ChaosZero

I'm about to install a carPC into my '09 tC. I want to remove my headunit and control everything via the computer. For now, i plan on keeping my stock speakers and sub.

I'm looking for a cheap 4-channel amplifier that will work with the stock speakers. I've found a couple online:

Soundstorm 4F400 400W 4 Channel Power Amplifier

Jensen Power760 4-Channel 760 Watt Amplifier (Grey)

Pioneer GM-4300F 4-Channel 400-Watt Maximum Power Amplifier

Sony 4-Channel 600-Watt Xplod Amplifier, XMZR604R

Are these any good? Would you recommend something else? I just want a cheap amp that will get the job done (but I don't want a significant loss of quality... am I asking for too much?).

I know that the speakers are 4 x 40W RMS. If I were to get one of these, would it damage the speakers (since they have a higher power rating)? I'm researching on car audio, but I still have trouble understanding what to look for: especially with the whole 2-ohm/4-ohm business.

I'm sorry for so many questions, and I appreciate all the help I can get! Thank you very much!

Thndr13

I'm doing the exact same thing as you at the moment. I got a Pyle 4 channel Marine amp, 400 watts total. It definatley has enough power for the panasonic speakers I have, so I'm sure it'll be enough for the stock ones. It's cheap and sounds pretty good.

http://www.ugotadeal.com/product_inf...54&ref=froogle

That's not the same site I ordered mine from, but same model. I just went to google shopping and found the cheapest one at the moment. They had a pretty good rating too on google, 4 out of 5, 21 ratings

daxII

i would recommend not buying any of those amps, unless you like paying for wattage that isn't there. all overrated power-wise, and the build quality is pretty much garbage. i don't know what your budget is, but here's a solid STEAL:

http://www.audiosavings.com/products...0e6350a.r.aspx

PG amps are solid and will actually put out their rated power and then some. if used properly, this one will probably last longer than all the ones you listed.

shupes31

could i kind of piggy back on this thread? If the OP objects just let me know and i'll delete my posts.

but what would be a good 4 channel for my two alpine type r 6.5"? the rears are still stock speakers. or should i just go with a 2 channel and leave the rears completely alone?

DJ08tC

^^From everything I heard the rears are pretty much useless with good components up front.

shupes31

yeah, i've read that too. many times.

but with an amp it would be running cleaner power, so the question remains, 4 channel, or 2 channel?

DJ08tC

^^Well I am looking for speakers too and I was talking to BZinn1 and he told me not to worry about rear speakers, that they would actually cause interference with the sound of the fronts. So I guess just a 2 channel. I already have a 4 channel but I am going to just use 2 channels.

Also if you are going to leave the stock speakers in the rear I don't think they can handle much power, you would probably blow them pretty easy with an amp.

rcf22

I've got the Pioneer GM-4300F, and while I'm sure it's not the best, I got it as a gift and it is running fine. Runs very cool and clean at low power. A noticable amount of distortion appears as you crank it up to full power though.

GQQSE13

go check out hifisoundconnection.com..... you can get good refurb or open box amps really cheap. my kicker zx 350.4 was onlye $120

ChaosZero

The computer is going to connect to the amplifier directly, and act as the headunit and run through the stock speakerss. I don't quite understand the whole ohm business. Does it have to do with the number of channels?

I don't want to spend too much. I know that the better amps cost more, but i'm not upgrading my speakers for quite some time. I was thinking that when I do replace the speakers and sub, I'll buy a better amp.

So right now, i'm looking at about $100 or less (the cheaper, the better in terms of money). I'm probably asking for too much with what little I have.

to dax and everyone else, is it safe for the speakers if the amp has a higher RMS rating? The speakers have a 40W x 4 RMS, and if the amp has a higher rating than that, would anything get damaged?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm a complete newb when it comes to car audio.

nodsetse

2-channel, that's why they call it "stereo" and not "quad" or "surround".

Do you like to recreate the original performance? If you were there live, would you have your back to the stage? If not, and the live venue doesn't have rear speakers behind the audience, then why have "rear-fill" speakers?

For those that say it's an "ambiance" thing, so that they mimic the rear reflections at a live venue, they're not needed because you get plenty of reflections from the rear with just the front speakers.

That said, some people simply want a lot of sound, or think their rear seat passengers will suffer without rear speakers too, so fine if that's what a person wants, but I feel it detracts from the system's SQ potential.

FWIW.

rcf22

Ohm rating is the impedance of the speaker... You're going to be interested in the RMS power rating at 4ohms since that's what the stock speakers are.

$100 budget is pretty tight, if you raise that to $150 you should be able to get something acceptable.

You want the amp to have a higher amp rating, because the distortion increases as you increase the gain on the amp. Therefore if you have "headroom" in the power rating on the amp, you can push it less and have lower distortion. Just because you don't set the gain too high accidentally and blow your speakers!

DJ08tC

^^Yea if you run too much power too them they will blow, alittle over probably wont harm them. I had cheap pioneer speaker that were rated at I think 70 watts rms and I blow them with my amp. But you should be able to tune the amp so it is not it wont blow them.

breimann

Don't cheat yourself with a cheap amp... you get what you pay for.

The Phoenix Gold amp would be just right, to answer your question about having too big of an amp, as a rule you do not want to be pushing your amp to it's max.

At max power, amps become less efficient and distort the sound much like a factory radio with a built in amp.

I'd consider the Sony amp as a last resort but personally I am not a fan. Others may challenge that but Sony units have not impressed me.

kileil

Look for either the Alpine V-Power MRP F250, or F300

You should be able to find one under $150. The only one in your list to even consider would be the pioneer, but thats if you can't find the Alpine.

nodsetse

Of the 4 amps you listed, I'd get that Pioneer, it's SQ is actually pretty good.

It has more than enough power for your stock speakers, and they'll sound a lot better with that amp, as the HU doesn't put out anything close, despite the HU's inflated output power claims.

The amp also has enough power if/when you decide to upgrade your speakers, and you could even run a component set with 2 channels powering the mids and the other two pushing the tweets. For $99, it's actually a pretty good deal and meets your requirements.

rcf22

Um, for a set of components you would just send the power to the cross-overs, which would distribute to mids/tweets, but yes, that is what I'm using my GM-4300F for right now. It's running in bridged mode sending 90W per channel to my Infinity components and it sounds good. Not great, but good.

nodsetse

What I was talking about would be an upgrade to what you stated, by ditching the component set's passive crossovers and going to full active filtering of the components.

rcf22

If you're a control freak you can do that, but I don't see what the benefit would be for the casual listener. It would just create a lot of more work for tuning and balancing the system and create a higher likelihood of damaging parts of the system IMO.

nodsetse

The benefit would be a louder, clearer system with a better frequency response and improved dynamics.

Yes, it's a bit more complex and requires tuning for optimization, but it's the next upgrade beyond using passive crossovers.

Whether it's worth it or not to the "casual listener" is an individual opinion, I'm simply mentioning options so everyone can choose what's best for their own system.