Spoke to my installer today. I wanted him to install a Kicker KX 400.2
He doesn't have one and wants to use a KX 300.4 and bridge them.

Does this sound OK to everyone? He says this will put 150 to each side but I'm a little skeptical.

Also, I'm not sure I understand the difference between '2 Ohms Stereo' and '4 Ohms Brisged Mono' as per Kicker's website on this product.

Thanks for any help

 

Also, would the Alpine MRV-T420 be a better option? Thanks!

 

how much are you getting the KX amps for? Kicker discontinued the KX amps a few weeks ago and there are now new SX amps which have a buttload more features.

you're talking about 100 vs 150, i think the 150 is a little high for the Kicker components (per their ratings chart). you can get away with it as long as you're careful with the loud knob. i think the 600.4 would be a better choice, 75W stereo and you have 2 extra channels for a sub later on...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mgiang7
[B]how much are you getting the KX amps for?

 

whoops i had a brain fart and edited my post, the 300.4 only does 38W unbridged (which i think it a little low). you need to step up to the 600.4 to get the 75W per channel unbridged.


you can do that with the gains, but IMHO gains controls are not volume controls you should match them up from the start.

 

Let me ask you a question, if I bridge one of these amps don't I lose the stereo sound in exchange for mono?

I think what I really want is a 2 channel amp and not a 4 channel since I'm not adding a sub. This bridging seems like too much of a workaround.

 

no you still have stereo. it's like this

if you have a 2 channel and bridge into MONO you use stereo because now you only have 1 channel

if you have 4 channels and bridge 2 into MONO and 2 into MONO, then you still have 2 MONO channels. if you feed 1 side the LEFT signal and one side the RIGHT signal you still have stereo.

so you just turn a 4 channel into a more powerful 2 channel.

in the case of the 300.4 you're going from 38W/CHANNEL to 150W/CHANNEL by bridging.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mgiang7
[B]no you still have stereo.

 

as a general rule of thumb -- it is always best to not exceed 125% of the speaker's RMS rating.

in other words -- if the Kicker components are rated for 100Wrms, you shouldn't use an amp that exceeds 125Wrms.

while you could run w/ the gains down, the gains are not traditional volume controls -- you could still damage your speakers even w/ the gains set low.

75 Wrms per channel is going to be fine for those speakers and your planned setup.... 100Wrms to 110Wrms would be optimal, but you're going to have to work w/ what you get... without getting too detailed in wattage to output calculations -- trust me when i say that there will hardly be any discernable difference in volume. the biggest advantage you get from going with the higher wattage is an improvement in quality, which is null and void since you're using the OEM CD deck.

and yes, the sound quality of a bridged 4 channel is going to be close enough to the quality of a 2 channel that outside of using expensive diagnostic equipment, you'll never tell the difference...