Car Stereos: Amps and Subs, infinity kappa, kappa 6

Question
Question 1
I have a truck (2004 GMC Sierra 2Dr.Extended Cab) with brand new Infinity kappa 6 1/2 inch, 270 watt speakers in the front. I also have Two Dayton RSS265HO-4 10'' Reference HO Subwoofer 4 Ohm underneath the backseat. I was wondering what amp would have enough power to go to the subs and the speakers. Or would it just be better to have two separate amps.
Do you have any recommendations for either option.
Question 2
I was wondering if I used two separate amps would it drain the cars battery quicker than just one amp.


Answer
Hi Michael,

I think in this case, separate amps would be your best option. If you were using a single subwoofer, you could use a 4-channel amp and bridge two of the channels for the sub.  That's not as practical for a 2-sub setup, though.

I'd suggest a 2-channel amp for the Infinity components, rated around 75-100 watts per channel RMS at 2 ohms.  Your sub amp should be a mono design.  A power rating between 600 and 1200 watts at 2 ohms would do well.

I've always liked Alpine's PDX-series amplifiers.  A big advantage of these amps is a very small footprint, which helps with the limited mounting space found in a truck cab.  The PDX amps are actually designed so that you can stack on on top of another.  The PDX1.600 or PDX1.1000 would work well for your subs, and the PDX2.150 would be more than enough power for the Kappa components.

Separate amps won't really require more power from your vehicle's charging system than a single multi-channel amp with the same power ratings.  (It's not really comparable, because multi-channel amps with that kind of power ratings don't exist.  That's the main reason for going with separates).  It's difficult to say whether you're likely to have power problems with this setup.  It depends on the kind of music you listen to, and how loudly you expect to play it.  For normal listening inside the vehicle,  a stock charging system is usually ample, even for a fairly high-powered system.  If you routinely expect to be heard down the street, however, you may need to invest in some charging system upgrades.

Good luck!