Car Audio...

[skandy32]

Ok, i'm not a complete beginner to the idea of a stereo system to a car. But i have become slightly confuddled when looking into some 6x9s, subs and amps.

ok here goes.... (i'll number the quiestions, to make it easier for you guys to answer...)

i have an alpine head unit... 4X50W, which i think means it can only throw out 4 50W outputs..? at the minute i have 4 standard car speakers connected to it.

1 ) If i upgrade to say 4 75W car speakers... i'm guessing it'll still work, just not to the speakers full potential?

2 ) if i want 6x9s in the boot, i will need an amp to power them? would this power all the other 4 speakers too? (6spkers in total?)

3 ) Would i need a seperate amp for a sub?

4 ) what does 2 / 3 / 4 channel amps mean? difference?

5 ) what does 'RMS' stand for on speakers? i thought it was like the standard input? then the max was if i amplified it, thats the max of the speakers?

6 ) am i making any sense to anybody?

7 ) i would like to stick to alpine goods, (cos i'm a little fussy when things dont match!) so could somebody point me in the right direction of 6x9s, small sub + amp as cheap as poss?

thankyou in advance chaps and chapesses.... i have looked on the search but i cant find all my answers...

cheers

andy

[george_seamons]

1.) Correct.

2.) You don't have to, but it would sound better. Unless you get a 4 channel amp, and leave 2 speakers un-amped, then no, the amp won't power them all.

3.) Yes.

4.) 2/3/4 channel amps do exactly what they say on the tin. You can have four seperate speakers. 2 seperate speakers, and one "bridged" output (usually for a sub). Or 2 "bridged" outputs

5.) RMS (Root Mean Squared) is basically the average power the speaker can handle. Peak readings mean very little, because there is very rarely that much power going to the speaker.

6.) Yup. I hope I am too :-

7.) Have a look on http://www.incarexpress.co.uk for cheap audio goodness. I highly recommend Alpine stuff, it quite simply rocks.

Feel free to add me to MSN if you want anymore help.

[RyanRs]

for question 1.. your answer is correct, but i would like to add a bit!.. Basically if you have a 50w output powering a 75w speaker, you are underpowering the speaker and it can damage both the head unit's pre amp and the speaker. this is because the speaker will be trying to pull its full 75w from the head unit, but as the head unit cannot supply,the pre amp struggles and sends more than normal ammount of distortion to the speaker (altho you cannot hear it) which can over heat the internal coil and brake the speaker.

it is better to over power the speaker slightly than under power it, ie 60w output, 50w speaker. But your obvious best option, for better sound quality and better life length, match the ratings, ie 50w / 50w. if you want 150w 6x9's then you need a 150w amp.

As for alpine 6x9's, im running type R's as they are ace, but they are £150 a pair. Type -s are the next ones down from type R, being the 3rd best in the series, these are cristal clear and LOUD! they are new at about £100 - £115. If you want a set of these, i have a set in very good condition that i am willing to sell for £60 + P&P. i think i still have the box etc.

Ry

Edited May 11, 2005 by RyanRs

[megamomac]

A head unit that is advertised at 50wx4 is infact closer to 15-17wrms, the 50w is a max power rating that atracts your attention.

i dont know how far you are wishing to go with car audio but 6x9's will pull your soundstage to the rear of the car, which is not ideal. a decent set of front component speakers amped will be a far wiser investment IMO.

also running 6x9's and a sub is antoher grey area. some say that the displacement of air caused by the sub can damage the 6x9's as they are sharing the same airsapce (i.e the boot cavity)

hth

alex

[skandy32]

ok amazing help guys.... thanks very much. but just to drag it along... i'll list a setup, i'm thinking about. and you or someone else can correct me if i get anything wrong....

headunit, 4X50W jobby

( i have 2 preouts on my headunit, soi'm guessing that means 2 amps? if so..... follow my idea....)

connected to

2 amps - amp

connected to: -

1) for the 4 car speakers ( a 4channel!?) - mite not bother with amp here.....

2) for 6x9s + sub (3channel!?)

one more thing.... crossovers???dont know what they are, but is that any help to me?

[george_seamons]

Personally I wouldn't bother with 4 speakers AND 6x9's. Either have 2 in the front, and 2 in the rear, or 2 in the front and 6x9's.

As Megamomac said, running 6x9's and a sub in the boot is considered bad practise, and if you have rear speakers anyway, there's not really much point.

What car do you have? Are you sure the speakers are 10cm? (that's the size of the speakers you gave a link to)

Good choice on the amp though. I can vouch for it that the sound quality is ace (I have it's little brother, the 2 channel, and even that whoops ass)

Sub is fine too. You'll need a box though. They retail at about £30, although I made mine from MDF for about £5.

You don't really need 2 4 channel amps, its just unnessecery money spending. Personally I'd amp the front speakers on one amp, and get a dedicated sub amp (monoblock) for the sub, and run these off the preouts. You could then leave the rear speakers running off the headunit for fill-in.

As I said, knowing the type of car you have would help a great deal.

[skandy32]

What car do you have? Are you sure the speakers are 10cm? (that's the size of the speakers you gave a link to)

←

this is all going in my suzuki vitara... (soft top)

i brought some 13cm speakers already, but they're too big. I know its 10cm i need front and rear to replace the standard speakers...

my idea was roughly, if i kitted out the back end of the jeep so much, when the hood was taken off, i could be a mobile stereo, for beach parties (something that happens a lot on an island!!) or simular.

say i just upgraded the front speakers.... to those ones i mentioned. Then brought 6x9s and a sub and that amp. That ok? i see your point, 6 speakers is too many! lol

if all this were to take place.... would a second car battery be a sensible option to run the stereo for a long time without the enigne on?

cheers for the help! :S

[The enchanted broomstick]

to be honest it doesnt sound like you have the best idea on what to go for, take a trip down to your local wilco and get them to sort the lot for you. dont go buying anything second hand because its sure to have been caned and then you loose the quality.

If you just want LOUD then you dont need to go all out on things, buying a relatively cheap 15" sub will still kick out pretty damn well, you can pick up some cheap component speakers for the front and some cheap 6x9's for the rear. Really you could get a good load of speakers for around the £100 mark. The amp along with the headunit and the equalizer settings make most of the difference, so dont be fooled into thinking the more you spend the better sound and louder it gets.

stu :S

[megamomac]

sound advice there george, i would recommend the jbl gt4 sub as well in that price range, they take an absolute pounding before they die, they can take waaaaay above theire rated figures too.they need a bout 1.25 cubic foot (sealed).

you could use one of the 4 channel amps bridged to run front speakers, rears off the headunit for fill, as george said, but as its a vitara i cant see the need for rear fill really, the cabin is quite small. you would need a spitter for the rca's if you were to do this unless that amp has a mode switch to select 4/3/2 channel etc. and the second amp you could swap for a monoblock soley to run the sub.

basically echoing goerges points,

hth

alex