TrexAudiS3

Hi, in the Moonsoon FAQ says that the 97 early 98 the birds have a smaller amp than the late 98-2002 birds, also says that the 97 amp is 200 watt and the later ones says 240 rms by gm, my question is because in the faq says that 98-99 birds theres no need to upgrade the amp because is the same but how about the 97 amp, is the same so theres no need to upgrade? or is different (less power), i ask this because I want to upgrade my speakers with the package Kee Audio sells, and want the system sound the same way as the tested package in the new subwoofer thread, it was tested on a firebird 2002.

thanks

strokerrace

iTrader: (8)

The factory amp is junk. If your are going to upgrade then go aftermarket especially if your going to spend money on new speakers that are decent. GM also bumped the rating of the same amp up when the mustangs started to have the shaker systems. Again, same amp same wattage, different sales pitch.

I you wanna try it though I have one of the "500w New GM Monsoon Amps" (like I said BS) ill sell you for cheap.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Nice of you to pop in with misinformation. There is nothing wrong with the Monsoon amp for what it does. Granted, it's not very powerful by today's standards and you can certainly improve things with aftermarket equipment. But it's an 8-channel amp with signal filtering and signal sensing that puts out about 240 watts RMS of clean power without taking up a lot of space. Give it a clean signal (which the stock head unit fails to do) and you will get nice output right up to its limits. In fact, the amp is about the only thing in a Monsoon system that is worth keeping.

BTW, that "500W" amp is the same 240W amp we're talking about that was used in 99-02 f-bodies. The 500W rating is peak power.

strokerrace

iTrader: (8)

True it is the best part of the factory system but why spend the money on decent speakers, a headunit to send out a clean signal (within its operating range) and use the factory amp? I doubt that it puts out 240w rms , but if so then I would love to see the test. Not trying to be an *** but I mean if your even going to upgrade your audio then its best to do it right the first time.

And on the OPs original question, are the 97 monsoon amps the same? Or are they really a whole 40 watts better? If so is it worth the swap? Will the connectors even plug in or do you have to rewire it?

Qouted from Kee Audios Site for their high end package:
Will work and fit with stock system, aftermarket amplification recommended for optimal sound quality and full benefit of this speaker.

My $0.02....

TrexAudiS3

Tanks for your response, i know that upgrading with better amp and stereo definitely will sound better, but i dont want to rewire or take apart the whole car to upgrade the sound, I used to have another car with a super upgraded sound 5000+ dls in equipment, but for this one i want just to upgrade the speakers because you know the subs sucks, i already replaced 2 and dont want to replace another with the same crap, for my needs i think the system sound decent, but thanks anyway for your opinion.

My question about the amp is because if the newer one is a little more powerful well i can buy it for cheap, but like you said, they have the same connectors?, is just a simple upgrade?, is really more powerful or is the same?, or just upgrade my speakers?
Thanks

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

The 97 amp is not the same as the later model Monsoon amps - it is physically smaller and may or may not have different power output. It's almost impossible to tell about the power because nobody knows what voodoo GM used to arrive at their published ratings. The comment in the Monsoon FAQ refers only to 98/99 amps compared to later "500W" models... there is no point upgrading because they are the exact same amp. GM just changed the way they marketed the power ratings.

However, there is no good reason to upgrade the smaller 97 amp to a newer one either. GM published the same 200W rating for both. Even though we suspect that the newer amp is closer to 240W RMS based on a 500W peak, the difference is minimal (especially spread across eight speakers). A 20% increase in power is barely one click on the volume ****. Doubling power only creates a 3dB increase in volume - it takes ten times the power to double the volume.

As far as not being worthwhile to upgrade pieces of the stock system... many people want somewhat better sound or just want to fix broken parts without the need for a full aftermarket system. A decent head unit and some speakers can provide good sound without requiring the rewiring, amp mounting, and cost that aftermarket systems entail. Certainly an aftermarket system can achieve some amazing results but not everyone is interested that level of audio so a budget friendly and easy to install option is to re-use much of the factory system.

TrexAudiS3

I really apreciate your response-help, well so is not a good reason to uprade, then i just change my speakers. I just want my car with the original look, I have it since new, now it has 28000 miles so i barely use it, but i like it a lot, I only want to have a decent sound.

Thank you very much.