Stereo Amp help for Clueless one

whatever you do, get an amp for your front stage. That would be my first step (along with new 6.5" component speakers up front), and then worry about the sub. For good brands of component speakers, look at CDT, Focal, Dynaudio, etc. Speakers are very subjective, so be sure to listen to as many as you can to figure out what sounds good to you. Some people prefer silk tweeters, other metal tweeters, it just depends on your taste.

don't even worry about rear speakers, especially if you are getting a sub... GlassWolf's Homepage

For amp(s), assuming a sub and no rear speakers...

4channel amp -- front channel for comps, bridge rear channels for subs
OR
2ch amp + Mono amp -- 2ch for comps and mono for sub
OR
2ch amp + 2ch amp -- 2ch for comps and the second 2ch bridged for sub

Any of those options are pretty much the same. Assuming equal power, #2 will be less of a draw on your electrical system because Class D amps are more efficient (80%) than Class A/B amps (50%).

Speaking of electrical system, you'll probably want to do a "Big 3 Upgrade" w/ 4awg wire. Depending on your amps, you may need to upgrade your alternator as well. First thing to do is figure out how much available amperage you have after your stock vehicle takes what it needs, then calculate how much your amp(s) will draw....

• take the amp's total wattage (RMS) rating
• divide the wattage by 12 (at idle) or 14.4 or 13.8 (above idle, whatever your alternator puts out). To be safe, use 12.
• then take that result and multiply it by 1.2 for class D, and 1.4 for class AB
• the result is your current draw at full output (shortcut for class D is to take the wattage and drop the last digit. 1000 watts is 100A @ 12VDC)
• add up the totals, then figure you may need 1/2 to 1/3 of that figure for typical daily driving use, and more for showing off

i would stay away from Sony car audio equipment. Here's a good list of brands to look for or stay away from.... Copy of the CAC Good, Bad, and Ugly List - eCoustics.com

For a HU, i'm considering this one... Clarion VX709 (VX-709) Double DIN 7" Touch Screen Monitor + DVD Player . Bluetooth is already built in, so need need for an add-on accessory. The Nav module is sold separately, but it is "nav-ready."

Hope that helps. Best of luck.

Ok heres where Im at. Got the Q-logic box for the storage compartment. I have a set of RE Audio components coming for the fronts. RE Audio 8 inch subs for the Q-logic box. Keeping the rears stock for now. Not sure which head unit yet, still undecided. Really like to find one with NAV and Pandora.
How bout this amp someone is selling, says its new with the box. Can get it for $150 at the most.

Alpine MRP-F600

4 Channel Class A/B Power Amplifier

• CEA-2006 Power Rating @ 4-Ohm: 100W x 4
• S/N 80dBA
• RMS Power @ 4 ohms: 100W x 4 (1% THD)
• RMS Power @ 2 ohms: 150W x 4
• RMS Power Brigded @ 4 ohms: 300W x 2
• Continuously Adjustable Gain Control
• Dual Sided Glass Epoxy PC Board
• Non-Fading Pre-Amp Output
• Discrete Pre-Amp Stage
• Gold Plated Input, Output, Power and Speaker Terminals Connector
• Adjustable Low-Pass/High-Pass Crossover
• Speaker Level Inputs
• Gold Plated RCA Input Connectors
• Top Mounted Blue LED Power Indicator
• Over-Current, Over-Voltage and Thermal Protection
• STAR Board Circuitry
• MOSFET Power Supply
• Thermal Management Control
• 4/3/2 Channel Design

that's a good amp. what's the RMS rating of those RE subs? If they are anywhere from 100-200 watts each you should be fine. One thing to look at is the impedance of the voice coils? are the subs single or dual voice coil subs? You'll want to make sure that you can wire them together at a 4ohm load for the bridged rear channels of the amp.... Series Parallel Speaker Impedance

If you're keeping the rear speakers, just power them by the HU, and be sure to add a low pass filter to keep the high frequency sounds from getting to them. That's what wrecks your front stage. This can be done via an electronic crossover, sometimes built into the head unit. Or you can use a simple passive low pass filter. Ideally, you would want a bandpass filter to filter out highs (handled by the comps) and the lows (handled by the subs), and feed the rear speakers the narrow range of frequencies in between (more info on crossovers here). Also, you might need a phase shift. Sometimes that's built into the amp. As you can see, rear fill can be a challenge to maintaining a good front stage (which is what it's all about IMO), and for truck cabs, they do more harm than good as far as i'm concerned.

Oh, and just a note on Pandora. I love Pandora, but would never play that through my system. It's terrible quality audio. To me, it doesn't make much sense to spend $1,000+ on high quality audio components, only to play crappy mp3's and streaming audio through it. Kinda like polishing a terd, ya know? That being said, I only play CD's and lossless audio (FLAC, Apple Lossless, etc) in my truck. 320kbps MP3's compressed with the LAME codec are ok too, but i'll never play a song i bought through iTunes in my truck. So, i'm pickier than most. Once you get your system hooked up, try listening to a CD (not burned from MP3's) and then listen to a 128kbps MP3, and see the difference. Might not be a big deal to you. Just keep in mind that Pandora will be even lower quality. Again, just my opinion. Please don't take it the wrong way.

Ok here's the specs on the subs.

Mica Filled Poly Cone
Santoprene Rubber Surround
Pressed Steel Basket
High Temp 8-layer Copper Voice Coil
FEA Optimized Motor Structure
Single Magnet
Linear Conex Spiders
Foam Gasket
Authorized Internet Dealer
Full Manufacturer's Warranty
*
350W RMS (pair)
Dual 4 Ohms
Mounting Depth: 4.5"
Mounting Hole Diameter: 7.3"
Electrical Q Value -Qes: 0.38
Mechanical Q Value -Qms: 4.21
Total Speaker Q Value -Qts: 0.34
Free Air Resonance -Fs: 22.8 Hz
Equivalent Compliance -Vas: 27.1 liters
One-Way, Linear Excursion -Xmax: 12 mm
Efficiency -SPL 1W/1m: 81.2 dB SPL
Effective Piston Area -Sd: 195 cm^2
DC Resistance -Re: 3.2 ohm
Force Factor -Bl: 15.4

if the subs are 175W RMS each, that amp will power them just fine. If they each have dual 4 Ohms voice coils, you'll want to wire them like this to achieve a total 4 Ohms load...

source: Series Parallel Speaker Impedance