Car Stereos: what amp?, watts rms, dual amplifier

Question
I'm looking to by Dual BP1204 subwoofers.  and i dont know much about this kinda stuff.  what type of amp do you reccomend that would be good to power this subwoofers?  Also what other things do i need in order to setup the system? thank you

Answer
Hi Mike,

Your subwoofer system is a 4-ohm design rated for 600 watts RMS, so the ideal amplifier would be one that can produce between 300 and 600 watts RMS at 4 ohms.  This might be a 2-channel amp used in "bridged" mode, or a mono amplifier.  You'll probably pay less for a 2-channel, but a mono amp would allow for more flexibility if you change subs later on.  For your current subwoofer system, though, either type of amp would work well.

I'm not a big fan of everything made by Dual Audio, but I actually think their amplifiers are a pretty good value.  Either their XIA4225 or XIA5600 would work very well with your subwoofer.  These are both 2-channel amps that can be bridged for 400 watts and 500 watts RMS, respectively.  One advantage in using a Dual amplifier is that it will have outputs for connecting the Illuminite LED lighting system built into your sub box.  Other amplifier brands won't give you this feature (although it's still possible to use the lights without it, an output built into the amplifier makes it much easier).

Dual doesn't make a mono amplifier that matches very well with your subwoofer, but there are a wide range of amps made by other manufacturers that will work quite well.  Mono amplifiers typically have different power ratings for 2-ohm or 4-ohm loads; when you choose an amp, make sure you're looking at the 4-ohm RMS rating.  Similarly, if you look at 2-channel amps, check the "Bridged RMS" rating.

Hope this helps!

Brian