Well, I have recently swapped out my front speakers (stock 3 speaker Bose system in a 1993 Z28 here) for the polk db6501 setup, and left my stock "sub" in the hatch. Now i'm looking for a cheap amp to adequately power all three speakers. I know the RMS rating on the polks is 100w, max is 300w, I believe. I have no clue on the stock sub. But the one thing I'm confused on is how the ohms work. Should the amp have equal or less ohms than the speakers? Thanks..

 

Here's a good website to get you started: The 12 Volt.com

In essence though most car speakers are designed for 4 Ohm operation using standard wiring, and most car stereo amps are rated using 4 ohms as the standard.

I would also suggest that you ditch the Stock Sub, as it's really just a 5th speaker, with the higher frequencies filtered. You're much better off installing a true aftermarket Sub if you are truly looking for actual Bass...

 

thanks for the link. i really like the way it sounds right now, but on my head unit, there is a setting for "loud".. and if i have it on, the bass is actually really really loud, but you can't turn it up very loud at all until it starts distorting. if i turn loud off and turn the bass up more, it's still decent sounding, but it's not a very "full" sound. I can turn it up to 17-20 without the "loud" on before it starts getting distorted, with loud on, about 12-13 before it starts getting distorted.. I think it would sound really good if I just had everything amped so I could just run it on "loud" at a higher volume..

 

I would leave the stock "sub" alone and let it run from the stock source. The polk db series are 4ohms each speaker I believe so you want an amp that is rated to put out at least 80-100 watts RMS per channel @ 4ohms. It does not matter if the amp is also rated for 2ohms or 8ohms as long as the 4ohm ratting is enough for your speakers.


Also the polk db series are very good and they can easily take 120-150 watts RMS each without question.

 

To be honest with you I would remove the stock sub, it's not that good and it's pretty heavy for what it is because of the plastic "cage" it's in.

 

It would sound good if you had everything amped without having "loud" on. You don't really want to have to use all that extra stuff that head units have built in to them when you have everything properly setup. All the loud function does is boost the gain to everything and, as you already stated, makes things distort easily.


Once you have everything hooked up to an aftermarket amp you will see that you do not need the "loud" function.

 

i was thinking that. i was thinking I would probably get more midrange/low end out of the 6.5's, and just make a fuller sound with the stock sub. i'm planning on putting some speakers on the sail panels by the back seats eventually, when I get the cash for it (as there are no speakers back there, curious as to what it would even sound like). i want to eventually finish the stereo with a nice single 10" subwoofer and just get everything done, I just don't have **** for money right now.. too many priorities, thats why I'm not sure whether to just get a decent 2 channel amp for the front speakers, or get a 4 channel, since I will eventually be getting the sail panel speakers as well, and then just get a mono amp for the sub...

thanks for the help guys... i wish i just had the money to finish my car up the right way, I really don't feel like half-assing it, and there's a lot of things to do on the car, as well as things i have to pay for that don't even associate with the car.. thanks a lot

 

I can tell you this: If your Stock Sub Distorts now, driving it with an aftermarket amp would really cause distortion

If your looking to do things on a budget:
-- I would go with a four channel amp now. For now you can wire in only two channels to power your existing speakers.
-- If you can afford to, put two more Polk DBs in the sail panels, and you can drive them off the open 2 channels on the amp.

This way you already have everything ready to go once you get the sail speakers if you can't get them now.

Also when you run power and ground wires to your amp, install a small distribution blocks, rather than directly wiring the amp. Then you can add a second amp to power your aftermarket sub later, and rather easily.

I am also willing to bet you'll be pleasantly surprised by the Bass of 4 Polk DBs running off a 4 channel amp. I run 4 Infinity 6.5Is, and my 10" Sub blew, for about a year I had no sub, and while I missed the Bass, it didn't sound so bad that I couldn't live without it.

 

It's not the stock sub that distorts really... it's just because I don't have enough power running to all my speakers (I'm assuming) that the fronts are trying to put out the bass, and can't and I get this sorta tremolo effect in the music when bass hits. I usually just turn the music down or the bass or set the balance to a little rear bias, but the sq from the sub is kinda ... crap.

I guess I'll just go with the 4 channel amp for right now, work on getting the other speakers and then go from there. Thanks for the tips guys.