Need help completing my system ASAP - amp advice wanted!

[Gullyben]

Hey guys, first time posting here, hope someone can give me some advice.

I've been putting off completing my system for awhile and I need to get this done soon or I'm going to go out of my mind.

Here's my situation - I've got my front speakers installed but need to figure out what to do about the rear and/or trunk, and what amp or amps to get. *Here's what I'm working with (this is in a BMW 330Ci if that makes a difference, with a pioneer f700 something head unit). *I listen to all kinds of music, rock & hip hop (to be vague) but I don't need crazy window rattling bass- I do like to feel it though.

I've got Polk SR5250's installed in the front, I like how they sound in my car.

On the rear deck, currently there's nothing. *I like the clear soundstage from having just the front speakers, but I'm open to suggestions. *I've got a pair of diamond audio S500's that I can put in the rear, or a pair of 6.5" Kicker*CVT65 subwoofers.

I've been using an infinity basslink in the trunk but the trunk is really well insulated so I don't really get the punch I want (& I know it's not the greatest sub anyway). *I would like some more upper bass/low mids to come through. *I think when I get the polks in the front mounted to the actual door as opposed to the stock speaker mounts it will help, but still.

So the amp I was using to power the fronts died, and the basslink isn't working for some reason.

I want to spend less than $600 - what do you suggest? *Should I:

A) leave the rear deck empty & just get an amp for the front speakers and a more powerful subwoofer setup for the trunk

B) put the diamonds in the rear deck, get a 4 channel amp for front & rear, and a decent sub in the trunk

C) put the 6.5" kickers in the rear deck with a 4 channel amp running those and the fronts (is it advisable to run the front speakers and 6.5" subs from the same 4ch amp?), and a decent sub in the trunk*

With my budget in mind, what would be the most effective? *I think I'm leaning towards C because I think subs (even though small) inside the car would help with the lower mids/upper bass punchiness.

Any gear suggestions in my price range? *Used/classified/eBay prices are fine.

I want to get this done as soon as possible so hopefully someone can help me out quickly - any suggestions on any of my questions would be greatly appreciated. *Thanks so much!

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[jeffsanders 10+ year member]

I'd use the speakers you have up front, the 6.5's in the rear deck, a decent sub in the trunk and a 5 channel amp

http://www.bostonacoustics.com/GT-50-Refurbished-P713.aspx

 

[jeffsanders 10+ year member]

Boston GT-5750 5-channel car amplifier — 70 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms plus 375 watts x 1 at 2 ohms at Crutchfield Signature

 

[jeffsanders 10+ year member]

http://www.bostonacoustics.com/G210PS-GTuned-High-Performance-Subwoofer-Enclosure-P716.aspx

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

sounds to me that you may like a full-channel (5-6) amp, but a decent 4-channel will also do fine if you want to stick with being satisfied having a front stage carry the mids/highs. since you already have the equipment, start with option "C" and a nice amp that will feed 150watts per channel rms. first things first, though. troubleshoot your system. if both your amps are out, i would start by going over the power/ground/remote, and make sure you are getting everything to the amps. if you had a bad ground, the amps could have searched for ground through the rca's and that could damage both the deck, and amps pre-amp circuitry. there could also be a problem with the remote wire shorting or getting damaged somewhere. next, if all voltages check out, eliminate the rca's, and hook a personal player strait to the amps with an rca-to 3.5mm headphone jack. the pioneer decks have a non-replaceable fuse on the rca shield to protect against ground problems. i would hate to see you go out and stert buying new equipment, just to find that you have more problems to solve and possibly a lot more money to spend afterwards. another thing- i'm not sure on your car, but there may be speaker buckets behind the rear speakers that could be removed to let the bass come through the back deck.

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

this one would do you well, and leaves more option if you want to tuck a nice sealed 12, or 10 in the trunk

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/amplifier-classifieds/505698-fs-like-new-dsc4125.html

 

[elancohen92 10+ year member]

sounds to me that you may like a full-channel (5-6) amp, but a decent 4-channel will also do fine if you want to stick with being satisfied having a front stage carry the mids/highs. since you already have the equipment, start with option "C" and a nice amp that will feed 150watts per channel rms. first things first, though. troubleshoot your system. if both your amps are out, i would start by going over the power/ground/remote, and make sure you are getting everything to the amps. if you had a bad ground, the amps could have searched for ground through the rca's and that could damage both the deck, and amps pre-amp circuitry. there could also be a problem with the remote wire shorting or getting damaged somewhere. next, if all voltages check out, eliminate the rca's, and hook a personal player strait to the amps with an rca-to 3.5mm headphone jack. the pioneer decks have a non-replaceable fuse on the rca shield to protect against ground problems. i would hate to see you go out and stert buying new equipment, just to find that you have more problems to solve and possibly a lot more money to spend afterwards. another thing- i'm not sure on your car, but there may be speaker buckets behind the rear speakers that could be removed to let the bass come through the back deck.

thats how a big girl does it