How many amps do I need, I just bought 2 infini kappa 12's and will buy MB quart component speakers, do I need one amp or two, at what power ratings? I'm trying to save money, what would be a good amp, not overkill, that will let the stuff i bought listed above perform to their potential? Thanks.

 

If you're trying to save money, get a nice 4 channel amp. Run two channels to your components, then bridge the other two and run that to the subs. There are a lot of good amps out there, I've used PPI, Orion, Alpine, and JBL without problems. Just make sure you get a good brand and you'll be fine. You should be able to get a 50x4 which should give 50 watts to your components and then 100 to each sub if you wire them correctly for around $200-$300 depending on where you buy it. Two amps would probably be a little better but installation will cost more since you'll have to buy extra wiring.

 

One thing you definitely must consider is the nominal impedance of your subs. 2 ohms, 4 ohms, dual voice coil, etc. The amp you use to power the sub must be able to operate at the load the subs will present. And don't forget that the differnce between a mono or stereo operation of the subs will also affect impedance. Ohms law may be explained in the faqs section. I encourage anyone who likes music to understand ohms law. You may also want to advise us here of the impedance of your subs.

 

here are the specs, I've read people running 400-500W to each sub, would this sound about right, is this what you would recommend?

Product Description
Kappa Perfect truly bridges the gap between subwoofers intended for SPL and those intended for sound quality. If you're looking for a subwoofer that sounds great and hits hard, look no further.
Details
Brand Infinity
Estimated Price $150 to $200
Frequency Response 18 - 150Hz
Impedance Rating 4 ohms
Peak Power 1400 Watts
Recommended RMS Power Range 350
Sensitivity 96 dB
Type Subwoofers
» Manufacturer's Page

 

If it were going in my car I would get a modest two channel amp of 35-75 watts per channel and a mid-size class D monoblock, or two channel class D bridgable to 2 ohms. I would look for 500 to 1000 watts RMS from the monoblock into 2 ohms. But be slightly warry. A few companies when they say 500 watts their amps will only put out that power with 14.4 volts, and sometimes it's actually the peak output. On the other side we have several manufactuers that give you at least what you are looking for. MTX, Zapco, Arc, and a few others are in this group. MTX amps generally have at least 15-30 % more power than they are labeled to supply. But you will know when you get the amp how powerful it is because most companies include a bench test result for the amp. Read at what voltage and impedance it produced the indicated power.

You can get a more powerful amp and just set the gains slightly lower. Make sure that you don't turn the volume up to the point where it distorts. With as much power as you could have it should be quite loud before it distorts.