One of my front door speakers recently stopped working in my 02 WRX and I've decided it's time for an upgrade.

What i have...

DEH-8600M0P hu (installed)
Sony XM-4020 amp (not installed)

Thinking of getting...

Alpine SPS-600 for my front doors
Alpine SPS-500 for my rear doors

My hu puts out 50W x 4, is this enough to power the speakers I want? The SPS-600'S are rated 80W rms, 240 peak, and the SPS-500 are rated 55w rms and 170 peak. Do I need to use an amp?

The most important thing for me is clarity and I'm on a budget so i need to do this as inexpesivaly as possible.

Any help is appreciated

Your H.U does not output 50W x 4. But no worries, no one's does. Realistically, I think even the most respectable H.U from respectable brands only put out wattage in the high teens, even though they'll be labeled as 40,45, or 50W x 4. I'm sure there are exceptions.

From what I can find on that Sony amp, it's a low output 2 channel amp.

I've been told that the clarity of sound a system produces has a lot to do with the amount of power available for the speakers. If you want your system to be LOUD AND CLEAR, then you will definitely benefit from having an amplifier. Its a lot easier to have a speaker to sound crisp when it getting a good dose of amplified signal. This isn't to say that those Alpine's will sound poor without amplification, but you won't be hearing their full potential.

Go into an audio shop that has those SPS600's, and listen to them with and without amplification, then you decide.

I have an old Kenwood 5 channel amp that I haven't used for a few years laying around. It's a little beat up. And there may be an issue with a poor ground on one of the RCA terminals, but if you wanted it for $20, it'd get you started. Then, when you've set some money aside you can get something better.

PM me if you're interested.

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Sound good?

Well, to put it simply, your deck will power the speakers just fine.

But if you're looking for clarity you'll need an amp. The amp you have could be used to power your fronts and would be an improvement over your deck. You would use the amp for your fronts and deck power for the rear. This would be the best setup with what you have.

But if you are serious about clarity, a decent 4 channel amp would be best. But if cash is tight, use what you have and save up for later. Oh and if you choose to install your amp with intentions of upgrading later, make sure you install wire and interconnects that would work for your upgraded amp as well. That way, you won't have to buy new wires later.

Hope this helps.

Lyle

Taking into consideration the speakers I'm looking at and the clarity factor, what kind of power output should that 4 channel amp have?

50w rms x 4 minimum.

I agree with Rob, 50 X 4 will have no problems powering your speakers. Basically the higher the RMS rating you have (assuming a quality amp) the lower you can set your amp gains and the less noise your system will have. Of course don't go crazy, I'm personally partial to my 75 x 4 Planet Audio amp that I use to drive my Eclipse Components and wouldn't go any smaller for MY uses.

Lyle

I gonna use that sony amp I have to power the fronts for now and will prolly pick up a 4 channel amp at some point in the future.

Thanks for the help all