Can I run 4 speakers + sub off one amp

[sureshot324]

I'm new to car audio and I'm looking to add some bass. All I want to do right now is add an amp and a sub. For now I'll leave in my stock front and rear speakers, which will be powered by the head unit (Pioneer DEH-P5000UB).

In the future though, I might want to replace all the speakers and power them with an amp. Can I get an amp that can power 4 speakers + a sub, so that when I get better speakers I don't need to get another amp? If so, what kind of amp would this be, a 5 channel? Would I be better off just getting a mono amp right now and then getting a 4 channel later?

I don't listen to music extremely loud. In fact, the stock system could go more than loud enough aside from lacking bass.

 

[oliumzen]

Go with a mono amp then a 4 channel later.

 

[sureshot324]

The thing is, a mono amp + 4 channel amp is gonna have waaaaaayyy more power than I need, since I don't need my system to be that loud. It kind of seems like a waste of money to go that route. What about getting a 4 channel amp, using 2 channels to power the front speakers, another channel to power the sub, and then having the rear speakers powered by the HU. Has anyone done this, or are 4 channel amps just not ideal for powering subs?

 

[mx-p5]

You can do it. I've got a 6 channel amp in my wife's car. It's powering the 6.5's front and back with tweeters and a ten inch sub. All off a 600 watt amp.

If you just want some bass, I'd do a mono amp. You can get em dirt cheap. Then, when you want to upgrade, sell off the mono amp and get the good stuff later

Tylor

 

[1sty]

The thing is, a mono amp + 4 channel amp is gonna have waaaaaayyy more power than I need, since I don't need my system to be that loud. It kind of seems like a waste of money to go that route. What about getting a 4 channel amp, using 2 channels to power the front speakers, another channel to power the sub, and then having the rear speakers powered by the HU. Has anyone done this, or are 4 channel amps just not ideal for powering subs?

Common misconception right there.
Lets drop some knowledge first.
You need to understand the decibel, the measure of sound level, dB-SPL to be exact.
Every time you double power into a set of speakers, you gain only 3dB.
To put that in perspective, 1 dB is the lowest perceivable change is sound that a human being can hear. 10 dB is what we perceive as a doubling of the volume level.

So if your factory radio is capable of 15 watts x 4 door speakers, and you add a 30x4 amplifier to play your door speakers you will only gain 3 dB-SPL.
So dB-SPL wise, you will gain very little, however you gain alot in the way of control if that is a good amplifier.

Heres how. Say you add a mono amp so you are running a deadicated subwoofer. This subwoofer is playing a range of sound like 20-90hz or whatever you set it to. BUT if you do not use an amp on the door speakers, they are still trying to play that very low range of sound which they can not play or atleast they can not play well. This is also problematic as now when you do decide to crank it up, you will not hear the door speakers distorting since the subwoofer is drowning them out in that range of sound. The best solution here is to amplify the door speakers as well and not just for the power but for the crossover. This allows you to remove that 20-90hz range of sound from these speakers so that they will sound much cleaner, more detailed, and accurate since they no longer have to struggle with the low end stuff they can't handle. The power itself helps in that although the power may only have doubled, the harmonic distortion should be far reduced at that new power level.

Let me throw another option into the ring for you.
Use JUST a 4 channel amplifier.
Use the front 2 channels to power your front door speakers and combine the rear 2 channels to power your subwoofer. Leave the rear speakers powered by the factory radio and fade that radio forward to your liking. I run damn near every car I get my hands on like this now and it never disappoints. Well, unless I am going all out balls to the wall and then there is usually 3-6 amplifiers so everything is out the window.

 

[sureshot324]

Common misconception right there.
Lets drop some knowledge first.
You need to understand the decibel, the measure of sound level, dB-SPL to be exact.
Every time you double power into a set of speakers, you gain only 3dB.
To put that in perspective, 1 dB is the lowest perceivable change is sound that a human being can hear. 10 dB is what we perceive as a doubling of the volume level.

So if your factory radio is capable of 15 watts x 4 door speakers, and you add a 30x4 amplifier to play your door speakers you will only gain 3 dB-SPL.
So dB-SPL wise, you will gain very little, however you gain alot in the way of control if that is a good amplifier.

Heres how. Say you add a mono amp so you are running a deadicated subwoofer. This subwoofer is playing a range of sound like 20-90hz or whatever you set it to. BUT if you do not use an amp on the door speakers, they are still trying to play that very low range of sound which they can not play or atleast they can not play well. This is also problematic as now when you do decide to crank it up, you will not hear the door speakers distorting since the subwoofer is drowning them out in that range of sound. The best solution here is to amplify the door speakers as well and not just for the power but for the crossover. This allows you to remove that 20-90hz range of sound from these speakers so that they will sound much cleaner, more detailed, and accurate since they no longer have to struggle with the low end stuff they can't handle. The power itself helps in that although the power may only have doubled, the harmonic distortion should be far reduced at that new power level.

Let me throw another option into the ring for you.
Use JUST a 4 channel amplifier.
Use the front 2 channels to power your front door speakers and combine the rear 2 channels to power your subwoofer. Leave the rear speakers powered by the factory radio and fade that radio forward to your liking. I run damn near every car I get my hands on like this now and it never disappoints. Well, unless I am going all out balls to the wall and then there is usually 3-6 amplifiers so everything is out the window.

