Austarion

Hi i have a amp laying around and want to put it to use, just want to know if you can run a headunit channel together with a amp channel?

Thought of something before, very primitive drawing here but hopefully ou get the idea, i'm pretty sure a transistor wouldn't be able to stand the load

And whats this voltage thing on my amp i can control? from 200mv to 2v?

Here's that drawing anyway



Hope you can understand my quick attempt :)

No, definately not. You cannot run two amps into the same set of speakers. The voltage control on the amp is the gain setting - it's the sensitivity to the pre-outs that plug into your amp from your head unit. You can basically think of it as a volume control (even though it isnt but yet it sort is).

The only real way to utilize that amp would be to run both speakers off it in parallel, but then you'd be running mono, which sounds like crap. I'd only recommend it for the use of back speakers, and only if you have a good set of front speakers already.

Didn't think so but it was worth a shot :)

I have some pioneer 40watt rms 6.5" speakers in the front and am looking to buy some 80watt rms pioneer 6x9's.

I don't want to go to 'G unit' and get subs buuuut you never know.

Looks like a new amp is in order.

Which looks better in yours guys opinion?


04 series


05 series

04 series looks better, but whats the spec differences?

05's only have another 20watts peak, everything else is the same.

Ignore the wattages (both peak and rms) as they mean nothing. If you're really intent on using wattages as a guide (please PLEASE dont), at least ignore the peak/PMPO ratings.

Wattages mean little to nothing when you're buying speakers and subs.

Dr-X wrote:Ignore the wattages (both peak and rms) as they mean nothing. If you're really intent on using wattages as a guide (please PLEASE dont), at least ignore the peak/PMPO ratings.

Wattages mean little to nothing when you're buying speakers and subs.

Ok I'll judge them by there cool factor.. :? Whats the right way to judge them by? Amper ratings?

Dr-X wrote:Ignore the wattages (both peak and rms) as they mean nothing. If you're really intent on using wattages as a guide (please PLEASE dont), at least ignore the peak/PMPO ratings.

Wattages mean little to nothing when you're buying speakers and subs.

well , you can ignore the 1000w PMPO ratings (crap) but not RMS, if the manufacturer claims 200wrms or 300wrms, whatever then the speaker must be able to disipate this power. as always some makers tend to exagerate power rating but the more reputable don't..

That's not entirely true, TD05. I've run 80wrms speakers at 200wrms with no problems, and 200wrms subs at 300wrms+. Wattage ratings only relate to how much the driver is designed to handle, but it offers no real bearing on how good the speaker is in any way shape or form.

Unless you're planning on running big power through your speakers, ignore the wattage ratings. Your biggest problem with be clipping due to being UNDER powered, not over powered.

The way to judge a speaker is to learn a bit about them, and talk to people in the know. Go to an audio store with a good comparator and find out what sounds best TO YOU, in your price range of course. There are so many factors that go into speaker manufacture, and most of those factors are not displayed in the speakers specifications.

You CANNOT judge how good a speaker will sound by it's wattage rating - period.

Forget the 6x9 dinosaurs.

Get your self a good set of splits and a sub. You can do a lot better than than mainstream brands.

Look at Boston Acoustics, Digital Designs, Image Dynamics etc

Phil

Definately get front splits for the Starion. The treble doesn't come out properly from the bottom of the door, and it sounds bleh. Putting the component tweeters neatly on the top of the door, and mid-bass at the bottom seems to sound pretty good.

Also RMS is a reasonable way to distinguish the power of a speaker when you have nothing else to really go by, however I tend to look more at the suspension on the edges. Cheap Sony's etc look like they're almost stiched in place, a set of quality units have a larger rubber edging to support further moment, kind of look like mini-subs. Also magnet weight.

But yeah its what sounds good to you that counts, just be careful that you give the speakers a fair chance, often you cant compare them fairly in a car audio store, but the staff there generally can help find something you like.

