Thread: Stereo Watts and Amp Watts

So I'm looking into replacing the speakers and head unit in my 04 GP and I was wondering if i got a 4-channel amp to go with the speakers would I add the watts from the stereo and the amp for the total watts going to my speakers and get a less powerful amp or should a get an amp that can do the max power for the speakers by itself?

Yeah I'm looking at RMS and thanks for the info. So if I have co-ax speakers in the rear that are 6-75 watts RMS and components in the front that are 6-60 watts RMS what kind of amp should I get for them? And how can I make it so the front speakers don't get too many watts and get blown out?

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_236THND...er-reviews-tab would this amp work for the speakers I described?

You've got to compare apples to apples. Use the RMS wattage for all comparisons.

In sizing an add on amplifier, simply put, you're looking for an amp that is rated between 100-150% RMS output on a single channel of the lowest RMS rating of a single speaker in your system. The smallest speaker in your system rated at 100 watts RMS? Get an amp that has 100-150 watts RMS output per channel.

You do not add the wattage of your head unit to that of the amp. The amplifier is just that. It amplifies the audio voltage, but it can't output more than its rating.

What you don't want is to have to crank the head unit all the way up to get the desired loudness. That's the point where your head unit is putting out its distortion rating, and the amplifier will just make that worse. That's what the amp's gain control is for. You may find that you'll spend nearly as much time setting the controls of the amp as you do installing the amp.

I've found that Car Audio Forum is a resource that quite compliments Crutchfield's website.

Originally Posted by gmildner13

Yeah I'm looking at RMS and thanks for the info. So if I have co-ax speakers in the rear that are 6-75 watts RMS and components in the front that are 6-60 watts RMS what kind of amp should I get for them? And how can I make it so the front speakers don't get too many watts and get blown out?

That seems to be reasonable.

I'm not sure what the "6" represents in your speaker wattage. But if your front speakers are 60 watts RMS, a 75 watt RMS per channel amplifier will do just fine.

RMS wattages are fairly conservative. It's not likely that a 75 watt amp will "blow out" your 60 watt speakers.