Recommendations for a small class D amp for my car
April 28, 2017 6:43 PM Subscribe
Need recommendations for a multichannel amp that's not expensive to purchase or requires an elaborate install.
I have a 2013 Subaru Legacy with the basic 4 speaker OEM system. I recently got four pretty decent Kicker 6.5s. I was going to get them installed this week, but I figured if I'm going to pay for that I should also get an amp thrown in.
I don't want to "bump" and will likely never have a subwoofer, I just want to not have to push my head unit to 90% to achieve decent volume.
I see Alpine and Pioneer make a super compact 180w amp that fits above your glove box. Are they worth the trouble, or should I just get a more powerful amp and pay for the extra wiring for further upgrades?
I know nothing about car audio, so please enlighten me if I'm missing anything obvious!
Thanks!
I have a 2013 Subaru Legacy with the basic 4 speaker OEM system. I recently got four pretty decent Kicker 6.5s. I was going to get them installed this week, but I figured if I'm going to pay for that I should also get an amp thrown in.
I don't want to "bump" and will likely never have a subwoofer, I just want to not have to push my head unit to 90% to achieve decent volume.
I see Alpine and Pioneer make a super compact 180w amp that fits above your glove box. Are they worth the trouble, or should I just get a more powerful amp and pay for the extra wiring for further upgrades?
I know nothing about car audio, so please enlighten me if I'm missing anything obvious!
Thanks!
Which specific speakers did you get?
If you want a sub, in the future and only want to use one amp, get a 5-channel amp with plenty of power for your sub. Something like this for example: Pioneer GM-D9605 5-channel car amplifier — 75 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms + 600 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms. That's just an example. It's got an option to run 75 watts RMS x 4 + 350 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms as well, depending on which sub you want.
However, if you're on the fence (and by the time I'm replying you may have already made the purchase) it's no big deal to get a 4-channel now, see how you like it, and then if you want more bass get a mono amp installed to push your sub. That's what I'm in the process of doing (front stage speakers will be delivered tomorrow, supposedly have good mid-bass response, and if they're not adequately low I'll explore sub options in the near future).
Also in my budget (I'm valuing sound quality over loudness) is vibration dampening for door panels, closed-cell foam in the doors to decouple an additional layer of mass loaded vinyl in the doors. This will hopefully make my car much quieter and prevent the speakers from rattling anything, so theoretically I won't need to turn them up to a higher volume to overcome road noise. Something to consider while you've got your doors apart.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:20 AM on May 17, 2017
If you want a sub, in the future and only want to use one amp, get a 5-channel amp with plenty of power for your sub. Something like this for example: Pioneer GM-D9605 5-channel car amplifier — 75 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms + 600 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms. That's just an example. It's got an option to run 75 watts RMS x 4 + 350 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms as well, depending on which sub you want.
However, if you're on the fence (and by the time I'm replying you may have already made the purchase) it's no big deal to get a 4-channel now, see how you like it, and then if you want more bass get a mono amp installed to push your sub. That's what I'm in the process of doing (front stage speakers will be delivered tomorrow, supposedly have good mid-bass response, and if they're not adequately low I'll explore sub options in the near future).
Also in my budget (I'm valuing sound quality over loudness) is vibration dampening for door panels, closed-cell foam in the doors to decouple an additional layer of mass loaded vinyl in the doors. This will hopefully make my car much quieter and prevent the speakers from rattling anything, so theoretically I won't need to turn them up to a higher volume to overcome road noise. Something to consider while you've got your doors apart.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:20 AM on May 17, 2017
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posted by lattiboy at 6:45 PM on April 28, 2017