Stereo amplifier max wattage/wiring recommendations?

[smokin3000gt]

Originally Posted by Roxyflash

Do you have the 6.5 in a separate seaker box?

They're mounted in the dash (open baffle)



Then added baffles

[beachguysc]

My cart has a 2500 watt class d that powers 4 polk db’s and 10” kicker comp rt. In a sealed plastic box. I use 2 sla 12v(35 ah each battery) in parallel and it will pump full power for a few hours.
I had the kenwood 1824bt in my Jeep and it Works very well. The kenwood ran my 4 polk dB 6.5’s and streamed my music. My my sub was a self powered 8” sound ordnance. I couldn’t belive how much sound that little setup put out.

[smokin3000gt]

Originally Posted by beachguysc

My cart has a 2500 watt class d that powers 4 polk db’s and 10” kicker comp rt. In a sealed plastic box. I use 2 sla 12v(35 ah each battery) in parallel and it will pump full power for a few hours.
I had the kenwood 1824bt in my Jeep and it Works very well. The kenwood ran my 4 polk dB 6.5’s and streamed my music. My my sub was a self powered 8” sound ordnance. I couldn’t belive how much sound that little setup put out.

Thanks! Do you have any pics of your setup? Also how do you like your Polk DB+? Mine sound hollow which is why I added the baffles which helped a little but not as clear as I would like or would have expected from these speakers

[bronsonj]

Originally Posted by EzgoTXT2002

I still can't believe Kenwood has found the tech to get 90 watts RMS X 2 bridged out of a 15 amp power draw.

Part of the tech Kenwood (and the vast majority of other car amps anymore) used was changing how they measure RMS power... At the RMS power output, that kenwood unit is giving you a full 1% of distortion. If you are just listening to bass then you probably won't notice. But it wasn't but a decade or so ago (maybe more, I am old now..) that THD was 0.01% (or less) at rated power.

Also, they *used to* measure that distortion at the full 20hz to 20khz range. Now some (not all) measure the distortion at just 1khz. 1khz is a relatively easy tone for an amp to produce so it makes for nicer looking numbers.

Now, they have come up with newer tech (Class D) so my $800 amp from 1996 isn't going to compete with an $800 amp from today if all you are after is bass but my 1996 USA 400 sure had great sound and enough power to give you tinnitus for the rest of your life...

[beachguysc]

Originally Posted by smokin3000gt

Thanks! Do you have any pics of your setup? Also how do you like your Polk DB+? Mine sound hollow which is why I added the baffles which helped a little but not as clear as I would like or would have expected from these speakers

I have 2 polks in the dash and two overhead in a box I ordered. The power acoustic 5 channel marine amp is behind the dash. The sub was in the bagwell as seen in the pics, but I Just removed the sub and the motor. The motor is at EMP for a speed upgrade. And the sub is going to be mounted above the motor in the void under the black plastic. Then the dual batteries will be in the bagwell(under the cooler/storage compartment that came with my doubletake rear seat). I think you are correct to baffle the polks. In my Jeep, I had simply mounted them in the dash and roll bar pods., but didn’t sound that great. So I made my own baffles of sound mat/pillow stuffing for the dash.. And lined the roll bar speaker pods with sound Mat & pillow stuffing. They sounded so much better. I have not done it with the cart because it’s good enough for now. Maybe this spring.










free site to upload pictures

[E36Racer]

I measured my amp draw and both the kenwood and PPI amp peak at 21 amps combined with hard bass hits. Otherwise non bass heavy music pulls about 16 amps cranked up, and it is very loud. These modern class d amps are awesome. Both only have 10ga power wires. Distortion is nil, clear as a bell. Plus they are a fraction of the size of old class A/B amps. I recently trashed my perfectly fine Soundstream Reference 500 because it’s a worthless paperweight these days. It was also my favorite amp of all time. But 4ga power wire and 80amp fuses are now a thing of the past. I was sad but quickly got over it.

[dannyre]

Unless you have a really cheap older designed amplifier or you are going to use multiple amplifiers, a 30a reducer will be just fine. Any newer digital amplifiers are far more efficient than the old ones. Check the specs on your amp and see what it draws at full power output, it's probably less than you think, plus Polk audio speakers are pretty efficient as well.