Need help with Amplifier choice!

[Acg]

I currently have a speaker box that will fit behind my seat in my 96 f150. I have 2 10" subs, 2 6.5" woofers, and 2 1" tunnel tweeters. What type of amp do i need? 4 channel or 2 channel and should i hook the tweeters up to the amp or should i do them straight to regular speaker wire? Thanks

 

[Dr. Detroit]

I currently have a speaker box that will fit behind my seat in my 96 f150. I have 2 10" subs, 2 6.5" woofers, and 2 1" tunnel tweeters. What type of amp do i need? 4 channel or 2 channel and should i hook the tweeters up to the amp or should i do them straight to regular speaker wire? Thanks

I sssume you have something that looks like this - pre-made loaded box from some audio manufacturer, if so, it will have passive crossovers inside. Just use a standard two channel amplifier - the mids/tweeters should be hooked up - no need to run a separate wires.

 

[Acg]

No its not pre made. So what type of amp do i need to get? Thats relatively cheap$70-$80? Althought my tweeters and mids are coming from a pre made box i build a box that goes with my sub boxes so that its one smooth box across the back of my truck with the tens on either side and the mids and tweeters in te middle ao ill be able to keep the passive crossovers intact inside the box but my subs are completly separate

 

[96Firebird]

What are the specs on all the speakers?

 

[Midwayman]

I have one of these if you're interested.
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_29976_MB-Quart-Q4.80.html

Totaled the car it was in. Also a RF 3sixty.2 DSP

 

[z1ggy]

No its not pre made. So what type of amp do i need to get? Thats relatively cheap$70-$80? Althought my tweeters and mids are coming from a pre made box i build a box that goes with my sub boxes so that its one smooth box across the back of my truck with the tens on either side and the mids and tweeters in te middle ao ill be able to keep the passive crossovers intact inside the box but my subs are completly separate

$70 or 80 bucks for an amp???? Uh... no. Not unless you get one used, but I really don't like buying used electronics.

Go on crutchfield.com and look up 2 channel amps. You're looking at a few hundo at least.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

$70 or 80 bucks for an amp???? Uh... no. Not unless you get one used, but I really don't like buying used electronics.

Go on crutchfield.com and look up 2 channel amps. You're looking at a few hundo at least.

There are a ton of lower quality amplifiers one can buy for $80. Car audio equipment is ridiculously cheap compared to 15yrs ago.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_76355_Crunch-GPA1000.4.html

Ground Pounder Series 4-Channel A/B Class Car Amplifier
Peak Power Rating:

4 ohms: 125 watts x 4 chan.
2 ohms: 250 watts x 4 chan.
4 ohms bridged: 500 x 2 chan.

Max power output: 1000 watts

 

[Acg]

I was able to find a 2300 watt 2 channel for $75. The 2 tens are rated for 500-1000 watts each and the two mids and tweeters are rated for 250-500 watts altogether. So i believe 2300 watts will do fine, if not let me know. This is my first big system eventually ill buy more expensive nice speakers but this will do for a while. When i wire the amp to the speakers how do i make sure the right wattage is going to each speaker. It said each channel outputs 1150 watts

 

[z1ggy]

There are a ton of lower quality amplifiers one can buy for $80. Car audio equipment is ridiculously cheap compared to 15yrs ago.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_76355_Crunch-GPA1000.4.html

Ground Pounder Series 4-Channel A/B Class Car Amplifier
Peak Power Rating:

4 ohms: 125 watts x 4 chan.
2 ohms: 250 watts x 4 chan.
4 ohms bridged: 500 x 2 chan.

Max power output: 1000 watts

I assume one wants better than low qual Once you hear the higher quality stuff, it's very hard to downgrade.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

I assume one wants better than low qual Once you hear the higher quality stuff, it's very hard to downgrade.

Some folks on this board are on a serious budget like the OP stated. It's a home made box in a '97 F150. Whatever he throws in the back will sound better than the factory set-up.

I'd try and educate the boy but when you are throwing 250 watts at the midranges I think all hope is lost.

In reality, he should upgrade the door speakers and put 1 12" sub in a box with 350 clean watts going to it and call it a day. The sound stage of having horn tweeters blowing at you from behind is pretty terrible......................

 

[Midwayman]

I assume one wants better than low qual Once you hear the higher quality stuff, it's very hard to downgrade.

That's assuming you have good quality speakers that can actually reproduce the difference. And that you've sound proofed your car enough to hear the difference. High end amps are one of the last places I'd spend money.

 

[Acg]

I would like to make what i have sound good. Im open to advice. I was given the the box for the 10"'s and added a center box attached to themfor the mids and tweeters. I just need to know what to get and how to do it to make it sound good. Its a learning process im good with cars and good with electronics but with as much as its gonna cost i need it to sound good

 

[Dr. Detroit]

1) Get yourself a good deck with a crossover built in and a dedicate RCA out for your Amp-
2) Good door speakers - preferably separates/components
3) Add a subwoofer with an amplifier

You want the highs/voices to be directed toward your ears, not the back of your head.

 

[crashtech]

There has to be some kind of crossover or you will just destroy the tweeters and probably the midranges, too. There are head units with built-in crossovers, and stand-alone crossovers. Back in the day I would have fabbed passive crossovers, but there is math involved in that and you have to know a lot of details about the drivers. Make sure the crossover is 3-way, and that you have 6 channel capability. Really the only channels that need a lot of grunt are the woofer/subwoofer channels, typically they need 3-4x the power of the other drivers, give or take. If you got one big 2-channel and a smaller 4-channel amp, you'd be set.

 

[tracerbullet]

Still don't have enough info on the box. Got a picture? How is it wired inside?

 

[96Firebird]

I was able to find a 2300 watt 2 channel for $75. The 2 tens are rated for 500-1000 watts each and the two mids and tweeters are rated for 250-500 watts altogether. So i believe 2300 watts will do fine, if not let me know. This is my first big system eventually ill buy more expensive nice speakers but this will do for a while. When i wire the amp to the speakers how do i make sure the right wattage is going to each speaker. It said each channel outputs 1150 watts

Don't buy a Pyle amp, it is a pile... of shit.

What are the model numbers of all the speakers, and how are they wired?

 

[Pulsar]

Tweeters on a box put between a seat and a wall are going to be useless and sound horrible. Bass frequencies tend to be omnidirectional so you can put the speakers anywhere (even downward firing). Tweeters are high frequencies and extremely directional, and putting them behind a seat firing into the back of it will make them sound like ass. A box with tweeters like that is designed to have the tweeters firing into a hard surface like a hatchback or rear window that redirects the sound to the ear.

 

[Midwayman]

There has to be some kind of crossover or you will just destroy the tweeters and probably the midranges, too. There are head units with built-in crossovers, and stand-alone crossovers. Back in the day I would have fabbed passive crossovers, but there is math involved in that and you have to know a lot of details about the drivers. Make sure the crossover is 3-way, and that you have 6 channel capability. Really the only channels that need a lot of grunt are the woofer/subwoofer channels, typically they need 3-4x the power of the other drivers, give or take. If you got one big 2-channel and a smaller 4-channel amp, you'd be set.

Any speaker set with seperate tweeters is going to come with an appropriate crossover. If you're doing your own its probably just easier to to an active cross over with your amp. Any competent amp will give you high and low pass filters.