AWeb80 Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 I got a Crossfire CFA142 running my front Fosgate 5.25 comps at 35watts a piece...... ...w3ak ..I know I got a Kenwood kac-729s running my Pioneer 4-way 6x9's....at 100 watts a piece I'm gonna upgrade my 5.25's to Boston S50's and run them w/ the Kenwood currently on my 6x9's.... I need a good recommendation for a good amp to run my 6x9's....they can take ~400 watts a piece. I'm looking for something around 200 watts per channel at 4 ohms.....I like Kenwood....but havn't found anything in my price range... I'm leaning towards a used amp because I don't want to pay alot for it...around $100 is good for me. I know there are plenty of audiophiles on here....so please lead me to a quality amp w/ the specs I need Thanks In Advance!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodeen2007 Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 with the price your trying to spend the slection is limited in the high quality amps. i found one that might work for ya here's the link http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=4877 i'll keep searching and i'll make a few calls to some of my friends to see if they have any good used amps. oh, i have used profile before their not awesome but they get the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 please dont put the kenwood amp with boston speakers. unless you totally have to. kenwood is crossfire makes better amps actually. I would try to find a boston amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted February 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 I've Been Happy With My Two Current Kenwood Amps. Why Are They Bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 Pretty inefficient, distortion level isn't that great, and they like to run hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted February 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 Chris, What Brand Would You Suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 I cant read this anymore. it cracks me up too much captain kirk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 I cant read this anymore. it cracks me up too much captain kirk! Please.... elaborate, oh wise one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan from Ohio Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 I hate Kenwood in a nutshell. Their HU's quality sucks, period. The Speaker/Subs are sub par at very best. The amps are built by asian midgets in a Hacienda somewhere in Mexico... Well OK, they are built in China... The amps dont usually do rated power, have high distortion (not the white sheet type) and just genrally not a good amp. To be brutally honest you would be foolish to amp the 6x9s in the rear. Actually you should ditch them altogether. Especially if your considering SQ, since I see Audiophile mentioned Amping the 6x9's will just detract from your front sound stage and make the overall system sound WORSE. Amp the fronts properly. Want to make a huge impact on SQ? Goto http://www.secondskinaudio.com and buy a set of speaker tweakers. Anyone claiming to like SQ in the least bit should have a pair of these. Best $25ish you will EVER spend on Car Audio. Even for STOCK speakers it makes a HUGE difference... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted February 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 I already covered the doors in Dynamat Xtreme...got it for a GREAT price. It helped tons....even w/ road noise....my GP is so quiet inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Deff ditch the 6x9's I dont even have them in my car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted February 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 so go w/ no speakers in the rear...no thanks ....and I checked the boston amps...the amp i'd need is HUGE...like 18" long....too big to mount to my box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Who says you need that amp? whats that amp for anyways? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 and what Pioneer 6x9's do you have that can handle 400watts each?!?! Maybe peak power is 400w but thats NOT RMS watts. RMS is probably around 100w Are you talking about these: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Speakers/A-Series/Pioneer/TS-A6982R?tab=B They can only handle 80w continous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted February 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 that is the updated style... mine are 2 yrs old....but barely used.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 I'm lost here people. Seriously lost. I can't figure out for the life of me where all that supposed distortion, overheating, and inefficiency comes from Kenwood amps. I use two Kenwood KAC-7203 for the front 5.25 components and the rear 6x9's. Yeah they're both amped. The amps have their own fans built in and no matter how loud I turn them (to the point where your ears hurt), or what volume I played them at, I could never hear any distortion. I have these set up on Polk Audio DB5250 fronts and DB690 rears. I also have a third Kenwood KAC-9103D amp to power my sub, which sounds the same on this Alpine R12 as my old 1600W (1100W @ 2 ohms RMS) Hifonics amp did on my Kicker L5. Am I missing something here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Adam, just find an amp thats about 100w RMS x 2. Youll be good to go with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 I'm lost here people. Seriously lost. I can't figure out for the life of me where all that supposed distortion, overheating, and inefficiency comes from Kenwood amps. I use two Kenwood KAC-7203 for the front 5.25 components and the rear 6x9's. Yeah they're both amped. The amps have their own fans built in and no matter how loud I turn them (to the point where your ears hurt), or what volume I played them at, I could never hear any distortion. I have these set up on Polk Audio DB5250 fronts and DB690 rears. I also have a third Kenwood KAC-9103D amp to power my sub, which sounds the same on this Alpine R12 as my old 1600W (1100W @ 2 ohms RMS) Hifonics amp did on my Kicker L5. Am I missing something here? I have personally seen a three kenwood amp setup that had the same "800" watt kenwood that was like the one I had problems with, that absolutely screamed in my friends truck. dont get me wrong they get loud as hell. just kind of run of the mill. I see a lot of cheap installs with them around town so I got sick of kenwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 There's a reason Kenwood started putting internal amplifier's on there amplifiers.