More Audio Help - Amp Replacement

[MarshRam]

Looking for help again on my Audio, my poor spot!!!. I really want to avoid having to pay an installer 400 bucks or so. A few of you helped me out with wiring up my mono amp to my dual subs awhile back and I was able to get them wired up correctly and they sound much better, but as I indicated in that thread, the 4 channel amp for my door speakers was having issues and yesterday it finally burnt out and is officially a toaster.

http://www.ramforum.com/threads/mono-amp-dual-sub-wiring-help.120381/#post-1730962

With that said, since I intend to change the mono amp in the future and need to choose a new amp for the doors now, I am wondering if I should just go with 5 channel for everything, rather than having two separate amps. probably don't plan on changing any of my speakers, just the receiver eventually and these amps. I know I should probably be picking a new receiver first, but that still has to wait. Eventually it will probably be one of the Pioneer double dins in the $400-$500 range.

So, now that the Kicker DXA250.4 amp is blown out after just under a year for what reason I cannot figure out, gain on it was barely moved up, time to replace. Anyhow looking for recommendations on moving to 5 channel or continuing with another 4 channel.

Here are the door and sub speaker specs and I may want to amp up my dash speakers by running them in parallel to the front doors in the future. For now, they have always been hooked up to the receiver directly. With this change, I will be moving amp(s) behind the back seat, so I'll be running all new wiring for the entire setup, maybe I'll find a culprit to my burning amp issue in the process. Any recommendations on amp(s) would be appreciated.

Also, I am not trying to build a crazy high end system here, so not looking for a $3-$4k setup when I am done. Just trying to keep it simple and clean. Thanks

Doors front and back:
Pioneer 3 Way 6x9 TS-A6966R
power range: 5-60 watts RMS (420 watts peak power)
frequency response: 28-36,000 Hz
sensitivity: 92 dB
Impedance: 4ohm
Crossover Frequency: 2500 Hz

Subs 2:
Subs: Dual DVS Rockford Fosgate 12" R2's
250 Watts RMS 500 Watts Peak Power Rating
dual 4-ohm subwoofer with 500 watts maximum power handling (250 watts RMS)
frequency response: 43-250
sensitivity: 89 dB
power range: 50-250 watts RMS (500 watts peak power)


Dash (2)
Pioneer TS-T110
Nominal Impedance: 4ohm
Max Power: 120W
cutoff freq: >= to 7k Hz with 6dB
frequency response: 2,500-30k Hz

 

[BiGMERF]

if me, it would be this one

JBL 5 channel

 

[MarshRam]

if me, it would be this one

JBL 5 channel

Thanks, no expert here but that is looking like it may be a decent match to power everything. I'll definitely take a deeper look at that one.

 

[BiGMERF]

Thanks, no expert here but that is looking like it may be a decent match to power everything. I'll definitely take a deeper look at that one.

I’m a fan of JBL, so I’m about bias. Based on the specs you layer out, seems to be a near perfect match.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MarshRam]

I’m a fan of JBL, so I’m about bias. Based on the specs you layer out, seems to be a near perfect match.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your sounding like you know what your talking about. I hate that I have not been able to get the big picture to snap in my noggin so it all is pure common sense thinking when it comes to car audio. I don't usually have this problem when I self train. I just need one day with someone knowledgeable to get me going and I know you aren't too far from me. I'm about to raid one of your Saturdays. Lol.

Thanks again for the input, this does look like it will do from what I can tell with my very limited understanding and it fits the budget, actually much lower than I anticipated for replacing both amps.

 

[BiGMERF]

Your sounding like you know what your talking about. I hate that I have not been able to get the big picture to snap in my noggin so it all is pure common sense thinking when it comes to car audio. I don't usually have this problem when I self train. I just need one day with someone knowledgeable to get me going and I know you aren't too far from me. I'm about to raid one of your Saturdays. Lol.

