What amp do I need?

[Kiasis]

Just about to buy all new speakers. Planning on Infinite Reference 9633cf 6 x 9 300 watt 3-way and Reference 6030cs 6.5 27-watt 2-way components. Looked at Kappa, but figured I wouldn't know the difference. If anyone has experience with these, or a better choice, it would be much appreciated.

Head unit is a Pioneer DEH-5800MP.

Question: what amp (make, model, power rating, etc) would you recommend to maximize these (or similar) speakers? May add sub-woofer later, but not a priority right now. Is their a single sub that would be good enough for these speakers, or is two really the way to go? Or, should I just drive the 6.5s off the deck and get a single amp for 6 x 9s.

Not looking to enter any stereo competition. Just want good volume and clean sound. Music is classic (70s, 80s), hard rock, and some heavy metal.

Thanks for any and all (constructive) input!

[3point0coupe]

what the RMS on the speaker ?

[uibalnme]

With those speakers, any amp that can do 4x150w RMS should work.

For a sub, look into a 10" or 12" Pioneer shallow mount sub. They run ~1000watts max(depending on the model), and don't take up that much space. I have one, and it works great with rock, and metal.

[Kiasis]

6 x 9 RMS is 100 watts
6.5 RMS is 90 watts

4 x 150w RMS amp. Gotcha. Any brand recommendations?

I assume that a future sub would require another amp?

[uibalnme]

Originally Posted by Kiasis

6 x 9 RMS is 100 watts
6.5 RMS is 90 watts

4 x 150w RMS amp. Gotcha. Any brand recommendations?

I assume that a future sub would require another amp?

Just go with any amp that has those specs. If you can find an amp that can do 4x150W RMS for cheap, get that one.

The sub will need a dedicated amp. For that, get an amp that matches the sub's max wattage. So, if the sub is 1000w max, get an amp that can do 1000w max. This is where you don't want to cheap out on brand. Get a brand name amp for the sub. I'd suggest rockford fosgate, mtx, kicker, and so on...

[ArmyRangerSean]

agree with the 4x150 for the indoor speakers you might be better off running em off the deck as if you run more than 1 amp you'll need a distribution block and a capacitor. As for subs if you only want one id recommend a JL Audio 10 or 12 w3 or w6 they are hands down some of the best subs ever made as for an amp I recommend Autotek brand amps I have had several over the years and they hit hard and arent too expensive plus they are made by the same people who make mb quart, crunch, and hifonics. I have never had one burn out and am using a 1400 watt autotek right now to run 3 jl 10w3's in my car.

[uibalnme]

He isn't adding a sub yet, so he can worry about the dist. block, and cap later. The HU will not supply the speakers with enough power without an amp. Sound clipping, speaker damage, and eventual HU damage can result from running speakers with those specs w/o an amp. Been there, done that, will never do that again.

[SexieWASD]

Ok, here goes (btw those speaker have a nice sound to them, you will not regret buying them)

You have the chance to make a really good sounding system with those components, but you will need a sub to do it. First you will need to pick a four channel amp with high pass crossovers. Those mid-basses do not have a high pass on them, only the tweeters do. Having a high pass on the mids means that they wont be trying to reproduce sub level signal, they can go quite low, but not that low (I have songs with 10hz in them). That will allow you to turn them up louder without damaging them.

Hook up the four channel amp accordingly to both the front and rear speakers, then plan on getting a 12" sealed sub. You won't need anything more than 800w RMS to get that satisfying kick drum feel.

after you have done that you will have a pretty good sounding system, but their is more you can do to improve it a lot. You will be missing a section of the mid frequencies up front some where between where the mid-basses roll off, and the tweeters pick it back up. unfortunately this is about where most dirty rock guitar is. you can pick up a set of 4" mid-range drivers that can sit next to the mid basses in the doors (with a little cutting). You can run those directly from the head unit without problems.

It will start to sound really good now, but wait, there's more! you can still improve the sound staging (where it sounds like the sound is coming from). Buy a high end head unit such as the Pioneer 880PRS It has delay adjustments so you can make sure that the sound from each speaker hits you head at the same time, making it sound like the speakers are all an equal distance apart, then you just need to spend a lot of time playing with the adjustments until it sounds as good as it ever will.

The only thing left to do would be to add sound dampening to the car's cabin.

It all starts with the four channel amp with high pass crossovers, If you don't want to expand and improve the system more later, then don't, but you will have the option to improve it all the way to competition grade if you feel like it.

ohh, btw, you won't need caps or a high output alternator or fancy huge power wires, just a battery that is in good condition. A sound quality system doesn't need to be a high wattage one, and if you pick good quality amps the stock power system will be able to handle it just fine. I've run 1500w RMS on the stock power system (albeit with fancy huge power wire) and only had problems at max output with the lights on.

Here are some amp recommendations for different budgets.

Kicker ZX650.4

Rockford Fosgate T600-4

Hifonics ZXi150.4 -budget amp (easy to find used)

Sundown Audio SAX-100.4 - personal favorite

[Kiasis]

Thanks for all the good feedback and advice. Looks like there is general consensus how to proceed. Always a good thing

I think I'm good to go for now. Sub will probably sooner rather than later (I hate leaving something 'not quite finished') but I'm guessing that even without the sub, this will be dramatic improvement over the 11-yr old Toyota speakers - all 15w of 'em! Thanks guys.

[werkit217]

Yea i agree with big Sexie here. What i would recommend if you dont like wiring or dont have alot of knowledge in hooking up subs n amps, if you get a quality 5 channel amp maybe 800-1000watt with the hi-pass filters stated by SexieWASD (I personally have a 5 channel Kicker amp), you should be good to go to power any sub (although i always recommend a JL W3 sub for normal applications cuz its such a quality sub) you drop in there in conjunction with your components n your 6x9's.

Since you are planning to just have nice sounding system with no intention to go competition, I also recommend a SINGLE sub for your application of music genres. You DON'T need to subs or 1000watt amp for the subs, this is a misconception of people. Again you aren't planning in going to competition nor want bass heavy music, you want more SQ than SPL.

To make the most of your sub selection, please mind if I'm startin to ramble on- im a huge audiophile, if you buy a pre-made sub enclosure (be sure to get a sealed enclosure, again for your type of music genre) go ahead n get your self a $1.50 tube of silicone sealer for windows, and RE-caulk the inside of the enclosure to ensure you have "SEALED" box since these companies are cheap n skimp out on ensuring the box is completely sealed.

Aside from making sure that the box is sealed, to ensure optimal performance from your sub, try to get an enclosure that meets the size specifications required for the sub to allow sound-waves to travel within the box itself, not just your trunk.

One more recommendation i give to people as far as a sub choice, get a 10" if you want tight bass (i think it would match your genres better) and 12" if you want louder bass (usually if you listen to more rap or r&b). Don't feel obligated to purchase everything together, however, be sure you have all your necessary components (speakers/speaker wire/amp install kits/ HU/ amp) to do the installation all at once so you don't have to take apart your car multiple times


Good Luck! Let us know how it turns out for you.