Quote:
Originally posted by PT Blueman
CircuitSky,
You run any of your speakers through the same amp as your subs?
Do you have a separate amp for the speakers or do you run them from the head unit?
I have only Pioneer 50x4
300watt RF Amp
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Nope....it always best to have separate amps for the speakers & the sub. I have the 4-channel Pioneer amp powering the speakers. That's 50x4 on the speakers. Which each side of the component set is wired together with a crossover since the ones in the dash are tweeters. And I have the 2-channel RF amp bridged on the sub.
Each amp is mounted under each front seat, completely out of the way. And the sub in the back is in a special pear shape box made by JBL which can easily be removed since it is straped to one side and very light. It's too bad they discontinued this mode. Very nice design indeed.
Some people power their speakers via the head unit but in my opinion that is definitely not enough power. And whatever power rating on the head unit it says it puts out is more than likely not correct. It can be deceiving that's for sure. You can get by with powering the speakers via the head unit but it's definitely not the same as having a separate amp.
If your RF amp is a 2-channel amp and if it has crossovers then you could possibly run the sub on one channel for the lows and power the rear speakers off the other channel for the mid range to highs. And then power the front speakers off the head unit. That would be a way to do it if you're straped for cash. In my previous car, I had a 4-channel with 4 speakers bridged on two channels and my sub bridged on the other two channels and it sounded pretty good. Of course, that was a Camaro so it had a much smaller interior space than the PT. That setup had plenty of power but it was really pushing the amp that's for sure. The system in my PT is definitely ten times better though as far as sound goes. So if cash is not the issue then go with the two amp setup.
There are 5-channel amps out there too but they are fairly large and definitely can't be mounted under the seats so that's the reason I went the two amp route.
Peace