Hey guys - I'm wondering what would be the best way to put together a system for my eclpise I want 4 speakers in the car and a single sub in the rear (probably a single 10 or 12in). I've been looking at Alpine's 5 channel amp, the MRV-F450, any comments on this amp? Would I be better off SQ-wise getting a 4 channel amp and then adding a mono amp for a sub later? Or maybe a 4 channel and run the 4 speakers off two channels and then sub off of the other two? Basically I just need some suggestions as to what would be the best as this is all new to me. Thanks for any help!

-Greg
'99 RS

PS - I'm not too interested in boomy bass, just loud enough that I can hear it :)

i run two seperate amps, one 4 channel to my mids/highs, and one two channel, bridged to my subs......

its up to you, but if you are short on funds, go w/a 4 channel, and then buy up later ;-)

good luck

>i run two seperate amps, one 4 channel to my mids/highs, and
>one two channel, bridged to my subs......
>
>its up to you, but if you are short on funds, go w/a 4
>channel, and then buy up later ;-)
>
>good luck

Hey, I do the same thing. Just don't skimp on the amp power wiring (especially grounding it), and use a capacitor. I added a capacitor to my system and it totally cleaned up the sound (bass and otherwise).

I would run a 4 chan. amp and a mono amp. You could get the mono and sub first and just power your 4 speakers with your headunit until you got the funds for the other amp. Good luck man, get some pics up when you are done.

Thanks for the input! What would be the benefit to having a 4 channel amp and a mono amp running the sub as opposed to having a 5 channel amp running it all? The 5 Channel I'm looking at now is ~$100 less than the cost of a 4 channel and a mono amp. Thanks!

-Greg

the greatest asset of a mono/4 channel setup is the ability to better tweak the system, and if one amp fails the other will not (although this is highly unlikly if the system is installed correctly). another advantage is that you are not limited on your power output. there are only a few 5 channel amps on the market, so you are wedged into a position of choosing the best, while haveing two amps gives you the flexability of meeting your needs with no comprimise. plus...if you ever wanted to upgrade you subs and give them more power, you would only have to swap out the one sub amp, not the amp for the whole system (in which case you would probably end up buying a seperate "highs" amp anyways).

the advantages of having an "all-in-one" amp are these: the wiring is much more simple: the install is more simple (as far as placement), and its cheaper initially...of course if you want to upgrade later the situation is reversed.

IMO...go with 2 amps. make sure you buy the appropriate wiring/install kit and take TIME do do the install right.

What are your opinions on Pioneer amps in comparison with Alpine ones? Those are really the two brands I'm looking at but I'm willing to consider anything and everything in that price range. Any input? Thanks again for the help!

-Greg
'99 RS

I was having the same problem you are when i first started puting together my sys. I finally decided to go with an Eclipse 5/4 chanel amp at first i ran it as a 5 channel with 2 for my front and 2 for my rear and then the 5th for my subs but later on i upgraded with an additional 2 channel amp that bolted in right next to the 5/4 it came with a little cover to fill in the void so it looks like one amp. But when i did that i just switched it back to the 4 channel mode and used the 2 channel for my subs. Heh hope that made sense if you got a bit more $ i would recommend going this way at least it worked nice for me

both pioneer and alpine make great, reliable amps at a relativly low price....so the dicision is up to you. the difference in SQ is not going to be noticable at all (assuming you treat the amp the way it should be treated), so look for features that you want (bass bost, more finely tuned crossover, sub-sonic filter, ability to accept a high voltage preamp signal, etc., etc.) and go for it.