Good 4 channel amp without spending too much?

[Chrisrizzy]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a decent 4 channel amp to give me in the ballpark of 75w RMS x2 at 2 ohms to power my JBL GX600c components. They're running off my 07 TL's factory amp and while they do not distort, my sub overpowers them. I'm a college student so I don't have that high of a budget... I've seen a couple options in my price range (Around $150) and I really don't know what will be best for me. What are your opinions?

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[blazian87 10+ year member]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for a decent 4 channel amp to give me in the ballpark of 75w RMS x2 at 2 ohms to power my JBL GX600c components. They're running off my 07 TL's factory amp and while they do not distort, my sub overpowers them. I'm a college student so I don't have that high of a budget... I've seen a couple options in my price range (Around $150) and I really don't know what will be best for me. What are your opinions?

If you only plan on using them for your JBL components, then this 2 ch amp is a good budget amp that does the power you need @2ohms.

JBL GX A602 280 Watts GX Series 2 Channel Class AB Car Audio Amplifier | eBay

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

The Zapco Studio X amplifiers would fit right into your budget. We have those and the Studio D.BT amplifiers available right now, with other Zapco full range models for special order. If you'd like I can fill you in.

 

[The Camry]

http://diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256250

I bought an amp from him. Good amps

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

 

[Chrisrizzy]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll most likely go with the JBL due to price. My father has the same speakers with just a power pack and I think they sound pretty good even that way. With just a dedicated amp I'll probably be happy!

 

[macsdad 10+ year member]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll most likely go with the JBL due to price. My father has the same speakers with just a power pack and I think they sound pretty good even that way. With just a dedicated amp I'll probably be happy!

If you are refering to the alpine power pack, I am using one to power my mids and highs, and they keep up with my IA20.1 at 1 ohm on my hst mkll 18, and I am more than satisfied with its performance.

 

[Chrisrizzy]

If you are refering to the alpine power pack, I am using one to power my mids and highs, and they keep up with my IA20.1 at 1 ohm on my hst mkll 18, and I am more than satisfied with its performance.

So you think dedicated amp will be too much? My dad went with it just because he needed volume for his Jeep without the top. I heard it is for volume and not as much extra sq

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

So you think dedicated amp will be too much? My dad went with it just because he needed volume for his Jeep without the top. I heard it is for volume and not as much extra sq

wrong, its for both volume and SQ, in more advanced installs its mainly for SQ. Your speakers will sound completely better with more power, get as much power as you can and have a lot of head room so when the music calls for it, the audio quality doesnt break up or distort because the amp is distorting from not having enough clean power. I'd get something a bit more beefy than a power pack, that dedicated jbl is fine.

 

[Chrisrizzy]

wrong, its for both volume and SQ, in more advanced installs its mainly for SQ. Your speakers will sound completely better with more power, get as much power as you can and have a lot of head room so when the music calls for it, the audio quality doesnt break up or distort because the amp is distorting from not having enough power. I'd get something a bit more beefy than a power pack, that dedicated jbl is fine.

Yes, I was referring to the power pack as being just for volume. O figured an actual amp will give better sq.I'm just worried that 85W RMS at 2 ohms will be too loud and completely overpower my sub lol I'm not too knowledgeable on car audio, just trying to learn. Hope I'm not coming off as a John Kuthe here

 

[macsdad 10+ year member]

Yes, I was referring to the power pack as being just for volume. O figured an actual amp will give better sq.I'm just worried that 85W RMS at 2 ohms will be too loud and completely overpower my sub lol I'm not too knowledgeable on car audio, just trying to learn. Hope I'm not coming off as a John Kuthe here

