I have recently bought a new MKII Empeg for my Acura Integra '94 and am looking for some advice on a reasonable amp for the installation. I am not looking for the most expensive, nor want to waste my money going too cheap. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I suppose I am looking at the $150 - $300 range

Cheers,
David

You have a very large range of amplifiers to choose from which meet that criteria. Browse around at Crutchfield and get a clearer idea of what you're looking for, then come back with more information:

- Intent to use car's factory speakers or to replace with real speakers?
- Number of speakers and their power handling capacity?
- Intent to install a subwoofer?
- Intent to install yourself or have professionally installed?
- Loud volume levels desired?

- Intent to install yourself or have professionally installed?

And if you do, get recommendations. And even then, take with salt.

An amp remote line hardwired to a blade fuse in the vehicle fusebox by twist-wrapping around the blade is wrong wrong wrong.

Because I don't have enough to do with my time

I'm helping David to help him get this going... He has the stock speakers in his Integra - 4 speakers (4 channel amp). No sub. Install by someone professionally in Bay area. Looking for 20-50 watts per channel. Should have the ability to adjust each channel seperately, but I don't think he needs a crossover... or does he?

As he said, he's just looking to use the empeg instead of the normal head unit, and not looking for pro sound...

- Jon

Should have the ability to adjust each channel seperately, but I don't think he needs a crossover... or does he?

He shouldn't need a crossover just for the factory speakers and no sub. But even in his price range, almost all new amps in that range will have crossovers built-in anyway, you just won't be using them. You won't need to adjust each channel separately, just adjust the levels of the fronts separately from the rears, and again, almost all new amps in that price rage will allow you to do this.

Looks like just about anything will do in his situation.

If I were you, I would ditch the rear speakers and go with some nice components up front, (JL, Infinity, MB Quarts) get a decent 2 channel amp. I have an integra and dont have rears because I sold them after having them a week and then deciding they didnt do anything for the sound. Of course I have a sub in the back so that may make a difference. But all in all I would definately ditch the stock speakers as they suck.

How about something from US Acoustics? I've done quite a bit of research, and have read nothing but good things about their amps. I plan on buying a USX-4085. But if you don't want that much power, there's the smaller USX-4065. As you can see from the links, both of these are available from Crutchfield for very reasonable prices.

Edit: I've also been seeing the 4065 regularly on eBay for even cheaper than Crutchfield's price.

Edit: I've also been seeing the 4065 regularly on eBay for even cheaper than Crutchfield's price.

Exactly. There are a lot of really good, highly rated amps for less than $200 (4x75). One example is the Autotek amp. It has received extremely high marks in the trade and consumer publications. Their specs are great and you can get the "Street Machine" series in the $150-$175 range (4x75). Certainly there are others that are equally as good.

IMO, Crutchfield has great customer support but their prices are sometime 2x what you can buy the same thing for on e-bay.

Look around. You'll find all kinds of opinions. The good news is there are many excellent choices that won't break the bank.

These are great amps but unless he plans to upgrade the speakers they are worthless.

Well, he needs an amp one way or the other. Might as well get something that is descent and he can grow with if he needs it later and...they are at the bottem end of his price range. Certainly he can get cheaper amps and get less quality too. Heck, you can get descent speakers (Like Boston Acoustics or Infinity's for $75 a pair). IMO, while it may be a bit "overkill", I would rather get a good amp for $150 than something crappy for $100. That wouldn't be "worthless" to me.

IMO, Crutchfield has great customer support but their prices are sometime 2x what you can buy the same thing for on e-bay.

I agree. I can usually find things for cheaper elsewhere. The USX-4085 amplifier that I want is the first exception I've found to the rule. I saw it on one or two other sites, but they didn't beat Crutchfield's price on it.

Good point.

Of course, let's take this opportunity to make the standard statement whenever one of these threads comes up...

"The one single thing that can improve the sound of your car stereo the most is the addition of a subwoofer."

There, said it.

"The one single thing that can improve the sound of your car stereo the most is the addition of a subwoofer."

I disagree. In fact, I'm almost sure I heard it put this way: "The one single thing that can improve the sound of your car stereo the most is the addition of an amplifier."

