RobIVPush33

Im trying to search for the right amp and am a little stuck on some of the lingo used in the specs. If someone could explain it a little It would be a great help.

Whats a high&low pass ?
Whats Bridgeing?

This might be a dumb question but the # of chanels refers to the # of speakers, correct? so a 50w x 4ch amp delivers 50 watts to 4 seperate speakers.

one other thing. Why do some units have RCA plugs and some have both RCA and Speaker plugs?

<small>[ May 25, 2002, 09:24 PM: Message edited by: RobIVPush33 ]</small>

Z-Rated

High and low pass Its a crossover point. High pass lets all the high frequecy through. Ex- if u have a 5 inch door speaker, u dont want bass going to it. so you would use a high pass filter for that. Low pass lets all the low frequecy through. Like for subs.

Bridgeing Is getting more power out of an amp. Ex right channel you have a positive and a negative wire, and same for the left. So to bridge it you would use the Positve from the right channel and the negative from the left channel

Yes a 50X4 amp delievers 50 watts to each of the 4 speakers

Most aftermarket cd players have RCAs this is for external amps. Like a 50X4 amp to run your highs, or subs for that matter. All it is is a signal for the amp telling it what to play. And they all have speaker "plugs" or whatever, a place to plug your speaker wire too and connect the HU (head unit) to the speakers. Any more questions ask away <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" />

Drew

RobIVPush33

Thank, youve cleared up a lot of things.

I wasnt planning on connecting the from door speakers to any amp, since there small and deliver primarily mid to high freqs. But my brother said I should connect them anyway, and get a "bass blocker" for them.

WOuld I be better of getting a X-over or spending a little xtra on an amp that has one built in to it?

I think Im gonna get one amp now for the 4 rear speakers (which are 6x9's), 4x200w , that should give me a 50w / speaker increase.

Later I can get a second amp just for the sub(s).

Is there anything I should be cautious of in my search for the right amp? oh, what is "high level inputs"

The PB 446 - 4x50 is one Im considering, what do you think?
<img src="http://www.justamps.com/images/pb446.jpg" alt=" - " />

Z-Rated

I would not go with that amp, ever. It says its "50X4" but i wouldnt doubt if it was more like 20X4. Try something like the kenwood KAC849, it doesnt have a Xover on it. I would then get a Xover and have both. Or you could find a pioneer or kenwood amp that has a Xover on it already. Hope this helped

Drew

RobIVPush33

Can someone explain the diff between 2ohms and 4ohms and how that plays a role in amps?

Also, does the x-over get placed between the head unit and the input side of the amp or between the output side of the amp and the speakers? or does it matter?

One other ?, im getting confused as to what the following are.

High Impedance Input
High Level Low Impedance Input

<small>[ May 28, 2002, 08:47 AM: Message edited by: RobIVPush33 ]</small>

chev4life

iTrader: (1)

Ah...good questions. The difference between 2 and 4 ohms is the resistance that the amplifier see's when trying to make power. The lower the resistance the more the power (ie... 2ohm more power than 4) but with everything there is a drawback. The lower you cut the resistance the hotter the amp will work and the more distortion will be present (not a big deal with subs....but big with mids and highs).....you also dont want to over load your amp. DO NOT RUN THE AMP AT A LOWER OHM LOAD THAN RECOMENDED. If you are running this for sound quality and you have a decent (dont get Pyramid) amp then I recomend running at 4 ohms and you will have no problems.
Crossover wise......if it goes between the signal (before amp, after deck) it is an electronic xover and cuts the signal the amp see's. They work the best for complex systems and for amps that dont have internal ones. Xovers that go after the amp and before the speaker are called passive xovers. Those are the ones that will come with component sets and some higher end coax's. They work more like signal splitters. Take what your amp gives them and sets a low pass for your mids and a high pass for your tweets so nothing gets fried.
As far as:
High Impedance Input
High Level Low Impedance Input
I am not quit sure....would have to see where it is labeled or talked about.

As far as amps go...my advise is get the best you can afford, clean power is better than dirty power. Go for a good 40x4 or a little higher. Pioneer, Alpine, Kicker, Rockford, Soundstream, JL, Arc, Orion......there are so many. But if it is $200 and says its 100x4....it is almost always to good to be true. You also want to look for an amp that gives its RMS (roots means squared) output and not its peak. Good luck.