Ghetto Fabulous sound system

My Mj has some crappy JVC head unit, it only has two RCA outputs. I was thinking of getting a 2 channel amp to run 4 speakers (No subs!) The head unit puts out 40W X 4 (wowie!)

basically just running the front left and front right speakers onto the one side of the amp, and the rights on the other side.

Would this work alright?

The amp I would be using will have these specs.


Jensen Model A-46XP
2 Ch Bridgeable Power Amplifer
Max Power 460 Watts (230WX2)
Selectable Crossover System: HPF/ LPF / Full
Variable HP and LP Crossover
Variable Bass Boost And Input Level Control
Factory Renewed With 90 Day Warranty

aks this dood

You only need one set of RCA's to run one amp (5CH's being the exception). You can run 4 speakers off a 2CH amp no problem, fronts off one channel, rears off the other. But if you can, get a 4 CH, that will allow you to fade not only front to back but left to right.

But why do you want an amp? If your still using stock speakers then you'll blow them, and everything will still sound like crap. Amps arent only for making things louder, they have sound filters to make things cleaner. Jensen isnt knows for having the best filters. Look at eclipse and rockford amps, more money but you get much better sound. And for speakers, 4CHamp>2CHamp.

Sorry if I'm covering stuff you already know, but hearing it again cant hurt.

zfinger said:

You only need one set of RCA's to run one amp (5CH's being the exception). You can run 4 speakers off a 2CH amp no problem, fronts off one channel, rears off the other. But if you can, get a 4 CH, that will allow you to fade not only front to back but left to right.

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that's not quite correct. running four speakers off a two-channel amp means you wire the left two speakers on one channel and the right two on the other.

you can indeed fade left/right, but you're correct on not being able to fade front/rear.

I dont have stock speakers, JBL 120w 6X9s in the rear, and 90w pioneers in the doors. If I turn it up anywhere near loud, it clips very badly. Sounds very distorted and horrible.

summitlt said:

I dont have stock speakers, JBL 120w 6X9s in the rear, and 90w pioneers in the doors. If I turn it up anywhere near loud, it clips very badly. Sounds very distorted and horrible.

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Sounds like you don't have enough juice.

The speakers will pull as much power as they can from the power source. They are asking for an power that can no longer be supplied. Find an appropriate amp.

summitlt said:

I dont have stock speakers, JBL 120w 6X9s in the rear, and 90w pioneers in the doors. If I turn it up anywhere near loud, it clips very badly. Sounds very distorted and horrible.

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So you bought decent speakers... why not pony up the cash for : 1) a head unit with 3 high voltage preouts? 2) a decent amp, other than jensen 3) or both?

Speakers and head unit came with the truck. Im not looking for a Fast and Furious sound system. I just want to stop the clipping.

the 120w and 90w are max watts not working watts. what is the watt rage for the speakers? your deck should have no troubble running these speakers unless there is a problem somewhere else. i would sugest getting 2 small amps 100watts or less and run the front off one and the rear of the other.

ive never had a problem running high power door speakers off of aftermarked head units. i had a 50x4 pioneer head unit and it pushed those pioneer 5.25" door speakers just fine. ive never seen the point in running door speakers through an amp. a decent head unit will push them cleanly without any problem. in your case, it would be cheaper and easier to get a better head unit than to buy amps and all the wiring that goes along with them.

Its only a 160W peak head unit, with 420watts peak of speakers. Why wouldnt a amp help here? I like the head unit, I have no plan of ever making the system any better. So I dont need anytthing fancy.

summitlt said:

Its only a 160W peak head unit, with 420watts peak of speakers. Why wouldnt a amp help here? I like the head unit, I have no plan of ever making the system any better. So I dont need anytthing fancy.

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an amp will help. just be careful. i've got a big-ass amp pushing my four stock speakers. works great and cranks!! and if i blow 'em (which i haven't in two years...), who cares???!?

You need an amp. That HU (as well as any other head unit) is not putting out 40 watts per channel, regardless what the manufacturer claims. A more realistic figure is less than 15 watts per channel, maybe about 12.

You say your HU has two sets of preouts. Is one for front and the other for sub? Or are they for front and rear? If they're for front and rear, get a four channel amp and you'll be good to go. If just one set is for non-sub duty, then get you a two channel amp. With a two channel you would hook both right speakers to the right output on the amp and then both left speakers to the left output on the amp. This way you would still have stereo sound. You would also be able to change the balance (left and right), but not the fade (front and rear).

Even considering the fact that the quality of the equipment you have now is, at best, marginal, that's no excuse to go and add more junk to it. Don't get the Jensen amp. This Hifonics four channel amp would serve you well. Hifonics makes good, solid amps. And it's only $139. If you wanted to spend more, you definitely could, but your system doesn't really warrant anything too nice.

Cardomain.com is a good place to buy from. Browse around and look at the amps they have to offer.

Hope that helps.
carmike692000

17-22 watts per speaker is average for a head unit but that is enough to push the speakers. the 40 watts per channel is the max watts for the head unit. the operating range of the speakers should be around 20-50watts with the 160 and 90 being peak watts.

Right, the 160 and 90 are peak numbers. However, the HU is only pushing about 12 watts per channel, like I said, so that's not even at the 20-50 watt range you say is ideal for the speakers, much less sitting pretty in the middle. An amp would make a big difference.

carmike692000

how old is your radio and what is the model number? the lowest rms watts jvc has now is 18w rms. and current pioneer 5.25 speakers ar 2-25watts rms. i couldnt find anything on the jbl doing a quick search. so your deck should push the speakes fine. have you thought about running new wires to see if that helps?

i run a four channel power acoustik amp to my logic speakers. it puts out like 90- 100 watts rms and sounds very clean. plus i havnt had a problem with distortion. on my kenwood they distort at high volume. i have another 1000 rms interfire running my sub. its very loud but sounds very good. i would suggest these brands because they are high quality and inexpensive.

don't forget to add a splitter to the RCAs, a two RCA --> headphone jack splitter. that way you can plug your mp3 player right into the system (unless you're one of those ipod freaks then it doesn't matter)

100W is the max you would ever need for an amp for your current speakers, i would run the two fronts off the amp and the rears off the deck (rear speakers are for fill not volume!). with a 100W you can get a real quality amp for the same price as a 400W lesser quality.