Car Audio

[tri5-73dart]

hello,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but if not please move it to the right place.
I just have a quick question about car audio. I am going to be putting 2 6x9 speakers with these specs into the back of my car: 4-way coaxial sound reproduction system
4-way crossover for strong reproduction in each frequency range 6" x 9" speaker
Big enough to handle your sound requirements without interfering with your passenger space Composite IMPP cone material
Lighter than most other materials, these materials can respond more quickly and create clear, powerful sound Strontium magnet in the midrange
2-1/4" lightweight midrange with magnet fluid and strontium magnet projects rich aural textures 300Watt maximum output
The speaker can handle a fairly high maximum of 300Watts with a nominal rating of 40Watts
Then in the front im going to be putting 2 of these:
Key Features & Benefits:4-way coaxial sound reproduction system
4-way crossover for strong reproduction in each frequency range 6.5" speaker
Big enough to handle your sound requirements without interfering with your passenger space Composite IMPP cone material
Lighter than most other materials, this composite can respond more quickly and create clear, powerful sound Strontium magnet in the midrange
1-5/8" lightweight midrange with magnet fluid and strontium magnet projects rich aural textures 260Watt maximum output
The speaker can handle a fairly high maximum of 260Watts with a nominal rating of 50Watts

Now my question is about amp's
The place I am going to be getting the amps have a 4 way amp which is what i need, with a max of 600 watts. But im not sure if this will handle it the watts from the speakers.
Now they also have a 2 way amp that puts out 760 watts, so would it be better to get 2 of the 760 watt's or will i be fine with the one 600 watt amp.

Thank you.
-Mike

[Roger Poirier]

600 watts is more then enough. Thats what I put in my car.

R.P.

[dannyho]

As a general Rule always ignore the max values. They are not a realistic number, not from the amps and defiantely not from the speakers. and you just want those RMS (nominal) wattages to be the same. remember that the amp output is directly related to the resistance of the speaker, but I doubt you have anything other than 4 ohm speakers. so if you have 50 watts rms coming from the amp into a speaker that's designed to take 40 watts, you'll be fine, thats just a small difference. I prefer to have the speaker value higher than the amp, but I've done and had installs where that wasn't the case and it worked out just fine.
I always hated it when the amps would advertise 300 watts only to find out that its really a 37.5 watts RMS x 4. theres a CES standard now though, which makes buying new amps a little easier.

[maro2nv]

The 4 channel 600 watt amp would be perfect. As for the rms of your speakers, it depends on the speakers you have. A lot of high end companys under rate there products a lot. Even if the amp has a little to much power you can adjust the gains on the amp. Its always better to have a little more power than not enough. If you dont have enough power it could destort when you play it loud. Hope this helps
-Josh

[pitts64]

2 way speakers always seemed to sound just as good, if not better, then 3 ways. I've never heard 4 ways.

[dannyho]

well you really get what you pay for with speakers, I know of expensive 2 ways that can match it up with component sets.

[MonzaRacer]

Whoa whoa whoa Redneck hold up!
NEVER NEVER NEVER exceed the RMS input into the speakers.
I have built systesm for years and all that will get toy is a blown speaker as you will over heat and litterally melt the voice coil.
As rule for any system I use the 80 percent rule, and leave 90 percent as a last case.
IF you cap or coil (use capacitor for limiting low fequencies or coils ie inductor coils to reduce the high frequencies) on the speaker(I prefer to cross my speakers at the speaker rather than a lot of electronics) this is called using first order cross over then you MAY be able to run say a 40 watt RMS stereo in to a 40 watt RMS speaker but this is like saying you can run your 7000 redline engine at 7000 for extended amount of time, if you have NASCAR parts go for it if you have off the shelf oe replacement forged then you will break.
THE RMS rating is the rating you watch, keep your speakers at least 10 to 20 percent over the amps RMS and youe speakers will live for years if not decades.
You overdrive a speaker and the first time your speaker is good and warm and you blast the new super base freak 69 cd your speaker will either over excursion (pop out) burn voice coils.
For a 40 watt RMS speaker run it from a decent head unit and dont use one with much morethan the speakers rated RMS input.
NOW if you have speaker with a higher resistance like 6 or 8 ohm then you can use a slightly higher input wattage. BUT this is rare, you will find most aftermarket speakers are generally 4 ohm.
IF you run a 600 watt RMS amp into these speakers they will die.
IF its 600 watt peak double check the RMS output.
I had a set of 6x9's that were rated at 100 watts RMS and ran my Marantz amp set up that puts out 90 Watts RMS into 4 ohm. The neat thing is this amp is is 1 ohm stable.
I used a set of 10 in Blaupunt Pro components subs also rated at 100 watts RMS. With 6.4 mH coils on the subs and I used caps to cross the 6x9s above 100 hz. All I had to use was the base adj from my radio and it rocked and my speakers lasted for over 6 yrs. I still have one of the 10 in subs and it still works fine.
The subs were crossed to allow everything under 100hz and I never tore up a speaker and it would push anything from opera to country to rap to rock. I recorded a RTA of 39 out of 40 and it pushed 104db SPL.
all of my speakers were in the back and ran free air. The RTA means that the staging was right and the sound surouded very well, even without front speakers.
If anyone needs real hlp on stereo let me know. I have sytems that have ran for as long as 10 yrs without blowing speakers.
Lee

