Head Unit W ratings?

[motocrossmonks 10+ year member]

Hey,

I had a jensen vm9312 indash dvd head unit. Its 160W (13x4Channel rms)

it wasn't very loud, like even if i turned my volume up all the way it still wouldn't play the music all that loud. Is that because its only 160W?

I'm looking at a new clarion indash dvd head unit and its 18Wx4 channel rms power, Will this make my speakers play louder??

please help

Click to read more...

 

[andrewmoore13 10+ year member]

get a 4ch amp and amp the speakers externally.

 

[endofdays89 5,000+ posts]

Hey,I had a jensen vm9312 indash dvd head unit. Its 160W (13x4Channel rms)

it wasn't very loud, like even if i turned my volume up all the way it still wouldn't play the music all that loud. Is that because its only 160W?

I'm looking at a new clarion indash dvd head unit and its 18Wx4 channel rms power, Will this make my speakers play louder??

please help

dude, you have to get an amp to power your speakers. Head unit power isn't very loud. Do you have tweeters? They help out a ton to

 

[motocrossmonks 10+ year member]

I'm actually only talking about stock speakers, Like as soon as I put my new head unit in it seemed like when i turned the volume up all the way it didn't even play as loud as my old deck.

do Head unit W ratings affect how loud your stock speakers will play?

 

[endofdays89 5,000+ posts]

I'm actually only talking about stock speakers, Like as soon as I put my new head unit in it seemed like when i turned the volume up all the way it didn't even play as loud as my old deck.
do Head unit W ratings affect how loud your stock speakers will play?

depending on the quality of your stock speakers, they can be amped too. I have amped some stock speakers before and gotten them surprisingly loud.

Yes, the HU W ratings are the maximum power you speakers will see. So, your speakers will only see 13 watts rms per channel max. Your old deck may have had more amp power, like 22 watts per channel or 18 watts per channel (just throwing numbers up there), depending on the hu it was.

 

[motocrossmonks 10+ year member]

ok, So should I even waste my time with a 13Wrms HU or get a better 18-22Wrms HU?

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

Yeah. In my friend's car he installed a Pioneer HU and Pioneer Coax running of the Hu and even at full blast it was barely a pitter-patter.

We threw in an amp and it was WTFLOUD.

Not really.

But the quality and loudness increased exponentially. [YES! I got to use that word...]

If you're looking for some good sound, we can recommend some speakers for pretty cheap. But, if you just wanna stay stock, you can either buy a really cheap POS amp to run your speakers off of, btu I don't suggest it. If you're gunna spend any money, I think you should buy a set of comps or coaxials and run them off of an amp. You'll really enjoy the sound.

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

HU power (In your case, 13w) is a pittens. You can get a good 50x4 amp for under $100 and it will greatly increase the loudness and clarity of your system.

Something like this would work great:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_11792_Kenwood+KAC-6404.html

It's 40x4... nothing immensely powerful by any stretch of the imagination, but offers much more power than your deck ever will. Perfect for 4 coaxial speakers.

Edit: Or this

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=18147

Autotek claims 75x4. Not sure it would do full power, but it probably puts out more than the Kenwood.

Also, look for used amps here on the forums. There are some killer deals.