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan from Ohio Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 I'm lost here people. Seriously lost. I can't figure out for the life of me where all that supposed distortion, overheating, and inefficiency comes from Kenwood amps. I use two Kenwood KAC-7203 for the front 5.25 components and the rear 6x9's. Yeah they're both amped. The amps have their own fans built in and no matter how loud I turn them (to the point where your ears hurt), or what volume I played them at, I could never hear any distortion. I have these set up on Polk Audio DB5250 fronts and DB690 rears. I also have a third Kenwood KAC-9103D amp to power my sub, which sounds the same on this Alpine R12 as my old 1600W (1100W @ 2 ohms RMS) Hifonics amp did on my Kicker L5. Am I missing something here? You have the best Kenwood amps ever made, thats why. I still wouldnt run Kenwood amps just because. TBH those amps are good, but the rest of their lineup and all recent stuff sucks nuts. Thats the reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 I'm lost here people. Seriously lost. I can't figure out for the life of me where all that supposed distortion, overheating, and inefficiency comes from Kenwood amps. I use two Kenwood KAC-7203 for the front 5.25 components and the rear 6x9's. Yeah they're both amped. The amps have their own fans built in and no matter how loud I turn them (to the point where your ears hurt), or what volume I played them at, I could never hear any distortion. I have these set up on Polk Audio DB5250 fronts and DB690 rears. I also have a third Kenwood KAC-9103D amp to power my sub, which sounds the same on this Alpine R12 as my old 1600W (1100W @ 2 ohms RMS) Hifonics amp did on my Kicker L5. Am I missing something here? You have the best Kenwood amps ever made, thats why. I still wouldnt run Kenwood amps just because. TBH those amps are good, but the rest of their lineup and all recent stuff sucks nuts. Thats the reality. Ah ok. I just picked up the best set of amps I could find at best buy becuase a good friend of mine has someone who works at a best buy, and I got them dirt cheap. $600 for all the amps, the capacitor, 3 pairs of shielded twisted RCA's, 2 distribution blocks (one fused), an Alpine R12, and a ported sub box. All were brand new. I just figured they were midrange. Given how good they are, i might set them up in the Bonne a little while after I get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan from Ohio Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 I already covered the doors in Dynamat Xtreme...got it for a GREAT price. It helped tons....even w/ road noise....my GP is so quiet inside. Sure that helps, like step 1. The tweakers break up the rear waves created from the midbass inside the door. The end result is a dramatic increase in midbass clarity and loudness. Like Ive been saying for awhile now its the absolute best $25 you can spend on ANY system, stock for $10,000 components. These are the best things there is, period. so go w/ no speakers in the rear...no thanks ....and I checked the boston amps...the amp i'd need is HUGE...like 18" long....too big to mount to my box. OK... well obviously you dont care about SQ or staging like I do. To each their own. There is no set of 6x9 speakers out there taking 400 WRMS per side. There are some out there doing 100 WMRS and a bit over. Most inflate this number anyhow. Get the accurate specs on your drivers and get back to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 those boston amps are like twice as powerful as you would think. you can run them hot. 2 ohm stable. I got a 75x4 and it ended up being 150x4 at 2 ohm. but I run it at 4 ohm. you could use their smallest 2 channel and run the components and 6x9s. and it would still overpower the 6x9s. they arent cheap throw away stuff either. high quality Italian made amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhrarhG Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 I agree 100% with the soundstage argument. I have 6.5 infinity reference components in my Jeep with an Alpine amp up front, and the rear infinity 6.5's off the HU, and it sounds much better than my GP that has 4x6 infinity kappas in the dash and doors with infinity kappa 6x9 in the rear. I have the GP running off a 4x85w, with the 4x6 paralleled so the front channels are 120w at 2 Ohms. At any rate, my components with about 30 watts sound better than my GP by a long shot. It's all soundstage. Midbass up front is key. If I were you, I'd get a set of s60s, run your kenwood amp to those, cut the gains on the amp down. This will help with SQ. Lower gains means you won't notice flaws in the amplifier as easily and it'll stay cooler. If you really feel the need to amp the 6x9, toss your crossfire on the 6x9's. It'll put out more juice than the HU. If you have the time, just try switching the amps around now and see how you like it. I've never heard Rockford components, so I can't speak for them, but my guess is that if you switch 'em, you'll notice a good difference. Can't hurt to try, and it's free. I'd do it before I spent a bunch of money. If I needed an amp, I'd consider getting a used ZED audio amp off ebay. ZED made amps for Lanzar, US Acoustics, as well as many other companies. I have a ZED Lanzar Opti, and that thing is a beast. Anyway, these are very good amps that can be had cheaply. http://cgi.ebay.com/US-Acoustics-USX-2080-amplifier-made-by-ZED-Audio_W0QQitemZ180185713732QQihZ008QQcategoryZ39739QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQtrksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem As an example. I know it's smaller than what you "need" but you get the idea. When I do it all over again in the GP, I'm going to try and squeeze some 6.5" components in the doors. The addition of midbass up front makes a big difference. Making up for it with 6x9 in the rear sounds like crap in my opinion. Form your own opinions, most of us are just trying to help. FWIW, to all the people that say Kenwood sucks, I agree, but if I had one, no way would I get rid of it before it absolutely shit the bed. Right now I don't have the $$$ to be getting rid of a working amp because someone told me it sucked. And to the "Audiophiles" out there, you have to realize it's still a car. Yeah, you might hear a little bit of distortion when you're car's parked, with the engine off, in a garage, but the other 99.999% of the time you are listening to your stereo it isn't going to make a damn bit of difference. Yeah, numbers are nice and everyone wants a high SNR and a low THD, but if the audible THD threshold is about 0.05% in optimum conditions, I'm sure the Kenwood is going to be fine in a CAR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Id stay stock before defiling my car with flea market stuff. unless you dont really care. you wouldnt have to spend anything that way either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.