Amp Choice

[BuddhistWitch]

What amp should I run with 2 6.5" Infinity Kappa 63.5is (75RMS) and 2 6x9" Rockfords that are a year or two old (around the same power range). The Rockfords will eventually be upgraded for something with more like 100-110 RMS.

Money I guess is somewhat of an issue. (most likely b-day present). So anybody with any insight on these speakers and a good 4-channel amp to power them and NOT blow them would be great.

-Thank you in advance.

[Rex]

My first suggestion (as usuall) would be an Autotek SX-475SX-475 Specifications:75 Watts X 4 Channels @ 4 Ohms100 Watts X 4 Channels @ 2 Ohms200 Watts X 2 Channels @ 4 Ohms Bridged

They can currently can be found (SX-475 & SX-480) on ebay for about $135 to $165, new.

Another suggestion is an old/used Phoneix Gold M44M44 SPECIFICATIONS:Into 4 ohms @ 12.5/14.4 VDC 40/55 WRMS x 4Into 2 ohms @ 14.4 VDC 80 WRMS x 4Bridged into 4 ohms @ 14.4 VDC 105 WRMS x 2 They can currently can be found on ebay for about $185 to $225, used.

Both would be good/strong amps, that would allow you to expand and still use later.

[ayjay]

you're so predictable Rex :pface

other really nice reliable & affordable amps to look into are US Amps... they make many multichannel stereo amps: www.usamps.com

here's one on ebay right now, USA-4260, that does 65x4 and that'll be plenty for your needs: USA-4260

i guess it all depends on your budget now...

[BuddhistWitch]

As I said before, money isn't a huge issue, being that it is a b-day present. But I figured the specifications that I have given already were information enough to help choose.

It's going to power a 75WRMS 6.5" for good, and eventually I'm going to upgrade the 6x9" to something higher, so I need something open to that kind of a future upgrade.

[Rex]

you're so predictable Rex :pface ...

But I didn't ask any questions .

BuddhistWitch - You can find alot of 4 channel amps that will give you some "upgradability", just make sure they're bridge-able. The usual suspects:

• US Amps
• Autotek
• Precision Power
• Phoenix Gold
• Rockford Fosgate
• JL
• a/d/s
• etc

Might be a good idea to think about your future plans (?sub?) and what type of amp you might want use for that?

(dang a question)

[BuddhistWitch]

Hah, yeah. But my future sub will most likely be a 10" or 12" kicker solo-baric. And a good amp to power it. Nothing in the too near future, I still don't have a job to pull money in.

...You guys are right when you say us high-school kids are poor though...

[BuddhistWitch]

Oh, yeah, and I do know that those are great brands, I've searched for months. But I want to know from a more experienced level which would suit my needs/wants.

[ayjay]

well honestly a 75x4 amp is just huge... you most likely won't need to upgrade your amp to power your 6x9s, so any amp that puts out at least 50W rms into four channels will prolly be the last one you'll ever need

[BuddhistWitch]

Ok, even though the front speakers themselves will be 75? And the 6x9s I upgrade to will be around 110. So just a 50W wouldn't be even half of its potential.

[ayjay]

that doesn't make a huge difference.. sure they can handle a lot but but this into perspective: one of my friends was runnin a JL 150.2 (150x2) into this Focal PolyKevlar components... he UPGRADED to an Audison amp that put out 65x2, and i must admit, the Audison sounds much better even though it's less than half the power his previous JL was putting out...

[BuddhistWitch]

True, so why not go for a higher quality amp, such as the audison, that has higher power?

But back to the original question, which amp by personal experience is the best. And as usual, Ayjay and Rex seem to be the only ones answering my questions...

[BuddhistWitch]

Oh, and speakers aren't like subwoofers like how you can turn two 4ohm speakers into a 2ohm load? If the speakers are 4 ohms, theyll both run at 4 ohms right?

