How big of an amp should i get?

[NBishop]

I have an MX, and i have 2 rockfrod 12's and 2 alpine 6x9's in the back. I bought the car about 2 months ago and am looking for a new amp. I don't need anything real big or expensive but i just want something that will sound nice and will be able to hit hard. Just wondering how big i should get, and any suggestions on brands? Prices? Thanks

[-=deathtrap-mx3=-]

how much do the fosgates handle? punch and alpine amp's will work fine. don't max the subs though.

[mx3missouri]

I thing you could go with around 400w 4ch amp<BR>, also it should be 4ohm stable.<BR>Go with alpine, Denon, or Nakamich for good.<BR>(these are smaller than others <BR>also you need the capacitor for sure <BR>(mx-3 has weak battry allocation)<P>----- or -------<BR>Just do dumping for front doors.<BR>it will make sound better and cheap <BR>about $50 at ebay, but take time<BR>I did dumping and I am very pleased.

[-=deathtrap-mx3=-]

dumping? what the hell are you talking about? what is dumping?<P>i can't imagine doing anything other than putting 6.5" kicker free airs in your doors for bass. and then you're SOL on highs.<BR>do you mean dampening? as in sound deadening? that'll give just more MID-bass from your woofers(from your door coxials). you still need your subwoofers for SUB-bass frequencies.<P>mx3 missouri mentioned some good brands for amps. i personally wouldn't buy the punch amps i mentioned, but i'm sure you can get an amp that is made to push ur subs from fosgate easily. if you want a bada$$ amp, get an Orion HCCA(the red ones, not the coblat series). they're expensive, but they rule!<P>for the cap.-<BR>500watts= .5 farad cap.<BR>1000watts= 1 faradcap.<BR>and so on and so forth...

[NBishop]

Honestly, i didn't understand much of what any you were saying w/ dumping, and whats a farad cap? But i think i'll go with something around a 400-not sure what brand though. How much does a capacitor cost and really what does it do? thanks

[-=deathtrap-mx3=-]

do you know what series the fosgate subs are?<BR>fosgates usually need a lot of power to perform well, so 400 watts might not be enough for 2 12's to bump liek they should.<BR>farad is a measurement of electricity stored into the cap. each cap is labelled so you can find one pretty easily. a .5 F cap will cost about $60-100, and a 1 F capw ill be around $120. <BR>i'd go to a local car audio shop and talk to them about what you want to do. <BR>if you have anymore questions, feel free to email me at atomicbanana@hotmail.com

[NBishop]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by -=deathtrap-mx3=-:<BR><STRONG>do you know what series the fosgate subs are?<BR>fosgates usually need a lot of power to perform well, so 400 watts might not be enough for 2 12's to bump liek they should.<BR>farad is a measurement of electricity stored into the cap. each cap is labelled so you can find one pretty easily. a .5 F cap will cost about $60-100, and a 1 F capw ill be around $120. <BR>i'd go to a local car audio shop and talk to them about what you want to do. <BR>if you have anymore questions, feel free to email me at atomicbanana@hotmail.com</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>My fosgat are a 'series 1', i know it took me a while to respond, hope you can still help.

[-=deathtrap-mx3=-]

i'm pretty sure it is 100watts rms and 200watts peak. so if you push a 100watt rms amp on it, it'll be fine. amps usually peak about 50-100watts more than stated.<BR>if you want a rf punch amp, i'd get the 360.2<BR>otherwise, look for a small mtx(something that peaks at around 200watts)

[loudsubz]

Caps are a waste of money, Period.<P>Just match your subs RMS with an amp that is capable of putting out that much RMS power at the load imposed by the subs.<P>So if each sub is 8 ohm and your bridge them paralell to a 4 ohm mono load.

[loudsubz]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by subjekt:<BR><STRONG>loudsubz, caps are NOT a waste of money, they are probably everything but that. Period!<P>A cap helps your stereo preform much better, plus most amps are rated at 13.6-14.4volts so to get the actual power from them you need one. Also you'd probably notice you headlights dimming when the base hits (a cap will fix that, and headlights dimming is obviously not a good sign, your car is struggling to get more power!!)<P>you can have you stereo on for alot longer with the engine off (If you choose to do so)<BR>and i've boosted my car many times using my cap.</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Get them if you like the way they look, but compared to a battery they dont do much at all.<P>The low down on CAPS:<P>WHY CAPS SUCK.<P>1) Even if the cap has low internal resistance, it still has some. The more current you try to pull out, the more it's output voltage will drop. Caps are supposed to provide current to keep the voltage from sagging.<P>2) Caps don't store very much energy. A 1.0F cap stores 98 joules at 14V. A 65 amp/hour battery stores almost 3,000,000 joules at 12.8V. A joule is a watt per second. The 1F cap could theoretically provide 98 watts for a period of 1 second.<P>3) 10 volts represents the point where a car stereo can no longer remain operable. If we look at how much energy a cap can provide down to 10v the result is 48 joules. The car battery can still provide 2.5 million. Point here is that 1/2 of the cap's capacity is actually usable.<P>4) (similar to (1) ) All electronic components have internal resistance. Even if the cap is good, when we try to draw large quantities of current, the output voltage will drop. If we ask for too much current, the cap will do squat since the output voltage would drop below 10v.<P>5) A 9v battery can do 20x more work than a 14v/1.5F cap<P>6) In real world tests with a 2kW stereo, power-on listening makes a big difference in residual voltage compared to power-off. Cap has an insignificant impact. Average voltage remains at 12.xxx whether the cap is in or not, not 14.xxx as some would assume.<P>Furthermore, as the stereo draws more current than the alternator can produce, the voltage will drop. The Cap will attempt to supply 14v at the requested current level. Chances are if the Alternator is not able to keep up, the draw is large. The cap will suffer internal resistance and do squat. The battery will begin supplying current at 12.x volts and will continue to do so due to its millions of joules. Ironically, when the musical peak is complete, the cap will present a load to the battery/alternator.<P>7) The amount of caps necessary to achieve a satisfactory amount of joules with a low enough ESR is 15+, regardless of size. The combined ESR shrinks when these devices are in parallel. 15 caps cost more than a good battery or two.<P>8) Factory alt/battery is adequate for a 2kW stereo.<P>Moral of the story: Spend your money on a battery with a low ESR. This will help the battery to supply current without as much of a drop in voltage. Caps look good in your car but do very little to help your stereo. Headlights dim because the alternator experiences ESR drop when it tries to supply max current. A cap can help with this but it actually increases the load on the alt. ESR comes into play during charging as well.<p>[ December 12, 2001: Message edited by: loudsubz ]