enough power?

[J.W.]

Will the PPI PCX440 be enough to power a set of infinity 6000cs comps and one 12" sub?

The amp is rated at 40x4 and 160x2 bridged. I know PPI makes great amps, and I'm pretty sure those specs are at 12v power, but i want to make sure i'm not underpowering my speakers.

The Infinity comps are rated at 2-90RMS.

The two subs i was looking at are the Type-R and the infinity reference. Both are rated at up to 300RMS. The infinity has a sensitivity of 92dB as opposed to 87dB for the Alpine. Should i get the Infinity (92dB sens.) since i'm only giving it 160 watts?

Budget is an issue and I can pick up the PPI amp for $170 - seems like a good deal for such a quality amp...if it will be enough power.

I can also get the Diamond Audio 400.4 for $160. Will that be enough power -50x4 - is that rated at 12v or 13.8v?

Just looking for something to get me started with a set of comps and one sub. I will add another amp for the sub later and bridge the 4 channel for the comps then. Just want to make sure these will work at first.

Thanks for the help.

[Jonathan]

PPI USED to make great amps. Now they're so-so since they were bought by DEI. Either of those amps will work with the Reference components, they are pretty efficient and don't require a huge amount of power. As far as the sub(s), the Type R IMO is the better sub out of the ones you were choosing. You'd do best to bridge the amp for a single Type R 12", and use a ported box if you're looking for more output.

[Jonathan]

And by the way, either of those subs will be underpowered by a fair amount, I'm sure you know that. If I were in your shoes, I'd scour Ebay for something that put out more power. JBL, MTX, Kicker, you can find deals on some of those amps pretty easy online.

[William from NOLA]

There is no such thing as underpowering a driver. If the box is large enough to compensate, then you will get the same result with half the power. Most drivers only need 30% of their rated thermal capacity (or their RMS figure) to play properly.

[J.W.]

thanks for the help ya'll. i picked up a memphis 16-st3004. it's 75x4 continuous power @ 4ohms, 230 bridged. gonna go with the type-r and put it in a sealed box - alpine recommends 0.7 to 1.0 cu ft. what difference will the box size make? smaller size=tighter bass?
already have the Alpine CDA-9827 and the infinity reference 6000cs comps. should be a decent first system, right?

[ridr4lif]

yea...with sealed boxes the smaller the box the tighter the bass will sound and if you run a larger box it will sound "boomier".
TEDD