[ayjay]

ya you don't wanna bridge your speakers unless you want mono sound... pretty much all "full-range" speakers are 4-ohms with the exception of a few Soundstreams that i have seen which run at 2ohm and of course the Bose speakers which run at 1ohm...

well i think my favorite amp that i have ever heard is a U-Dimension 10.4k or 10k4, don't remember exactly... it was 100x4 and some of the cleanest sound you'll ever hear, if i were to get a 4 channel that is what i'd get cept they're $$$, otherwise i've heard a few US Amps and they are just solid, they are underated amps so if specs say it puts out 65x4, it's putting out more like 80x4 with the car runnin...

[Rex]

My personal experience is with the Autotek, Rockford Fosgate, PPI, Sony and Orion (all from the late 80's early 90's) and they were all at the time under rated power wise. From what I've read/heard, that's still true for all but the Sony, which has given up on the competition circuit and went for cheap flash. Back in that same time frame, I knew some people running Phoenix gold and I always wanted to run them, but the dealer I worked part time at didn't carry them, so I could never justify paying full retail for an amp.

Okay, now I'm just ramblng ...

In short, I've been in the market to buy a couple amps over the last few years, here's what I looked at and why ...

Autotek SX5750 - Good 5 channel amp that would have run 4 full range speakers and provided enough umph to a sub to give a "decent" sound. If you're wanting more than that they offer a higher power SX 4 channel and their MX series is more power than rated.

Phoenix Gold M or MS series - As stated in another thread, I wanted an M44 (or M100), but didn't move quickly enough on the auctions. These amps are no longer available new, but can be re-conditioned by PG. There were a few Special Edition models (Frank Amp'n Stein, Son of Frank Amp'n Stein, MS1000, The Outlaw, The Bandit, The Route 66 & The Reactor)that would be more amp than most any non-competitor would ever need.

Just a few suggestions

[NY94J30]

that doesn't make a huge difference.. sure they can handle a lot but but this into perspective: one of my friends was runnin a JL 150.2 (150x2) into this Focal PolyKevlar components... he UPGRADED to an Audison amp that put out 65x2, and i must admit, the Audison sounds much better even though it's less than half the power his previous JL was putting out...

Ayjay, I gotta ask this, what do you mean when you say that the Audison sounded better than the JL? If they both have birthsheets you can see what their output is, and maybe the Audison is underrated, and maybe the JL is overrated - but I don't think enough that they would meet in the middle at say 90W. So w/o seeing the birthsheets I would think the Audison put out less power than the JL, but you're saying it sounded better. Since amps have no sound processing, the only way it could sound better is if the gains were set different or the crossover point? Can you explain?

[BuddhistWitch]

Yes, well thank you for your imput. But I think that I'm going to go with the amp that I originally wanted. Unless someone can find something wrong with this amp:http://www.rockfordfosgate.com...fiers

[maxI30t]

Hifonics Zeus...tried and true. not to meantion on ebay they for about 200-250 dollars brand new

[Rex]

Yes, well thank you for your imput. But I think that I'm going to go with the amp that I originally wanted. Unless someone can find something wrong with this amp:http://www.rockfordfosgate.com...fiers

Should fill your need just fine, nice choice.

[BuddhistWitch]

Ok, thank you Rex. I know you guys have your fav brands, but I have had rockfords, and heard rockfords forever. And they have always sounded better (to me). I've made my choice.

-Thank you everyone

[ayjay]

Ayjay, I gotta ask this, what do you mean when you say that the Audison sounded better than the JL? If they both have birthsheets you can see what their output is, and maybe the Audison is underrated, and maybe the JL is overrated - but I don't think enough that they would meet in the middle at say 90W. So w/o seeing the birthsheets I would think the Audison put out less power than the JL, but you're saying it sounded better. Since amps have no sound processing, the only way it could sound better is if the gains were set different or the crossover point? Can you explain?

i'm not talking about headroom, i'm talking about the quality of the music reproduction... the audison probably only puts out 75W RMS or so but because the amp uses higher quality grade components & different circuitry, it reproduces the music in a much purer fashion... please don't tell me you're one of the people who believe that all amps sound the same if they're putting out the same amount of power...

