Will this work?

[chuzhead]

I have a 2003 Explorer, I'm assuming that it has the Mach system. I have the amp and sub on the passenger side cargo area. It HAD the 6 disc changer in it. Here are a few questions and some info on what I've got-

1. Does this factory amp power the sub AND the door speakers? My reason for asking this is because after I installed a new Kenwood HU, with the correct wiring harnesses from Crutchfield, if I turn the amp off on my HU, I get absolutely no sound from my speakers, so I am assuming that with amp disabled and no sound, it means the amp is powering the door speakers. Needless to say I have the amp feature turned on and I have sound. The sub is working, but it's virtually non-existent. My HU has a seperate preamp output for the sub, but even with the bass cranked, it just doesn't put out enough for me.

2. I replaced all four door speakers with 5"x7" Polk db 570 speakers. They sound really nice, the HU seems to power them pretty well, but they don't give me the bass I'm looking for. It still sounds like listening to music in a cave, only louder.

3. I wanted to add a Polk MM 2084 8" 4-ohm sub in place of the factory sub. I just love the sound of Polk speakers, I know 8" will fit, so that's why I picked that sub. I don't want a sub box. I need my cargo area, and I don't want booming bass, just a nice punch and some substance.

Here is my big question though- After replacing the factory sub, I'm sure the factory amp isn't going to be enough power, so can I replace the factory amp with a 4 channel (80 watts x 4) amp and power the new Polk sub and my rear Polk speakers with it? The Polk sub is 30-200 watts RMS, the Polk door speakers are 2-60 watts RMS. Is that amp even big enough? I could bridge 2 of the channels for the sub, correct? I'm not looking for the loudest system on the block, I just want good clear sound with some punch for my own ears while I'm driving. I realize I'll have to rewire my front speakers due to the removal of the factory amp, which is no big deal, they're close to the HU anyways.

And to throw another wrench into the plans, I was given a Kenwood 6 1/2" powered sub, which I want to stick under the back seat, and I would like to connect that to the rear speakers for some extra bass.

So basically I would have a 8" sub in the factory location, a new amp in the factory location powering the sub and rear speakers, and the powered sub picking up the slack on the bass from the rear speakers. I'm not concerned with amping the front speakers right now, I like my sound coming more from the rear anyway.

Is this scenario going to work? I'm not too smart when it comes to engineering a car sound system, I play it safe and buy stuff from Crutchfield with the idiot proof harnesses and directions. I just gave it some thought today and I want some better sound without sacrificing any cargo space, and in my head this seems like it will be alright. I just want to know for sure because I really want to order the amp and sub from Crutchfield soon.

Or to make it all easier, should I just replace the factory sub with the Polk and add a 200 watt x 1 amp and just power the sub, and leave all the other stuff alone?

I know that was a lot of info to take in, but I'd really appreciate your input.

 

[splferrell]

your 4 ch amp should be 2 ohm x 2 ch if so i would run both right front/back speakers too 1 ch, and both front/back left speakers too the other, then run the other two ch brig @ 4ohm too the 8'' . i dont think i would add the kenwood, but if you do make sure it's in phase with the polk 8

 

[beavis195]

on the 2002 on's the amp only powers the sub