Need speaker help!!!

[df2x4]

As suggested earlier, mainly for a balanced sound, run the headliner speakers off deck power and amplify the other four speakers.

So have you done this successfully? I mean running external amps and the head unit's at the same time with mids and highs. Like I mentioned earlier this seems like a fairly clean solution to his problem but I have absolutely no experience with how it affects adjustments on the deck and such.

 

[4x4incountryboy]

this is how I think I pretty much will have to do it to make it somewhat right

As implied earlier in this thread, any decent 4 channel amp will run eight 4ohm speakers (two per channel wired in parallel). You will need to check the specs of the amp to make sure each channel is 2ohm stable. You will also need to make sure the speakers you buy are all 4ohm each.
Of course, you will need to run a separate 2 channel or mono block amp for subs.

Personally, I wouldn't amplify the headliner speakers. If you do, they will overpower all the rest of the speakers in your truck. That's because they are the closest speakers to your ears.
As suggested earlier, mainly for a balanced sound, run the headliner speakers off deck power and amplify the other four speakers.

 

[96Z71ECSB]

So have you done this successfully? I mean running external amps and the head unit's at the same time with mids and highs. Like I mentioned earlier this seems like a fairly clean solution to his problem but I have absolutely no experience with how it affects adjustments on the deck and such.

Yes. On several different vehicles. One was similar to the OP's application. It was a 70's single cab square body pickup with a old school headliner in it. The headliner had a shelf in the front with two 4" Infinity coaxial speakers and two 4" pods behind the occupant's head. Same type of speakers in the pods.
They were run off of deck power.
The truck also had a set of Infinity 6X9 components mounted in the doors (6X9 low in the door,tweeter mounted in upper door panel). Behind the seat was a custom box with two 8" Kickers. All four speakers were powered by a Fosgate 4 channel amp.

It sounded pretty good, but I personally would have never installed the headliner.

 

[4x4incountryboy]

What size amp should I use for the stock speakers and what should I look at for a decent reasonable priced amp?

 

[96Z71ECSB]

I run a Fosgate R400-4D in three channel mode (rear channels bridged for a 12" sub).
It's not a cheap amp. I like it because it's a very small class-D amp, but very clean and powerful for it's size.

What you need to look for is an amp with 40 to 75 watts RMS per channel into a 4ohm load.
It will also need a high pass crossover for both front and rear channels. Most amps are selectable between low pass/full range/high pass.
I would set the high pass crossover at 80 hertz on all channels.
Whatever type /brand of speaker you put in the stock locations, they will not handle low frequencies very well.
Hence the reason for subs and a second amp.

 

[4x4incountryboy]

based on your knowledge, could you suggest a few good reasonable ones for the 4 speakers? I am lost trying to pick one out

 

[df2x4]

What you need to look for is an amp with 40 to 75 watts RMS per channel into a 4ohm load.
It will also need a high pass crossover for both front and rear channels. Most amps are selectable between low pass/full range/high pass.
I would set the high pass crossover at 80 hertz on all channels.
Whatever type /brand of speaker you put in the stock locations, they will not handle low frequencies very well.
Hence the reason for subs and a second amp.

In my opinion 40 watts per channel is a little bit overkill for 4x6s or 4" rounds, but you can't really buy anything new that's less power than that these days so you can always just turn the gain down a little. 80hz is also quite optimistic for a speaker of that size in my experience, I have my 4" DLS rears set on a 12db/octave slope at 120hz. Anything lower than that and I start to get distortion at higher volumes.

based on your knowledge, could you suggest a few good reasonable ones for the 4 speakers? I am lost trying to pick one out

Like 96Z71ECSB said, you need to look for something that can do at least 20 or 30 watts x 4 channels, 4 ohm loads. A quick Google search turned up this, pretty decent specs and 40W x 4 at 4 ohms. Alpine is a great company, and as a bonus it's tiny. Crossover settings are a plus, but to be honest I'm fairly sure your head unit will have the ability to set those built in. Most these days do.

http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-KTP-445U-4-channel-Power-Amplifier/dp/B003VVYL46

 

[96Z71ECSB]

In my opinion 40 watts per channel is a little bit overkill for 4x6s or 4" rounds, but you can't really buy anything new that's less power than that these days so you can always just turn the gain down a little. 80hz is also quite optimistic for a speaker of that size in my experience, I have my 4" DLS rears set on a 12db/octave slope at 120hz. Anything lower than that and I start to get distortion at higher volumes.



Like 96Z71ECSB said, you need to look for something that can do at least 20 or 30 watts x 4 channels, 4 ohm loads. A quick Google search turned up this, pretty decent specs and 40W x 4 at 4 ohms. Alpine is a great company, and as a bonus it's tiny. Crossover settings are a plus, but to be honest I'm fairly sure your head unit will have the ability to set those built in. Most these days do.

http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-KTP-445U-4-channel-Power-Amplifier/dp/B003VVYL46

Your right about the power and crossover point. I suggested 80hz until he gets subs.
After that, raising the crossover point would be a good.

As far as amp suggestions, keep to the name brands.
Sony, Kenwood, Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, Kicker, Pioneer, all make very good, low power 4 channel amps.

I usually set the gain to the RCA output voltage of the head unit. In the case of the OP, he will need to resist the urge to add bass to the system, at least until the subs are installed.
After that, he can set the high pass at 120hz and the low pass on the subs to the same.

 

[4x4incountryboy]

Could I run a 4 channel amp and run 2 sets of speakers on each circuit if the amp is large enough and since they are only small speakers or would it be a bad idea? I've seen people do it before and wondered if I could get away with it

 

[df2x4]

It's all about the impedance of the speakers, what impedance per channel the amp is capable of, and how you wire it. It's possible, but you need to make absolutely sure that you buy equipment that will match up and work together. For instance, two 4 ohm speakers wired in parallel on the same channel of amplification would make a 2 ohm load on that channel. The same four ohm speakers wired in series on that channel would create an 8 ohm load. Most four channel amps will be capable down to a 4 ohm load per channel, but not all are 2 ohm capable. Increased resistance (ohms) will reduce power output, but this may not actually be a bad thing considering you're running some very small speakers. If you do this all the speakers on each channel need to be the same size and model, I wouldn't mix and match them.

My main concern still is really just fading and setting the soundstage up properly, not sure how that's going to work running 6 rear channels and 2 front channels off of one four channel amp. That's asking a lot from very little equipment. It will technically work, all your speakers will play sound, but my fear is that there will be no real way to balance the sound towards the front properly.