DD - Digital Designs seems to be very popular here lately, especially the subs, but Ive seen many recommend the 6.5 splits. Also Infinity Reference splits (~$250 new) I have seen many good words, and Apline Type-S.

Im pondering some Fusion front splits. Active crossovers and what looks like a very grunt 6.5 mid-bass :) But I haven't heard them yet, so dunno.

In the cheaper range of splits (sub $200), Ive heard the Kenwoods are better than Pioneer, and the Pioneer is better than Sony.

well just my 2c anyway

When it comes to car audio, you can guarantee somebody will disagree with you :D hehe

Splits? I currently have a pair of 6.5" coaxial speakers sitting in the doors and a pair of tweeters on the dash, just want something to compliment it on the parcel tray, mainly mid range.

I'm interested in some pioneer 80watt rms 6x9's and amp that will have at least there rms rating if not more (higher input wont cause problems will it?)

Sound like a good idea to you guys? I'm not really interested in Subs

As far as I'm concerned i judge speakers by the cone, the deepth of the magnet, the rms and the cones outter edge flexibility

SpidersWeb wrote:Also RMS is a reasonable way to distinguish the power of a speaker when you have nothing else to really go by

A speaker's wattage rating has nothing to do with the 'power of the speaker', but the power handling. Why is this important? It generally isnt, especially when you're not taking into account the speakers sensitivity, but we're getting beyond the scope of this topic.

SpidersWeb wrote:DD - Digital Designs seems to be very popular here lately, especially the subs, but Ive seen many recommend the 6.5 splits. Also Infinity Reference splits (~$250 new) I have seen many good words, and Apline Type-S.

DD make extremely goos subs, but I'm not big on their speakers. They go loud, but the sound quality can be beaten in the same price range.

SpidersWeb wrote:Im pondering some Fusion front splits. Active crossovers and what looks like a very grunt 6.5 mid-bass :) But I haven't heard them yet, so dunno.

They're not active crossovers - they're passive. Fusion are OK, but I'd look more for Infinity, Boston, etc in the same price range. I know this from experience - I'm currently running fusion fronts, and I'm not all that happy with them.

StazzyBabyYeah wrote:I'm interested in some pioneer 80watt rms 6x9's and amp that will have at least there rms rating if not more (higher input wont cause problems will it?)

That will be fine - you're MUCH better off overpowering then underpowering. That's what I would do.

Yeah, and subs in a Starion can be an asshole. Off-the-shelf 12 or 15 inch boxes wont fit. Has to be custom.

Dr-X wrote:That's not entirely true, TD05. I've run 80wrms speakers at 200wrms with no problems, and 200wrms subs at 300wrms+. Wattage ratings only relate to how much the driver is designed to handle, but it offers no real bearing on how good the speaker is in any way shape or form.

Unless you're planning on running big power through your speakers, ignore the wattage ratings. Your biggest problem with be clipping due to being UNDER powered, not over powered.

The way to judge a speaker is to learn a bit about them, and talk to people in the know. Go to an audio store with a good comparator and find out what sounds best TO YOU, in your price range of course. There are so many factors that go into speaker manufacture, and most of those factors are not displayed in the speakers specifications.

You CANNOT judge how good a speaker will sound by it's wattage rating - period.

I didn' say you could, of course wattage has little bearing on sound quality, I think SpiedersWeb was talking about power handling not quality.

I'll repeat, if you're purely talking about power disipation then RMS is the only way to see how much power a voice will disipate before it MELTS!! because RMS power ratings relate to the voice coil's ability to get rid of the heat. BTW a lot of good sounding drivers have very low sensitivity and high power (RMS) handling voice coils.

I think you mean you've run a 200 wrms amp into 80 wrms speakers, but you've run MUSIC not RMS, music is ok at low volumes and little bass content, because the peaks would have been very short in duration with enough time for the voice coil to cool down. Judging a speaker 's sonic quality however is a different matter.

and if I was to run a 300 watts RMS into a 80 WRMS loudspeaker, using say, a 1khz signal to full power, trust me the voice coil would get so hot that it would start to melt in no time.