Thanks again for the input, this does look like it will do from what I can tell with my very limited understanding and it fits the budget, actually much lower than I anticipated for replacing both amps.

believe me when i tell you i know the very basics.. lol.. yes i can match up components rms wise and sometimes ohm wise.. lol.. but when it comes to installing, im the same as you.. ask, research and watch youtube vids.. lol

 

[MarshRam]

believe me when i tell you i know the very basics.. lol.. yes i can match up components rms wise and sometimes ohm wise.. lol.. but when it comes to installing, im the same as you.. ask, research and watch youtube vids.. lol

"Sometimes ohm wise"? I'll proceed with caution. Lol. Looked good to me. Or maybe I'll just burn it out again and wish I just forked out the $400 install and paid a couple hundred more than I needed to for the replacement parts from a shop. Ugghh.

Audio help is hard to get in this forum. It's either a few of us hobbling along that can provide a little help or someone who knows it to well to articulate the message to you that makes any sense. I am seriously at the point where I would pay a couple hundred bucks to go take a class to put it all together in my head.

Thanks again, I'll look into this JBL amp more.

 

[BiGMERF]

Hahaha. Naw your good. All you speakers are four ohms and the amp naturally runs all 4 channels at 4 ohms. So I’m 99 percent sure your good. If you have doubts hit up crutchfields chat. They will tell you. Just be careful with the don’t you want more power sales pitch

 

[MarshRam]

Hahaha. Naw your good. All you speakers are four ohms and the amp naturally runs all 4 channels at 4 ohms. So I’m 99 percent sure your good. If you have doubts hit up crutchfields chat. They will tell you. Just be careful with the don’t you want more power sales pitch

Worst comes to worst I know I can run the doors with it. Gotta look into pushing those 2 12's with it with that 5th channel. I am sure if I am wired correctly I can make it match, just need to go look it up and figure it out.

 

[BWL]

Alpine MRV M500 and MRV F300 would do a decent job at a reasonable price and they're small and easy to install. I prefer a separate sub amp as the power supply will have to work a lot harder than the one running the rest. My JL XD6001 for my 10s gets a bit warm, but my XD8008 that runs the rest is always cold.

 

[BiGMERF]

Alpine MRV M500 and MRV F300 would do a decent job at a reasonable price and they're small and easy to install. I prefer a separate sub amp as the power supply will have to work a lot harder than the one running the rest. My JL XD6001 for my 10s gets a bit warm, but my XD8008 that runs the rest is always cold.

i do agree with BWL on this one.. i prefer a separate mono sub amp for the woofers.. but in many setups ive heard, 5 channels do do the job.. jbl is renown for bass accuracy.. i have two soundbar/woofer combos for my great room and bedroom theater setups.. they pound

 

[MarshRam]

I don't mind having two amps or one, whatever works. As far as cooling, I can hookup small fans if that really even helps, no problem at all. All I know is I need another amp and I am not finishing my entire audio build all in one shot and I don't want to burn out another amp for god knows what reason that happened two times in a row. Seems to be good for one year and then the amp for the mids is a gonner. I have never had issues with audio systems that I installed, but have never had two separate amps and I think that is where I get lost. Things were simpler in the 90's. lol. I just need new amp(s) and a receiver, am happy with all speakers and don't want to screw those up.

I went to a very reputable shop in town with 5 star reviews across the board, best in town, but he basically said not a single component in my system was salvageable, $1800 for a new system. It was initially going to be $4k since he had a good idea of what I have in house and my taste, but he downgraded everything for me after I told him I was not wanting to pay for that quality in the truck, but still wanted acceptable sound. I think he get's good reviews because he does hook up high quality sound at a good price, but I felt like he sticks with what he knows and doesn't want to play with anything outside his realm. I don't think anything I have is high end by any means, but he couldn't even work with the kicker amp I had running the doors, the pioneer tweeters were trash, the two way RF 6X9's I had in the doors at the time were worthless as well at the two RF R2 12" subs. None of that sat right with me. I ended up buying new 6x9 pioneers and a new box for the subs from him as I knew that alone would be a huge improvement and it was! He even told me the box would fit without raising the seat and I disagreed. Apparently I was right, I had to raise the seat, so I have just never bothered to go back and have no interest going back to any of the shops.

I am well aware my receiver is a pos, but I don't think I should be blowing amps because of it. I think I am just going to have to live without some sounds for awhile until I can figure out how to pair stuff together and tune it all up. All the vids kinda segment everything with a bazillion different brands and combinations which confuses things further. I have a had a hard time putting it all together. I think I am on my own and am going to have to keep researching until it all clicks in.