I actually asked about the last option in my previous post. Good to hear that this can work will. I am not using the stock stereo. I'm using a Pioneer DEH-P5000UB which apparently has a built in crossover. It is 4x50W max, 22W RMS, so if I filter out the low frequencies with the HU crossover, that should be good enough to power the speakers, right?

What about an all-in-one amp-sub-enclosure, like this:

htt://cgi.ebay.ca/VISONIK-VBX12A-500w-12-POWERED-CAR-SUBWOOFER-SUB-BOX_W0QQitemZ280195926882QQihZ018QQcategoryZ38647QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I know this isn't as good as quality individual components, but will it sound decent if not cranked to the max?

 

[1sty]

I actually asked about the last option in my previous post. Good to hear that this can work will. I am not using the stock stereo. I'm using a Pioneer DEH-P5000UB which apparently has a built in crossover. It is 4x50W max, 22W RMS, so if I filter out the low frequencies with the HU crossover, that should be good enough to power the speakers, right?

What about an all-in-one amp-sub-enclosure, like this:

htt://cgi.ebay.ca/VISONIK-VBX12A-500w-12-POWERED-CAR-SUBWOOFER-SUB-BOX_W0QQitemZ280195926882QQihZ018QQcategoryZ38647QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I know this isn't as good as quality individual components, but will it sound decent if not cranked to the max?

Visonik is junk. If you are going all in one then go with infinity.
I would MUCH prefer to do a seperate 10" sub and a little amp or using channels 3/4 of an amp.
A small sub package can be had for about $250 or less including the amp.

A good quality amplifier will best the pioneer headunit in sound quality as it will any head unit. However since you have it, yes the crossovers of the head unit can and should be used.

 

[sureshot324]

Visonik is junk. If you are going all in one then go with infinity.
I would MUCH prefer to do a seperate 10" sub and a little amp or using channels 3/4 of an amp.
A small sub package can be had for about $250 or less including the amp.

A good quality amplifier will best the pioneer headunit in sound quality as it will any head unit. However since you have it, yes the crossovers of the head unit can and should be used.

Thanks for the response. An all in one is looking really good to me since I don't need it very loud. Plus I can probably fit it in the cabin somewhere, possibly under a seat, which is nice because I'd rather not take up trunk space. Is this a good deal?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/INFINITY-BASSLIN...ryZ38647QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[1sty]

basslink is fine but will not likely fit under tha seat as it is a rather uniform 8" deep.

Also, Loud = cheap. It doesnt take much money to be loud

Quality and sound quality = expensive. A quailty 10" sub is as expensive as the basslink but will sound much better if installed properly in a good sub box and powered with a good amplifier.

 

[oxwing]

Do you really need that much power in a small space?

 

[1sty]

Yes

 

[oliumzen]

In my car i've got a 10" kicker Comp-VR powerd by a Kicker ZX400 (i think haha i forget i don't open my trunk very often and the amp is mounted to the back seat behind my sub) and it sounds great. if i want it too it hits hard too still with great sound, i don't have an amp for the speakers but if i wanted to i have the the lil Kenwood amp that came with the MSP, either way. I love my sound system in my car

 

[oxwing]

I think BOSE is the best sound system you can get for cars.

 

[oliumzen]

Bose is the best sound you can get for anything. If you're willing to pay for it.

 

[ritek45]

Bose is the best sound you can get for anything. If you're willing to pay for it.

I'm not going to deny that Bose sounds great in HOME applications and FACTORY applications. It's whatever sounds best to YOU.

But truthfully, ANY installer and ANYONE who has tried to get anything aftermarket-subs, replace speakers, Bluetooth kits-B@SE SCKS. The reason is that most aftermarket spkers are 4 ohms, bose run at 1-1.5 ohms.

sureshot324- 1sty has it laid out for you, go along with his recommendation.

Here are some other solutions besides the basslink, Kenwood's KSC-SW1, Alpine's PLT-5 & pkt-5, or Blaupunkt THb 200A

 

[1sty]

Bose is the best possible system for those that dont know what music is supposed to sound like.

 

[sam1]

Bose is the best possible system for those that dont know what music is supposed to sound like.

Yeah that pretty much sums it up. BOSE is horrible. My protege's stock stereo sounded better than the "Bose premium sound" upgrade in my maxima. I yanked every last bose component out and threw it away when I redid the sound system in the max.

Sureshot...have you looked at any 5 channel amps? Best of both worlds...1 channel for each speaker and a sub channel too. Check out crutchfield.com and onlinecarstereo.com...theres some pretty good deals there.

FWIW, when I redid the maxima, I used a 4channel, powered the front components off 2 channels, bridged the rear channels to the sub, and powered the rear door speakers off the hu, just like 1sty explained.

 

[S.A.MSP]

i don't know if it was mentioned but JL Audio makes a 5 channel amp which would be perfect for what you want, 1 channel which is a mono signal for the sub and 4 channel for your mids and highs

 

[ritek45]

Bose is the best possible system for those that dont know what music is supposed to sound like.

Fo Sho! (for sure)
I was just trying to be nice about others options.

 

[1sty]

i don't know if it was mentioned but JL Audio makes a 5 channel amp which would be perfect for what you want, 1 channel which is a mono signal for the sub and 4 channel for your mids and highs

That sucker is pricey at a $1000.
For this application, the 6 channel a-series amp from JL, A6450, would be more appropriate. I would still do just a 4 cahnnle unless you ABSOLUTELY had to power the rears.