i have a sony head unit that puts out 52w x 4, i want to get infinity kappa 6x8's that run 100w rms, im getting an amp that puts out 100w rms x 4, but do i need an amp that puts out the full 100w or do i get one that puts out 48w to match the head units 52w to make it 100w x 4???

 

If you are running your speakers from a 4-channel amp then the power of the H/U does not matter-its not pushing the speakers. However you do not want the amp to over power the speakers. Make sure the rms for each output of the amp does not over power the speakers. Ex: If you have a speaker that can handle 50W RMS then you can not exceed 50W RMS for that speaker or you will damage the speaker. You also should have a gain level or input level on your amp so you can adjust how much power is put out by the amp. You should also be able to adjust this through your H/U as well. So if your amp is a little more powerful than your speakers its ok as long as you do not get crazy with turning up the gain/unput level and watch the settngs on the radio. The best thing though is to make sure the RMS power for each output of the amp does not exceed the RMS power for each speaker.
Am I making any sense or making this worse?

 

plus the sony head is not doing 52x4...thats its max...what it does for a brief burst its rms is probably 22 or 23x4...car audio is hard to explain but he hit it on the head...

 

Made sense to me...also I've always been on the understanding that the gain was used so that your volume would increase gradually, and not all of a sudden. I've read that you should turn your radio up 3/4 and then adjust the amp's gain, so that the music is as loud as you would really ever want it. I also adjusted my gains to help my sub and doors blend a little better...that way my bass isn't drowning out the mids and highs.
Also like M50B06 said if your amp is a LITTLE more powerful than your speakers its okay as long as you don't crank the volume. In fact I've heard some people even recomend it.

 

Yes and no.

Gain is how sensitive the amp is to input voltage.

The 3/4 volume deal is right on the money. However for reasons your not away of. You want avoid clipping at all costs. This is what blows speakers, melts voice coils. This is the most common failure. When the signal clips basically the speaker stops moving and overheats the coil. The more time the speaker isn't moving the faster it will die.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(audio)


When you get your amp setup open the doors and walk away. You may need to do this somewhere without people. Walk until the music is at a comfortable level where you could talk to someone without yelling. Now listen for distortion, crackling, and other odd sounds. The human ear has a hard time picking this up at loud db levels. At a distance its easier to hear.

Ever wonder why that "system" sounds like crap driving by? Its because they cant hear the noise. Im not talking about the rattling tin cans in the trunk, but the music that sounds way off form what it should be.


KoDaK

If you can get an amp to run the kappas. You should do it.

Every head unit amp is really crap. How can the little 52x4 amp the size of a cell phone inside the HU be any good. When a real 50x4 amp is the size of a good book.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/HIFONICS-ZEUS-ZX...QQcmdZViewItem

if you get the kappas at 2 ohm, get this amp.. this is what is running all of my kappa's

 

tuning a amp comes with time...but its easy once you figure it out..i charge 10 bucks to tune a amp around here...and i get about 4 to 5 people a week and everyone of them are pleased haha...just do some reading there is plenty of info on here

 

ok i know what to do now, so if i get the kappas and they run 100w rms each and i get an amp that runs 100w rms x 4 at 2 ohms then it will be perfect, but the kappas peak at 300 as does the amp(per channel) amp peaks at 1200w total, so since they are the exact same will it still hurt the speakers when turning it all the way up?

 

Forget about peak. Its a magical number. RMS is the real power number to be concerned with.

 

X2-dont even read the peak power numbers they dont mean anything, these numbers are what the testing facility was able to get out of the speakers or amps just before they blew (at least this is what ive always been told)
and you are not likely to get either your amp or speakers to get peak power.
RMS numbers are the only numbers to be concerned with because that is whats actually going on

 

Peak power has to do with the peak voltage of the sin wave.

They don't need to blow a speaker up to figure out its peak wattage. Its based on the voice coil/former structure. Im sure some other design points too.


Keep everything in RMS and you will be fine. You may come across some things being rated X rms@12v or X rms@14.4. The difference here will be the voltage they tested the product under. Keep in mind your trucks voltage will vary meaning the amplifier output will vary with the voltage. This isn't a big deal at your level of enthusiasm. Just beware they are rated like that. If you were to get "more into this world" it may become a deciding factor for buying things.