Amplifiers… What’s in a Number?

Recently I’ve caught a bit of a car audio bug while working on my sons recently acquired Mustang. We had the JVC KD-SX980 head unit from his wrecked Eclipse and he asked if I could put it in the Mustang. Having taken the time to remove it from Eclipse this had been the general idea. Long story short… The Mustang needed quite a bit of work.

1) No front speakers… Just wires where the speakers had been cut.
2) Only 2 rear 6x9 speakers, mounted in a hacked up rear deck mounts made for 6x8s
3) Factory Amp only had Left side working (which translated to only 1 speaker working in the entire car)

So after much research, blood, sweat and I wasn’t crying I just had something in my eye <sniff>, I managed to get the CD deck in with 4 working speakers of appropriate wattage all working and visually appealing to boot. (Not that it sounds that great but much better that one 6x9 in the rear)

At the same time I realized how woefully ignorant I was about car audio products and the inner workings of such a system. Nor could I build or modify a proper system to get the most from my hard earned money.

So now I am on a kind of self-help mission to better my knowledge of car audio and hopefully improve the current system in my Crossfire with knowledge and confidence. I know there are issues/benefits to integrating a factory amp vs. gutting an entire system and starting from scratch. Those issues are mostly monetary in my case.

A really great article I found as a beginners guide was “The Secrets of Car Audio” by Steve Deckert. This link has 5 free chapters http://www.decware.com/secrets.htm

Reading this really helped me understand why a 3,000 watt amp won’t EVER put out 3000 watts (usually), the importance of each piece of a system, positioning of speakers, enclosures, bass, distortion, etc. At least in a layman’s terms which is exactly what I needed.


So after examining my Crossfire system (which is a stock system, no Nav HU) I have decided a head unit upgrade and a pair of 10” subs w/ Amp would make the most sense with the goal of altering the sound (cleaner more precise bass) and providing enhanced features (MP3, Satellite Radio, HD Radio, etc)

I think I am OK to decide on my own which Head Unit to get as I know what features, brands, and specs are important to me.

Also I am a big fan of DIY. To me there is nothing more rewarding than enjoying the results of a well planned project that you know you worked hard to complete. Also I know if I screw it up I can usually figure out why and how to fix it. And I learn the inner workings of the system so if anything goes wrong later I know where to start looking for faults.

My questions come to integration with the factory amp and integration of an external amp for the subs as well as what type of enclosure would best with the limited amount of space. I am planning on building the sub enclosure(s) myself as well. There are bunches of plans and info online. My first thought was an isobaric enclosure or perhaps 2 “death boxes” as they look easy enough to build.


What would be an economical quality 2 channel amp to drive two 10” subs?
(Looking at specs “Power Acoustik A520-2HP”, “Eclipse XA2000” and “Pioneer GM-5300T” all seem equal, only price differs $80 - $300, I know you get what you pay for but at some point you are paying for a brand name)

What would be the best bang for the buck 10” sub?
(“Kenwood KFC-XW1000F”, “Infinity 1050w Reference”, “Audiobahn AW1051T” again price fluctuates $60-$180 these brands are just examples)

What would the best type of enclosure be to get the most quality in the least amount of space?
(Isobaric vs. 2 sealed vs. ported)

Also what would be the best way of integrating the subs into the factory setup?
(Disable the subs behind the seats? Use the preouts on the HU to the external amp? Use the lines from the rear subs to power the new subs, no external amp?)


I know these questions are not as cut and dry as I may make them sound. I am sure the combination of types of products will make a difference but any tips/hints/suggestions/corrections would be welcome.

Thank You!