We typically will use more power than we need, hence the head room comment, just have your gains set properly, that is tantamount in this here hobby. Properly set gain regardless if it is for highs, mids, or subs.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Yes, I was referring to the power pack as being just for volume. O figured an actual amp will give better sq.I'm just worried that 85W RMS at 2 ohms will be too loud and completely overpower my sub lol I'm not too knowledgeable on car audio, just trying to learn. Hope I'm not coming off as a John Kuthe here

dont worry bro, you arent even close to being on the same dimension of crazy/retardation he's in. You can actually control how much power your speakers see via gain settings, head unit volume and various other head unit settings. Good thing about having a lot of power is, you can have very low settings and the amp will be barely lifting a finger to do its job vs a smaller amp fighting for its life everyday with heavy stress working at 100% capacity

So an amp capable of 150 watts powering a 75 rms speaker, you will set the gain so the amp only puts out 75 ish watts. The amp will provide cleaner distortion less power, remain cooler, more efficient, very clean signal to your speakers which translate to much better sound quality.

Vs a 50 watt amp trying to put out 50+ watts (due to user dissatisfaction) which leads to a very stressed out amp and speakers. Clipped and dirty signals which lead to speaker break up and high levels of THD. Amp overheats, efficiency tanks, amp longevity and reliability is compromised.

 

[Chrisrizzy]

dont worry bro, you arent even close to being on the same dimension of crazy/retardation he's in. You can actually control how much power your speakers see via gain settings, head unit volume and various other head unit settings. Good thing about having a lot of power is, you can have very low settings and the amp will be barely lifting a finger to do its job vs a smaller amp fighting for its life everyday with heavy stress working at 100% capacity
So an amp capable of 150 watts powering a 75 rms speaker, you will set the gain so the amp only puts out 75 ish watts. The amp will provide cleaner distortion less power, remain cooler, more efficient, very clean signal to your speakers which translate to much better sound quality.

Vs a 50 watt amp trying to put out 50+ watts (due to user dissatisfaction) which leads to a very stressed out amp and speakers. Clipped and dirty signals which lead to speaker break up and high levels of THD. Amp overheats, efficiency tanks, amp longevity and reliability is compromised.

Idk what I was thinking lol I had just heard that speakers are more sensitive to overpowering than a sub. Hopefully the JBL will still be for sale in a few months haha. With this install I assume a line out converter is necessary. Will something cheap like a Pac one work? And other than that, I guess I just need RCA adapters and a wiring kit?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Idk what I was thinking lol I had just heard that speakers are more sensitive to overpowering than a sub. Hopefully the JBL will still be for sale in a few months haha. With this install I assume a line out converter is necessary. Will something cheap like a Pac one work? And other than that, I guess I just need RCA adapters and a wiring kit?

Id highly suggest getting a proper head unit instead. Line out convertors always lead to poor to mediocre results.

 

[Chrisrizzy]

Id highly suggest getting a proper head unit instead. Line out convertors always lead to poor to mediocre results.

That would have been my first upgrade. Unfortunately, the 07 TL's factory nav unit is integrated well into the center dash along with the climate controls. So, putting in a different head unit would require a fair amount of dash modification and the aftermarket unit would have to be placed under the existing factory unit. Something I dont have the time or $ to do. Plus it looks pretty odd. A second loc is really my only option and even then I'm not looking to spend too much. The cheap loc is probably why my sub doesn't sound optimal but hey I'm broke haha

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

That would have been my first upgrade. Unfortunately, the 07 TL's factory nav unit is integrated well into the center dash along with the climate controls. So, putting in a different head unit would require a fair amount of dash modification and the aftermarket unit would have to be placed under the existing factory unit. Something I dont have the time or $ to do. Plus it looks pretty odd. A second loc is really my only option and even then I'm not looking to spend too much. The cheap loc is probably why my sub doesn't sound optimal but hey I'm broke haha

Yeah a proper preout signal is needed along with most stock head units having their own built in high pass filters which blocks a lot of bass as well. For mids and highs, i has a built in EQ curve that specifically works on stock speakers and doesnt really work well on aftermarkets. Eventually you want to get a higher quality loc or if budget allows, a budget digital sound processor

Might be better to