Dsmoov

all right, i am pretty much a complete newby to this so i'll probably ask some dumb questin here but plz put up with me cuz i need some help. okay, is it possible to run 2 speakers and a sub off of a 4 channel amp? if so how hard would it be and how would it sound? the only other amp i found in my price range would overpower all of my speakers by a little bit, like 15 rms on the speakers and 50 rms on the sub. if i just turned down the gain a little would that make it safe? my last question is a great one, remember i don't have much experience with audio... does an amp add to the watts your head unit puts out or does it bring it to the rated watts? thx in advance

nitehawk

Yes, it's possible. No, it's not recomended. Because speakers require full range sound, or high pass only, your system would sound, to put it mildly, bad.

If you're really that worried, pick up a cheap mono or stereo bridgeable amp for the subs, then get 2 more speakers for your car, and use the 4 channel to power those.

95rodeo

The majority of 4 channel amps have independent high and low pass filters. using a 4 channel as a 3 channel amp is actually somewhat common for people on a budget and when properly tuned can sound pretty good. I wouldnt worry about overpowering the speakers...just leave the gain a little lower

nitewolf1110

get a bass blocker for your speakers

__________________
Garry
Killeen tx

93 typhoon #1110 work in progress

CarStereoGuy24

Yes, it is possible to run 2 speakers and a subwoofer with a 4-channel amplifier. You can bridge two channels into one channel (if your amplifier is bridgeable) and use the bridged channel to drive your subwoofer. Use the other two channels that are left to drive your full-range speakers. Just make sure that you're not sending high frequency levels to the subwoofer and low frequency levels to the full-range speakers! This problem can easily be eliminated if your amplifier has the capable crossover network built into it. You may also use seperate crossovers (which are inexpensive and won't "break" your budget). And the overall sound would be excellent if you follow what I have stated above!
You don't need to match the RMS power output of an amplifier to the exact RMS power handling of the full-range speakers or subwoofers (this is why there's a gain control, just make sure you turn the amplifier down a bit if it has too much power). But remember, overpowering AND under powering can cause damage to components over time! Using an amplifier that does not supply enough power to the full-range speakers or subwoofers will cause the amplifier to work "overly hard", resulting in clipping and poor sound quality!
The watts from the in-dash receiver does not get added to the watts of the amplifier! The only wattage the speakers or subwoofers are going to see are going to be from the amplifier and NOT the in-dash receiver.