audiophile seeks decent set up

[accented]

you will always need amps for crisp sound, i have never run across a headunit that will send enough power out to really bring out the sounds.

i have a 1k watt amp running my front and rear components by power acoustik, and it sounds pretty damned good. probably 300 dollars there, my head unit plays dvds/mp3s/cds, also by power acoustik, about 250 dollars, its not the best and it leaves room for improvement, but it does what i need it to do. i spent 600 on subs and amp, 2 12" woofers and a 3k watt amp, way overkill, but i like to crank it sometimes.

so a basic shopping list

4 channel amp of around 5-600 watts should be plenty for some clarity

a small monoblock amp with a small ported box for a 10" woofer

a headunit you can live with to play mp3s

[redgst97]

5-600 Watts for a front stage??!!?? THATS a bit overkill.

Make SURE to get realistic ratings on the amps.

Also, I would not suggest a ported enclosure. By design, they have a "hump" at a certain frequency...for realistic sound, you will not necessarily want a "hump" in the sound curve... Sealed would probably be the best way to go.

Front stage amplifiers you might want to look at 50-100 watts. For the sub, probalby 250-300 watts. More power is better, but it costs more. "Head room" is a great thing to have. Ever notice how some songs have quite passages, as well as very loud ones. With enough power, the syste will reproduce this effect with much more detail/accuracy.

Personally, I have 150 watts on my mid/tweeters, 150 watts on the midbass, and 600 for a single 10" woofer. I HAVE to put up the audiophile "Flag" here and let you know, not all amplifier watts are created equally.

John