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[Neo_ZX]

I just recently bought two pairs of Rockford Fosgate speakers, 6.5" 3-ways in the back and 5.25" 2-ways in the front of my 2003 Honda Civic. Problem is, I got plenty of tweeter power but the bass just isn't there.

So now I'm stuck with having to buy an amp and sub. Problem is, I have no idea what to look for in an amp. Looking for recommendations for units/specs within $200-250 CDN.

I don't need HEAVY HEAVY bass. Just looking for something that can push a bit better than a pair of 6x9" speakers - maybe a 10" or 12" sub. Wondering if I can hook up the speakers to the amp as well (will it improve sound quality?)

Also, is there a way to control the bass in the speakers and the sub independantly?

 

[UtadaBarkley]

If you just want a lil bass, Get a 10" sub, and an AMP that can push the sub to it's limit in wattage. ONLY use the amp for the low end, don't use the amp for the highs.

 

[Vennt]

What do I look for in a car amp?

I guess that depends on watt you want from an amp



Freeburn.

 

[Neo_ZX]

ONLY use the amp for the low end, don't use the amp for the highs.

Can you explain why?

 

[UtadaBarkley]

Can you explain why?

Only use yoru amp for the subs, you don't wanna mix the amp's power with the highs ( tweets, 6x9's) and the lows (subs). So basically, on your headunit, make sure you turn the pseudo bass that's running into the highs, ALL the way down. Leave the subs to handle the bass exclusively. Why? Well you'll get a much clearer sound that way, and you won't risk blowing your high end speakers when you juice your sub.

 

[dskillzhtown]

I have a similiar set-up myself. I have

2-5.25" 3-way speakers upfront
2-6"X9" 3-ways in the back
2- 10" Fosgate subs

I ended up getting a Pioneer 4-channel amp for the 5.25 and 6x9s and a Kenwood 2 channel for my subs. With amps in my experience, going with a brand name like Kicker, Fosgate, Audiobahn, Eclipse is the best way to go. You usually can't go wrong with that, going with a no-name brand is the surest way to disappointment. I would go with a Punch P2002. It is 200 watts. You should be able to find it for around $150-160 US. Then go with a 10" or 12" Punch P1 subwoofer. That should be less that $100. I was totally not a Punch man at all until I got it in my car earlier this year. I still think Kicker hits harder, but Punch is good. The best way to control the bass is just to control the gain on the amp. Some head units have seperate controls for each output, not sure about yours, but controlling the gain on the amp will definitely control the bass for you. You do realize that after getting the amp and sub, you are going to have to get an amp for your mids and highs, right?

 

[UtadaBarkley]

I have a similiar set-up myself. I have

2-5.25" 3-way speakers upfront
2-6"X9" 3-ways in the back
2- 10" Fosgate subs

I ended up getting a Pioneer 4-channel amp for the 5.25 and 6x9s and a Kenwood 2 channel for my subs. With amps in my experience, going with a brand name like Kicker, Fosgate, Audiobahn, Eclipse is the best way to go. You usually can't go wrong with that, going with a no-name brand is the surest way to disappointment. I would go with a Punch P2002. It is 200 watts. You should be able to find it for around $150-160 US. Then go with a 10" or 12" Punch P1 subwoofer. That should be less that $100. I was totally not a Punch man at all until I got it in my car earlier this year. I still think Kicker hits harder, but Punch is good. The best way to control the bass is just to control the gain on the amp. Some head units have seperate controls for each output, not sure about yours, but controlling the gain on the amp will definitely control the bass for you. You do realize that after getting the amp and sub, you are going to have to get an amp for your mids and highs, right?

Exactly, so in a nutshell, you want amps for both the lows and highs...

 

[DaCocoBrova]

POWA!

You should have two amps. One for the interior speakers, and another for the subs.

 

[Neo_ZX]

You do realize that after getting the amp and sub, you are going to have to get an amp for your mids and highs, right?

Dammit I'm confused. Ideally I want to only have an amp for the sub and leave everything else the way it is. Isn't this possible?

From what I've gathered from the posts, I assumed I could turn the bass down on my deck and adjust the gain on the amp for the sub. Why would I need another amp?

I just want it to sound better than my Camry which has two 6x9" rears and 4 other speakers in the car. Probably two 6.5" in the door and two smaller ones above the dash.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Dammit I'm confused. Ideally I want to only have an amp for the sub and leave everything else the way it is. Isn't this possible?

From what I've gathered from the posts, I assumed I could turn the bass down on my deck and adjust the gain on the amp for the sub. Why would I need another amp?

The issue is that you are going to have 200 watts of bass coming from the subs, then like 30 watts of power from the mids and highs. The bass will overpower it totally. You can turn it down if you want, but it really would be a waste of money, IMO. What you can do is buy some 6"x9"s, and then buy a good 4-channel amp to power them. A good 4-channel will have crossover controls for each set of speakers and you can adjust bass boost for each set of speakers. That way you can put more bass into the 6x9s than the front speakers. At that point, if the bass is still not enough, you can then buy subs and another amp.

