Hey all I just ordered my new stereo system, I should find out today how long it will take to come in. I got a Alpine 9851 HU and a JL Stealthbox with one 10" 10w3v2. I'm not to amp savy and I have a RF 150S amp that I believe puts out 150watts max bridged at 2ohms. The sub my box has states that it is 300watt thermal power handling and its a dual 2ohm speaker? (Does that make it a 4ohm speaker?) Its wired for 4ohm mono. This is all Greek to me, the guy at the store told me that my amp would work but it would be under-powered. He stated he usually puts 350-450 watts to that kind of speaker. I don't want my new system to sound like crap...should I just keep mine and save up money for a really good amp and or is there a good amp that is reasonably priced that has worked for anybody else with a setup like this?

 

Dont get so hung up on Watts. There is more to total speaker loudness than watts.

You have 2 options, wire your DVC speaker in series for a 4 ohm load or in parrallel for a 1 ohm load. If your amp was 1 ohm stable this would be ideal. Since its probably not, your only choice is to wire it in series for 4ohm. Basically, when you cut impedence in half you just about double the work an amp has to do to drive it. (this is good)

What I would do, is install everything and if it sounds good then you are all set. No sense in spending $ on an amp because you think your other one will sound bad. I bet you will be surprised. If not, an amp is easy to switch out.

In the past, I have spent tons of money on the high powered stuff and have found that I am just as happy squeezing out everything the amp has. Right now I have a 200 dollar 4 channel alpine running 4 5x7 speakers and a sub. It sounds surprisingly nice. My old set up was an expensive jl 500/1 and a 300/4 with JL evolution components and 2 jl 10s (all for sale - except for components) and my cheap-o set up, although not as nice sounding, sounds about 80% as good and was 10% the cost.

And if you are looking for an amp I have a JL 500/1 that has been used for about 6 months and is like new, I will let go for cheap.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply, I just want to get the most sound out of my sub. If the 150watt amp will make it sound good I'll probably just stick with that. My fiance just ordered the same system with a with a JL e1200 amp so I'm feeling the pressure to upgrade.
I might be interested in that JL 500/1 amp, shoot me an email and let me know how much you want for it. Why did you decide to change systems so soon?

 

The e1200 is comparable to your amp. That's an entry level JL amp.

 

I wanted to write to tell you that you will be extremely happy with the setup you have chosen. I too have a JL stealthbox that got installed on Saturday. It sounds INCREDIBLE for one 10" sub, plus it looks awesome installed. I have a Supercab 04, so not sure if you have Supercrew or supercab, but you will love it. I will let you know that they told me at the audio shop that a 'decent' amp would be the JL 300/4. Your sub then would have 150W pushing the sub. The thing about JL amp's is that they are under rated and push more power than they are rated at. I elected to go with the 500/5 as I wanted to get a little more out of the sub, but I'm almost afraid that it's too much. It hits pretty hard. The other con for me about the 500/5 is that it's a rather large amp, and it sticks out a little past the seat. I installed it under the rear bench. You will have to relocate your jack as that's probally where they will install your amp, and if not, the stealthbox requires you to remove the amp as it's too large with the jack located there. What door speakers are you going to run. I did Boston Compenents up front, then Kenwood 6X8 in the rear. The system sounds great. I actually bought the Kenwood DVD 717 front DVD monitor; however I don't like it and don't think it's worth the money, so I'm exchanging it on Wednewday actually for probally an Alpine 9855 or maybe even the 9851, depends on what deal they'll make me. Sorry to ramble but hope that you find thins information helpful as I'm excited to tell all about my new system. So in summary, to answer your amp question, I would upgrade. Why drop that kind of money on a stealthbox and not put good power behind it. I would either go with the 300/4, or 500/5 amp. I'm not sure I want to keep my 500/5 as it is so big and is quite powerful. BTW, how much did you have to pay for your Alpine unit and Stealthbox. Curious to compare with you. Awesome set up though

 

I got the Stealthbox for $525 and the 9851 HU for $250. I'm glad to hear you like yours, I feel like a little kid at Christmas. I can't wait until I find out when they can install it! I haven't made any plans for getting component speakers yet, total for everything installed w/my old amp is about $1,000, so I'm kinda broke, but happy.
If you could tell me how many watts your sending to your sub, that might help me make an amp choice. I can't drop a lot of money right now, so if I get another amp I'll probably go with a mono or two channel amp.

 

Hey rutherk1, you should be able to click on my profile to email me, if it doesn't work let me know...Thanks

 

I emailed you

 

The amp is split up as follows:
Sub Channel: 250W
Front Speakers: 200W
Rear Speakers: 50W

If you are looking for a cheaper option I would also consider a 300/2. I don't know if I would drop alot of money on a mono channel amp as once you replace your door speakers you'll probally want to power those also, but remember to build the system that makes YOU happy, it doesn't matter what others are happy with, ultimately you have to be happy with the setup.

 

You'll want a better and bigger amp for sure. I have the stealthbox with a 500/1 and it sounds fantastic. But that 150 (at best) will sound dismal in comparison. Save some cash and get at least 300 watts RMS into that sub.

 

Thanks for all the opinions guys, it really is helpful. If anybody else has this setup and would like to share their opinion, keep em' coming.
It sounds like everybody that gets the stealthbox really loves it!

 

I'd wire it up for 4 ohm and see how it runs off your current amp. Looking at the specs I can find it should put out 150watts RMS bridged to a 4 ohm load. Bridged usually drives an amp to the 2ohm rating with a 4ohm load. Anyway, 150watts should drive that sub ok for now untill you can upgrade.

I'd say drive that sub with at least 300watts to get most of it's potential. JL subs generally can handle a lot more power than their ratings. I drove my 15w1 for years at 200% (300RMS). Being a 10 it might sound pretty good at 150W.

 

Yeah, my amp will put out 150watts. I think I'm just gonna go with it for now and see how it sounds. Like you say I can always upgrade later. Hopefully I should be getting it all installed here in the next couple of weeks.
I'll be sure to let you guys know how it sounds

 

I think that would be best bet. People think a 300 watt amp hooked to a single 10 inch sub will be twice as loud as a 150 watt amp hooked to that same sub.

That is absolute rubbish.

2- 10 inch subs hooked to a 150 watt amp will be twice as loud as a 500 watt amp hooked to a single sub.

I think you will be pleased with your current set up.

 

I hate to be an old poop, but your statement about two 10s amplified by a 150 watt being twice as loud as one sub getting 500 watts is rubbish also. In fact, it's preposterous.