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jonkrite wrote:Got everything installed. Sounds as horrible as I expected :)

The speakers are very muddy, but the amp is actually performing much better than expected. Although it's only 75 rms with the two 12" speakers it can push them way harder than it should be able to.

But. That being said, it is perfect for what I was looking for. The whole thing set me back less than $100, and while it's far from tight it's more than adequate bump to satisfy him.

So if he doesn't do something stupid like wake up the neighbors in the middle of the night we'll look at a real system for him next year.

Thanks again so much for the help. The results are exactly what I was trying to accomplish, couldn't have done it without you.

jonkrite wrote:That looks perfect. Thanks so much for the great information!

Chris from Washington wrote:I would get something around 200W RMS or so.

Maybe something like this

Chris from Washington wrote:Hi,
Welcome to the forum,

I'm not familar with those subs at all, did a quick search and this was the only thing that came up in Bing
http://missoula.craigslist.org/ele/3534386139.html

Are those them?

There is no way those are 600w subs, I bet that is a max rating. I would guess, that those might be 100W-150W RMS subs.
I would just look for a used lower power amp, to power those. Then when you're ready to upgrade sell everything as a package and get better equipment all around.

jonkrite wrote:My son turns 15 in May and will be getting his learner's permit. We have an old Hyundai Elantra that he'll be driving. 9 years ago I had a custom sub w/amp built and installed, but it got crushed in a move a few years back and he wants to have some bass with his music.

The head unit is an old Alpine CDA-9820XM. I was recently given a used prefab sub which consists of a super cheap manufactured box and two garbage 12" Cuspid w0-1201 subs. On the speakers it says they're rated at 4ohm and 600watts.

I need to find a cheap amp to power the box, but I obviously don't want to invest much due to the lousy quality of the equipment. My main concern is getting something specced that will give him a bump but isn't going to instantly blow out the cheap speakers.

If he takes care of this setup we'll be upgrading the system a year from now on his 16th birthday with a new HU and a real sub. It would be nice if I was able to buy an amp that would work with a new setup, but I'm perfectly ok with tossing it out if it's not practical to find something that will work with the crap setup and also drive something more substantial when/if we upgrade.

I'll obviously he hitting eBay and the local classifieds and pawn shops to try and keep the cost at a minimum, so I'm not going to be able to be picky with the brand.

What specs should I be looking for, and are there any brands that I absolutely need to steer clear of (like I would have the Cuspids if they hadn't been given to me).

I really appreciate the assistance. I've lurked here forever, and there's perfect info available for when we upgrade. My problem is that everyone here is rightfully focused on quality equipment and I couldn't find anything that would help me solve this problem.