Hrm, planning for the future sound system...

Hrm, planning for the future sound system...

Ok, bought an Alpine CDA-9805 the other day and got it installed yesterday. Sounds great, but I know the speakers aren't the best.

So, I'm looking to buy the Kendwood KFC series... (new at Crutchfield) I was thinking about powering the front speakers by the head unit and the back speakers by a seperate amplifier. If I want to get another amp/subwoofer later on, would it be smarter to get an amp that has preamp outputs or how would that hook up? I don't want to buy an amp now and then in the future have to spend money to change the wiring to install a second amp and a sub.

If you don't want to worry about having to run additional power wire and or RCA's later then I would suggest the following. Use 4 gauge power and ground. This will allow you to add a distribution block later and still have enough current going to the back. Also, I would reccomend that you find yourself a four channel amplifier and run that to your fronts and rears. This will sound a lot better than deck power to the fronts and amp to the rears. Make sure the amp has a aux out for your RCA's. Working for Phoenix Gold I use our top of the line Titanium amplifiers but depending on your budget, there is an amplifier that would work perfect for you. Let me know what your wanting to spend on your amp and I'll give you some reccomendations.

I don't want to spend over $600 all together.

That includes:
Kenwood KFC-1689ie
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-94vDCBdioxw/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=113KFC1689
$99.99

Kenwood KFC-6999ie
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-xQd8OgGjp0l/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=113KFC6999
$129.99

So, probbably no more than $350 for the amp. I can get installed for around $100-$150 I think. That includes hooking up the amp, speakers, using 4 gauge, etc.

More money.....

well, if your going to be running multiple amps......u also need to take into consideration a new battery, capacitor, and/or stronger alternator to fit the need of power for two amps running. Otherwise, when you hit big bass notes, etc....your going to get tremendous dimming being that so many volts are going to be coming from battery/alternator. This tends to be something overlooked by many people and could eventually wreck your alternator after a yr or so. Just be careful man...........

DJShook1

We have a brand new line coming out early next month called Octane R. These things look and sound awesome for the money. The amp that I would reccomend to you would be the R8.0:4 which has a retail of $329.99. It is designed for the tuner market with neon and a carbon fiber badge that lights blue. So it looks cool but it also has 125x4 power rating as well as aux outputs and different features from there. I'm trying to see if I have any pictures that I can get for you but I can't find any handy. Let me know if you want more info about the features or whatever and I can help you out. Email me at bhamilton@phoenixgold.com if you do need information.

In response to DJShook1's message of the battery and alternator comment. When only having one amp you'll be fine like he said. When you go to two amps you won't have to worry about a new alternator or new battery as long as your battery now is not on it's last leg. He is however correct about upgrading your electrical system with a cap. Depending on the size of bass amp that you run would be the size of the cap you would need. Standard rule of thumb is 1 farad per 1,000 watts. The cap acts as a small resevoir for power so that when your amp draws extra current for the big bass hits it doesn't come from your battery and that is the reason your lights don't dim. Anyway, the point of this is yes down the road I would reccomend you getting a cap for your sub amp. No you shouldn't have to replace your battery or alternator since you said you only want one woofer down the road.

About the batter and alternator. what happen if i have two amps? Do i need to change the battery? i have one 4 channel kenwood Kac 320W for high. i have one 2 channel fosgate amp. which powering 2 12" JL W3v2. i would really appreciate it if you could give me an answer.

Just get yourself an Optima Yellow Top battery and don't worry about the alternator just yet.. its not like your running into the thousands of watts

I Agree

Yes, i would recomm. getting a Optima yellow top as well. I have a 2 ch. jl audio (500w) and 2 12" JL w3v2's, and at high bass outputs I get dimming ...even w/ an alpine deck. The reason i got into the subject of new battery/alternator depends on how your vehicle handles the amp and subs its running. Its different for everything, so the best thing to do is get your stuff in and then do whatever is necessary to rid of whatever probs ur having. Most of time battery or cap will do but it'll never solve the probs completely, believe me your alt. is taking a hit........run your amp then try putting windows down or anything electrical and u will dim. Battery is def. a good start.

DJ Shook1

I just read back over my post and wanted to make it clear that don't get me wrong, upgrading your battery to an Optima or Odyssey would be great and take a load off your alternator but as long as those two pieces in your electrical system are fine, you don't need to upgrade them right away.

well i dont really have any problems with running my system. However, do y'all think its good idea to change the battery though. i mean is there any big performance differnce whehter driving wise or music wise. i also want to know about odessy. some people say odessy batter is way better than optima since it has more power and durability is it true?

I only use Odyssey batteries. That is also what we use in our demo cars. We used to use Optima but we have a LandRover demo car and we went through the Optima's constantly. When it went off road the gel would wear down and then the plates would rub therefore killing your cells and your battery then can't hold a charge. The Odyssey is a dry cell battery. And true test, my fiancee went out to my car to get something out of the glovebox, next morning I went outside to go to work and my dome light was still on and my car started right up. That is awesome for a battery.