The first thing I did with my car was to get the sound system about where I wanted it. The first thing I bought was an Eclipse CD3000 head unit. I like it, but I don't know if it is really as interesting as I would like. I would like a radio with great functionality and quality, but that is just a bit more flashy as well. Any suggestions there?

In the front I have two Focal Access 6' with the attached 1' tweeter, in the rear two Alpine Type S 6x9's. The interior speakers are running off of an Alpine V-power MRP-F250 40w x 4 amp.

For subs I have two Alpine Type R 12's running off a single MRP-M850 amp. I had these components installed, so I didn't learn as much as I probably should have that way. I have been trying to learn a little bit more about Car Audio so that when I decide to upgrade, I can shop a little bit smarter. That said, I am considering getting a third amp, and running each sub seperately. Would that be a good idea? As well, one thing that is really confusing me about Car Audio is Ohm's and multiple speakers etc. I think it is the more speakers you hook up, the harder it is to push the current through the wire, which actually means your amp isn't pushing as much as it can, but how that really applies, I don't understand.

As well, my licensce plate rattles, I have had a friend suggest dynamat, and just cutting it to fit behind the liscensce plate itself, would that work?

Thanks!

 

any type of foam and adhesive will work, dynamat is just a waste of 30 or so bucks for your license plate.

 

Unless you really really want a "bump" car, I think the 850 would be plenty of power for two 12" subs. I'd put the MRP-F250 into bridge mode (100W x 2 instead of 40W x 4) for 100W to each rear speaker and buy another 2-channel amp for the fronts. Or retire the 250 and buy two larger two-channel amps for the four main speakers. Bridge mode is potentially not quite as clean as using a single amp channel per speaker, though I doubt many if any listeners in a car would be able to tell.

When you connect two identical speakers in parallel to one amp, the ohms seen by the amp is half of that of each speaker. This results in more power output from the amp as long as it is rated for that low an ohm load (Otherwise, you soon have a $400 brick). The total power from the amp output is of course divided between the two speakers. The 850 delivers 800W to a two ohm load, so 400 W for each speaker. If you had two 850s driving each sub seperately you would have a 4 ohm load on each one, and the 850 only outputs 500W in that case. So you'd only increase the power to each speaker from 400 to 500 W.

 

whiledoing the whole 2 different 2 ch is a very good idea, you will prolly need to replave the rear speakers if you run that amp in bridge. cuz the ampwould bepushing 100 rmsand those speakers can only handle 50 rms

heres a quick rundown of ohms. an Ohm is a unit of resistance. most normal speakers are gonna be 4 ohm. but as far as subs, it varies quite a bit. the lower the resistance, the more power an amp can put out. so a 2 ohm sub on one amp will hit harder than a 4 ohm sub on the same amp. if speakers are wired in parallel it is found by the formula: 1/(1/R1+1/R2+1/R3+etc.) whereR is the resistance of the speaker. if they are wired in series, they actually just add up. for most amps, 2 ohm is the most efficient ohm load, but some mono amps are actually 1 ohm stable, which would be abel to push even more power.

and also getting 2 monos is a great idea if you are really wanting it to thump. but let me warn you 2Type R's running at the full 500 rms each is gonna be reaaallllly freakin loud. a lot of competition cars use multiple amps on multiple subs. the only thing you have to make sure that you do is put the crossovers, bass boost, andgain levels on both amps at exactly the same level. and i will personnaly vouch completely for the use of dynamat. It can get expensive, but I have my whole trunk and hatch dynamated, as well as both doors, and there is ZERO rattling in thecar. so if you have the extra money to spend on it, then do it

 

I have an Eclipse CD5000 which has more features than you know what to do with, $200 used but in VERY good condition .