want to boost it, up to 10-12 if possible but i'd settle for 6-8. any suggestions on amplifier style & brands or other ideas in general?

 

I'm just wondering why. For an average system there is little gained in doing this.

 

Knowing him, it will be far from an "average" system.

 

get a linedriver. Here is a autocontrol linedriver

Autocontrol

 

A line driver is one method of doing what you want to do, but if you're going to be running an active eq odds are that it will also have a built in line driver (ie kicker, etc). An EQ will cost a little more than a line driver but will add a ton more functionality.

I also question why. There's not much to be gained by having really high RCA voltage. All it means is that you will be able to keep your gains lower on your amp, but most amps gains are made for an aprox .5v to 7v range. This means that you can set your gain to nothing and will still be maxing out the amp before you max out the HU. For a better explanation on this check out gain settings/deck voltages: http://www.bcae1.com/gaincon2.htm

 

my amps go up to 16. there is a reason and it is noticeable. i switched from a 8v head unit to an advertised 5v which is closer to 2v on the bench and it is not as nice. if i can get 8 that would be great but i would really like to see 10-12.

 

He probably wants it for the same reason i would. I have the gains on my amp up higher than i'd like, because of a crappy output voltage. Now i have a nasty little power hum that decided to develop on 1 speaker, and i know if i had the gains down it'd be almost non existant. Now i have to dig through and trouble shoot a crapload of wires to find where the problem is. My answer would be an audio control line driver. AC makes a good product, i wouldnt be too afraid to buy anything w/their name on it.

 

thanks for the suggestion. ever hear of soundgate?

 

They make all kinds of stuff designed to integrate with OEM stuff. They let you hook aftermarket stereo stuff to OEM pretty easily; use an alpine changer with a stock BMW deck, line out converters, etc. I wasn't aware that they made a line driver?

As for product quaily, no comment because I have never touched any of it myself. Seems like a pretty good concept behind the company though.

 

Nope - not soundgate sorry.