2 or 4 Channel Amp ??

[RickMar]

Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to read this thread.
I have a 1999 Mercury Mountaineer. A few years ago I had a new Alpine 55 watt stereo w/cd player installed..seeing where sattelite radio was new back then I went with a XM sattelite receiver.
Now the wheels start turning in my head so I start asking about a sub woofer for the bass (Low's). I wind up buying an Infinity sub and a Autobahn amp. to drive the sub.
Finally I have four Infinity door speakers installed (2 in front)(2 in rear).
The system sounded pretty cool to me ...
After a while I notice the symbols and other instruments that create the (Highs) were not that noticable.
I asked an audio technician about it and he told me I needed a seperate amp to drive out the ("High's")
I rode around for more than a year thinking about having a second amp. installed to drive the high's from my four Infinity door speakers,
(2 Front) (2 Rear).

Finally...it's June and birthday time!! and my wife picked me up a Sony 800W amp.
She did not know which amp to purchase. She only knew of what I wanted the amp to do ..which was to drive the highs out of the four infinity speakers.

The sales person said "This is what he wants" which is a....
SONY XM-ZR1252 (XMZR1252)
2-Channel 800W ZR Series Xplod AMPLIFIER

SPECIFICATIONS
Amplifier Class : N/A
Number of Channels : 2-Channel
Maximum Power : 800 Watts
RMS Power Output @ 4 Ohms : 125 Watts x 2-Channel
RMS Power Output @ 2 Ohms : 170 Watts x 2-Channel
Bridged Power : 340 Watts (Monaural) x 1-Channel
THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) : 0.4%
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (dB) : 93dB
Frequency Response (Hz) : 5Hz~50kHz
Built-in Crossover : Yes
High-Pass Crossover Frequency : 80Hz,~12dB/Oct
Low-Pass Crossover Frequency : 80Hz,~18dB/Oct
Bass Boost : 0~10dB (40Hz)
Bass Remote : N/A
Fan Cooled : N/A
Fuse Rating : 25A x 2

Could you "Pro's" tell me...
Will this 2 Channel amp. drive the (4) seperate Infinity door speakers (2 in Front) (2 in Rear) ??
Or do I need a 4 channel amp instead of the 2 channel Sony XM-ZR1252 ?

As I mentioned in the beginning I currently have a seperate Autobahn amp installed and pushing for the Infinity sub woofer.
I am looking for "High Quality" Highs and Lows
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Rick

 

[Dan Whitaker]

You need a 4 channel amp. With just a two channel you will not have fade. Just balance. It's also quite possible the two channel amp will overheat driving four speakers.

 

[Wagonized]

You need a 4 channel amp. With just a two channel you will not have fade. Just balance. It's also quite possible the two channel amp will overheat driving four speakers.

no it wouldnt overheat at all the specs above say its rated for 2 ohm stereo use. Although it may overheat being a sony xplode product as thats what theyre known for.

A 4 channel amp or dual 2 channel amps would be ideal but its not totally necessary. With that sony amp you can wire both left side speakers in parallel to a common channel and same with the other side. So your speakers will be running 170 watts per side split between front and back. In other words 85 watts per speaker which is a good number. However you will lose your fader function as stated above. Another option would be to run the rear speakers off of deck power and only amplify the fronts. Most car audio enthusiasts that know a lot about sound quality will tell you that front speakers are all thats needed in a car environment. Your ears are designed to have the sound coming from infront of you not from behind. In my personal vehicles I have run rear fill at all ever! Not since my very first car 8 years ago and even then the rear fill was removed a few months after I began grasping various car audio concepts.

So those are your two options...but a third option which Id strongly suggest to you is to swap that sony amp if you still can for a brand known for better sound quality. Sony xplode products are extremely entry level in the car audio world...when it comes to class D amps or amps running to your woofers you can often get away with dirtier power because distortion is much more difficult to pick up to your ear at lower frequencies but when amplifying your mids and highs you definitely want the cleanest power possible. Id try to look for a 2 or 4 channel amp with atleast 75 watts per channel by a reputable soundquality brand such as focal, audison, hertz, etc and stay away from your mainstream "best buy" brands...RF, sony, kenwood, pioneer, panasonic, alpine isnt bad, JL is ok aswell but greatly over hyped.