I appreciate everyone's help with my subwoofer questions. Now I need some help selecting an above average amp to push 4 Infinity Kappa 6.5 components. The requirements are as follows: 30-90 RMS, fan cooled, 4 channel. The main thing for me is fan cooled since it will be under my seat. The two brands under consideration right now that meet the specs are Kenwood or Audiobahn. I'm not looking to win any competitions and any other brands that have my needs listed above would be very welcomed.

 

I wouldn't get the kenwood or audiobahn...I'd get a high quality amp and make my own cooling setup. Just use some 80mm PC fans and custom make a little cooling setup.

 

audiobahn is no good.. and kenwood tends to heat up easily.. if you want above avg. amp... get one made by eclipse. theres nothing better IMO.. they put out, and will almost never heat up! mine dont and i have them working overtime! im going to soon be adding my 3rd amp from them.. as far as what model.. ehh.. to power all 4 speakers, their PA5422 would be more than enough.. its a 4ch. 800watt amp.. i have one powering my front speakers, it rocks!!! dont have a need for rear speakers!! im soon going to be installing another one becuase i am going to give each speaker its own dedicated amp.

 

Wow, I don't think most non-competition oriented speakers can hold 400 watts a piece. That is a lil excessive for something like my pioneers.

 

same thing i had always thought before i found my speakers i have now.. there was a demo vehicle at a shop near me.. he had the same speakers, and same amps im using.. im basically trying to slowly build up to his setup.. the SQ was soooo nice!

 

The "800 watt" PA5422 is actually 85 watts RMS x4 @4 Ohms.

The 2000 watts DA7122, actually produces 500 watts RMS @ 4 ohms, and 1000 watts @ 2 Ohms.

Honestly peak output is not a reliable way to measure output. Peak valuesbare the optimal (read as Best output achievable) under the most perfect of conditions.

69 Beers, fan cooled is a good feature, but I wouldn't limit yourself by making it mandatory. Several brands are well known for being heat resistant. I've had an old 200 watt (RMS) MTX amplifier stuff under a seat for 5-6 years, and it never cut out or had any issues. That includes several 8-10 hour car trips. Just make sure you get something with adequate power output (Remember RMS is the figure to look for) so you don't have to turn the gains up very much to achieve the volume you are looking for.

More power = less gain = Less heat = happier amp = better SQ.

I'd rather have more power on tap and never used, than a little amplifier pushed to the limit in a small, cramped area.

Audiobahn is just fine in my opinion. I wouldn't put them in the top echelon of brands, but they aren't in the low one either. I have heard some bad things, but I've also heard plenty of crap about Sony too. I've run subwoofers by both companys and have not been disappointed. My Audiobahn 12" DUB 1200 does the job wonderfully, if you could everything in the cab that is loose (and in some cases bolted down) rattling. So just search the net for reviews, go with your gut instinct. Ask here if you got any more questions.

Kenwood would be a good choice, if their amplifiers weren't so freaking big (at least the KX line) . Bigger makes for better heat handling, but you are not likely gonna fit it under a seat.

A MTX Thunder 404 would be good, or this INFINITY REFERENCE 7540a would run nice and cool under your seat (while putting out around 111 watts per channel) Normally these run about $225 shipped.

If you're really on a budget, or just want to fill a void for now, then try out this Profile AP1040. 75W x4 isn't too shabby for a little over $100 bucks shipped.

 

A summary of my long *** post: :)

RMS power ratings are the power ratings amplifiers are rated to deliver continuously. As in, 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week, without any damage or deterioration to the amplifier. (Note, I didn't say anything about distortion)

Volume is a function of wattage and speaker efficiency (sensitivity). 50 watts will be as loud as 50 watts, no matter what brand.

You will need to either turn up the volume on the deck and /or crank up the amplifier's gain to achieve the volume you desire. Larger amplifiers are can deliver more with less input voltage (volume) and less gain and thus run cooler.

 

US Acoustics makes a nice 85x4 channel amp for $180. 3 yr warrenty and they are pretty solid.

 

I've tried to explain this before, but people are attracted to the little sticker that says 1,000,000,000 watts on the amp itself.

 

I did some shopping and measuring for air cooled amps today and saw the Infinity would be a little too big for my needs. But I did notice the Alpine MRP-240 would fit just right. Is this a quality amp or should I keep shopping?

Also, the salesman tried to talk me out of the Infinity Kappa and into the Infinity Reference instead, reasoning that Kappas are more on the competition line and designed to be matched with BIG bass systenms, and the Reference would sound fine for what I'm looking for. He said with the Basslink sub I plan on using these would sound awsome with 40w RMS pushing them. Thoughts and opinions?