I have had a 240 watt Pioneer amp powering a Sony 12" sub that has been working well for awhile. I recently replaced all 4 speakers in my car with Infinity speakers and realized my car isn't able to power the new speakers so they pop and fade when I turn the volume up. I needed a new amp for them so I'm just gonna upgrade to new subs(either 10s or low-power 12s) and amps all at once. But I'm not very audio inclined so I have questions. 1. I was gonna find a powerful 3 or 4 channel amp and use it to power all the speakers and both subs, but a friend said that I should have a separate amp for the subs. I suppose this is ideal because I want to be able to get the bass mainly from the subs and only use the speakers for mids and highs. Is this possible to control on the amps(bass boost?)? 2. If I buy a new amp for the subs, would my old 240w be enough to power my 4 new speakers or would I need a new one? Its only a mono channel and I dont even know if it would be possible to hook it up to two pairs of speakers. 3. How advisable or beneficial would it be to invest in a separate battery placed in my trunk dedicated to my audio setup, as opposed to running it off my car battery? Any help with all of this would be really appreciated.

 

1. if you want to power all the speakers AND subs, you need a 5-channel amp, not 3 or 4. but it IS better to have separate amplifiers for speakers and subs. Also looks better. yes you can control the bass, mids, and highs with the amplifiers, as long as you have the right one powering the right speakers, like a 4 channel for door speakers, and a mono for subs.

2. do NOT use the 240 watt mono block for speakers. if you do, it will sound like garbage and only produce a mono sound signal, not stereo, so you wont even be getting all of the sounds of the music that you are listening to.

3. for a low powered system like this, you dont need a new battery. run 4 gauge wire to a distribution block, then 8 gauge to the 4 channel amp, and depending on how many watts the subs are, 4 or 8 gauge to the sub amp, making sure to put in-line fuses between the d-block and each amp, as well as between the d-block and battery (within 12 inches of the battery). i used to have a 1600 watt system and all I had was 4 gauge. but it never hurts to upgrade the big 3, battery ground wire, alternator to battery positive wire, and alternator to ground wire....

 

Thanks, thats alot of good advice. So if I run separate amps for the subs and speakers, should I get a two channel amp for the subs? And what kind of amp do I need for the four speakers(power and # of channels)? The speakers are all 6.5in and rated at 180w max and 60w RMS.

 

i suggest getting a mono amp for the subs. the amp you need cant be more than 60 watts RMS x 4 @ 4 ohm. I suggest getting a JL amp, i dont know what the most current model is, but I know they have one thats 45 watts rms x 4 @ 4 ohms, and that will be plenty of watts for door speakers.

 

Can you power two subs with a mono amp?

 

lol all day every day! i had my L7s on one amp....

 

took the words straight out of my fingers!

 

I just bought a 2-channel amp for my speakers and am getting two Sony 12s and a mono amp for the subs. I need to know what wiring I need to hook all this up. I dont wanna have to buy expensive wiring kits if its cheaper to buy all the lengths of wire separately. I've heard alot about going one size bigger on the wire gauge in case you ever wanna upgrade to more power, but I just want to make sure they're thick enough to support the amount of power I'm running without restricting the performance of my amps.

 

wow, you bought a 2-channel amp for speakers when i just specifically told you not to......i see my advice is no good here, sorry

 

Well I'm going with two separate amps rather than powering everything with one, so I didnt want a 5-channel. But the amp I bought goes perfectly with my speakers. Thats why I bought it. It can power one pair of speakers off each channel which is what I was lookin for. I just need help with the wiring, especially the lengths of wire that I need. I dont wanna buy an expensive wire kit and then have a bunch of wires leftover that I cant use. Did you say to use a 4-channel amp for door speakers cause you can use one channel for each individual speaker? What are the benefits of that over a 2-channel? Really, as long as I can power everything substantially then I'll be satisfied.

 

you use a 4-channel amp because it gives you pretty much stereo surround sound, and with a sub, it would be kind of like 4.1 sound in your car (although I have seen 5.1 too). with the 2-channel amp, depending on how you wire the speakers, you will either NOT be able to fade them front to back, or balance them left to right. thats why there are Front RCA outs and Rear RCA outs on radios, and not just "Speakers out." I highly suggest you get a 4-channel amp, trust me there are plenty of 4-channel amps that can meet your requirements, and i dont even know what speakers you have! what RMS wattage are your speakers and what is your price limit? Also, you will need about 40'-50' of speaker wire. when I had a 4-channel in my car, i bought 50' and had about 1-2' left over. if you "just want it to sound good", do it right!

 

I have Infinity 6.5in speakers all around. 180w max and 60w RMS@4ohms. And I've seen a 4/3/2 channel amp. I assume this means it has a 4-channel mode. Its only $30 more than the one I just bought so I can get it instead if thats better. But it says 70w RMS per speaker and my speakers are only rated for 60w RMS. Is this bad for my speakers and if so will I be able to turn the amp down so it wont overpower them?

 

I got the 4-channel amp and am getting the wiring kit in a couple days. You also said it would be good to upgrade the alternator to battery positive wire, battery ground wire, and alternator to ground wire. What kind of wire do you use to do this?

 

^^I upgraded it all to 0 gauge haha but you should be fine with 4 gauge

well, give me your price and ill find you a nice amp. chances are its a decent amp at best, that doesnt really put out what it says. if you have the money, I HIGHLY suggest getting JL or Alpine, or if your budget is a bit lower, I say go Hifonics:

JL:
J2 320.4

Alpine:
MRP-F300

Hifonics:
TXI 4408
ZXI 4410

 

Well its a Sony amp so I'm confident it'll be strong enough. I just dont wanna blow my speakers on accident because my amp is pushing too much power. I'm not sure how all that works. But if I can dial it up or down then that'll work.