With regard to sparky3489’s comments - It is true that first comment is slightly misleading. It should have read either what he stated or

“your amp max (or peak) power should match as close as possible to the max (or peak) power of your speakers.”

When talking about the rating of the speakers together I did mean the sum of the two speaker’s power. Regarding which rating to use, it is ok to compare peak to peak or RMS to RMS because the RMS is 0.707 or 1/ROOT(2) of the peak value. However the peak value is often overstated or wrong in order to make an amp or speakers seem better. The only true rating is therfore RMS however given the question I was trying to minimise introducing as many technical terms as possible.
Given that a great deal of speakers and amps on the market state their peak power on the box first then RMS this important. (and yes this is WRONG of them).

The second point raised is only what I’ve seen. Whilst working in retail it was a common problem to find mid sized power (400-1000W) amps returned where they had been used with incorrect speakers. This was usually when an old 1000W amp died and was replaced with a cheaper 400W one without the owner thinking things through. Often these amps have been run at their maximum settings, obviously well within their “clipping” zone, and this has led to premature failure of the amp electronics. Many modern amps now have clipping protection for this very reason, however it is still a problem with the cheaper end of the market.

The final point is valid - yes the channels need to be as balanced as you can otherwise the amp will die early. This should have been made more clearly. (But it was 12.30am) In fact in most big car audio setups use one or more 4 channel amps to drive the mid and high speakers and a second set of 2 channel or dedicated sub amps (you can get these too) is used for the subs.

Hope this clears things up.

For a 2-channel, be sure the watts RMS of each channel matches the watts RMS of each sub at the required impedance (ohms).

For a mono amp, you can wire the subs like so as long as the amp is 2 ohm stable and your subs are 4 ohm each. The watts RMs the amp needs to be is the total watts RMS of both subs added together and push this watt rating @ 2 ohms.

Be sure the amp you but is CEA-2006 compliant.

See my site for more info

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Adam E

The statement “your amp should match as close as possible to the max power of your speakers.”

is actually false. It should read:

your amp should match as close as possible to the total RMS power of your speakers.

Also, this is wrong, “too small and you’ll “clip” your amp (blow it).”

As it’s the subs that will blow, not the amp. This is also only the case if the gain is set too sensitive. Here’s proof

Oh, and “If you are going to power all your speakers ( tweaters and mids) as well as your subs you’ll want a 4 channel amp as this will allow the full 4 channel output from your head unit to be used to all 4 sets of speakers.”

Is ok as long as ALL speakers are the same wattage handling as each channel of the amp.

Channel is in relation to how many speakers you want to power with the amp. You have two subs - but do you want to amp the mids and highs as well? (Subs are for lows…mids and highs are the other speakers inside the car - in the doors, back seat, etc.) If youre not concerned with amplifying your mids and highs, then you only NEED a two channel amp. If it is a 4 channel 400W amp, then can usually “bridge” the amp so that you actually get 200W per sub… Your best bet is to actually buy a new deck - most have built in amps with pre-amp outputs for subs…so, you get a new deck with 50Wx4 with a sub out, and you will have ROCKING sound in no time!!!!! That way, your mids and highs are amped to 50W each, and your subs are putting out 200W each!

As for what type/brand, thats personal preference. Kicker sux, in my opinion. I listen to rock - so I prefer Rockford Fosgate amps and speakers. Alpine, Soundstream and Sony also make great amps.