Looking to buy a 4-channel amp and new interior speakers. Anyone have any recommendations? I had heard that Crystal Audio made some great speakers at a good price. I was considering their 2-way 7" component set for the front. For the back, might just get some cheap 2-way Pioneer 6.5" speakers... good enough for the back, save some cash and put it towards my amp.

So... what's the best brand out there for a moderately priced 4-channel amp? I know most serious audio people don't bother with rear interior speakers, but I plan to.

Thanks for any tips.

 

I used a Pioneer GM-X364 4-channel amp, bought off ebay last fall for $135. Used Pioneer 3-way 6.5" coaxial speakers, $60/pair. I cut rear deck speaker holes in my 5th gen for them (since the 5th gen doesn't use rear deck speakers, they have 5.25" rear door speakers for the Bose setup)
I haven't honestly compared it with any other "high performance" speakers, but I think they sound great (certainly better than my friend's Civic's stock speakers )

 

Alpine has a great little 4 channel amp that is under $200 that sounds great and has lots of power. It is their lower line model V-Power series I think.

 

I believe that Concept Audio has the best bang for the buck high quality 4 channel amp. The 50x4 sells for about $250. THe shop I work at sells lots of Concept gear, and its all high quality and well priced.

 

How many watts are needed for a good crankin' system? (ok, that question is obviously open to some interpretation). The front components I am considering are 150w max, recommended 75w RMS. 50x4 probably enough to push them well? My desire for power is gonna fade here as the weather gets cooler and I spend less and less time with the windows and sunroof wide open. So who knows, might just wait til next spring to upgrade it all.

Thanks for the tip though!

 

The best bet would be to go into a local shop and listen. After you narrow down your opinions then come back. No one can really tell you what sounds good to YOU.

--Don

 

An EFFICIENT speaker will pound.
a speaker which is 3 db more sensitive, will pound twice as much as the base speaker.
Every time you double the power putting in to the speaker, you increase volume by 3 db, or effectively make it twice as loud. The 75 w rms amp will be 1.5 db louder than the 50 at rms output.
If you buy a 50x4 instead of a 75x4, and put the extra 50-100 in to a much better speaker set up, you will have a louder system and it will also sound better due to the quality increase.
If you want to get any more in to it, feel free to get back to me... I love this stuff!

 

I would definately love to get into it more. I've been playing with car audio for nearly 10 years, and I still have a lot to learn.

Definately a good idea about visiting a local shop... but do you really know what kinda sound you're getting until it's installed in your car? I'd probably rather go off recommendations of people who have installed stuff in their car.

It's in my nature to try to spend as little as possible for things (within reason, getting something "decent") but I don't think I wanna go cheap on this purchase. Crappy amps did the job in my Sunbird and my Lumina... wanna get something nice for my first "nice" car. But of course, I wanna get a good deal on a good amp.