Total noob here... i'm looking to get a decent begginer system.

[xenobreak 10+ year member]

I would agree with the others, to leave the rear speakers stock and power them off the Head Unit. Spend the money on your front stage. Get an amp for the front speakers and put a new component set in your doors. 6 1/2" are worth the effort to make them fit.
You need 2 amp "channels" for your front speakers. One for Left, one for Right. Music is recorded in "stereo" (stereophonic), which means 2 channels = Left and Right. The channels must be amplified seperately to keep the signals distinct. Think of it like Hot and Cold. You have to keep them seperate or else you just get Warm, or in this case Monophonic, which you don't want.

The sub needs another channel (the sub is mono, that's okay). So you need three channels total. You can either get 2 amplifiers (a 2 channel and a mono sub amp) or a 4 channel and bridge 2 of the channels to make it into a 3 channel amp, with the 3 rd channel being twice as powerfull as channels 1 & 2. This is a good way to build an extreme budget set up.

what does "power them off the Head Unit" mean? I understand using 2 channels for front left and front right and then 1/2 channels for the sub but what about the back two speakers? Do i just not connect them to the amp at all?

 

[xenobreak 10+ year member]

im looking at this sub btw: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_16493_Pioneer+TS-W308D4.html

dunno if that will help determine a good AMP to go with it or not...

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

what does "power them off the Head Unit" mean? I understand using 2 channels for front left and front right and then 1/2 channels for the sub but what about the back two speakers? Do i just not connect them to the amp at all?

Head unit is the term for the "stereo" in your dash. You said you had an "aftermarket" stereo. It has a built in amplifier for your speakers, but they are small and poor quality. It's fine to run your rear speaker off of, but for your front speakers you will want an external amplifier.

You connect the front left and right speakers to channels 1 & 2 of an external amp, like the one in the links I gave. The sub needs another channel (or two channels bridged together). The rear speakers are already connected to the amplifer in your "head unit", leave them that way.

 

[xenobreak 10+ year member]

oh ok i get it now thanks

What about that Sub i was looking at? http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_16493_Pioneer+TS-W308D4.html

Can you recommend an AMP to power that and my 2 speakers setup like you explained?

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

im looking at this sub btw: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_16493_Pioneer+TS-W308D4.html
dunno if that will help determine a good AMP to go with it or not...

I don't know that model, but it is probably fine. Do a search on here if you want. The problem with it is; it wont' go well with the amp I suggested. That model has dual 4 ohm voice coils. Which means they must be wired together which will make it a 2 ohm load or 8 ohm load. You must correctly match the ohm load of the sub and the amp.

Don't get confused. It's not too complicated. For the amp I suggested you would want a single 4 ohm sub or a dual 2 ohm (which can then be wired to 4 ohms). The amp I suggested when bridged requires a 4 ohm load. It will give you 300 watts at 4 ohm bridged, which is a lot of power for so little money.

So either find another sub, or another amp. IMO, it will be easier to find another sub that will give you 4 ohm, that amp is a steal of a price.

Ah, here is the same sub in a dual 2 ohm model. This one can be wired to be 4 ohm which will match the amp I suggested perfectly.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_8341_Pioneer+TS-W307D2.html

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

oh ok i get it now thanks
What about that Sub i was looking at? http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_16493_Pioneer+TS-W308D4.html

See above

Can you recommend an AMP to power that and my 2 speakers setup like you explained?

Either get a 4 channel amp or two 2 channel amps. Those profile 2 channel amps are so f'ing cheap that it would be hard to find amps of that power and quality for less money.

I would suggest just buying 2 of those profile 2 channel amps. One for your front speakers, Left & Right and another amp for your sub. On the sub amp follow the instructions to mono bridge the channels for the sub at 4 ohms.

That would give you a clean 100 watts RMS for each of your front L & R speakers and 300 watts RMS for your sub. I doubt you'll find a better deal for $90, and certainly not with a factory warranty.

 

[xenobreak 10+ year member]

I see

 

[xenobreak 10+ year member]

How would this AMP work with the duel 4 ohm model? (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_16493_Pioneer+TS-W308D4.html)

AMP: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_10420_Power+Acoustik+REACT4-900.html

Or any of these?

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_i25_multi-channel-amps.html

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

That would be a decent begginer system for not a lot of money. Do a good job installing it all and it should sound good, last a long time and sound better than most systems that cost alot more because they bought the wrong gear or installed it poorly.

Look at some of the install threads to see how others have done it. If you can scrape the money together and spend a little more on some dampening material like SecondSkin DP it will significantly improve the bass output of your front speakers and reduce the rattling sound.

 

[blackdragonaudi 10+ year member]

Pm sent to you man I can help you out on this.

 

[xNaStYx 10+ year member]

xeno where in NY?

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

How would this AMP work with the duel 4 ohm model? AMP: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_10420_Power+Acoustik+REACT4-900.html

These amps would still require the dual 2 ohm sub model to bridge at 4 ohms.
That amp will give you 70 watts for each of your front speakers and only 100 watts for you sub. It is not bridgable so you would only be able to use a single channel for the sub, and leave you with an extra unused 4th channel. IMO, not a good match. The profile is a better choice.

Or any of these?

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_i25_multi-channel-amps.html

This one looks good. More RMS power than the 2 profiles. Do a search on here for the specific model.

$99

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_17500_Crunch+GPV+1000.4+-GPV1000.4-.html

 

[xenobreak 10+ year member]

How about this one?

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_9173_SPL+FX4-1200.html

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

ETA; you still need the dual 2 ohm model to bridge a 4 channel amp at 4 ohm. That will be true of almost all 2 or 4 channel amps. Usually only mono subwoofer amps will give their best output at 2 ohms (or less).

A dual 4 ohm sub can be wired to either 8 ohms or 2 ohms.

A dual 2 ohm sub can be wired to either 4 ohms or 1 ohm.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

How about this one?http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_9173_SPL+FX4-1200.html

I wouldn't. I'd pick either the Profile or the Crunch amps over that one. The bridged power is less than either of the Profile or the Crunch.

SPL is NOT a quality brand amp, so your not likely to get a reliable amp. Expect problems and short life from most of the cheap amps.

Profiles have a very good rep as the best of the budget brands right now, and crunch has had a similar rep for a long time. Both good dudget brands and well known for good customer service if there is a problem.