Amp help
 

I just got a Sony Xplod XM-2165GTX 1000w amp from a friend. I have a 1997 F250HD diesel with an Alpine CDA7839 head unit. I have Clarion 5 1/4"s in the doors and 3 way 6x8 Sonys in the back (crew cab). I want to add a couple of 10" subs behind the back seat in an enclosure.

Here's my question: Can I use this amp to run the whole system? It's a 2 channel amp, but can I split it somehow to power the whole system.

Sorry, I just don't understand amp configs.

Thanks for the help.

I don't know of any way for you to split the amp up. If you are looking for a single amp solution then a 5 channel amp would be your best bet.

It wouldn't be a good idea, you'll end up frying something if the ohm load is too low. You can use the sony for the subs and get a smaller 4 ch. amp for the door speakers, or just run them off the HU

Best bet would be to get a small 4 channel amp for the front and rear speakers, and just run the subs off of the 2-channel amp.

I would say run the two 10's off that Sony, but be very conservative on the amp powers, I think most here will agree that "1000W" Xplod isn't going to put anywhere close to that into them. The HU can pump enough into those speakers to keep them sounding good. No reason to bother with another amp for them unless you just want them to hit their max wattage.

Even if you don't want them to hit their max wattage, you would be surprised at how much better an external amp sounds when running speakers. Even if the external amp is rated the same RMS wattage.

Yeah, an amp can take the signal from a HU and make it sound crystal clear.

Depends on the HU and the voltage of the pre-outs.. but basically - yea.

You can absolutely use the amp the way you suggest. All you need to do is connect the left side fronts and rears to the left channel in parallel and then do the same to the rights. Since the amp is capable of simultaneous stereo and mono use, you can then use a sub in mono running the speaker wires to the left positive and right negative connectors. If you do this you MUST use a 4 ohm sub/subs set up AND a passive low pass filter on the sub to keep out the high frequencies. While this is not the ideal set up, it certainly can be done with no problems whatsoever. The key is to low pass to the sub correctly. This can be as easy as wiring an inductor(coil) in the positive subwoofer speaker wire. This is a 1st order 6dB crossover. You will be running a 2 ohm stereo/4ohm mono configuration. This amp is actually rated at 200x2 into 2 ohms and 400x1 into 4 ohms, so you may have to use some common sense with the volume button to avoid damaging your speakers, depending on their handling capabilities.

Yes but with only a 1000w amp, if he tries two subs AND the regular speakers, won't they all get so small a portion of the pie as to not realize any real benefits besides the obvious sound quality enhancements?

Forget the 1000W business. And, it has nothing to do with how MANY speakers are used, only the ohms shown to each channel in a given configuration. This amp is capable of simultaneous stereo and mono use. So, that means it will produce 200 x 2 into 2 ohms AND 400 x 1 into 4 ohms in the configuration I suggested. Running the fronts and rears in parallel would divide the 200 watts on each channel between them, and the sub/subs would receive a full 400 watts. With a Sony amp, those figures are probably exagerated, and I wouldn't try it, because I would never use a Sony amp, but what I said was it could be done. It certainly isn't the best amp ever made, but they are far from the worst, IF used as designed.

OH *slaps self* duh. It's 2ohm stable so go for it. Wire the front speakers all together (parallel) and the rear speakers in parallel and as LinearPower said, voila, you have an amp running all four and still stable. And perfectly capable of running the sub as well.
It will suck the power though when run up high.

Don't wire the fronts together in parallel. Wire the left front and rear in parallel to the left channel and the right front and rear in parallel to the right channel.

That way you still get the stereo effect.

Excuse me for not knowing whether the amp was front/rear or left/right