Author Topic: Which AMP to buy??  (Read 4534 times)

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Offline Habibosaurus

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Which AMP to buy??
« on: Jan 20, 2008, 08:54PM »
Watup, smee again.

I'm thinking about getting an AMP for my car. Basically I have a Sony Xplod 52x4 headunit, 100w Cadence 4inch up front and 300w 6x9s in the rear. I know, nothing spectacular but decent enough for me as I'm not trying to get Hecktik Sounds Uleh... ::)

Anyways I figure I would get an AMP and just needed some advice on which one I should possibly get?

I searched and the General consensus is that the Top End Alpines and JL are awesome however I don't think I need one of those as I'm not gonna be running a sub. Also, the Jaycar AMP seems to be getting positive feedback.

Price isn't really an issue however don't want to fork out for a top end 1000w AMP if I don't really need it.

Advice Stooges??? :P
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Offline Sticky

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #1 on: Jan 20, 2008, 10:39PM »
i really dont think you need an amp if all you are running is a set of 4" and 6x9s.

id look at replacing the 4" with some 6" splits or similar, then look at getting an amp to run them.

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Offline Jono

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #2 on: Jan 21, 2008, 10:16PM »
Yeah get some speakers that actually sound decent and can use a bit of extra power before you think about amping them.
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Offline rathies

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #3 on: Jan 21, 2008, 11:17PM »
and jaycar amps aren't that great...they're the vl turbo of amps uleh! Plenty of engine noise without a capacitor.
If you want an affordable quality amp thats not over-rated i'd go for a pioneer or old school alpine.
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Offline Jono

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #4 on: Jan 22, 2008, 06:27PM »
and jaycar amps aren't that great...they're the vl turbo of amps uleh! Plenty of engine noise without a capacitor.
If you want an affordable quality amp thats not over-rated i'd go for a pioneer or old school alpine.

Most of Pioneer's amps are underpowered.

Kenwood or JBL would be my pick.
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Offline Sticky

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #5 on: Jan 23, 2008, 09:28AM »
Most of Pioneer's amps are underpowered.

Kenwood or JBL would be my pick.

Overpriced and underpowered! lol

JBL FTW, ill get bagged for this, but the new footprint series sony amps are mint

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The best engine in the world is the vagina, it takes any size piston, its self lubricating, starts with 1 finger, and every 4 weeks does its own oil change. It's just a pity the management system is so f**king temperamental.

The Human Torch was denied a bank loan

Offline Habibosaurus

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #6 on: Jan 23, 2008, 09:25PM »
Cheers guys for the advice. I have been contemplating getting bigger speakers in the front for awhile now and lo and behold, a mate of mine who is stripping his Lude gave me his old 6inch speakers.

They're are Audio Zone 6inch, 60w NOM, 240 Max with 4 Impedance whatever that is... as you can tell I am just reading from the back of them ;).

They're are probably not top of the range but I remember when they were in his car it ran really well, so I had a thought some may think stupid, fuully sick I don't know lol.

Basically I wanted to put 2 6 inch in the front (if they fit behind the factory covers which I don't think they would so probably have to cut them out, spacers etc) 2 6inch in the rear door and leave the 6x9s at the very rear of the car.

Does that mean 4 6inches at 240 Max = 960W + 300w 6x9 = 1260w I would need from an AMP?

My mate in an old Celica did something like this and it sounded awesome bar a sub so really keen on this because I paid... well I paid nothing for the 6inch speakers so figure put them in eh... what are your thoughts?

BTW I had stuff installed by JB so probably get them to do it again. Peace everyone.. 8) 8)
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Offline JelloBello

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #7 on: Jan 23, 2008, 09:47PM »
Ignore the Maximum rating - it's only a marketing ploy :)

You're interested the the Nominal/RMS power rating, this applies to both amps and speakers.

Speakers in the back is imo rather pointless unless you have passengers ALOT of the time who want to be able to hear clear music. Best way to go is a decent pair of 6" splits up the front (where you sit) a subwoofer in the boot and maybe a pair of cheap 6" coaxials in the rear to keep passengers happy.

Also, the "4 impedance" is the resistance of the voice coil in the speaker (normal for car audio, home is normally 8ohm and subwoofers are normally 1-4 ohm) but there's no need to worry about any of that unless you're wiring up a 2 subwoofers or just one with two voice coils :D
« Last Edit: Jan 23, 2008, 09:58PM by JelloBello »
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Offline rathies

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #8 on: Jan 23, 2008, 09:50PM »
Also, the 4 ohm impedance is the resistance of the voice coil in the speaker (normal for car audio, home is normally 8ohm and subwoofers are normally 1-4 ohm)

impediance and resistance don't belong in the same sentence man. the voice coil resistance is 4 ohm and it requires an amp that impedes at 4ohm. just to clarify..lets not get too techincal
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Offline JelloBello

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #9 on: Jan 23, 2008, 09:57PM »
Yeh, I know - didn't come out right. I was just trying to explain what "4 impedance" meant on the back of the speaker
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Offline Habibosaurus

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #10 on: Jan 23, 2008, 10:36PM »
Ignore the Maximum rating - it's only a marketing ploy :)

You're interested the the Nominal/RMS power rating, this applies to both amps and speakers.

