Speaker level input amps recommends needed

[1991Brougham 10+ year member]

I am looking for advice on speaker level input amps. The RMS power rating I am aiming around is 50 watts per channel although if someone wants to point the way to a bit higher or lower power, that is fine. 2 or 4 channel amps can be recommended. Amp footprint should be able to fit on the floor underneath the reat seat of a 1991 Cadillac Brougham, which is pretty much the same car inside as a 1980's Caprice or other GM rear wheel drive full-sized car of that time. Budget is open as I like to know what the best costs and what the cheapest goes for as well as what makes the best ones good and the cheapest ones cheap. Stuff "in the middle" is fine too.

Thanks in advance,

Rick

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[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Why not go with a line out converter and then you can use any amp.

 

[1991Brougham 10+ year member]

Looking around I saw this unit, the Pioneer GM4300F, as a good one. It's a 40W RMS per channel amp and I can get one new/shipped for a bit over $100. The reviews on it and the one step up 60W amp, which is just a bit more, are good ones from the end users. There is a Pioneer Premier amp that does 75W and it will run in the $200's for a new one, about half that for a reconditioned unit.

Not wanting to hassle with caps, alternator upgrades and wiring thick enough to send power down the grid from the Hoover Dam, plus knowing my lady friend's Pioneer deck with 36W RMS a channel has never given any electrical problems, led me to figure that the 40W option was the best one at this time. The 40W uses a 40 amp fuse and the 60W uses a 100 amp fuse plus it requires a larger gauge of wire than the 40, so I'm figuring all that extra draw for the 60W means more expense in upgrading the electrical. Her 36W gets plenty loud for me and I'll have 10% more than that at 40W plus better speakers with the Pioneer REV 6x9's (highly praised here) and (thanks to recommends here) the Boston Acoustics 746 4x6's, which get rave reviews from their end users.

That's the plan right now. My first question would be if going with the 60W Pioneer is going to take what was apparently a safe situation with the 40W and risk me having to invest as much or more into an electrical system upgrade? At what point of power consumption does an electrical upgrade become required? The factory alternator on a 1991 Brougham is 100 amps per the factory service manual.

The line out converter idea would be a good one if these speaker level input amps were quite expensive. They're not, so by purchasing a line out converter and the amp, it would cost more to get the same amount of punch. Looking around I saw the Audiocontrol LC6I Signal Processor Line Out Converter would run around $130 shipped. That's more than the 40W amp and about the same as the 60W amp would be. There are el cheapo line converters out there but why trust them is my feeling? I'm out to have a Good System at a reasonable price as opposed to reprising my Kraco 8-track from 1973...LOL!

So far I've seen all good reviews on the speakers and amps I am considering from many sources, so I feel comfortable buying them. Obviously the Boston Acoustics 4x6 plates aren't as SQ as some quality door mounts and the 6x9's could get changed around via adapters to see something else in the back, but these speakers will do well enough for what they're being asked to do based on all I've read here and elsewhere plus they don't show a bit, so the stealth factor is maintained. The amp is small enough to go under the back seat so an open trunk shows nothing going on, even to the point of the factory speaker covers concealing the upgraded 6x9's. With no speakers showing in the door panels, the interior looks stock as can be. The generic-looking flat black/gray box shape of the 12 disc CD changer is all that shows and that is only in the daylight with a careful look.

Phoenix Gold offers a parametric equalizer and I can get one shipped for a bit under $100. The small size looks like it would mount under the ashtray, which stays opened out, so it would not show to an outside observer and would be hard to see for someone inside the Cadillac. If I want to twiddle with it as I drive I would just close the ashtray. The stealth is there but is this accessory a good idea? I read on one post here that adding it may increase the noise factor. Is either a 40W or 60W system high powered enough to worry about noise if the equalizer is properly wired in? The factory HU for a 1991 Cadillac has 5 preset equalization buttons with no adjustments, so that is why I was figuring on getting a parametric equalizer to dial in the tones where I want them. Is this a good or bad idea all in all?

Please do share your thoughts, especially if you are someone who has worked with GM full-sized sedans from the 1980's. I still have yet to buy so options can be mulled before hitting the buy button!

Rick