[y2ks2k]

I have a new alpine deck 50X4 and Infinity components in the front (6.5) and 2 ways in the rear (5.5). When I turn it up I get a ton of thudding in the speakers during mild base (for example during rock songs when they are hitting it heavy on the base). I’ve never had a problem like this running a stock deck to speakers. I had taken it back in to fix an obviously bad speaker in the passenger side (new speaker blown out of the box, makes me wonder)... They say that this is because I need an amp. The noise defiantly comes from the component speakers. Are they right? Do I need an amp? What should I run? I only have $200 for a 2 channel amp and most I have seen are 50X2 at 4ohms at that range. Think this will be an improvement over my deck AND fix he speaker problem?

 

[MKIVSupra]

You definitely need an amp. There is no way a good set of speakers will sound good only being driven by the deck. Decks hardly put out any watts to begin with and they are not very clean watts. Even though your deck is rated at 50X4 I think you speakers are only getting about half that. The 50X2 will be a slight improvement but you will still be underpowereing the speakers especially a set of Infinity components. I have heard underpowering speakers can ruin them over time and even blow them. You will either have to get cheaper speakers with a lower RMS or a bigger amp. What it sounds like to me is you should have just stuck with the stock setup. Stock stereos are usually perfectly matched, power to speakers, and sound decent but not ear blowing. If the STi came with a standard system I would have probably stuck with it but since I had to pay extra I figured I might as well put something good in. Maybe check Ebay for some used amps.

 

[mx_9]

Sounds like you may be pushing your amp into clipping. NOT GOOD. _If_ this is the case you will eventually blow your speakers. Like previously stated, if you're looking for a lot of volume you'll need an external amp for clean power.

 

[ldivinag]

BMW M3 owner here... selling it for a STI =)

ANY amp is an improvement over the deck's power.

i recommend a good 25x2 amp will an upgrade. just dont fall for the cheapy ones you see.

i reccommend an old school sound stream REF series amp that i know a dude who rebuilds them and for a great price. a REF 300 was like $135. believe me, these amps are solid and are top notch.

the amps you can buy these days especially from best buy, circuit city, etc are the kind that are priced cheap and well... you know the rest. even if they are well known names.

 

[y2ks2k]

I ended up buying a Kenwood 2X 100 @ 4 ohms amp. It sounds a LOT better now!

 

[mx_9]

General Suspension Question in Off-Topic

Great, glad it worked out for you.

A good rule of thumb, if you're into volume, is to always maximize the 'clean' power to your speakers. More speakers get blown when the speaker power rating is much higher than the amps power rating. Signals get pushed to distortion (clipping) which results in a high level of dc-type voltage at the speaker at higher volume levels.

Enjoy, Chris