sm

I'm looking at possibly popping a sub in the rear cubby and need to get an amp to power it. There are some 50w x 4 and 200w x 1 amps out there that seem to fit the bill and cost about $300 (eBay). I guess the 50w x 4 will power the 4 x 6 speakers and the 200w will power the sub. What do the audiophiles think? I'm not looking for a competition system, just something that sounds good.

Thanks

Jamie944

What brands are you looking at? There are some great 5 channel amps out there. I have heard several and they were very good. Some of my favorites are Audio Art and Planet Audio.

Red 944

I don't think I've ever heard a five channel, but a decent head unit can get 50x4 and you could save and just get a single channel amp for the sub

Jamie944

red944 has a good point. You could get a head unit to run the mids. I would get one with a mosfet power supply. They have a much better amp than other head units. Most Pioneer units have this. I would also add in a set of tweeters makes a world of difference. Then get something like a JBL mono amp just to drive the sub. Lots of choices.

johne

red 944,
I think he is talking rms. If you got 50x4 + 200 = 400 W RMS out of an amp that would if in a head unit it would get so hot you wouldn't need a heater in a siberian winter.

John

Ag951

I'd stay away from internal amps. 1) I've never seen one that does 50W RMS per channel. Most are less than half that. 2) All that electronics in one tight package will reduce sound quality. 3) The internal amps aren't that good for sound quality to begin with.

As for the external. One company's 50W amp isn't the same as another's. I have a Sony 75Wx4 in my Acura and an audiobahn 50Wx4 in my 951. The audiobahn is more powerful. Sony (and most mid level vendors) run their amps at high voltage (14-15V) when they determine the power rating. Also the audiobahn sounds great compared to the Sony (I've got another one for sale cheap, never taken out of the box. Let me know if you're interested).

Also...I don't see the point of more than three channels (maybe four for twin subs). You're presumably playing CD audio, which has two channels (Left and Right). So you only need two speakers to reproduce it.
In my 951, I have audiobahn 6x4 component plates in the doors, getting 50W RMS from the audiobahn amp. I crossed the final two channels to 140W RMS for my MTX 10" sub. It sounds great.
Some people like to have rear speakers that provide "fill" (I think it's a waste of money). If you go that route, I would amp the rears from the HU, because you don't want them to be anywhere near as loud as the fronts. If they are, you'll get phase distortion.

shortyboy

best bag for the buck sound system:sony xplod,cheap and great quality.1600w sony amp-$200,sony deck-$~300 and below,4x6 speakers-$50 a pair.this is for a complete sound system.the subwoofer only costs about $90,and it bumps!my .02

slevy951

That sounds like it'd be about right. Watch your brands. There are some out there that are very cheap. Stick with the majors. A buddy of mine has a Precision Power with 300w going to one of my cubby subs and it plays very loud and clear.

sm

I was looking at the Alpine amps since they seem to have quality stuff. I'll also look at the other brands you guys mentioned.

Some people like to have rear speakers that provide "fill" (I think it's a waste of money). If you go that route, I would amp the rears from the HU, because you don't want them to be anywhere near as loud as the fronts. If they are, you'll get phase distortion.

So it's possible to attach an amp to the HU, run speakers off the amp, AND run speakers off the HU at the same time?

slevy951

Yes, but I'm not a big fan of rear fill either, IMO. The amps in the deck will get to distortion faster than any quality amp will. You run the risk of adding deck distortion into the system. Alpine are great amps. I'm a big fan of them.

groa944

I've also had good luck with MTX amps. Beefy as hell, and they're quite powerful. Not terribly expensive either.

Good Luck!

Skitch

http://www.xtant.com/html/products/X603.cfm

Xtant has a really nice 3 channel amp that would fit the bill. I have to agree with keeping the "rear fill" to a minimum. I personally like a nice front soundstage that doesn't get cluttered up with the highs from the back of the car.

I have a simlar Xtant amp setup with 2 6" JL XR coax speakers and 2 JL 8W3's in my daily driver and it sounds great.

I think a 3 channel amp would be the way to go, forget the rear speakers and just take that money and get a nicer amp or better front speakers.

Just something to think about!

Ag951

Alpine is a good choice. I disagree with the post about Sony being good. I love sony in my living room, but I'm not too fond of them in the car. I have an Xplod 75x4 that doesn't sound anywhere near as good as my Audiobahn 50x4 (Sony overrates their wattage, and the sound quality just isn't as good). I have a Sony HU M630(?) that skips horribly on some CDs, which play just fine in my 8 year old Blaupunkt and every CD/DVD player in my house.
The best high quality bang for the buck is the brand new Audiobahn amp sitting on my computer room floor, at a fraction of the retail price. (Couldn't resist the shameless plug--can you tell I want to sell it?).

As for the fill. Assuming you have front and rear pre-outs on your HU (most good ones do), you can connect the preouts to the amp, front for the speakers, rear for the sub (some have a dedicated sub preout), then connect the rear speaker outs from the HU directly to the rear speakers.