Howdy! I'm just going to be running 4 speakers and 1 sub. Will I get better sound with a dedicated amp to the sub or will I be ok with a 5 channel amp? I'm just trying to get my music to sound good, not competition quality. Thanks a lot.

 

Personaly I would go with a 4ch amp for your speakers and get an amp just for your sub...reason being is you will have alot more choices for amp sub combos. You can run your sub off a 5ch amp just make sure you buy a sub that matches your amps output (example) if that amp is only capable of driving a 4ohm load you dont want to run a sub with a 2ohm load. A 5ch amp will be alot easier to hide though vs two amps and make for a cleaner install. Either way though if you match your amp, speaker, sub combo it will sound good if your 5ch amp pushes say 200watts rms at 4ohms and you have a sub that matches your amps output you will not gain any sound quality by running a dedicated 200 watt at 4 ohm amp for your sub. Price is a factor also, you can probably buy a 5ch amp cheaper than a 4ch plus a sub amp and if you run more than one amp you will need accessories like a distribution block, fuse blocks and more wire to power them.

 

Thanks. That was exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. I was taking into consideration all the extra wiring and space consumption that two amps would cause, and am glad to hear that it won't make a sound-quality difference as long as I match up my subs. Thanks again.

 

I agree with that reasoning, but I decided on the 5-channel amp. The amp itself combines a class D for the sub channel (1 ohm stable at 1100 watts) and a class A/B for the other 4 channels (75 watts at 4 ohm/115 watts at 2 ohm). It's an earlier model of the Memphis Belle 16-MCH1300. I think it's an excellent amp to power an entire system.

A pic installed...
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I also had an acoustically transparent cover made that sits over and protects the amp and sub.

 

Also add in the price of 5ch amps over a 4ch amp and a 1ch amp.

5 channel amps are normally a lot higher in price. 4ch and 1ch amps are plentiful and can be found anywhere and can be normally had well under the price of a 5 ch amp.

 

I would much prefer to use a 5 channel, but as mentioned;
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Most 5 channel ones have a crappy low powered 5th channel, and you don't have a lot of selection. I had to use a 4ch and a 1ch. If I had the cash I woulda bought a memphis belle though, oh man that one makes me grin.

 

Ditto that amp rocks...very nice install also!

 

Keeping budget in mind go for two amps to power your sytem. A single 5 channel is nice but you will pay a premium.

 

When I bought the car, it came with an Alpine MRV-F340 4-channel amp. If I bought a 5 channel, (I was thinking of an Alpine MRV-F450 that i found on ebay) then I could sell the 4-channel and have minimal losses. I'm also pretty much set on a Boston Acoustics G510 or G512 with dual voice coils. That sub will work with a 2 or 4 ohm amp, depending on how I wire it, correct? I was also thinking of building some kinda contraption to put the amp in the spare tire spot and keep the spare in there too. I would then put the sub in the lockbox, so space is an issue. As long as I won't lose major sound quality, then I think I'll go with the 5 channel. Please give your input on all of this, it's really helping me decide.

 

To be honest, keep the 4 channel Alpine for the main speakers. The 5 channel does not have enough power for the Boston sub. Best amp to get for the sub would be the JL 500/1 (the Slash series) for the money. This amp will be more than enough to push the Boston. This way you can also get the low level control for the amp to get the amp where you like it. You will have plenty of power in reserve for future upgrades.

 

As much as I've wanted to keep things simple and go to a single 5-ch amp, it seems most of the lower cost ones are weak on the sub channel. The memphis belle and similar quality amps have the power, but have a nice price tag to go with them. As previously mentioned, going with two amps allows a little more flexibility power-wise for the same amount of money.