Lariat4x4

I'm going to upgrade the audio system in my truck and need a little info. I am going to go with Polk Audio DB5251 components in the front doors and Polk Audio DB571 6x8 2-ways in the rear doors. Crutchfield says the front speakers have 100 watts rms (250 max), is that per speaker or both? My guess is both. I've read that its better to run an amp to components and probably will so what power rating should I go for and what brand? I will most likely have a pioneer navigation head unit and I'll be adding a single 10" or dual 10"s under the back seat. Any help is appreciated.

GATORB8

Power Ratings are per speaker. You can normally get better deals than Crutchfield at a lot of online sites.

I'd shoot for 75-100 watts RMS a channel on the amp.

There are a lot of decent brands, but stay away from anything that lists it's peak or max wattage on the front of the box bigger than the RMS rating.

Only use the RMS ratings when shopping.

Lariat4x4

I'm only using crutchfield as a guide. I'm not buying anything from them and yes, your right about the rms, I've always gone by that with subwoofers but this is my first time going with components. So how many channels amp should I get, 2 channel, 3, 5? Thanks

Lariat4x4

I plan on using an amp just for the components, leaving the stock amp for the rear door 2-ways, and a mono amp for the sub(s).

GATORB8

Depends on your preferences.

5 channel will probably be the most cost effective. Otherwise I would recommend a 4 channel amp for the mids/highs, and a mono class-d for the sub (class d amps have more distortion but are more efficient at producing power).

Another option is getting a two channel for the components, leaving the rears on head unit power (you want your soundstage in front of you anyways) and getting a class d for the sub. Or a four channel with two channels on your components and two bridged for your sub.

Lots of choices.

GATORB8

Damn, you beat me to answering your own question. I agree with you, best combo of sound quality and bang for your buck.

Lariat4x4

Thats funny, so should I still go with a 2 channel amp for the components?

GATORB8

Yeah, depends on the sub your gonna get though. If you get something you could power by bridging the rear channels on a four channel, you may be able to save some money that way.

Lariat4x4

I'm weighing the options on the subs. I would like to go with two 10" Kicker CompVT shallow mount subs. They make 400 watts rms each so 800 watts rms total. They make a ton of power and can mount easily in the box under the rear seats. So with the Polk components, I'll be looking at 1,000 watts rms. So I'd run the components each on their own channel and then bridge the two other channels for the subs? Is that right? What amp could you recommend for my setup? A 1,000 watt rms 4-Channel amp?

GATORB8

If you were doing one low wattage 10 you could get away with a four channel. With 800 watts RMS worth of subs, you'll need to get a seperate amp for the subs.

But you can vary the resistance of the subs by how you wire them. If you get the comp vts with 4 ohm voice coils, you can run 2 ohm. If you get the 2 ohm vcs you can run 1 ohms. This will greatly bump your power from a mono amp that can run that low.

If you wanted to stick with Kicker for the amps, you could use this for the subs: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...08ZX750.1.html

and this for the components:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...08ZX250.2.html