Newbie to the Forums needs a little advice and help....

[DeathtoToasters 10+ year member]

Hello All,

Just found your forums yesterday !! Wow am I glad I did!

Anyway here is my config, situation, and questions......

I have an Acura '05 TL. This has 5.1 surround.

So I am dealing with a center speaker.

Here is what I was thinking of doing.

At first I was going to go with a 7 channel amp... I was looking at the Diamond Audio 65.2 or the PG Ti900.7

Well when I found out that PG stopped making the Ti900.7 over a year ago and also when I called PG and the tech there, who seemed to be very honest, said that although in theory it seems like a good amp choice, that amp SUCKS power, cannot be mounted upside down and runs VERY hot, it would not be the best choice.

I decided against the Diamond because from doing alot of reading, asking questions, etc it seems that I should be matching the RMS on the amp to the RMS on my speakers for the best configuration.

My fronts are Diamond Audio S600s and the rears are Diamond Audio M361i.

RMS for the front is up to 175 watts and up to 100 for the rears. I am a front stage person so obviously I would love to have more power in the front.

I was looking at the JL Audio 450/1 as it delivers enough power all around, it seems. Then someone suggested looking at your forums as now I am considering Zapco and Audison.

If it is best, I would not mind going with a very high quality 4 channel amp and then getting a basic mono amp for my sub and a then a very low powered basic amp for the center channel.

I am planning on upgrading the sub amp in the next 2-3 months as well as the actual sub.

The center channel is just going to run the Navigation voice and my handsfree bluetooth for my phone that came with the car. So it doesn't need to be anything even close to great quality.

The sub I have now is a Rockford Fosgate Phase 2 10". Nothing great, as I said I am planning up upgrading to a much higher quality sub within the next 2-3 months.

I listen to all types of music, from classical, country, ALOT of classic Rock, talk radio (doesn't require much) very little hip hop, alot of classic hip hop (form the 80's)

So I don't listen to BASS heavy music, but bass is a big part of my music.

Ok....so when looking at the Zapco etc, it seems that all the 6-7 channel amps I see have only 50-55 watts per channel and that is only 1/2 to 1/3 of what the RMS is on my speakers. So I am confused as to what to do.

My budget is about $600-650 this month for car audio. Like I said I can save the same amount in the next 2-3 months to upgrade the sub amp, if I decide to go with a 4 channel now.

Well that is my story....I am open to ANY and ALL advice!!!

Thanks

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[creater 10+ year member]

go with a 4 channel and a separate sub amp...and if you need to power that centre speaker just get a small 2 channel amp and maybe bridge it

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

just get a mono sub amp and a 4-channel. also any amp you mount upside down will overheat. i would personally just run the one set of components up front, and possibly get a 2-channel amp to power them.

 

[DeathtoToasters 10+ year member]

So would you also suggest to match the RMS of the amp to the RMS of the speakers as closely as possible?

I was looking at the Zapco 1000.4 (4-channel, 4 ohms: 4x150 Watts) That would give the fronts plenty of power and the rear plenty also?

Or is there another amp suggestion. Is the JL worth the money or is the Zapco worth the extra money?

Is there a way to make an amp recognize a 4ohm speaker as a 2ohm speaker to get more from the amp?

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

So would you also suggest to match the RMS of the amp to the RMS of the speakers as closely as possible?
I was looking at the Zapco 1000.4 (4-channel, 4 ohms: 4x150 Watts) That would give the fronts plenty of power and the rear plenty also?

Or is there another amp suggestion. Is the JL worth the money or is the Zapco worth the extra money?

there great amps but for a 4-channel i would go with probably a pg xenon 100.4 or an orion 8004 is going pretty cheap.

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

Is there a way to make an amp recognize a 4ohm speaker as a 2ohm speaker to get more from the amp?

no unless you are taking about dual voice coil subwoofers.

 

[DeathtoToasters 10+ year member]

there great amps but for a 4-channel i would go with probably a pg xenon 100.4 or an orion 8004 is going pretty cheap.

Is there not a large quality difference in PG and Zapco?

Also what about the RMS matching....am I heaing incorrect things about that?

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

Is there not a large quality difference in PG and Zapco?

not imo. i have had great success with PG. i currently run a ti500.4 for my front stage. the amp is about 2 years old and no problems whatsoever.

 

[creater 10+ year member]

\
Is there a way to make an amp recognize a 4ohm speaker as a 2ohm speaker to get more from the amp?

you can bridge the speakers to make them parallel...but then you may have to bridge the amp cause it like the same power will be comin out in the end cause u'll only be using 2 channels of the amp

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

Is there not a large quality difference in PG and Zapco?
Also what about the RMS matching....am I heaing incorrect things about that?

you always want to match rms. overpowering doesn't nessecarily blow speakers. clipping does. read the gain setting tutorial before you hook up your amp.

 

[creater 10+ year member]

dont recommend what i just said....cause there would be ohmage difference

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

I would second the notion for the 800.4 plenty of power and it is a great quality amp.

 

[DeathtoToasters 10+ year member]

Ok that makes sense....

So we are talking about almost a $400 difference between the PG and the Zapco...wow...big difference...

Also what about the JL 450/4..... is that something I should still consider?

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

Ok that makes sense....
So we are talking about almost a $400 difference between the PG and the Zapco...wow...big difference...

Also what about the JL 450/4..... is that something I should still consider?

again it's a good amp but the PG and orion are both good quality amps that can be had cheaper.

 

[DeathtoToasters 10+ year member]

I would second the notion for the 800.4 plenty of power and it is a great quality amp.

I hate marketing!!! Ok... when I speak to any of the local shops who DON'T sell PG, they all say get JL.... lol

geez....

So should I assume that there is a difference in quality between the zapco and PG.....but not so much of a difference to make up for double the cost?