Factory amplifier output specification?

[pyromaneyakk]

Hate to bother everyone with questions however I have one more quick question about the CTS. I am wondering if anyone has figured out what the RMS power output of the factory amplifier is for either Bose or standard amp? I can not measure it since I don't have the CTS yet

If nobody knows, I may be able to measure it once I get the car. I could get a rough estimate by playing a 0db test tone at full volume and watching the signal on my oscilloscope. If others are interested I may consider building a load test rig out of large wirewound resistors to individually test each channel with a static load.

I am planning on putting some aftermarket speakers in (possibly CDT ES 5" mids in the front, a nice pair of tweets, and a 8" sub in a custom sealed enclosure adapted to the facotry 10" mounting point). However, if the power output is not reasonably good, I'm not going to bother buying the equipment until I install a CleanSweep or similar and a better amp.

Any thoughts?

[FlyFlip420]

I wouldnt bother.....the factory amp pushes out little power, I dont remember off hand but if you do a search I know it will come up.....The only speakers that are decent with the factory setup are some very effecient Inifinity Kappas.....notice the word decent......If you buy it and install it, will out work, probably, will it distort when you try to turn it up....most definetely....will it be better than stock, at low volumes, at high volumes the distortion will be worse than stock.....I would wait....but you can always do it in stages...install it all.....then couple months later add cleansweep and amps....

[pyromaneyakk]

Originally Posted by FlyFlip420

I wouldnt bother.....the factory amp pushes out little power, I dont remember off hand but if you do a search I know it will come up.....The only speakers that are decent with the factory setup are some very effecient Inifinity Kappas.....notice the word decent......If you buy it and install it, will out work, probably, will it distort when you try to turn it up....most definetely....will it be better than stock, at low volumes, at high volumes the distortion will be worse than stock.....I would wait....but you can always do it in stages...install it all.....then couple months later add cleansweep and amps....

Ok, so I'll probably go for an aftermarket amp (maybe Memphis Baby Belle or something similar) with CleanSweep.

I did notice that the front speakers are 2ohm. That represents a big problem for aftermarket, as running practically any speakers will cut the output in half (only ones I know of are Infinity Kappa @ 2 ohm).

For those who are interested, when the time comes, I may measure the output anyway, if it is not known already. I think it would be a useful piece of information for anyone looking to do a speaker upgrade. Although I would think if the front channel is 2 ohm, then Infinity Kappa is about the only option for getting a decent amount of power.

[FlyFlip420]

If you are replacing the factory amp with an aftermarket, the 2ohm doesnt matter at all....As I said before....YES if you want to stay stock, the Kappas are the only reasonable choice...anything will work, but sound like garbage at high volumes....

I have the cleansweep and love it....Never heard of Memphis Belle except the movie....

[pyromaneyakk]

Memphis is an audio manufacturer that makes good quality gear. Their speakers are supposed to be in line with most of the middle-tier manufacturers (CDT, Infinity Kappa Perfect, some Alpine, etc.) I haven't purchased one of their amps but I've heard their M-class and Belle amps are supposed to be excellent. The Belle is a 4-channel Class AB and a single-channel class D in one package. I'd go all Brax or McIntosh but that would cost about $10k

Now that I've thought if it though, I may go for separate sub/speaker amps. Something that can push most or all of its power into a 4-ohm subwoofer (I want to run a CDT HD-SQ8 since it can put out a huge amount of clean sound for an 8" sub and can run on a very small sealed enclosure). Maybe a used Phoenix Gold Xenon since those are supposed to be able to push the same watts at 4, 2, and 1 ohm, though they're not made anymore. And maybe Memphis M-Class or Zapco Reference for front speakers.

Right now i'm pushing 125 RMS to my front speakers and 550 to my sub, but I will probably tone it down to around 75-100 in front / 300-400 on sub once I get the CTS.

[FlyFlip420]

Nice

Whats your other car that you have that system in?

[pyromaneyakk]

My current car is a Chevy Cavalier I was actually planning on doing another upgrade which would bump up the front speakers to 220+ RMS per channel and cross them over from front / sub much lower (more bass in front) but I found that the magnets on the speakers I got (CDT M-6) were so big I wouldn't be able to do it without making custom fiberglass mounts (either kick pods or on top of the door panels). I was planning on doing that, but then the circumstances changed and I decided to get a CTS I do not have the CTS yet but I am planning to get one within a few weeks (I have to remove all of the audio equipment and replace the modified factory door panels before I sell / trade in the car, among other things)