Amp Suggetions

[tenny]

Hey guys,

I want to add a little bass to my car and I think I am going to pick up a single 10" sub in a box, nothing fancy. I am looking for a cheap 1 channel amp that is around 100-150 rms. I don't want anymore watts then that because I am planning on using the existing power wire that is run to my power acousitcs 4 channel amp (720 watt total) via a 4 gauge power wire.

Any recommendations?

[Vtolds]

I have a Eclipes PA4212 amp, I really like it. Its kind of over kill for what you want, but eclipes makes smaller/cheaper amps than that.

[cherrington17]

if its 4ga wire, you should be more then fine for alot more amps then just 750.

but check www.etronics.com

personally i have a lanzar amp that works great. (4ch 1400W but they also make smaller ones)

[tenny]

it would be 750 plus about 250 for 1000 total or so, what I mean is I dont want an amp that is going be another 750 because I don't want to have to run another power wire.

[mikegett]

If your 4 channel is running front and rears, then I can guarantee you aren't using 700 watts. Mids and highs use very little wattage at a given time. My eclipse amp is rated for 85 watts rms x 4 at 4 ohms. I have the gains set for 95 watts rms at volume 70. My normal listening level is 38 to 45. At 70 the speakers are migrane level loud. Even though I set the gains for 95 watts rms at 70, in reality I probably only average 1/3 of that. My test tone (used for gains) sends a constant 60htz that the speakers will never see. A four gauge wire could easily handle another sub amp rated for 500 watts rms. If you are still in doubt, place a multimeter on your four gage power wire. Run your car at peak volume with the meter set to amps. Note: read your manual first. setting your meter up wrong for amperage can overload it. I will bet you don't even see a constant 16 amps (close to 200 watts).

[tenny]

I know that but dosnt the gauge of the wire go buy the total watts not the rms? in either case I still want something cheap hehe, higher watts means higher price. The sub is 200rms so something in that range that is cheap but still decent?

[mikegett]

You power wire is rated by your max amperage. However, a 700 watt amp does not mean that you automaticly use 700 watts. For starters, the max power rating at 4 ohms non bridged will be half of what the max rating would be. That said, your most possibly used could be 350 on a 4 channel setup. If you are running mids and highs, cut it in half again. Low frequencies below 200 htz are what start to use wattage. Unless your speakers (even components) are being bi-amped the tweeter will cause your mids to loose potential wattage. Since the tweeter is more efficient, as you raise your volume it causes your woofer to be less efficient. This is where the benefit of bi-amping comes into play.