Audio Systems: Car Audio Setup, alpine cda 9815, acura integra gs

Question
Hi Cody,

About 7 months ago, I purchased a new car audio system including an Alpine CDA-9815 head unit, 2 Mark Antony amps (4 channel, 2 channel for bass), MB Quart 6.5" Separates for the front, Alpine 6.5" coaxials for the rear, and 1 Kicker 10" Sub in a sealed enclosure for bass.
All of this was installed in '96 Acura Integra GS-R Coupe.  

It sounded great for a while, but then my amps burned out.  The car audio shop replaced my amps for free.  They burned out again, and they replaced them again--for free.
They burned out again!
They replaced them again with the same model amps.

My patience has been all used up, and I don't really know what to do.  I feel like the installation techs don't know what the heck they are doing, and I need the job done right.

I am by no means a car audio installer, but I feel the job they did wasn't done right.  In other words, I don't think they'll ever fix it right.

My car stereo has so many features such as crossover controls, 5 band equalizer, bass focus, etc.
But when I ask them to show me how to use these features, they can't because they don't know exactly what everything does.  They try to act professional, but they end up looking foolish trying to explain something they don't understand.

At this point, I think I've wasted my money..

I live in the Los Angeles area.  What would you suggest I do?
Can you recommend somebody in the L.A. area?

Thank you very much for your help.  I will really appreciate any info you can help me with.

Thank you,

Josh


Answer
Josh,

  i'm on the east coast so a few miles away haha .. now its not normal for amps to blow that much ... if you understand basic wiring i can tell you a few things to check for .. first did you have them install a set of capacitors ? depending on your wattage rating for the amps 1/2 farad for 300-600 and 1 farad for 600-1200 and so on..these can help keep your amps fully powered and also protect your charging system so this is the first step you need to take.. they install very easy you will need a ground cable 4-6gauge and another piece of 12v power cable same gauge for each capacitor you install .. all you do is take the 12volt power cable from your battery that is connected to your amp/s connect it to the + post on the Cap along with the shorter new piece of cable tighten down anc connect the other end of the new cable to the amp.. very simple and of course you will have to mount it but most come with a bracket and screws so again very simple.. now before you do that you need some inline fuses you need one right at the battery where the cable comes from to power your amps/capacitor then you will want one for each amp after the capacitor .. 30 amp fuse should do the job on those, these *if the guys didnt use them* could be what is happening to your amps because they really protect the amps and everything, ok also make sure they are using the proper gauge of cable for the amps wattage *300-600 10-12 gauge* *600-1800 8-4 gauge* in your amps owners manual it will also tell you the gauge they recommend .. double check their ground connections make sure they are nice and secure and on a good body ground.. ok that takes all the technical stuff out of it .. now for the features of your amp, you should have a few controls, like " Crossover (Low-Full/Mid-High* you want the bass amp set on low and the other amp that pushes the mid range sound on mid, also you should have a dial for "frequency" the bass amp needs to be set around 70-80 the other amp around 180-240 should be good you can play around with your favorite song to see what sounds good for you .. the equilizer you really wont need on the bass amp but you can play around with these on both amps for the bass .. the first 2 band settings for bass and the other 3 can be tweeked for highs and mids , and even the # 2 band can be adjusted on your mid amp.. bass focus sounds like a fancy term for a bass boost, the dial should have a 0DB-18DB or somewhere in that range adjust this to what type of sound you like. this gives you a good cover of things to check out and a little break down of the features you have, if you dont want to dive in yourself i would shop around for a new shop because these guys sound like morons, word of mouth is usually how the best shops get their word out so talk to your friends and co-workers ect.. see where they go.. hope this helps you out if you need anything else let me know

thanks