 

[UtadaBarkley]

To be honest, you're gonna want 2 amps man...Its' not gonna sound right, but if money is an issue, do that ^^^^

 

[Neo_ZX]

Isn't there an all in one amp that can distribute to both speakers and sub? My deck pushes 50w x4 and I was planning to get maybe a 100-150w sub. My car can't fit 6x9" in the back or I would have gotten that long ago.

I'm not planning to drive around and be all like "LOOK AT ME! FEEL MY BASS!" I just want richer, thicker low ends that can fill the car adequately.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Isn't there an all in one amp that can distribute to both speakers and sub? My deck pushes 50w x4 and I was planning to get maybe a 100-150w sub. My car can't fit 6x9" in the back or I would have gotten that long ago.

I'm not planning to drive around and be all like "LOOK AT ME! FEEL MY BASS!" I just want richer, thicker low ends that can fill the car adequately.

About the 50wx4 on your deck, those numbers are really overrated. 50wx4 on a deck and 50wx4 on a good amp are totally different animals. The deck power is nowhere as clear and clarity is something that you want in amps/power.

You can get a 5-channel amp that can do it all. But not many people make those. I had a Sony 5-channel that worked perfectly. I think now they have something in the X-Plod line that is 5-channel.

If you just want to add bass, maybe you should get a bazooka-type product. We all have been trying to tell you how to make the best possible sound for your car. Because once you start buying stuff, you will not be satisfied until you do get the 2 amp set-up, IMO.

 

[Red Dolphin]

Isn't there an all in one amp that can distribute to both speakers and sub? My deck pushes 50w x4 and I was planning to get maybe a 100-150w sub. My car can't fit 6x9" in the back or I would have gotten that long ago.

I'm not planning to drive around and be all like "LOOK AT ME! FEEL MY BASS!" I just want richer, thicker low ends that can fill the car adequately.

I'm in practically the same situation as you. Very similar setup and really would like to get a sub to balance the speakers out as the treble is a bit overpowering. And i'm a bit hesitant on what to get as I'm not really all that knowledgable with amps and subs..

I found this site: http://www.afweb.net/carstereo/

I haven't had a chance to look at it properly yet but it might help you out.

 

[Neo_ZX]

I think I'll try out just a single amp with a low powered sub. My friend had a 12" in his 95 Cavalier with a Panasonic deck on stock speakers and it sounded acceptable.

Considering my speakers are a lot better than his stock, I *think* I should be alright. Hopefully I won't have to end up having to install two amps seperately.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Some of you need to learn about RMS ratings and how deceiving they are...

 

[Doth Togo]

Eclipse fuhevah.

 

[Neo_ZX]

Well I went out and got a open box Kenwood KAC-7201 amp ($199) and a 12" P2 Rockford Sub ($199) with sealed box ($70). I'm kinda just holding it for now and I might return it.

In Canadian dollars, is this a reasonable deal? I'm getting it installed for free which saves me $100.

 

[Red Dolphin]

Well I went out and got a open box Kenwood KAC-7201 amp ($199) and a 12" P2 Rockford Sub ($199) with sealed box ($70). I'm kinda just holding it for now and I might return it.

In Canadian dollars, is this a reasonable deal? I'm getting it installed for free which saves me $100.

Bloody hell. I was hoping I wouldn't have to spend too much money... I'm in Australia though.

 

[Outlaw]

You look for a 2400 watt 32" long 0 gauge wires Monster like this one.

 

[Red Dolphin]

Well I went out and got a open box Kenwood KAC-7201 amp ($199) and a 12" P2 Rockford Sub ($199) with sealed box ($70). I'm kinda just holding it for now and I might return it.

In Canadian dollars, is this a reasonable deal? I'm getting it installed for free which saves me $100.

How did it all work out in the end? I'm still on the fence of what to do. If the bass is going to be to much overkill with only one amp for the sub I'm inclined to try this suggestion:

What you can do is buy some 6"x9"s, and then buy a good 4-channel amp to power them. A good 4-channel will have crossover controls for each set of speakers and you can adjust bass boost for each set of speakers. That way you can put more bass into the 6x9s than the front speakers. At that point, if the bass is still not enough, you can then buy subs and another amp.

I've got 6"x9"s already in the back of the car already. My deck is the Pioneer DEH-P940MP. I must admit I haven't fully explored all the settings and tuning that can be done with the deck yet. Does anyone know if you are able to redistribute the amount of bass to the back speakers only? If I can I may not need to get a 4 way amp. But If i decide down the line I want more bass, I'm going to have to get 2 amps and a sub anyway.
I remember on my previous Pioneer deck you could basically remove all treble (highs/mids) from the back speakers and have it just base (lows). It didn't sound that good though.

 

[Neo_ZX]

It worked out pretty well. I'm satisfied with what I have so I won't be getting any more audio equipment for this car EVER.

