it'll stay that way till "Boy" blows the speakers.

[Gussie2000]

Every thing comes down as how much you are willing to spend or how much is the available $$$ you can spend on this. The more you can the more you will enjoy

The head unit is the key to a good sound system,besides the quality of the speakers you choose.

I'll suggest you add an nice (i didn't mean expensive) EQ. although the head units comes preloaded with EQ controls you still can play around to extract the best sound out of the system or suited to an more personal choice.

Big brands offers extraodinary products,such as JBL,sony,alpine (Kenwood's luxury line up ) boss,JVC and pioneer are the most popular-expensive brands.

If you gonna replace the OEM speakers then atfermarket speakers ( 3-ways ) within the 180-300 watts will do just fine if big bang sound is not your thing.


Subs within the 600-800 watts ( 4 ohms ) if just perfect depending on the amps power you choose,never hook up amps with higher wattage then the speakers/subs,you'll just risk them to go BOOM

Crutchfield guys are very helpfull,but when it comes to ask them about which products to grab on they'll lure you into the most $$$ ones.

My favorites brands are pioneer and alpine,yes they are $$$$ so instead i settled with kenwood which offers good products worth the money ( IMHO )

My whole sys is kenwood and have not a single complaint to relate.

If you gonna play with two amps do your self an favor and have them with 4 lines each,with low and high pass filter

Dynamat definately help reduce the lost of sound and quality,also reduces the vibration that subs causes,got to dissmantle the whole interior do get that job done


Again,all comes down as to how much you are willing or can spend on this

[joshi]

What sub set up you have in the spare tire enclosure ? What is the RMS rated power for those subs ? Are u using them in paralell or series wiring ? What is the RMS rated power for your speakers in the door and in the back ?
For best results, match your power amp source level (RMS, or continuous watts) to the upper part of the speaker's recommended range (RMS).

[JHarris1385]

That is something I will have to check out.

The subs I purchased are:
http://www.bazooka.com/products/mobi...-Subwoofer-P95

Not sure about the wiring either.

The speakers were PO installed.

[Riff Raff]

I'd say send an E-Mail or call CRUTCHFIELD (visit www.Crutchfield.com). They will give you an unbiased opinion, and you won't be spending extra money on items you don't really need.

[VXorado]

That is something I will have to check out.

The subs I purchased are:
http://www.bazooka.com/products/mobi...-Subwoofer-P95

Not sure about the wiring either.

The speakers were PO installed.

Are you using a Bazooka enclosure?



I had a bazooka sub in my first car, it actually sounded pretty good for an old setup (got everything used from my brother-in-law). I know a member here has a bazooka tube mounted above the jack compartment on the wheel well. Not sure how it sounds but definitely saves cargo space.

I have a 1200 max watt dual amp with a 800 max watt X-plod sub in a slim truck enclosure. It was cheap, cost just over $100 for everything but sounds good for my offroad toy.

Let us know what you get

[tom4bren]

Or you can be like the Dubster & use Minimus 7 speakers.

[Grif]

Or you can be like the Dubster & use Minimus 7 speakers.

Wow... Minimus 7. Never thought I'd see those in THIS forum. Great little speakers for small space near field monitors. In a vehicle, ehh... not so much. Freq response 55hz-20khz is great for such a small speaker but efficiency sucks at 88 1w/1m and with a long throw 4in woofer rated at 10-15 watts, you cant push them with enuff power to make them loud. Positiong for those little guys makes a world of diff too.

Great for small personal radios like a bedroom stereo or small shelf system, even computer speakers if you have an amp to drive them. I have two pairs that I haven't used in a coons age and was so impressed by their sound back in my college days I designed a pair of speaks using four of those little long-throws and some peizo mid-tweeters that got around a lot of the efficiency problems, but alas, I couldnt cast the aluminum enclosures so I made them out of MDF. They worked well but by that time thier size became so large that the size/performance "WOW" factor had diminished.

Kinda OT I know, but it took me back to 20yrs ago. hehe srry

[pbkid]

ok, im gonna tune in on this one. sorry for the lengthy post, but for once, i consider myself somewhat of an experienced person on the subject.

everyone posting information- PLEASE for GODS SAKE use RMS ratings... "peak" or maximum ratings are completely useless and make no sense.
Beau was completely right on this one, RMS ratings are 'continual' power. So they are accurate ratings taken on each and every item when its made.

jharris-
one of the most important things for a good sounding and long lasting system is to match your RMS ratings on all your products. The best anology i've ever heard for matching your power is this- give a football player one cup of water and see how long he can perform at 100 percent, give him a whole jug of water and he will take however much of it he wants.
It works the same for 12v systems, overpowering is fine, underpowering is very bad.
first, subs-
the bazooka's you listed are 200w RMS. so, depending on whether they are single or dual voice coil, you theoretically need a 400w RMS amp.
so, first find out if they are single or dual voice coils (also find out if they are 2,4 or 8 ohms per voice coil)... any local shop can throw a DMM (digital multimeter) on them and tell you exactly what they are. Once you find that out, let me know what your shop tells you and i'll be happy to help you find an appropriate amp.

speakers-
90 percent of speakers are 4ohms each. (infinity and bose are good examples of exclusions, they are 2 ohms or 1 ohm)
and speakers can range 40-120w RMS (each).

factory decks are around 8-10w RMS and aftemarket ones range 12-20w RMS. so, your giving your speakers 10w, when they require 50w. they arent gonna last long. although, most people run speakers directly off the deck and work fine for years, they will definately last MUCH longer and SOUND 80 percent better with an amp giving them the proper power.

so, thats the over-analyzed, difficult answer to a relatively basic question

i honestly wouldnt worry much about amplifying your speakers, focus on your subs and you will probably be happy with the results.
go to the local shop and ask them to tell you the resistance per sub, and we'll find a good set up for you.

[JHarris1385]

I have the spare tire enclosure sub box with 2 10'' Bazookas. I still have not had enough time to take the door panel off to figure out what speakers I have. I believe they are infinity.