Car Stereos: Help!, watts rms, stock speakers


Question
QUESTION: Hey, I have a 2000 ford tarus. I have 2 25 Watt stock speakers in my trunk. They blew and I want to put in a 50 or 75 watt. Question is I don't no what watt means and I don't know what size speakers to get. Also do I have to put in heavy duty wire or something since I am jumping up watts. What I am looking for is super duper bass so Is this replacment going to help it at all or what do I put in to make that happen. Yes I am a girl and I dont know much about this but I'v been teachin myself from these questions and answers.. Thanks bunches.

ANSWER: Chelsea, Do not discredit yourself because you are a girl.  I get tons of questions like this from guys as well.  Only the guys act like they know what they are talking about.  If your factory speakers are making all kinds of blaring sounds, they are probably blown.  If they are not making any noise at all, it may be the radio instead of the speakers.  It is a good idea to replace your stock speakers with higher wattage aftermarket speakers, so they won't get blown again.  However, that will not make them louder or create more bass.  Watts are power... kinda like lightbulbs... the more watts, the brighter the bulb.  Except with stereos, the watts are put out by the radio or amplifier, not the speakers.  The speakers just need to be able to handle the watts being put out by the amp or radio.  And, when shopping for speakers, you want to watch the "rms" watts, not the "peak" watts.  Peak watts are a guess, by the manufacturer, of how much power the speaker can handle for just an instantaneous second.  "rms" watts are determined by a standardized test, that compares distortion to power.  It shows how much power a speaker can handle until it reaches a specified amount of distortion (like 75 watts rms @ 0.01% distortion).  The rms ratings will show you the best comparison between different brands of speakers.  Your car uses 6 x 8 speakers in the rear deck.  So, you will want to look for that size.  6 x 9 will not fit.  If you want the big bass, it requires 2 things.  First, you need a subwoofer with a subwoofer box.  That is a speaker (or speakers) that make the deeper sounds only.  The deeper sounds require more power to be the same loudness as the high range sounds, so you will need an amplifier for your subwoofer speaker.  To be as loud as your stock stereo, which is about 20 watts rms, you would need an amplifier with about 50 watts rms and a subwoofer of 50 watts rms or more.  The more the watts of the sub and sub amp, the louder the bass gets.  The cars that boom boom behind you are using from 50 to 150 watts rms.  If you go over 300 watts rms, you cannot sit in the car and crank it up at the same time. Seriously.  The sub and sub amp would be mounted in the trunk, and it will not cost much to have them installed.  I do not mind answering any questions, and I will explain anything that you do not understand.  Just ler me know, if you need anything else.  Hope this helps, Scott

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QUESTION: Thank you for the help, so I understand i need an amp a subwhoofer for my boom booming. :) Now are those the ones that are allso wired to the batery. Can I buy those at wal-mart, because i dont no where else to get them...So it wouldnt help at all if i installed rear speakers or would it just improve quality. I'm sorry if i am asking the same question. Now my head unit is allso connected to my heating system so how would i take that out and put a new one in if heating is there.. Thank you sweetie! :)

ANSWER: Yes, normally, they wire the sub amp to the battery, because it sounds a little better with heavier wire directly from the battery.  You could buy them at walmart, but I would strongly recommend bestbuy or any stereo shop.  There is a considerable difference in quality, and installation.  Replacing your rear speakers would improve your sound quality a bunch, but the bass would not be much better.  If you want to replace your radio, they make an adapter that has the hookups for your heater controls, then has a hole for the aftermarket radio.  It looks almost like it is factory part.  I would not replace the radio, unless you are looking for some options that are not available on your stock radio.  If your stock radio has a radio and cd player, and that is all you really use, then I would leave it alone.  You are on the right track.  With mobile audio equipment, you really get what you pay for, so if you buy really cheap stuff, you will sound really cheap.  Good Luck!! ;-)

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QUESTION: I'm sorry another question Mr.Scott. :) I was looking at some amps and there are some that say 4 channels, 2, 2 1/2, What dose all that mean? Ow and thanks for telling me about the "rms" because i"ve been noticing that on the speakers i have been looking at. It"s weird some say like 1200 max watt, but only 300 rms.. Thats funny funny. So that little thing  is all there is to an amp.

Answer
For a subwoofer, I recommend a two channel amp.  Your car stereo has 4 channels. Left front, right front, left rear, right rear.  They each have their own signal which makes the music sound like stereo.  When you are wiring up subs, you usually use the rear two speaker wires to signal your sub amp.  That is 2 channels.  Then, I also recommend 2 subs; one for each channel.  Sometimes, people don't have enough space or they don't have the cash for two subs, then I recommend a single sub with dual voice coils.  Then, you can use the single sub, but wire each channel to it's own coil on the sub, so you still get all the signals to the sub.  Some people opt to bridge the two channels together and run them into just a single voice coil sub.  That works great, but like the odd enclosures, it takes a very knowledgeable installer to wire up the amp properly to suit your taste.  With the unbridged system, it always sounds good.  Yeah, speakers they REALLY exaggerate the max watts.  Your subs can be any RMS watts, as long as it is higher than the amplifier's RMS watts.  Most amplifiers will advertise about double the rms watts as their max watts, but we know what to look for, right?!  You are well on your way to getting what you want.