The parts/price breakdown goes a little something like this:

$230 Pioneer DEH-4600MP w/ free install
$125 Rockford Fosgate 6.5" (open box) rear speaker set
$120 Rockford Fosgate 5.25" front speaker set
$ 80 Speaker install fee
$200 Kenwood KAC-7201 amp w/ free install
$ 45 4-year amp warranty
$190 Rockford Fostgate P212S4 Punch 12" subwoofer
$ 45 Amp wiring kit
$ 25 RCA cables
$ 70 Sealed sub box

Total of $1085 + 15% tax = $1247.75 Canadian

In the end, the sound quality is quite good but not the best since my speakers are pretty small. I don't get rich sound on the inside as with the sub being in the trunk it can't really 'fill' the car with bass like my Camry which has 6x9 rears, 5x7 front, and two smaller tweeters on top of the dash.

I'm still satisfied with the overall sound but actually I don't really find a great difference from my stock speakers to the new ones with the sub being involved but it depends on the song. On average while using my system without a sub, I noticed about a 20-25% improvement in overall sound quality. With the sub it is hardly noticeable at maybe a 5-10% improvement in speaker sound quality. On the whole, things have improved tenfold.
Looking back if I had known, I would probably have just picked up a sub and amp without new speakers.

Right now I have bass that punches pretty hard but I don't really crank the sub. I still need to figure out all the settings on the deck too. I can't get the random to work for some reason. It only changes randomly as a song finishes rather than when you press << or >> but this is pretty much as far as I'm willing to go.

One last thing to mention, it seems my car idles more loudly and seemingly has less pickup after the sub install. I wonder if it's sucking too much battery juice?

 

[Red Dolphin]

Ah right. I'm actually set up with the right deck and speakers atm. I was just interested in getting a sub and an amp. I was worried when a few ppl in this thread mentioned that the sub will drown out a lot of the highs and mids from the regular speakers as they aren't running through an external amp (only the built in one in the deck).

So I'm still a little undecided on what I should do. I'm thinking I might go with a 4 channel amp for my exisiting speakers and not worry about a sub. Unless you think the sub is not too overpowering? My current setup:

* Pioneer DEH-P940MP
* 200 watt 6 x 9s rear speakers
* 150 watt 5.25 front speaker set with seperate tweeters on the dash.

Sub and amp or just an amp for existing speakers? I could do both but I'm not sure if the cost is worth it. You only have an amp for your sub right?

Sorry if that post was a rehash of my last post heh.

As for you random songs... try push up or down instead of left or right. I have mp3s stored all in one folder on a cd and I think it reselects the folder and picks a random song. So I can't remember if it's really picking "random" or just the folder again and then a random song.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Go with a 4-channel amp for your 6x9s and a 5.25s. Then a seperate amp for your sub(s) when you get it. A 2 channel for 4 speakers is not the way to go. That means you will not have balance and fade control over the 4 speakers.

 

[Neo_ZX]

This is kinda hard for me to explain but while it's true that only having an amp for the sub will somewhat drown out the speakers, it isn't very noticeable if you have your settings right. This varies with your preference in audio balance and what kind of music you listen to.

For me, if I listen to rock I won't have excessive bass since I like to listen to guitars and vocals. I assumed having 3-way speakers or component helps.

If you listen to hip-hop or rap, the bass should have more emphasis. I won't usually try to listen to the background instruments (if there are any) and it doesn't drown out the voice.

Of course this is my opinion from without having listened to a system with an amp for both but I'm more happy with what I have and I don't think the extra clarity would be worth the money of another amp.

 

[Neo_ZX]

Oh and the random thing doesn't work. It always goes to the first song in the folder regardless. I got used to it anyways since I've just been remembering track numbers. I don't usually listen to all the songs on a CD.

 

[Red Dolphin]

Go with a 4-channel amp for your 6x9s and a 5.25s. Then a seperate amp for your sub(s) when you get it. A 2 channel for 4 speakers is not the way to go. That means you will not have balance and fade control over the 4 speakers.

Hmm this is what I'm leaning to. I'll see how that sounds and may get a sub (and another amp) later if I feel the need. Doesn't keep installation cost down though..

This is kinda hard for me to explain but while it's true that only having an amp for the sub will somewhat drown out the speakers, it isn't very noticeable if you have your settings right. This varies with your preference in audio balance and what kind of music you listen to.

For me, if I listen to rock I won't have excessive bass since I like to listen to guitars and vocals. I assumed having 3-way speakers or component helps.

If you listen to hip-hop or rap, the bass should have more emphasis. I won't usually try to listen to the background instruments (if there are any) and it doesn't drown out the voice.

Of course this is my opinion from without having listened to a system with an amp for both but I'm more happy with what I have and I don't think the extra clarity would be worth the money of another amp.

I listen to mostly rock and alternative so it sounds like we are in very similar situations.. HMM!! Decisions.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Hmm this is what I'm leaning to. I'll see how that sounds and may get a sub (and another amp) later if I feel the need. Doesn't keep installation cost down though..

I say try the 4-channel set-up and see how you like it. If you need more bass, then go with adding the subs.