Need Amp(?) to finish system -- best bang/buck recommendations?

[Rice Over Wheat]

I just bought the following:

Infinity Kappa 62.5i 6.5" Midrange
Inifinty Kappa 693.5i 6x9 3-way
Infinity Basslink Sub (built-in 200w amp)
Sony CDX-M850MP CD/MP3/EQ7 head unit


I'd like some recommendations on whether I should get a 4-ch amp to push the 4 speakers, or just run them off the Sony? (52w x 4, 22 rms)

If I need an amp, what's your recommendation for the best bang for the buck, keeping this system in mind?

My system needs: Quality first...I don't need earth-shaking bass that rattles the sheetmetal. I just want nice clear sound with some power and good low-end. I'm just thinking the head unit may not be able to push enough to keep up with the sub.

Thanks for any feedback!

ROW

 

[PaulPDX]

All depends on whether you want to save or spend and how picky you are about sound.

A stand alone 4ch amp is probably going to make the sound better than the headunit's internal amp. Power rating on headunits are often misleading and used to increase consumer appeal. A 50w x 4 headunit usually means it may hit 50w peak. Where as an amp with the same advertised power can peak higher than that.

Further down the road you probably will find the basslink to be lacking since it has a cheap papercone sub.

If I had the $ to spend, I'd probably go for the JL amps. I had a pair once and they were the absolute best sounding amps I have ever had. I set them up based on JL's recommendations and the very first time they turned on, they sounded flawless. The degree of tuning is very nice too.

If you still want an external amp but have a limited budget, look to Rockford. Very decent amps and can usually be found easily online at great discounts. The Phoenix Gold Tantrum line is also very nice (hint, check out sounddomain.com... )

 

[BUCK]

I think you have everything you need already - It'll blast you out of that Hatchback.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Originally posted by PaulPDX

Further down the road you probably will find the basslink to be lacking since it has a cheap papercone sub.

You gotta be kidding me. It uses a paper cone?! WTF. I would think for the price it had to be something decent. Perhaps I can swap the 10" woofer out.

I've seen shitty $50 subs use better than paper cones! I haven't received my equipment yet...it's on the way in the mail, but now I'm a little pissed.

ROW

 

[PaulPDX]

Copy from Crutchfield:

"Infinity BassLink 10" 200 Watt _Class D Powered Subwoofer Unique enclosure with one treated paper woofer and a passive radiator_• Class D 200-watt amplifier_• frequency response 20-120 Hz_• variable low-pass crossover_• adjustable bass boost_• phase switch_• speaker level and RCA inputs"

Despite it being a paper cone... I'm sure it'll work just fine. Considering what you get, the $240 pricetag does seem reasonable. I mean you're getting a 200w D-class amp and a sub at the same time. Buying similar amp and sub separately will cost you more than that and you'd still have to build a box. The human ear is more forgiving to bass frequencies. You probablyl won't be able to tell much of a difference between a poly cone sub and a treated paper sub. If it was a mindrange speaker, you might be able to. You've got speakers well known for their richness in midrange so your ears will naturally focus on that more and will help divert attention from the bass. With a 20 hz - 120 hz response, it should sound fine. I'd set the cross over at 120 hz to help richen up the more audible low freq's.

I don't know if your headunit has high pass corssover capability for the speakers... if not, you'll be sending full range to them which will help the sub even more. I guess the other advantage of having an ext amp for the speakers would be the ability to fine tune the highpass cutoff.

The one part I'm not sure about in your setup is actually not the sub... I've had an ES model from the first Sony Xplod line back in 2000. The unit looked great on paper but I was not impressed with the sound. Since then I've heard and read similar complaints in regards to Sony headunits. So I'm a bit suspicious about their products now...

If you're going to return the sub and get something else... I'd go with a single 12 in a seal box or dual 10 with sealed box. I've heard both setups and also a single dual voice 15 in a 2g. The 15 is nice but too massive. Single 12 is a nice compromise between size and sound. Two 10s in a sealed box is nice and tight. The best I've ever heard... especially on some DJ Krush downtemp pieces with low freq rumble. Simply awesome (and it was at low volume). With dual 10s, you won't have to buy expensive subs either. All I had were two bottom of the line 0 series Rockfords I got at a clearance sale. They were driven in parrall (2 ohm) by a 400w bridged Rockford amp. Check Sounddomain... I remember seen some very good buy one get one free deals on 10s for less than $100.

 

[TurBoGs-T]

I bought an 800Watt American Legacy amp from ebay for like $75. It works like a champ. Sounds very good too.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

That's what I'm talking about...several years ago I paid top dollar for some HiFonics amps, and the installer recommended either them or Rockfords as they were supposedly the best quality. Just how important is the brand name when it comes to amps or are they all relatively created equal on a rated power basis?

ROW

 

[PaulPDX]

I'd stick to the better known brands like Rockford, Kicker, Alpine (overpriced), Phoenix Gold, etc.

I try to stay away from brands like HiFonics, MA, AudioBahn, and basically anything that has a really high wattage to price ratio. High power isn't a positive thing if it comes at the expensive of sound quality or worse... reliability. Even though they cost less, it's still your money that you're spending. If the amp dies, the manufacturer may just chalk it up to misuse and you're money is down the toilet. A lot of companies post wattage at say 14 volt. Some even higher... just so they can claim a high wattage rating. Labratory test methods for getting the hard numbers also isn't the same as everyday use: sound reproduction.

