Amp Upgrade?

Discussion in 'Car Stereo Amplifiers' started by innovative, Dec 30, 2010.

  1. innovative

    innovative Full Member

    Trying to decide if I should upgrade my amp. I am looking to get more volume from my two sets of components but still want to keep the SQ. My current amp is running 40w RMS. I guess my question is, will I see enough difference if I upgrade to a 50w-60w Rms amp to justify the cost?
     
  2. tommy2tone

    tommy2tone Full Member

    It's hard to say not knowing the amp your running or the components your powering.Lets say(for example)you have a sony amp and it's rated at 40w rms,I'm sure it will not actually put out 40 watts rms.So with that being said,it really depends on what you have and how much money you are willing to spend.
     
  3. innovative

    innovative Full Member

    I am running an Eclipse EA3532 (40w RMS)and Soundstream 305 amp (35w RMS). The soundstream is powering a set of Boston RC51 components and the Eclipse is powering some Focal 165VB components.
     
  4. tommy2tone

    tommy2tone Full Member

    Why don't you bridge both amps and reset your gains?It's not that hard and you'll double the power at the same ohms.I am running an eclipse ea3422 to my comps,bridged to give 100 watts rms to each side.Just an idea,give it a try.
     
  5. innovative

    innovative Full Member

    So if I bridge them I will still be running my speakers at 4 ohms and it will double my current power output?
     
  6. TheViking

    TheViking Well-Known Member

    Doubling the power to your speakers will yield 3 decibals of increased output. So if you go from 110 decibals at 40 watts, you will get 113 decibals at 80 watts. This will not only increase output, but from a dynamic range standpoint, will help also.....But also keep in mind, that for the human ear to percieve a change in volume it takes about 4 or 5 decibals....

    If it was me, i would give it a try. each 4 channel amp run as a 2 channel in bridged mode should make for a nice difference.
     
  7. tommy2tone

    tommy2tone Full Member

    Good analogy Viking.You already have the amps so it's like free power.Most 2 or 4 channel amps are bridgeable,but the lowest ohms is usually 4.Some amps are 2 ohm stable when bridged,but not many.If you have a sub that's 4 ohm and a amp that is stable at 1 ohm your fine,but if you have a sub that's dual 2(wired to 1 ohm)and a amp that's only stable down to 2 ohms your amp will overheat and go into protect.
     
  8. innovative

    innovative Full Member

    Thanks for the replies. I will look into bridging my amps and hopefully I can give it a try yet this weekend.