Im relatively new to sound systems besides knowing the basics of hooking up amps and subs, what I don't know a whole lot about are things like RMS or the difference between continuous watt and regular watt and what the better brands are and what i should stay away from. Also what you guys are running for amps and subs in your cars. I dont wanna under/over due anything by not knowing what im buying. Pics would be great!

 

I am in the same problem.

 

This site should explain things better

http://www.bcae1.com/

Also start by doing a search, most questions have already been discussed.

Lastly, you need to decide what your plans are and budget is in order to help more.

Trust your ears in terms of speakers and subs.

 

RMS is basically continuous power below a certain level of distortion (expressed as THD; Total Harmonic Distortion.)

2006 CEA compliant is the latest means which are used to level the playing field.

Back in the day, many manufactures would simply state either max power (which meant nothing), or RMS. But RMS was vague. Most would state the RMS at 1k Hz, which told you nothing about the other frequencies. Nor did it tell you what THD percentage was used. Some companies would use 1%, some 5%, some .1%, some .5%, some .05%, etc. Nothing was standardized.

Now, with the 2006 CEA compliance, RMS has to be between 20Hz-20,000Hz with no more than 1% THD. Most of the popular brands (Sony, Pioneer, Rockford Fosgate, Alpine, Kicker, for example) are 2006 CEA compliant. The "cheaper" companies aren't (Pyle, Pyramid, RoadGear, etc.)

But, don't assume because a company isn't CEA compliant that they're not a good company. Soundstream, for instance, has some very powerful, high quality, very expensive amps, but they are not 2006 CEA certified.

Here's one.
http://www.woofersetc.com/p-7736-hru...amplifier.aspx

There are exceptions.

When talking speakers, the RMS is how much power a speaker (subs included) can take, continuously.

It's usually best to match the RMS of speakers with the RMS output of amplifiers. If you have to error either way, it's best to pick an amp which has a slightly higher RMS rating than that of the speakers. This will help ensure the speaker sees a clean signal from the amp.

E.G., a speaker rated for 100 watts, RMS will live longer with 120 watts of power using a clean signal than it will with 80 watts using a distorted signal.

 

In layman's terms ...

A 100watt speaker will sound better getting 80 watts from a 150watt amplifier, than it will getting 80 watts from a 100watt amplifier. This is because distortion increases as you approach maximum wattage. When you start approaching the max volume, the signal gets "dirtier", and a dirty signal is harder on a speaker physically that a clean signal.

BUT - there is a catch ... the 100watt amp won't blow the 100watt speaker at full volume, where the 150 watt amp will blow it at full volume. So, you can't let folks play with your stuff since they don't know the limits.

Like everywhere else in life, it's best to NOT let others play with your ****!