IMO, subs are for people who want others, outside the car, to hear their bass. You can get perfectly good, clean bass out of a set of 2- or 3-way speakers, that's plenty loud enough for any human being.

One example, although I know it may not be common, are the Pioneer 6x9's I run in the rear of my car. The low end of the frequency range dips all the way down to 25Hz. And if I remember correctly, the average human can't hear anything below 20Hz.

I haven't yet been able to get a decent amount of bass out of regular speakers, even 6x9's. I've got a set of Pioneer 6x9's that will go down that low, just not with a flat frequency response. The lower you go in their "range", the less volume you get. You can only push so much bass at so much volume through them before they distort.

I do not use a subwoofer to "boom" down the street. In fact, the stereo sounds perfectly normal outside my car, no excessive boomy-ness.

The thing a subwoofer gives me isn't "boom". It's a proper flattening out of the low frequency response, as well as the ability to bring the low frequencies up so that they can be heard above the road noise.

Exactly I run a JL 10" (traded my JL 12" to some punk) and a set of MB quarts components up front. The key is have different speakers for different frequencies. When you try to push all the frequencies through even a 6x9 3-way every in the midrange and below gets horribly distorted with any amount of bass. Numerous times have I checked to see how loud my system is outside my car and the bass isnt overwhelming.

Thanks all for answering....I have decided on a Rockford Fosgate 300x. I know this is over kill for the speakers (they will be next) but did not want to waste money on an amp that would not be useful in the future.....again - thanks for the feedback.

Well then, I shall have to keep this in mind after I put that amp put in. And since the car was designed to have components up front, I intend to get a pair.

So far, I haven't noticed any terrible amount of distortion in the midrange or bass frequencies, which happen to be the frequencies that sound better from the rear speakers, even at the highest volume I use on the CD receiver. I expect it will be cleaner with an amp. The only real problem I have is the plastic panels (especially the rear deck) vibrating with the bass.

So after the amp, I'll want to stop that rattling from the panels in the rear deck and the doors, and then I shall give thought to a sub. But only if and after I notice unacceptable distortion from the 6x9's.

Thanks goes to Tony and others again, for teaching me yet another lesson about car audio.

PPI makes some nice amps, their smaller ones are in that range.

The last few larger amps I've purchased have been Soundstream ... see what Soundstream amps are running for on Ebay. Very high quality.

Greg

if you like a clear sound and if you use good chassis my reommendation is the Helix by Brax (http://www.audiotec-fischer.de/index2.html). i have got one and it is very neutral i never had a thing like that. by the way here is a list of my equipment. Head Unit RioCar MK2a 10Gig Steeringwheel Remote Pioneer CD-SR80 Amplifier Helix by Brax HXA 40 Front Speakers Canton Pullman RS 2.16 Woofer Visaton GF 250 in a Custom Box Access to Head Unit Wireless LAN Apple Airport Base Station gaphite in a Golf III but the most important part by choosing your equipment is your own taste!!! good luck and happy installation

Totally disagree....It is impossible to get the output from woofers that you can get from a sub that is installed correctly with the right amplification. I am running infinity separates in my tiny Miata and have installed an 8 inch JL audio sub under the passenger foot well and there is no comparison...i would never ever attempt to install a high end system without a sub

just a sub makes it fun. and i don´t speak about high power and hurting. it is just a fact that only a sub is creating dynamic moods. so you loose a little bit of your trunk but you gain al ot of fun. it is worth it, my point of view, of course.

edsmiata, that's all well and good, but output is not the issue for me. The point is having the sound be good enough. Not my-neighbors-know-I'm-on-my-way-home-when-I-turn-the-corner-a-mile-up-the-road. I'm sure I could find a happy medium with a sub. But I will do so only if after testing the audio without it, I decide that I need it to clean up the sound. I could care less what other people, like you, think of my install. I am not attempting to create a high end system or impress anyone.

And had you read the other posts, you would have seen that Tony and others had already made their point about having a sub, without indicating that my opinion is wrong, and that I had already thanked them for their help.

Not my-neighbors-know-I'm-on-my-way-home-when-I-turn-the-corner-a-mile-up-the-road.

Your perception of subwoofers is being clouded by those who abuse them.

