QuestionHi Brian,
I need your recommendations, my son received --
1 - Alpine MRP-F240 amp, 1- Alpine MRP-T220 amp, 2- TS-W300R 12" subs, and 2- MB Quart D TC 169 3 way speakers.
He only has a stock ford receiver. So my question is - A. does he need to get a better receiver and B. what is the best way to install all this stuff.
Thanks for your help.
AnswerHi Jeff,
A. He doesn't need to replace his head unit, but it's generally easier to connect amplifiers to an after-market head unit than a factory radio. Also, most newer after-market decks include dedicated subwoofer outputs, so upgrading the head unit will give him the ability to adjust the volume of the subs. The factory head unit won't have that feature.
B. There are quite a few things you'll need to think about for this particular installation.
First of all, the MB Quart speakers are 6x9". There are no newer Ford vehicles (and very few older ones) that use that speaker size. The standard Ford size for the past 10-15 years has been a 6x8" speaker. If you're planning to replace a set of rear deck speakers, you might be able to cut out the factory holes to make the 6x9's fit; but there's no way you'll be able to make them work as a front door speaker in most Fords. Generally, you'll get much more benefit from upgrading front speakers vs. upgrading rear speakers (especially when you're also going to be using a subwoofer with the system).
Second, you'll have to decide how you want to use your amplifiers. Do you just want to amp your replacement speakers (and let the factory speakers continue to run from the factory radio) or are you planning to drive all four front/rear speakers with one amp, and run the subs with the other?
With the equipment you have, the best use of your 4-channel amp (MRP-F240) is to run your subwoofers. You have 4-ohm subs, rated for 150 watts each. Your 2-channel amp is rated at 50 watts per channel at 4 ohms, while the 4-channel amp can be bridged down to 2 channels, and produces 100 watts per channel in that configuration. Your subs require more power than the new speakers, so they should be used with the more powerful amplifier.
The MRP-T220 can be used to run the after-market speakers. It's rated at 50 watts per channel, and the speakers are rated for 60 watts, so it's a pretty good match. If you want, you can combine your front and rear speakers on this amplifier. The drawback of this setup is that you'll lose the ability to "fade" the volume between the front and rear. The amp will produce 70 watts per channel in this configuration, but it will be divided between the two speakers on each channel.
If you keep the factory radio, you'll need to use the speaker-level inputs on the amp (instead of connecting RCA cables). You'll have to run new speaker wires from the amplifier location to a point where you can tap into the factory speaker wiring. The best place to connect to the factory front and rear speaker wires is probably the back of the head unit. (Some Ford vehicles are equipped with factory amps, however; in this case you'd have to find the stock speaker wiring at the factory amp location). If you buy an after-market head unit, you'll run RCA cables from the amplifiers to the head unit's RCA outputs.
If you drive a pair of speakers with the amplifier, make sure they're not still connected to the factory radio through the stock speaker wiring.
You'll probably want to purchase an amplifier installation kit designed for dual-amp installations. These usually include a 4-gauge main power wire, with a distribution block and smaller 8-gauge wires to run from the distribution block to the amps. 4-gauge and 8-gauge is a little larger than you really need, but the extra size won't hurt anything, and it's unlikely you'll find a dual amp kit with smaller wiring.
Hope this helps!
Brian