[dannyho]

if you turn your gain down you will be fine. I'm not sure where monza is coming from, but yeah if you turn the gain all the way up and blast the radio, you will likely blow your speakers. but gain is supposed to be set moderately - always. some people tend to think of it as a secondary volume control, as an installer, I hate these people. I've worked in car audio for years, doing SQ systems, some SPL , and my cousin continues to do so in his own business. comparing this to a 7000 rpm car running 7000 rpm all the time is a terrible metaphor. when you're listening to music, you'll likely never be operating at full volume and therefore even though your amp says 60 watts rms, you're not seeing it, simply because you don't need it.
In short, drop your gain a little and you'll be fine.

[ProdigyCustoms]

I think our friend is confusing 4 way coaxial speakers (meaning 4 speakers in one) with needing a 4 channel amp, which would be for 4 independent speakers. Most 3 and 4 channel coaxial speakers I ever heard sounded like crap because all the mid range and tweeters block the main speaker. Someone above said coaxial, and I have to agree.

As for the 260 watts rating on the speaker. If it is a 4 way coaxial speaker, I would through all those ratings away. Because it is a 4 way Coaxial, i have to believe it is probably flea market power which can be divided by four or multiplied by four depending on which is most appropriate, LOL!

You only need a 2 channel amp for 2 speakers. You 4 way speakers are supposed to be able to cover a broad enough range with no other speakers are needed, Sure! But if you are only running 2 speakers, you only need a 2 channel amp, so I would run the 2 channel amp you are looking at.

Now if you have not bought anything yet, for a nice basic system with complete sound, I would stat over and buy a pair of 6 X 9 Coaxial and a pair 6 1/2" coaxial speaker, and a 400 watt 4 channel amp. Sound will be much better. And if it is on a budget, there is decent Sony and Pioneer stuff at Walmart.

What brand is this stuff you looking at?

[Pro-touring towncar]

Frank is right, I have always used either coaxials or separates. I have built may award winning sound systems including the 2002 USACi world champion. I would use a good set of coaxials 5 1/4 or 6 1/2s and a good 2 way for the rear( I normally don't run rear high frequency drivers) A good round speaker will sound much better than an oval.

As for power. An under powered system will fry a speaker faster than over powering. Distortion or clipping is also one way to kill a speaker.

Tim

[MonzaRacer]

clipping is when you try to push a 100 watts (RMS) in to a 40 watt(RMS) speaker.
RMS stands for Root Mean Square nad this is the nominal rating each speaker can handle contiously.
As for low power killing a speaker, not, the most it would do is not perform.
I have always had great sounding 6x9 3 and 4 way but then I always pick name brands with proper ratings.
The RMS input power rating on a speaker also is its ability to dissipate heat from the voice coil.
As for power from amps the big thing is remember that you should not overdrive a speaker.
Overdriving a speaker is another way to get it to over excursion when jaming to good music.
From the RMS (nominal) ratings of the speakers all it needs is a good head unit with a loud button and no amplifier.
OH regardless of the number of time a person goes to a competition doesnt mean your building a system electronicly correct.
I see people buy HUGE RMS output amps then cheap out on the (driver) speaker and have systems that trash out everytime they crank it up.
I prefer to pay for quality (drivers) speakers and then save for properly speced out amplifier.
I see people buying 3000 watt amps and they are cheap amps that barely put out 150 watts RMS, because the ratings for peak power is at something like 20000 khz (this is beyond human hearing range) but it makes a great selling point on the box for the people who dont know what the actual ratings are for.
Those speakers listed at the beginnings would rock with a good head unit putting out 40 to 45 watts per channel.
As for an electronic cross over I doubt may people are going to find any real gain on those speakers.
With a 40 watt RMS speaker trying to hit it with more power is a good way to melt it down.
Heck the 6x9s in my truck were ran off a head unit making 50 watts RMS and it never hurt them and I cranked the crap out of it but my exhaust got too loud when I took the tail pipes off so I put the Marantz in my truck for good power and its putting 90 watts RMS into the speakers in little 6x9 boxes and the caps crossing them. I have to turn the base down but keep the treble up and friends who have much bigger systems want to know where my sub is. I dont have one but I am looking into Aura Bass shakers or maybe even the BAss Shaker pros.
They recreate the effect of subs with out the large space requirements.
I have put in several sets and drive them straight off the head units as I usually never have anything on them after installing an amp.
With those amll speakers put an amp on those if you want them to blow up.
Good luck