Help out a n00b...

rollaboy10

Hi guys, I'm just new to this forum and relatively new to car audio so I thought I'd post up a few questions I have regarding my audio setup.

I currently have in the mail 2 (x2) SR104DVC subs, one pair of MM 6 x 9's for the parcel shelf & a pair of soundstream xts 4" speakers for the front. I am also looking at buying a pair of tweeters to help filter out the highs from the mids.

Question one; how many watt amp will I need to power my 2 front and rear speakers if my total rms value adds up to 420?

Question two; how many watt monoblock should I be looking at to power my 2 10" subs if they equal 1400 rms in total?

Question three (possibly a silly one)would it be a good idea to upgrade my alternator and/or battery considering all the power that will be running through the car? The only reason I ask is because it's only a '92 corolla (1.6lt 4cyl) so it doesn't really have a heck of a lot of power to start with.

Anyway, any advice, tips, helpful hints would be much appreciated!

Chris

MacLeod

1- 50-75 watts per channel RMS
2- 500-800 watts per sub
3- stock charging will be fine
4- you don't need a separate set of tweeters

KaosTsoc

+1 on what MacLeod has put. Also if you are worried about the draw from your stock alternator. A good option instead of replaceing the alternator would be to do the big three upgrade. It will help the current flow, and discharge better. To be honest with what MacLeod has put the current stock alternator will be fine. However, if you notice your head lights dimming, you either need to adjust the gain on the amp, or do the big three upgrade. The big three upgrade is going to be a good option, and by far cheeper than buying an alternator that puts out more power. If you decide to do the big three, you would be just fine use 4 gauge wire, and just mirror the exsiting stock wiring. Hope this helps.


Thanks.

rollaboy10

So a 300 watt amp will be plenty to power my 2 fronts and 2 rears? And is it worse to have too much power or too little running from your amp? Thanks for your replies!

Kazimir

With proper gain settings it shouldn't matter, assuming you aren't giving 2x+ power. With a lower power amp, do not crank the gain to max for more volume. General rule of thumb that I have heard is gains should not be set to more than 40%.

MacLeod

Too much power blows speakers. Too little power gives you less sound quality and increases the chance that you'll clip the amp by turning it up too much to make up for the lack of power which will send out a ton if power and, again, fry your speakers. Match the speakers rating with the amps output.

Vital

I'd much rather have amp with a lot more power then speakers can handle. At least that way you can dial it up better and will still have "headroom" for future upgrades.... but again that's just me.

MacLeod

That's true. I'm running 200 Watts to my 100 Watt SR's and never had a problem. But when giving advice to newcomers, I tell em match the amp with the speakers. This gives the smallest margin for error.