Car Stereos: what amplifier to buy??, watts rms, channel amp

Question
Hi,

I have just recently bought a pair of Kenwood KFC-M6952A 6x9inch Speakers and a Kenwood KFC-WPS1200F 12inch Subwoofer and i am wondering what would be a good amplifier to run the two with out spending alot of money. Would the Soundstream XTA600.5 5ch Amplifier be a good option to run them or do you suggest anything else which may help me get max power out of both sub and speakers??

Answer
Hi Ali,

Unless you have an additional pair of speakers you haven't mentioned, you don't really need a 5-channel amp like the XTA600.5.  If you're just running the 6x9's and the sub, your best option would be a 4-channel amp, not a 5 channel.  With a 4-channel amp you can use two channels to run the 6x9's, while bridging the remaining two channels for the sub--a single voice coil, 4-ohm sub like the KFC-WPS1200F will work perfectly with a bridged amplifier.

I'm hampered by the fact that I don't know what amplifiers are available in your area, or the relative prices.  However, sticking with Soundstream, the STL4.500 would be a perfect match for your speakers and sub: the speakers would each get up to 80 watts RMS (they're rated for up to 90) and the subwoofer could be driven with 250 watts RMS from the bridged channels--it can handle up to 350.  This would be nearly twice the power of the XTA600.5, at a lower price point.  

The only advantage to the 5-channel amp is that you could use it to run one more set of speakers in addition to the 6x9's and the sub.  If you want to use the same amp for front and rear speakers and a subwoofer, a 5-channel amp is a good choice; but for the speaker and sub system you described, you're better off with a 4-channel.

Hope this helps!

Brian