The VR's aren't bad...what are you looking for, SQ or SPL?
Also, as a general rule I steer away from packages cause you run into stuff like the amp not matching the sub(s) (like in this case the amp will underpower those two VR's). I also will never buy any new sony car audio equipment...a few years back their products were decent, even produced some of the best head units on the market at that time, but now they just don't live up to expectations.
First off, thanks for the reply...VR's? SQ?, SPL? I honestly don't know what these are. And also you talked about the amp underpowering the speakers...how would you know what a good amount of power is?
I'm going to do some googling and research...but thank you to those who reply.
The VR's would be the subs in your second link. Sound Quality (self-explanatory) and Sound Pressure Level (loud); the two aren't mutually exclusive, but for a budget system you'll probably need to pick one or the other.
The total RMS wattage value of the sub(s) is what you're looking for to match the amp...in the case of those VR's, they are each 300w RMS...you would wire them so the amp sees (sp?) a 2 ohm load, resulting in 600w RMS at 2 ohms of power handling...then you would look at the amp's RMS power rating at 2 ohms and try to get close. In this case the amp only puts out 400w RMS at 2 ohms...so you would be underpowering each sub by about 1/3.
For more in-depth information go and read everything on this page:
here
I just got home from work, so I'll post a better explanation about the power handling, ohm loads, and matching subs to amps in the morning or tomorrow after work.
Great website. I understand what your saying now. For some reasons with these combo kits, they are providing amps that doing give enough power then.
Thanks for the better explanation.
for a gerneal rule of thumb you can under power the subs not by much but it's better than over powering them you'll fry the subs in a heartbeat. i have allways been told you can go a couple hundred watts under the max rms. im not an expert this is just what my local audio guy has told me. im guessing he's not an idiot seeing how he's won the local sound off 7 yrs in a row with a CAVY and a wall of 4 15's
That is most definitely true. I personally like to match the amp as closely as possible cause you can still get a fair amount of distortion from underpowering the subs...it's dependent mainly upon the listening style of the person involved, but given that he hasn't ever done this before, I'm going to guess that he doesn't fully know what to expect from any given sub/amp combo.
Again, it's not a problem underpowering subs, but it's definitely better than overpowering them. Now I think I should clarify that overpowering a sub doesn't necessarily meaning delivering more rms power to it than it's rated for: quite a few of the better subs out there can handle 50-100 rms more than they're rated for without a problem, some even more than that...but it should be done with caution and common sense.
In short, if you want it loud, you're best off matching the amp as closely as possible to avoid distortion from underpowering, and clipping and damage from overpowering.
Thank you Lnhiv, and also Ghostz, Im going to go to a small car audio shop that is located in my town. He has some great prices, even better than some online, and he has setup my friends car, and some other systems that i've heard. I figure a local guy that has done alot of instillations can help the most, plus I could visually see the subs and listen to them or ones similar before I purchase a set.
Thanks to all, I may make a purchase soon, and if I do ill let you know what I end up getting.
Honestly til you know what you're buying and looking at, small custom shops are the best way to go. If you can, ask him to help you install it or do it yourself...you'll learn a lot and it's way better in the end (much more gratifying). Good luck with everything and let us know what you get and how it goes.