Until then, my tires, lightbar and roof racks create one hell of a horrific symphony I can listen to! Thanks for chiming in on recommendations, I'll keep looking at them.

 

[BiGMERF]

Are your amps hooked up with rca’s or an inline converter ?

 

[BWL]

Receiver shouldn't be a problem. If you're running the factory head unit there's nothing wrong with getting a Pac audio unit and staying with the stock head unit. Once you have rca output from the pac or new head unit the wiring is the same as the 90's just the amps are smaller and run cooler. If you're blowing amps I'd say there's a speaker wire grounding somewhere overloading the amp.

 

[BWL]

I just noticed your 12s were dual voice coil 4ohm and you have 2 so the MRV500 might ba a bit weak. Think I saw this before and recommended a zapco amp instead for you subs as it's more power and good quality for the money because although the alpine would be enough if you had dual 2 ohm since you'd end up with a 2 ohm set up. With 2 dual 4s you can only go 4ohm or 1ohm,which I don't recommend. Zapco ST series mono amps include a bass knob to my knowledge as well.

 

[MarshRam]

Are your amps hooked up with rca’s or an inline converter ?

RCA's....

 

[MarshRam]

Receiver shouldn't be a problem. If you're running the factory head unit there's nothing wrong with getting a Pac audio unit and staying with the stock head unit. Once you have rca output from the pac or new head unit the wiring is the same as the 90's just the amps are smaller and run cooler. If you're blowing amps I'd say there's a speaker wire grounding somewhere overloading the amp.

Have a cheap Dual double din, they are like $120, installed by previous owner. Amazingly, it is not half bad, a couple years old already, but really does need to be replaced. It definitely is a "you get what you pay for" deal. Stock radio would probably be better!

I am going rewire anyway, I'll pay attention for bad grounds when I am ripping out the old, but I just hooked in the new mids about 6 months ago. They were on solid, maybe a compromise in the existing line somewhere? When I took the old ones out they were on good as well and I had blown an amp about 6 months before that. Idk

Before they completely go out, a month or so, they start cutting out when bass hits. The amp to the mids has the bass knobs set very low. Gain is only at about 10% of what it could be increased to. I'm really not utilizing much of the 4 channel amp. If I turn my mono amp to my subs input and boost down, I can play the stereo higher until I hit that bass level and the amp to the mids will clip out again. Can lower the volume on the receiver and they pop back in again.

 

[BWL]

After seeing how the subs were wired originally I suspect you'll find a problem in the speaker wiring causing the amp to go into overload protection. I would definitely run new speaker wires before replacing the amp. You can check the speakers for ohm load with a cheap multimeter to see if there's a problem there, but my money is on speaker wires. However if I'm reading this wrong and both amps cut out at a certain level I would suspect head unit or an RCA cable going to ground. If there was a power going to ground you'd either blow fuses or if it was a small contact area you'd still be jump starting the truck from low battery.

 

[baum]

If it was me....

first get rid of that dual head unit. you are sending your amps dirty sound. For a few hundred dollars you can get a nice pioneer/kenwood head unit.

Are you only planning on amping your current speakers what about the rears?

For your current setup that JBL amp would actually work really well. 2 channels to the dash, 2 to the doors, and the subs.

If you really wanted to get better sound i would recommend a set of components in the front tweeters in the dash and mids in the doors. bi-amp with that amp if it can, and run a sub or two.

 

[MarshRam]

After seeing how the subs were wired originally I suspect you'll find a problem in the speaker wiring causing the amp to go into overload protection. I would definitely run new speaker wires before replacing the amp. You can check the speakers for ohm load with a cheap multimeter to see if there's a problem there, but my money is on speaker wires. However if I'm reading this wrong and both amps cut out at a certain level I would suspect head unit or an RCA cable going to ground. If there was a power going to ground you'd either blow fuses or if it was a small contact area you'd still be jump starting the truck from low battery.

Yeah, sub amp does not cut out and I have never blown a fuse or killed the battery. I'll take a look at all the speaker wires and wiring on the headunit when I pull it all out.