Ok I have Polk audio components front and rear. They sound great with no amp but I was wondering if they would sound noticeably better with an amp?

 

idk about better, but much louder

 

Absolutely they will sound better; if you upgrade the headunit as well, you will really see a difference.

 

well I have an alpine head unit not sure which one but i also plan on adding a sub. Would a 5 channel amp work so i wouldnt need 2 amps.?

 

Adding an amp is well worth it. Will make them much clearer at higher volumes.
A 5 ch will work also if you plan on doing a single 10 or 12
Be careful which amp you choose some of the 5 ch amps are garbage.

 

If you have a best buy around go in there and listen to something like the alpine components or something similar with and without an amp. The difference is very big, depending upon the amplifier.

 

They will sound at least twice as loud, however it really depends on your head unit on how much clearer they will sound. A high end alpine with 3 preouts is obviously the best solution. But one with two would work for your set up as well. Boostwhore is right though. Most 5 channels are just big and don't perform. Best bet is to have a sub amp and aeither a 2 or 4 channel for the speakers.

Just my opinion

 

Add an amp.

The speakers are rated for 10-100 watts RMS and at most your head unit probably only puts about about 22 watts RMS at the most. When you turn your volume up higher and the radio peaks out at the 22 watts RMS, the Polks will start to get distorted and from here you will start damaging your speakers. By under powering speakers, they are at higher risk of blowing than being over powered.

And since you want a sub, depending on how much bass you want, you can run one amp. I have a 6 channel amp in my Evo and I bridged the last two channels to power a sub at 300 watts RMS, which is enough for me.

 

thanks for this info - i had the same questions.

 

id throw a 4 channel amp in for the comps and jus throw a mono in for the sub. the amp will make your comps sound incredibly better

 

Yes, it will sound better with a (good) amp. The sound will improve even more if you disconnect the rear speakers.

 

Disconnect? I understand staging and what-not, but I haven't seen too many setups that completely eliminate the rear fill.

 

Amp is always good to improve the sound and separate the bass from voice level.

 

Yes definitely add an amp. Our cars are pretty noisy on the road especially if you have an aftermarket exhaust. Even with my amp, I'm having to turn up the volume fairly high to drown out all those wonderful Evo noises.

 

Visit any car audio forum not focused on SPL. Even the semi-educated bassheads on CA.com will suggest eliminating rear fill. There's no reason to have rear speakers, unless one's aim is to increase the quantity of sound at the expense of its quality.

Truth be told, automotive forums are the only places I've ever come across in 30+ years of audio where folks simply install rear speakers as a matter of course. Why would someone go through an extended install and spend more money only to get worse sound quality? I really don't get it. Is it because there are speakers in the rear to begin with? Almost every Evo on here gets rear speakers. It's like the folks who plaster asphalt-based, useless garbage like Fatmat all over their interiors, and other copying the inane process without a clue as to its purpose.