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Wondering if I should get an amp

J

JknowWhat

Senior member
Well through gifts I have accumulated an Alpine head-unit and some Rainbow IQ speakers. I'm wondering if I spend a little extra money on an amp or just install the system without one. What do you audiophiles think? Are amps worth it for car systems? Will the headunit be sufficient to drive these speakers? I currently have an '03 Jetta with that retarded Monsoon system that came with the car. If I were to get an amp, what would be a good one? Here are the models of the components that will be installed thus far...

Alpine CDA-7894RB
Rainbow IQ 265.19 (Front)
Rainbow IQ 245.19 (Rear)
Mystery amp???
 
You definitely need an amp if you want good sound. The head unit built in amps
only put out a couple of watts of clean power, no matter what they may say, and it isn't enough to cleanly drive your speakers to a decent loudness.
I'm not really up on the latest stuff, but I do think that the MTX amps are a steal.
I would say get at least 50w continuous into 4 ohms, and preferably more like a 100w per channel.
If you want the best imaging, only use the front speakers and the bass speakers.
2 tweeters, 2 mid-bass, and 2 woofers will give you about the best sound.
BTW my buddy used to compete on the iasca circuit, he had 11 Zapco amps, and about 20 mb quart speakers (excellent btw) with 2 JL woofers. He got 4th place in the nationals-1000w and up-pro class, and all of the cars that beat him were sponsored by manufacturers.
 
I also heard the MTX amps were great along with the MTX's with pre-enclosed subs. However, I forgot if MTX was any good for midrange and tweeter amplification. The Rainbow speakers I have now include both tweeters and woofers and the necessary cross-overs. For now, I think I am going to pass on the subs. Any other good amps with good clean power that won't cost a fortune? BTW, the speakers (woofers) each have a 150W peak with 100W nominal and 4 ohm impedance.
 
Do I really need a 4-channel amp? I mean if the source (CD, radio, MP3) is only 2 channel, wouldn't I only need a 2-channel amp? As for the price I don't really have anything set. Is there like a good price performance ratio I should be looking at? For instance on computer hardware theres always seems to be a case like that (ie: Opteron 165). I guess preferably I would like to spend 200 or less for the amp but if there is something out there that just blows everything out of the water for its price I'd consider it.
 
Originally posted by: JknowWhat
Do I really need a 4-channel amp? I mean if the source (CD, radio, MP3) is only 2 channel, wouldn't I only need a 2-channel amp? As for the price I don't really have anything set. Is there like a good price performance ratio I should be looking at? For instance on computer hardware theres always seems to be a case like that (ie: Opteron 165). I guess preferably I would like to spend 200 or less for the amp but if there is something out there that just blows everything out of the water for its price I'd consider it.
Click to expand...

4-channel amp means 4 individual output channels. Not what I think you are talking about...
 
your speakers will be softer than your stock if you dont get an amp. i would get a 4 channel, and amp only the fronts. bridge the other 2 channels to a sub. ive been in your position before, you will want to get a sub, trust me. an amp for $200? i guess go for a MTX amp.
 
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