Ive got an 03 SS thats got the factory amp for the speakers. Im wanting to put some components in the front and 6x9s in the back, but the amp says 2 ohm on it and most speakers are 4 ohms.

So what are my options? Or basically i have to just run new wires?

Ive been looking at Infinitys Kappa series speakers and they say there 2 ohm, but recommend running off an outboard amp, so if i went with these could i power them off the factory amp without having to run new wires? Just plug and play?

And also anyone have specs on the factory amp itself?

 

The factory speakers are 2 ohm, so go with 2 ohm aftermarket speakers unless you plan on upgrading the amp (which I would IMO)...

If you don't go 2 ohm though, anything else will sound like absolute crap, and there's still a possibility that the 2 ohms will also, if you don't wire them right.

The factory amp doesn't push out much power, maybe 10-15 watts rms per speaker, max.

If you keep the stock amp, you can keep the stock wiring also.

 

So is there a way to use the wiring from the stock amp with an aftermarket amp, just swap amps? Im not wanting to run a new power, ground, remote, speakers, rcas to run another amp (ive already ran a set of rcas and 0 guage for the sub). Or maybe im wrong on having to run all new stuff.

And what do you mean theyll sound like crap if theyre not wired right? If i have to run all new stuff, which is what it sounds like you said, then i dont understand how id wire them wrong? Or were you saying if i tap into existing wires?

 

I like that you're doing this kind of research and asking all the right questions

You've got a few options

If you have any intention on upgrading your head unit, ever, you could get away with going with 4ohm speakers temporarily. But if you have no intention on upgrading your deck then you would be better served by going with 2 ohm speakers. The tradeoff to going with 4ohm speakers with your factory setup is that the amp will put out about half as much power at that ohm load. If you use quality speakers, the SQ will still be an improvement over your stock speakers but the problem is that the volume level will be noticeably lower and the bass will suffer as well cause you'd have to turn the volume up so high to match what it was before the upgrade that the amp will roll off the bass at that level to help prevent from blowing the speakers.

The reason I say this is because if you buy speakers based on your setup here and now you could possibly end up having to buy new speakers again should you decide to put in a new deck. So just give this some though before you buy that way you won't have to buy twice.

The factory amp is a 200 watter, or 50x4....those are max ratings though so rms would be about half of that, 25x4, at best. If you insist on using the factory amp then you're gonna want speakers that have a really high sensitivity rating. Sensitivity is the measure of the speakers relationship between its power input and sound output, as measured by volume level or decibels (db). A high sensitivity would be 92db and higher. The reason for this is because your factory amp puts out relatively low power you're gonna want a speaker than that can make use of this power. Using a speaker with a low sensitivity means it will take more power to attain a level of volume, as compare to one with a high sensitivity rating.

If you were to go with an aftermarket amp, depending on what amp you chose, sensitivity wouldn't be quite as important then as it is now because if you go with a quality amp it would likely be able to power your speakers to their full capability. And lower sensitivity speakers usually result in higher power handling as well so generally high sensitivity speakers are used in low power applications.

Let me know if you have any more questions

Is it physically possible to run the new amp off the wiring of the existing amp? Yes. Is it a good idea to do so? Absolutely not. The aftermarket amp would certainly pull more current than the factory amp and the tiny wires used for the factory amp just wouldn't cut it. At the very least you'd have to run rca's and remote wire. You could run the 0ga. to a distribution block and then run wires from the distro block to the amps, then just run your ground wire to the frame and you'd be good.

The only way you'd wire your speakers is pos to pos, neg to neg, you won't wire them any other way so disregard his wiring comment.

 

I'm running the Infinity Kappa 693.9i 6x9 speakers off the factory amp and think they sound very good - a LOT better compared to the factory speakers. They are 2 ohm and have a rating of 96dB sensitivity. I plan on installing the matching 6.5" speakers in the doors to compliment them.

 

Milhouse - im running a Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD. The only amp ive got in the car other than the stock one is a kicker zx pushing my ia death penalty. So ive already got an aftermarket head unit. Guess i kinda got lost but did you say the 4 ohm would be best if i had an aftermarket deck right??

 

Most factory systems *(except for those with factory installed amps, like we were talking here)* or aftermarket head units are are going to have a 4 ohm signal so you would want to pair them with 4 ohm speakers. You'll find the majority of replacements are 4 ohm.

If you plan on replacing the stock/factory amplifier you could run 2 ohm speakers, but you will get good performance with quality 4 ohm speakers.

So the short answer is yes, no stock deck/amp, then you'll run 4 ohm replacements.