Jscotty

Hey Everyone,

I'm looking at getting a new Alpine HU, not sure which one but I've narrowed it down to this company based on everyone's reviews. My question is about the wattage outputs and their effect on the loudness/sound of the system after replacing the Monsoon HU.

The sticky on the Monsoon didn't mention how much "power the HU put out." I know that it doesn't really put out the power, the amp does. My questions is: HUs has Maximum power outputs (around 45-50 Watts), how is this comparable to the output & sound quality of the Monsoon system?

Thanks for your help.

dragonrage

The Monsoon system should be about 30WRMS or so per channel (from the amp.), IIRC. A good head unit will come close (generally 18-22WRMS/channel). And it's claimed that the stock head-unit has notable distortion, though I don't think it's as bad as some people claim. But the whole system is still crap overall, as are most car systems.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Your new Alpine doesn't put out 45-50 RMS watts per channel - more like 18 watts RMS / 50 watts peak. The Monsoon amp is rated 500 watts peak into 8 channels (62.5 watts per channel peak). Actual output is as dragonrage said - about 240 watts RMS (30 watts per channel).

The Monsoon amp is probably the best part of the system (although that isn't saying much). It's actually not bad for a relatively low powered 8-channel amp. It does its job and doesn't introduce distortion until pushed to clipping.

Jscotty

It's only 18 watts RMS, 50 Peak. Is it a problem if the head unit is only a 4x50 output? WOuld that really only go to half of the speakers?

dragonrage

I don't know what you mean by "half of the speakers." You mean the number of channels? It really depends on how you set up your overall system for how many channels you "need." You could get by on 6 easily, assuming you use all 6 speakers, and you'd be no worse off. You could go further and crossover between the fronts (highpass) and sails (lowpass) to cut out 2 channels. But you'd be designing crossovers there. Cut out the hatch speakers to remove 2 channels AND improve the sound quality.

Jscotty

I want to use everything as is, just swapping out the HU. That's my goal and I'm just trying to see if it acheivable. I have a stock setup with the exception of an additional 10 inch sub. As long as everything works, is loud enough, and affordable I'll be happy.

dragonrage

Just stick with using the Monsoon amp. then.

Jscotty

So I can just swap out the HU? That's great. Like I asked earlier, does the output ratings of each HU affect the loudness of the setup or is that all on the amp?

dragonrage

Unless your HU is severely voltage-limited, then it is determined by the amp. only. You'll be fine.

Engine_HP

iTrader: (1)

its all on the amp.

dont forget to buy somthing similar to this

dragonrage

That would be if he wants to use his own amp. He doesn't need it to hook his HU up to the Monsoon amp.