To keep it simple which is the best possible amp to run front components and rear 6 1/2. Don' worry about name of speakers just need to get an overall consensus. Please take in cosideration the specs and not name brand? My components and rear 6 1/2 are both 100 RMS at 4 ohm. Headunit is alpine CDA 9856.

1. Alpine MRV-F545 - Alpine 4 Ch. 500 Watt Amplifier

2. Alpine MRV-F345 - Alpine 4 Ch. 300 Watt Amplifier

3. JL Audio 300/4 -- 300 watts, 4-Channel Amplifier

 

JL all the way. The wattage specs are not apples-to-apples. JL F345 is 300W at 1%THD and 14V

JL is 300W at .03% THD at 11V-14V

If you want more power from the JL overgain it at the sake of distortion. That's all your doing with the Alpines...more power with more distortion.

 

Personally, I would not bother running rear speakers. They do not really do anything worthwhile.

 

I would run "filler" speakers in the rears (i.e. I'd still run speakers, but nothing really fancy back there...)

As for which amp, there's no comparison. JL has a way lower THD like someone above said.

 

i have jl 300/4....best investment i've made it's sooo warm and hits hard those would work great with the XR650 CSi and CXi

 

pshhhh the rear speakers are necessary, it'll be pointless to have crappy rears and good rears. the speakers are behind your head so you'll be surrounded with sound.

 

I'm going to stick my neck out a bit here....

I have a JL 500/1, 450/5, and a 300/4. I also have an alpine 4 channel amp and I swear the Alpine sounds better with the highs. I have found nothing that can hit clear and hard like that 500/1, but for mids and highs I find the Alpine gives a cleaner, crisper sound.

 

Define "best".

 

i always say at the end of the day, an amp is an amp...those people out there who all claim they can hear a difference between brand A and B, when both brand A and B are quality brands like Alpine and JL, are in reality hearing differences in the installation technique, the vehicle, tuning, and different power output (a 50 watt rated brand A switched to a 100 watt rated brand B IS going to make a difference in dynamic headroom etc etc)

this is why the famous richard clark prize where if you can differentiate between the sound produced in various different amps you win 10k dollars has never been won, even by the most discerning ears

so personally, i say pick the one that meets your power needs, has the more flexible features, and is cheaper



i also second the opinon of not needing rear speakers, ESPECIALLY in a Z, personally, where they are, no matter what people say about rear fill, 99 percent of them are not running REAR FILL, they are running rear stereo. rear fill in sq terms is suppose to provide the ambience of the sound from the front speakres bouncing off the rear walls and reflecting to your ears. out of the few SQ comp cars that do run rear fill, those are almost always bandpassed, attenuated, and even time delayed.

just having two pairs of speakres behind your head, even faded somehwat, is just going to detract from the front sound stage balance.

of course, car audio always comes down to personal likes and dislikes, so if you arent into the sound stage, imaging type of SQ, and prefer say more loudless or a more "stock" sounding sysstem with sound coming from behind your head, then rear speakers are the way to go

 

Thanks for pointing that out. I have been debating for the longest time, well 4 days now, about which amp to buy and the above amps were all in the consideration. However, this one I like the price the most! You can actually get it for around $190, and speaking of THD it's 0.5% I know some will say Kenwood is no good, but I kinda agree on the installation technique making difference theory. More over, I'm doing the install my self so I just may blow it.

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=16894

 

i have this amp, Alpine MRV-F545 - Alpine 4 Ch. 500 Watt Amplifier, and the sound is outstanding.

 

withe lesser amps, just remember one thing:

if get a higher qualtiy amp rated at 50 watts, chances are you are going to get 70ish watts range cleanly versus if you get an average amp such as the kenwood, you may end up with truly 50 watts... at the same voltage level

and power to be honest, means a lot, and espeically a lot to the front stage, a more powerful amp, wtiih the gains set correctly, will give you a lot more lively of a musical reproduction and that IS audible to most people hehe

 

OK, I have to disagree with using no rear speakers. You will be missing out on all sounds that come from the rear channel! This is a much bigger deal if you are planning on playing movies in your ride but it will definitely help "fill" the car with sound. It will allow you to tune in your sound stage using the front/rear fader. Now about your amp choices the JL's do rock but I'm not sure that 300/4 has enough to power the speakers to their full potential. I like to run an extra 10-20% power over what the speaker is rated for (RMS or Continuous). Some amps are under rated and I'm not sure if JL is one of them, I wouldn't be surprised. Your best option would be to run the 450/4 and put better speakers up front which can handle 100-150 watts a peice and use some lower wattage speakers in the back for that "fill". Save some cash on the rear ones and put it into the front ones. Maximize your cash.

 

Agreed.

 

G money...

what do you suppose is the REAR channel on a typical non 5.1 surround system? is it an exact duplicate of the front channel? well of course it is.

again, i specify that you need to be in this mind set of sound quality to not want rear channel.

and this mind set is...i would like to make my car like a virtual live performance.

the dash board is the stage the musicians are performing, and with the right install and tuning, i can literally place each individual instrument and voice on my stage, its like watching a live band, at say 1/10 actual size, playing on my dash, to me, thats enjoyment...if i cant be at a recording sutdio live, then i would like to bring the studio to my car....and when you are listening to a live performance, you would NEVER turn your back to the performers to hear music come from behind you...

on the Z this is REALLY true to me, the rear location, right behind your head, and being 10 times closer to one speaker than the other, does nothing for me except to ruin the front stage...
anyway...thats just my take on SQ, similar to waht the guys in IASCA and USAC likes, having use to compete...its perfectly cool to disagree

 

Ok, I appreciate the input and I have read all the comments. I appreciate all the help and I am still scratching my heads. I am going to rear speakers, because I can't fathom having a system without rears. Atleast they are there and if I don't like them I can fade them out or turn done the gain, right! I have only heard good thing about Alpine, and JL seems to be the logical choice but, I want to get a poll for my setup!

My front components speakers are "Directed Audio" Model S650. I have never heard what they sound like but was referred to them either by NAZAR or 16brick, not sure which one. I am also undecided about what rears to get, 2 way, or three way!

So let's take a simple poll on which of the three with Front components and Rears would you buy if you were me!

 

i referred you them when you wanted a cheap but good comp set for rears, if you must, jsut pick up a set of JL TR or VR coax

dont get a 3 way...

b

 

So they are decent, right!

 

+1 on not needing rears

 

+2 not needing rears