amplifier advice Options

[99Celica]

I'm getting boston sx60's component speakers put in my car and i'm searching for the right amp for them. They are rated at 65 W RMS.

I've been looking at the Alpine F300 and the Alpine KTP-445

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500MRPF300/Al...tures_and_specs

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500KTP445/Alp...ack.html?tp=115

Will these do a good job pushing my front and rear speakers? I don't blast my music ever, i'm going for crystal clear sound. Also will a 65+ RMS amp make a considerable sound quality difference over these 45 and 50 RMS amps or just allow me to make ears bleed?

Any alternatives if these won't do?

Travis

[99Celica]

bump for some bump advice

[SoundSlut_dotcom]

crutchfield is expensive,, u should be able to run those off of a no name brand amp. (alot cheaper then that)

i would go to an audio shop and ask to be sure, bring the box your stuff came in.

[99Celica]

Well I'm just using Crutchfield as reference, I can get them at a cheaper price. I'd rather stay with a name I can trust as far as audio goes. I've witnessed off-brand amps overheating and possessing a short life-span

Will I notice any difference between a 45RMS and 70RMS amp powering these speakers (65 RMS) if I don't blast my music? I also heard that buying a stronger amp and lowering the power puts much less stress on the amp and increases lifespan, is this significant?

[quick_5hifter]

Yes you will notice a difference between a 45w and a 70w amplifier. It is recommended that you use an amplifier that can provide more power than the speakers can handle (not too much, just a little, 70w should do just fine).
The explanation is pretty simple:
You will always find two numbers specified for the power of the speakers - the RMS power and the PEAK power. The speakers are made to work in optimum condition if you supply their RMS power, but they can handle powers up to the PEAK power specified (in your case, 130-200 w max.). The speakers will not burn if you amplify them with more RMS power than specified for them (but less than their peak).
On the other hand, the amplifier's power is only expressed in RMS watts, that is the maximum power it can supply. If you exceed this power by connecting a more powerful speaker, the terminals (I don't know their exact name) will be forced to supply more power than they can handle, resulting in overheating and eventually burning the amplifier. Of course, you would notice the big power differences by hearing distortion at higher volume levels...

From my point of view, "trusted" brands are:
-Harmann Kardon (JBL, Infinity)
-Pioneer
-Alpine
-Blaupunkt
-Ground Zero Audio
-Maxxsonics (Hifonics, Crunch, MB Quart)
-JL Audio
-MTX
-Rockford Fosgate etc.

I've tested most of these brands and I've chosen Ground Zero. They are just fine, no matter what you're looking for (SQ, SPL or daily use) and they are pretty cheap.

[99Celica]

Hey thanks for the advice quickshifter. I've been looking at 70-80 x 4 rms amplifiers and came up with 2 amps at a price I like.

Infinity Reference 475a

Crunch P1400.4

The Infinity Amp is 140 with a 90 day full replacement warranty or 110 Refurbished with a 1 year full replacement warranty. I've bought refurbished items in the past, including my computer and trust them. Is a refurbished amplifier worth messing around with?

[quick_5hifter]

I would choose the Crunch, NEW.
The Infinity amp is fine too, but also NEW. I wouldn't go for the refurbished parts when it comes to audio. You might be lucky, but I don't think that they sound like the original brand new... plus the price difference is not very high.

One more thing I've noticed: 100 watts RMS from Harmann Kardon sound like ~75 watts from Maxxsonics.To be more specific, my 400w rms Hifonics amplifier sounded more powerful than a 400w rms JBL amplifier, used on the same subwoofer... I have a good opinion about both brands (I was a JBL fan for a while), but Hifonics really impressed me. I wasn't expecting better results for less money!

PS: JBL and Infinity are like Toyota and Lexus: Infinity and Lexus are the "deluxe" and more expensive versions of the same technology.
Hifonics and Crunch are practically the same, even the price is almost the same... the only difference is the appearance.

This post has been edited by quick_5hifter: May 28, 2009 - 5:13 PM

[trdproven]

Their website should have a power to amp chart.

[freddy121389]

i use a site ikesound.com, they're really good I've boughten stuff from them and they're really dependable and good customer service too. The more RMS you have the more clear your speakers are gonna sound when you turn them up louder. With 65RMS speakers you want to get within 10RMS of them. http://ikesound.com/hifonics_txi4406 This is the brand of amps I use, they're a little power hungry but they're really great amps that are very dependable and they have neat features like safety shutoff, like once water leaked in my trunk and got my amp wet it automatically shut off so not to damage itself it was neat just needed to dry it off and it was fine. Also they're cheaper than most other amps out there, most companys like alpine and JBL use their name to advertise because they're well known and everyone wants well known brands to show off, Hifonics has always been just as good as them but a little underground. Anyone who knows about car audio knows about Hifonics. Reason being noone uses them is because they're aren't well known. If you don't care about telling your friends about what you got pushing your speakers than consider this amp it's worth it.

[quick_5hifter]

i use a site ikesound.com, they're really good I've boughten stuff from them and they're really dependable and good customer service too. The more RMS you have the more clear your speakers are gonna sound when you turn them up louder. With 65RMS speakers you want to get within 10RMS of them. http://ikesound.com/hifonics_txi4406 This is the brand of amps I use, they're a little power hungry but they're really great amps that are very dependable and they have neat features like safety shutoff, like once water leaked in my trunk and got my amp wet it automatically shut off so not to damage itself it was neat just needed to dry it off and it was fine. Also they're cheaper than most other amps out there, most companys like alpine and JBL use their name to advertise because they're well known and everyone wants well known brands to show off, Hifonics has always been just as good as them but a little underground. Anyone who knows about car audio knows about Hifonics. Reason being noone uses them is because they're aren't well known. If you don't care about telling your friends about what you got pushing your speakers than consider this amp it's worth it.

Great answer! Now stop reading my mind please!
Hifonics and Crunch are both powered by Maxxsonics (together with MBQuart), they are practically the same but they look different. If I wasn't a GZ fan right now, I'd use Hifonics all the way.

[99Celica]

So i've decided to go with the Crunch P1400.4

Now for the wires, from what I've read, I believe 4 gauge is "good" enough but 2 is preffered? Any recommendations on a brand or any brands I should stay away from?

[itssteve]

i would say go to sonicelectronix.com and get a kicker 1/0ga kit which is a dual amp kit and run that then use the distro blocks that way you can add a amp for a sub later if you want or just get a 4ga kit from there kicker is really easy to work with, or check out knukoncepts which has wonderful wire really cheap