                                                                                                                                             So if they say 60 NOM that means four of them would be 180watts? Is that how your supposed to calculate for speakers how much power you need?                                                                                                                                                   And that marketing ploy like how much the speakers can handle rather than how much they make kind of like how much engines can handle rather than how much it makes in stock form? Love subs, don't want 1 yet though. :)
Ill fight you. May even throw a bar of soap your way. Maybe a few wax strips and some clip on brembo brake calipers for your fooly sic civic.

Offline rathies

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #11 on: Jan 23, 2008, 11:12PM »
                                                                                                                                             So if they say 60 NOM that means four of them would be 180watts? Is that how your supposed to calculate for speakers how much power you need?   
omg kill me now...amps are rated per channel, so there is no need to add up speaker ratings. if you have a 4x60wrms amp it means whatever you connect to each channel will receive 60wrms. Generally you connect 1 speaker to each channel. yes you can connect more but that gets alot more complicated for the level I can see your at habib.

There are also vn commodore douchebags that think because thier pioneer 6x9's are rated at 400w they have 400w of power in the back shelf 'yo. Your speaker has a power rating yes, but its the amount of power that goes into it that counts.
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Offline JelloBello

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #12 on: Jan 23, 2008, 11:27PM »
It's a marketing ploy because the speaker will rarely if ever use it's peak power, it's just a bigger number to impress consumers. Some of the really cheap stuff is marketed as say 500W but in reality they're only something like 20wrms.
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Offline Sticky

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #13 on: Jan 24, 2008, 12:11AM »
unless the product is CEA compliant, dont believe anything that is stated on the box or speaker

Quote

The best engine in the world is the vagina, it takes any size piston, its self lubricating, starts with 1 finger, and every 4 weeks does its own oil change. It's just a pity the management system is so f**king temperamental.

The Human Torch was denied a bank loan

Offline Jono

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #14 on: Jan 24, 2008, 12:48AM »
No-one's pointed it out yet, so I will: Audiozone stuff is SHIT. Those speakers probably cost $30 new. If they cost any more he got ripped off. You're nearly better off using the standard speakers if they're in good nick.
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Offline Habibosaurus

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #15 on: Jan 24, 2008, 02:46PM »
omg kill me now...amps are rated per channel, so there is no need to add up speaker ratings. if you have a 4x60wrms amp it means whatever you connect to each channel will receive 60wrms. Generally you connect 1 speaker to each channel. yes you can connect more but that gets alot more complicated for the level I can see your at habib.

There are also vn commodore douchebags that think because thier pioneer 6x9's are rated at 400w they have 400w of power in the back shelf 'yo. Your speaker has a power rating yes, but its the amount of power that goes into it that counts.


First of all guys, major apologies if the questions I am asking are blatantly obvious. As you can tell I know jack all :)

ROFL at the VN comment... lol.

Still sussing out what I'm going to do but will probably ask more questions if that's okay?  8)
Ill fight you. May even throw a bar of soap your way. Maybe a few wax strips and some clip on brembo brake calipers for your fooly sic civic.

Offline Habibosaurus

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #16 on: Jan 24, 2008, 03:37PM »

Still sussing out what I'm going to do but will probably ask more questions if that's okay?  8)

Man I just contradicted myself, I asked a question about a question.  ::)

Anyways much appreciated for the constrsuctive feedback, I still want to get speakers in the rear door though.

I'm sussing out some 6inch bastards, was passing by JB so popped in and saw, well saw a bloody heap of them.

The guy I spoke to was really cool and recommended for 6inch either Alpine Typer R s or Orion something.

I figure if I buy some new ones get a decent set so which ones are decent mainly for dance, rap, rnb and Arabic/Indian music? I'm not really a big fan of absolute clear tweeter sounding speakers and don't need major clarity for rock or anything though the old Blink or Red Hot Chilli Peppers gets played occasionally.

Based on your experiences what would you recommend o Yoda's of Sound... gosh I'm a dick for using that one. ;D

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Offline Sticky

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Re: Which AMP to buy??
« Reply #17 on: Jan 24, 2008, 07:41PM »
just get something good quality, dont buy shit that will fuck up 9-12 mths down the track...do it once, do it right.

you can get away with a good set of splits for around $250 these days

Quote

The best engine in the world is the vagina, it takes any size piston, its self lubricating, starts with 1 finger, and every 4 weeks does its own oil change. It's just a pity the management system is so f**king temperamental.

The Human Torch was denied a bank loan