when do i need an amp?

[lire100]

this is a beginner's question: when do I need an amplifier for my audio? i know i need one for subwoofers and such but for regular speakers? when should i need one? if i have more than 4 speakers? if they are over a certain power? i was just wondering if there is a rule ore something...

i have a 4x51 w kenwood headunit and 4 speakers (70 and 80 w) and was thinking of getting two 6x9's, 200w but i haven't decided yet... so what is a general proceeding for this type of thing?

PS what is a 12 dB Crossover?

pardon my ignorance!

 

[gaz.d]

you need an amp when you want to have better sound quality

your head unit will not be able to produce the same sort of quality that an amplifier can

i dont think there is a rule, but its down to the individual, what do you want out of your system??

a crossover seperates the high frequencys from the low frequencies, maybe a 12dB crossover is something to do with that

 

[99sei]

how load do you want your music?

your hu will not power all the speakers to their maximum making them quiet, if you use an amp on after market speaker of even some standard ones you will find the music becomes louder

hope this helps

 

[Chris0288]

yeah basicly a HU wont use speakers to theyre max, and if you push the HU hard itll usually distort...usually, an amp makes it very loud without distortion, depending on lots of factors obviously.

 

[paulbfd]

I would choose an amp over the head unit any day.

I've got an an Alpine MRV-F340, rated at 4 x 35 @ 12 volts or 4 x 55 @ 14.4v (2 x 90 / 2 x 130 bridged).

I ran two channels bridged for the sub and the other pair for a set of components up front, it played loud and more importantly, clear.

I can highly recommend buying a good quality 4 channel amp and running it in this configuration.

£200 for the amp, £150 for a sub and enclosure, £100-£150 for some quality components up front (check out some of the JL Audio stuff on Ebay) and a bit more for wires. You'll be blown away at the difference.

A crossover cuts off the frequency at a set point - say 80Hz - over an octave. A 12db (decibel) crossover means at 40Hz, it will be 12db quieter. They are high pass or low pass, eg:

Subwoofer channel, set to low pass, plays xxHz and below. Speakers, set to high pass, xxHz and above.

 

[satty]

If your thinking of getting an amp to run your 6x9 then i've got the perfect amp. Im selling my rockford fosgate 250x and if you ask anyone rockford amps are top!!! (well i think so anyway) I've been using it to run some 6x9 rated at 330w (130w RMS roughly) so the amp which is 125w RMS per channel was perfect. Let me know. By the way it does make a difference as with the amp the music just gets louder instead of distorted. Also if you've got a sei your sorted an amp is soo easy to fit.