It used to be that you'd have to buy these "almost too good to be true" brands to get power at an affordable price... but now you can find Rockfords and PGs easily online at a great discount. Even Crutchfield, which is usually higher priced than others (but has much better service) has Rockfords at fairly reasonable prices. Keep in mind though, some of these places that offer big brands at a discount aren't actually authorized dealers that can honor warranty claims. So if you buy from them, it's even more important to buy a product that is reliable.

BTW, I've added more to my previous post.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Thanks...good info. I bought the basslink new on Ebay for 175. I'm trying to minimize space/weight which is why I chose it. When I had a 1G, I had a 4 port bandpass box with two inverted 12s behind some plexiglass, and I had to remove my back seats just to fit it in the car. It was loud and sounded great, but weighed about 90 lbs and was huge.

The sony has great reviews on the net which is why I chose that one, plus I like the anti-theft feature.

I think I'll check prices on a rockford amp on ebay and see what I can turn up.

ROW

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

My front speakers say the recommended RMS is 75w, and the rears say recommended 110w RMS. Impedance 4 ohms.

I'm getting a bit confused here looking for an amp on ebay. Do I need a 4 ch amp that can push 75w RMS x 4 @ 4 ohms?

ROW

 

[PaulPDX]

More power wouldn't hurt... but it's not that important. It's not like you'll be entering dB drag competitions.

 

[14.5 drift]

consider that your current setup is max like 45 watts with a 20 watt rms. 75 watts will blow thw doors off. 40 X 4 rms and youre in business.

 

[VOTBLINDUB]

i stuck a JBL 80.4 amp in my car for speakers, that works out great for me, i got some photos if you want to see

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Originally posted by 14.5 drift
consider that your current setup is max like 45 watts with a 20 watt rms. 75 watts will blow thw doors off. 40 X 4 rms and youre in business.

Well the Sony is 52w x 4 peak, 22 rms...which is why I think I need a decent amp. 40 rms seems a bit low...I've read that the kappas don't realize their full potential without 70 - 100w rms.

Is MA Audio any good? I've heard their quality/price ratio is pretty decent and I found a 800w, 100 rms x 4 @ 4 ohms on ebay for a damn good price.

ROW

 

[PaulPDX]

Stay away from MA, Audiobahn and anything with a high ratio of power to price. Some of these cheaps amps use cheap components. You're bacsically taking a chance. Like anything else... you get what you pay.

 

[BlueTalon95]

If your going to scrap the basslink, and you're worried about sony's sound quality, I would amp a sub and rear speakers and run the front speakers off the deck. If Sony's sound is good, then just use the deck. I'm using pioneers all around with a 50 x 4 JVC deck, wich is only 19 rms, but it sounds really good. Its not going to win any sound offs, but it didn't break my bank. As for an amp brand, I like Kenwood.

 

[BlackbirdOfPrey]

Two words. Phoenix Gold

Theres a reason they cost a little bit more, they are very good quality. I had a friend who used nothing but those to power a pair of 12's and the rest of his sytem, they hit hard, and sounded darn good. If u got the $'s i reccomend them.

 

[PaulPDX]

Don't have to pay a lot to get PG. As I've mentioned already... you can get Tantrums and Octanes at very good prices. Even the Titaniums are being discounted.

BTW, PG is not far from me. They also own Carver. If you know amps and hi-fi... you know Carver. Can't go wrong with PG.

 

[jepherz]

In addition to an amp to power your subs, I highly recommend (for best sound quality) upgrading to an external amp for your speakers also. USAcoustic amps are a fair price and if you look at their numbers, they perform better than most amps in their class. An external amplifier is beneficial over a head unit to power speakers because they usually provide more RMS power (watts) than a head unit provides peak power. What this means is that the head unit can, lets say, provide 50 watts peak during a brief bass hit whereas, the external amp is providing 85 watts all the time. Most people think this only comes into effect when the music is turned up really loud, but actually, this enhances the crispness of the audio at any decibal level.
Hope this helps in your decision.
Good luck

 

[devlish]

not sure if you decided on an amp yet, i didn't read the entire post... just wanted to mention that i have Infinity MidBass speakers, and i friggin love them! i pushed roughly 80w to each, running from 50hz to 400hz only. they sounded like 8" subs in the doors! i was really impressed with them! right now they are sitting in a box in the basement with brand new infinity 6.5" components, just waiting for the GF to get a good car to install into!

i highly reccomend an amp!! whatever you get, look for around the 75w range. Boston has some good clean sounding amps, so does Alpine with decent price tags to boot! check out the MRP-F240 Alpine

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Actually, I think I've settled on the Hifonics Zeus ZX6400 4 ch 85w @ 4 ohms. Six years ago was the last time I had a full sound system, and I had a couple Hifonics amps that I was pretty pleased with. They served me well for 4 years without any problems. I like their clean appearance as well.

It's just a matter of giving my VISA info, but I think I'm gonna go with that amp.

ROW

 

[VOTBLINDUB]

id also recomend the JL amps and the alphasonik

 

[devlish]

go with what you know & what works for you! sounds like a decent amp with the quick little research i did. you'll be much more satisfied with an amp for those speakers! trust me!

 

[14.5 drift]

mmm very nice but pricy. The new alpine 12 volts are not bad, I have 2 year old and it is eh. Okay. But I have heard the newer version in a friends truck and tat thing = teh sweetness