amplifier between stereo and speakers

[james butler]

what are the benefits of running the 6x4s in the car through an amplifier instead of using the head unit.
louder?
better quality of sound?
because its a lot of extra wiring if i go down this route and would be disappointed if it sounded the same!

[ianaudia4]

If you are still using the factory fitted speakers then it will make no difference as they couldn't handle it!

[james butler]

nah im using inphase speakers 160 watt peak and about quarter that rms

[james butler]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/In-Phase-XTC6 ... 3cdb0c6202

[james butler]

they sound great but at higher volume the head unit dimms with the bass.
power supply wire to the head unit isnt the best as alpine have recomended a new feed from the battery instead of using the existing car wiring.
plus the head unit always runs quite hot as my cds are red hot when i eject them from the headunit.
and i wondered if this was the internal amp working too hard hence why im wondering if fitting a separate amp is a good idea?

[Nate]

Ignore peak power. It's more or less meaningless

[james butler]

Would it be safe to say the stereo would be the same? 50watts per channel peak? Because that might be why it's better to use an amp.

[bengould]

It's better to have a powerful amp turned down rather than a weak amp turned up. If you run the amp close to its max power output it won't sound good. But there is much more to it than that.

I only use 3 speakers in my car and they are all running through amps. 2x 6 inch in the front and a sub in the rear. But they are all mounted on a solid base, using good amps and wire and also running through a crossover.
It pretty much comes down to how good do you want it and at what volume. Mine is more designed around quality rather than volume. Don't get me wrong it goes loud, but it will never be "the loudest car in the world" because that isn't what's important to me.

Ben.

[james butler]

Cheers Ben that makes sense. I think I will go down the amping route.
Its a lot of work routing wires but hopefully will be worth it in the end.

[Mr Funk]

It's worth the effort fella and the routing isn't all that hard. If you've got a morning just whip the seats out and do it that way, plus if you ever want to fit a small sub or components you'll already have everything already in place.
Bring it down here if you want

[james butler]

forgot to post this but i bought this in the end and it works quite well, just mounted it inside the centre console
http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product ... -26445.htm
cheers for the offer by the way mr funk