When you hear someone coming from a mile away because his stereo is booming, not only is he making the music sound terrible inside his vehicle, but he's doing it with insane amounts of amplification and multiple subwoofers.

That's not the kind of sub I'm talking about. I'm not talking about multiple sets of bandpass 12" push-pull subs in the open back of a slammed pickup truck.

I mean a single 10" sub, preferably in a sealed enclosure, tuned so that it only gently fills in the low frequencies with a nice, dry, flat, non-boomy response. A sound that is no more audible outside the vehicle than the regular speakers. A properly installed and tuned sub is as "transparent" as the regular speakers.

On my car, you can't hear me coming down the street any sooner than you would if I didn't have a subwoofer. The only difference is that when I get close enough so you can hear me, you hear a nice pleasing frequency response that includes the correct amount of bass.

What about a Helix or Brax from audiotec-fischer.com/index2.html?
The sound is cristal-clear, the amp is small, and support is great!
I use two Helix amps (one 4 channel for the speakers and a bridged two-channel for the sub). Believe me there's nothing better in this price-range ;-)

Tony, I understand all this. It's already been made quite clear to me. That other joker was simply putting it to me that I'm wrong for thinking I can replace my head unit with an empeg, get new speakers and an amp, and not have a sub.

I don't subscribe to that perception about subwoofers. Hell, I have one on my computer speakers and it sounds great. I'll never have to pump the audio through the entertainment center for my tunes to sound good.

If the speakers alone can do a good enough job for my ears, then that is all that matters. Because it's my car. I would simply like to avoid having to put one in the car if I can. But I haven't ruled it out.

Not my-neighbors-know-I'm-on-my-way-home-when-I-turn-the-corner-a-mile-up-the-road yep Tony, but who cares about neighbors if the sound is like you said?!!! not me!!!!!!

exact, it is your choice!

I think what many people here were trying to say about subwoofers - is just because you have one doesn't mean you'll be waking up your neighbors from a mile away.

I had a 10 inch sub in my integra a while back, and although I'm just hammering the point in, I could rarely detect it while standing outside the car - especially at the volumes I generally ran it at. It was an inexpensive yet very worthwhile upgrade to the sound in the car - and contrary to what you believe, it was not a "high end" upgrade by any means. It was just a plain old Polk 10 inch inside a basic box running off of an average Kenwood amp - the whole package was less than $300.

Now, I agree with you that you can have the sound "good enough" without a sub, but your perception of a sub to wake up your neighbors is what I disagree with. I had new JL XR components installed in my car last year - and while waiting for my new amp to arrive - I had only the components hooked up - no sub. The JLs sounded awesome and I was surprised at how much bass they were able to produce - this would certainly have fallen in the "good enough" category - albeit the speakers themselves were about $300 at the time. When I had the sub wired up when my new amp arrived a few weeks later - there was just no comparison, however. Using the crossover on the amp - this only improved the performance of my JLs, in that they no longer had to reproduce the lows - although they did a fine job of doing so, the sub was much better suited for this purpose.

I hope you do decide to at least try out a sub or listen to one - just something as a simple boxed 10 inch, nothing fancy or expensive - can make an awesome difference and really bring out some things in your music that you didn't hear before. Most of the time the bass you hear from cars on the street comes from rap music - and not that I have a problem with rap music but it tends to have a lot of bass. I listen to a lot of techno, rock, and metal - and there tends to be less BOOM BOOM BOOM bass (with the exception of techno). I occasionally pull up some classical from the Baroque era (I like harpsichords) and you can tell there too.

It was just a plain old Polk 10 inch inside a basic box running off of an average Kenwood amp - the whole package was less than $300.

Sounds exactly like my setup. Sealed hatchback box?

If the speakers alone can do a good enough job for my ears, then that is all that matters. Because it's my car. I would simply like to avoid having to put one in the car if I can. But I haven't ruled it out.

Fair enough, sounds good to me. I don't mean to sound like I was coming down on you in my last post - I wasn't meaning to... I actually tend to agree with you about the waking up your neighbors kind of bass - I mean - well, some of my friends started out with a simple box, then it seemed like every 3 months they were buying more and bigger subs and more amps, just for the sole reason of being loud - and not really caring about accuracy.