Hi, I'm a newbie on the audio board and I got a question. I am running a sony explode head unit. It is an older one ( before they went all red ) w/ flip face and an internal amp. I have Kenwood excelon speakers 2 4x6 and 2 6x9. I also have a bazooka bass tube in the back. 8 inch with an internal amp. this is pretty good for me but the speakers distort at high volume. my question: do I need an amp? I was told I need a 4 channel amp w/ a cross over. Is this right? A friend of mine has an Alpine V12 4 channel almost new. I can grab it for $200.00 He paid $425.00 for it. Should I go for it or should I look for something else? Thanks in advance-Mike

 

If it's a decently powered amp....it should be at least 75 watts rms per channel for that price, 100 rms is more like it. definitly grab it, those are nice amps. Be conservative with the gain, a little goes a long way...

set the cross over to about 100Hz High-Pass, maybee 120ish for the smaller speakers....but let your ear be the judge. The idea is to get as much sound as you can without distorting the the speaker with lower frequencies (more physical cone movement) than the speakers can handle at one time.

Infact, your bass response will improve due to the amplifier output being 100% within the speaker's actual capabilities. It won't work wonders, but it definity sounds better than the HU trying to squeeze out unrealistic crappy bass. later on you can add a sub and it will actually 'fit in', not just 'mask' bad sounding low end......good luck!

 

never mind....you already have a sub. just keep the gain down so it doesn't distort too. Also lower the Low-Pass cross over on the Bazooka if you have any distortion problems with it.

You may have to set your crossover as high as 200hz High pass for the front 4x6"s, it's all in good judgement. There is nothing wrong with trying to squeeze just a little bass from the 6x9"s though.

Have fun chasing down new rattles!

 

Um, thanks I think. I should grab it then right? I will do that today. What about an instalation kit? I see alot for sale on ebay. 7 bucks up to 80 bucks. What should I get?

 

ebay is evil.. im paying more (like 2x as much )for my system becuz i dun trust ebay... get a good one from circuit city or pepboiz or sumplace where if its wrong you can yell at ppl.. in fact go to the store and yell at tehm for slow service its fun...

 

Ebay rocks! I built my whole car off ebay and these message boards ! Pep boys ? Now they scare me. What should I look for in an installation kit? My local stereo shop has them for 80 bucks but I'm sure I can do better online. just need to know what to buy.

 

go to walmart and get their amp kit there, they are good. Or try www.knukonceptz.com

 

i personally am goping to use as much monster wire as i can... also the gage of ur amp install kit will determine how well ur system works ie: lower gage lower wattage.... im getting 0gage becuz im planning a 1000+ watts RMS beast

 

quality wire is important......but,

do you know what is MORE important? quality installations....

a $10 kit will do the job if you have all the right wires, although some RCAs can be bad enough to actually distort and muffle the signal. I wouldn't spend $80 to hook up an amp though....that's just insane! If you believe the RCAs aren't good enough...replace them.

For $80 you could find an amp and the wires on ebay. There is nothing wrong with buying from the internet if you know what you're doing.

How can you possibly get the 'wrong' amp kit?

Why yell at the people at Pep-Boys? sure some of them are nit-wits, but they are just there doing a $7/hr job. If they knew any more about parts, they would perhaps have a better job in the automotive parts business.

 

I was at wal-mart today and I saw their amp kits-not bad. I have a spare rca line and I still have the original wires that came with my new speakers so I guess I will spring for a power line to mount the amp in the back of the iroc above the bass tube and next to the nitrous bottle. I should be o-k don't you think? I haven't done stereo stuff since I was a kid so I'm learning all over again.

 

a bazooka( tube) seems to bump pretty good in our camaros