I just bought the mb quart dsd216 componet speakers. I have a kenwood deck that says it is Full Bandwidth Power (less than 1% THD): 22 Watts x 4
Maximum Output Power: 45 Watts x 4
My question is will i be able to use these speakers without an amp. If not, what is a good inexpensive amp to power these. I am not going to use the rear speakers and plan to get one or two 10s in the future.

Thanks
Todd

 

Can you run the MBs off the deck?... Yes, but I can't recommend it long term. The MBs will require more power than is available from you Kenwood. They will play, just not too loud and distortion caused by underpowering them will affect the overall sound quality. An amp is the way to go. You had mentioned eliminating the rear speakers and installing a sub. I would recommend a 4 channel amp. 2 channels to the R and L front speakers and Bridge the other 2 channels to 1 for the Sub. In most of our systems we let the rear speakers remain and power them from the deck, your choice.

 

so if i get a four chanel amp how much power do i need. I was looking at getting the soundstream pic4.880. i think it is 110x4. if i get this would it power a JL 10. what watt sub should i get.

 

The Soundstream amp should be plenty of power. As for the chioce of Subwoofer JL is a perfectly good speaker. My favorite sub is Alumapro. I have used JL in the past and have been pleased. The Alumapros are the only subwoofer we use here at Customexotica, so I stand behind them.

 

can you bridge any amp? how much power would the soundstream send to a sub if bridged?

 

Not every amp can be bridged, but most can. Soundstream should be capable. Typically when you bridge an amp you will simply get the total power of both channels. I.E. a 20w x 2 amp would bridge to a 40w x 1.