General Amp Recommendations.

[anmasher]

Greetings,

I've stumbled across this place many times and finally decided it was time to create an account. So here's what's going on. Currently I'm building/rebuilding a new-to-me commuter car (1995 Saturn SC2). I'd like this car to have a decent sound system, nothing insane, just decent.

Right now I have two Craigslist acquired Kenwood 10" subs - probably only one will be used in the car. They are 300 watts RMS/1000 peak with a 4 ohm coil. Underpowering it is not a big issue; I understand gain (somewhat) and how to set it without blowing the speaker. Also, I plan to throw in something better than stock in the rear deck (2x 6 1/2s). The current aftermarket headunit can provide around 20 watts RMS per channel IIRC. Keeping in mind that I'm not going for extravagant - just a bit louder and better than stock - I have three questions:

#1 What are some decent tweeters/mids for the rear deck (preferably under $40 total, used or new)?

#2 Should I be getting a mono amp just for the subwoofer, or a 4 channel for the sub + rears, or a mono for the subwoofer + a 2 channel for the rears?

#3 What kind of amp(s) would you recommend (preferably not more than $80 total, used or new)?

Huge thanks in advance!

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[prajeet 10+ year member]

General Amplifier means: Wireless communications

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[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

#1 What are some decent tweeters/mids for the rear deck (preferably under $40 total, used or new)?
#2 Should I be getting a mono amp just for the subwoofer, or a 4 channel for the sub + rears, or a mono for the subwoofer + a 2 channel for the rears?

#3 What kind of amp(s) would you recommend (preferably not more than $80 total, used or new)?

Huge thanks in advance!

I also drive a Saturn('01 SL2). If you have stock speakers in the doors I would replace those and leave the rear speakers alone unless they sound blown. They're not too bad sounding but you want to focus on the front speakers since that's where you sit. I definitely would not prioritize amplifying the back speakers and not the front speakers.

I have a clearance special now on Clarion SRG1622G 6.5" coaxial speakers for $45 shipped. I don't have anything else remotely close to this good of a deal right now without dipping into the cringe-worthy brands I refuse to stock.

Head unit power is ok but even a small 50W x 2 amp for your front speakers will help a lot to improve the clarity, even at moderate volumes. I know you said you want to do this on the cheap cheap, but unless you have the experience and knowledge to recognize a good deal when you find one, I would not have you buy from Craigslist folks. Stick to a forum such as this one where you at least have a feedback record to check for past sales.

One issue I see with using a 4-channel amp on those subs is you'll have to wire each sub to a separate channel. If you had a 50W x 4 amp, for example, this means each sub will only get 50W RMS. In that case you should just run 1 sub and a 4-channel amp would suffice.

 

[anmasher]

The previous owner (same one who toasted the engine) put some audiopukes in the front doors and removed significant portions of the door doing so. I was going to entirely remove them, and just use two mids and a sub, all in the back. Bad idea?

I'll look into your Clarions, sounds like a bargain. A moderately powerful 4 channel amp for 1 sub plus 2 mids is probably what I'll do. This cheap cheap budget isn't set in stone either.

Thanks!

 

[anmasher]

What do y'all think about this amp for either one or two subs (300 watt RMS)?

Pioneer GM 5500T

BTW - Trumpet, I couldn't find your Clarion speakers on what I assumed was your website (513 electronics). Everything was giving me 404's.

 

[bigwyrm]

That amp bridged would work well to power 1 sub with a little bit of headroom left, but would probably be better suited driving a pair of component speakers. I would suggest a small mono-block for the subs. Be careful with that 1000W peak rating on the woofers, I can promise if you send one of those subs 1KW of clean juice it won't last long.

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

get a nice 4 channel to run your sub on the rear 3/4 channel and your highs on channel 1 and 2

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

Cadence Momentum Series CSA1000 4 CSA1000 4 Class AB 4 Channel Amplifier | eBay

this amp will run your entire system.

bridge channel 3 and 4 at 4 ohm to get 300 watts on the sub

or this deal direct from cadence

Refurbished Cadence Q Series Q4100 Class AB 1000 Watt 4 Channel Car Amplifier | eBay

comes with q series amp which is a korean built amp top quality and brand new cadence 6.5 components.

again both these amps can run your entire system

 

[anmasher]

Awesome, thank you!

I'll probably go with the one that includes the components (as long as they don't **** too bad). It's going to be two weeks before I can buy it, so hopefully it will still be available.

Thanks again!

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

What do y'all think about this amp for either one or two subs (300 watt RMS)?Pioneer GM 5500T

BTW - Trumpet, I couldn't find your Clarion speakers on what I assumed was your website (513 electronics). Everything was giving me 404's.

They're not listed on my site, and we had a brief rough patch with the database that is now fixed. We're also moved to a dedicated server so it's MUCH faster for load times.

 

[anmasher]

Greetings again everyone,

I've just gotten everything installed this week and wanted to update everyone on how it went. I went with the Cadence Momentum Series CSA1000.4 amp. Since the new car isn't quite drivable yet, I did a test run in my other Saturn; the amp is powering two 40w RMS Aiwa speakers (junk from a friend's junk stereo they gave me). These Aiwas are serving as mids/tweeters for now and doing a surprisingly good job, though the audio pipes in the new car should be a little better. You guys were correct on not using Craigslist. The Kenwood subs I got from there are... messed up. I asked the guy repeatedly if there was anything wrong with them, but apparently he lied. One is shorted out or something, it won't do much other than draw tons of power; the other rattles pretty badly. Any recommendations for an 8" or larger sub in the cheap-ish range?

Thanks so much for the help! This is (even though cheap) the best car audio setup I've had.

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

Audio Savings | Boston Acoustics G215-4 G2 15" 600 Watt 4 Ohm Car Audio Subwoofer Stereo Sub

Best Deal around . Put in nice sealed box and be amazed. Sub is 299 msrp

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

Audio Savings | Boston Acoustics G215-4 G2 15" 600 Watt 4 Ohm Car Audio Subwoofer Stereo Sub

Best Deal around . Put in nice sealed box and be amazed. Sub is 299 msrp