[ayjay]

if that's the case then i should scrap the idea of going a 65W x 2 Audison and go with a 65W x 2 Jensen instead :pface

[audtatious]

Tried and true. All amps sound the same if "tuned" appropriately. Of course, proof will net you, what, $10k from Richard Clark?

Older amps rule, IMO, except for the fact they don't have internal Xovers. a/d/s PH15 on ebay for under $200. Pure, clean power even at 100% gain. Great amp to grow with as well. 6x50 RMS and can be bridged 1@ 178w + 4@50w, 2@ 178w + 2@ 50w, or 3@ 178w. I've used PPI, USAmps, Adcom, Kenwood, and Sony amps but still love the older a/d/s line for their durability and clarity. Hell, my first a/d/s amp was a ph12 (6x20) and I used it to run two RF tweets (20w ea), 4ea RF SP54 mids (two per door in parallel w/38w per pair) and a Kicker 6.5" midbass on that little amp and it rocked pretty well.

[NY94J30]

i'm not talking about headroom, i'm talking about the quality of the music reproduction... the audison probably only puts out 75W RMS or so but because the amp uses higher quality grade components & different circuitry, it reproduces the music in a much purer fashion... please don't tell me you're one of the people who believe that all amps sound the same if they're putting out the same amount of power...

Please dont tell me - or Richard Clarke - that you're one of those people that think that amps have sound processing. They don't, they amplify the signal sent to them. HU's on the other hand have processing, and speakers have different reproductive characteristics.

I'd go with the Legacy - Really though, the reason the Audison is better is because it puts out real power not cleaner power - 65 watts is 65 watts, whether is Pyle or Zapco. A relay and a multimeter would tell you that.

[ayjay]

well i think that's all a load of bs :pface you can't tell me that the Audison HR-100 would sound equally as good as my Memphis 16St-200, putting out the same power

[ayjay]

okay you win... i read that amp challenge thing... i guess i'd rather have an audison for reliability purposes... my memphis is fuked already, has a cold solder joint in it somewhere, needs to heat up before i get full sound outta both channels :pface don't think an audison would have those problems...

[NY94J30]

Bro, you're absolutely right. I would rather have an audison or zapco or mcintosh amp than a jensen too. There are reasons why more expensive amps are better. They will be easier to make sound good and will sound good longer (both in playtime and durability) and with less headaches (hopefully). But alot of price is hype and advertising.

[rsiwicki]

not to hijack your thread....but I have the same question about what amp to use on the exact same setup...6.5" fronts with 6x9 rears in my Q45.....I was looking at the Infinity Kappa series all around or some Apline 6x9 and Infinity' up front.

Here is an amp that is on ebay that I would like to pick up if you all think it is good. I am 31 now...and have been out of the car audio stuff for a long time, but it is still good to hear the "power of the gods" amps mentioned as well as US Amps and some others that I grew up with in the late 80's & early 90's when I was a bass monkey.

Let me know if you think that one of these amps will drive all 4 speakers nicely without much distortion. I will probably not go with a sub and if I do it will be the old bazooka tube..so I just want a 4 channel amp.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...&rd=1

[NY94J30]

40w/ch isn't very much, even though the kappas don't handle that much (75 for the coaxials and 90 for the components). I guess it depends on what you're looking for. My guess is it will sound better than the stock Bose system. I personally would go bigger though, 65w minimum. A value amp in that range is the us acoustics 4065 or 4085, or a profile. Maybe a tsunami or avionixx? I know Indo Audio was selling the avionix 440 for $150 (no factory warranty, only retailer).

[rsiwicki]

thanks for your input...I will check those amps out

[DammitBobby]

I am looking at the same Rockford Amp 551x or the 501x. The 501x if 5 watts a channel less and $50.00 less. I may end up going 501x since I really dont want to shake the car apart. Somebody told me that just having the 6.5 and tweeter up front and one 10 inch sub would do fine for what I want.