amp question???

[Miller_Time]

So I'm thinking it time for some tower speakers but unfortunately wet sounds are out of my budget. So I'm going to give the kicker KMT6s a try. My question is what would be a good amp for these speakers?

I'm looking at kicker amps as well as they seem to be somewhat inexpensive but still reliable.

The stats for the KMT6s are:
# 150 watts RMS power / 300 watts Peak
# 4 ohms impedance

And the amps I'm looking at so far are:
ZX 350.2
# 2 Channels ZX Series car amplifier
# 110 watts RMS x 2 channels at 4 ohm
# 175 watts RMS x 2 channels at 2 Ohm

ZX 350.4
# 60 watts RMS x 4 channels at 4 ohm
# 90 watts RMS x 4 channels at 2 Ohm
# 175 watts RMS x 2 channels at 4 Ohm bridged mode

ZX 450.2
# 150 watts RMS x 2 channels at 4 ohm
# 225 watts RMS x 2 channels at 2 Ohm

I guess my question is will the 350.2 be powerful enough, I know running the amp at 4 ohms is better. I just don't know enough about all the loads, and how much RMS power I need, etc. Which one of these amps do ya'll suggest?

[drewdwn]

I found getting close to the RMS rating is better if you want play it loud. I had a less powerful amp that was ok, but i recently upgraded to a more powerful amp and was much happier. You can always adjust the gains on the amp to get the best sounds at loud levels. I use the kicker amps to power my tower and sub, you will be happy with the kicker amps.

[Miller_Time]

I am leaning towards the 350.4 bridged as it seems the be the cheapest way to get 150 rms but when its bridged it is in mono. Is that ok? I'm assuming it is since tower speakers arent really meant for clean music just blasting it back to the rider.

[Razzman]

You don't want to run it bridged, wire it up parallel. Check this site; http://www.bcae1.com/ and scroll to Series/Parallel Basics on the right menu. This site has everything you need to know about audio

[cptmoomba]

Actually, you will be suprised with the clarity of these speakers. You will not want to run in mono.

Another suggestion... if I may as someone who went through this upgrade recently. Go with a 4 channel amp. This way, depending on the preouts on your amplifier, you can use your fader to turn on just the tower when towing, both inside and tower speakers, or just your inside speakers when cruising. It will also give you more flexibility if/when you upgrade bass system as well.

I currently run kmt6's off 2 channel stereo on a kicker zx 650.4 amp. There is plenty of power there. If you check the buy it nows on ebay there are a ton of these amps new in box for less thatn 200 dollars. Best value in my opinion.

Good luck.

[Miller_Time]

I'll take a look at that amp. I called kicker today and they said the best amp for two kmt6s would be the 350.4 bridge, or the 650.4 bridge if I was going to run 4 of them. but I am only planning to run 2 of them. I thought I understood all of the amp stuff, but now I'm not so sure! Haha! I already have the kicker 200.4 amp for the in boat speakers that came with the boat, and my head unit only had one set of preamps. so I'm still trying to figure how I'll run another 4 channel amp too, since the kicker amps do not have outputs on them. I found an infinity amp that does have preamps so I'm looking at that one right now.

[tazz3069]

Miller Time--
I have two of the Kicker Marine Amps. I have the MX700.5 to run the 6 boat speakers and the 10" sub. I also have the MX350.4 to run the 4 tower speakers. The system is amazing. Very impressed with the amps. I also changed out the head unit to get more RCA outputs. If you do not want to go through this expense, a good EQ will also work. I still might get an EQ just to fine tune the sound. Here are a few pictures.

[tazz3069]

Since I can only put three at a time, here are a few more

[Miller_Time]

Thanks for all the help guys!!!! And Tazz the setup looks amazing!

[tazz3069]

Thanks. I was going for the very clean look. Both batteries are behind the amp rack. I have two cords coming from under the seat to charge the bateries. I have the dual bank battery tender. Also, the way I had installed the amps, still gives my wife plenty of room to store all of her stuff.