anyone here good with car audio?

[Zoltan]

Hello all...

anyone here a bit of a guru with car audio?

Here is my setup:

I have a Pioneer head unit DEH- X3950BT. I have it connected to Polk 6.5” DB6501 component speakers in the front and back of the car. The speakers are rated at 300 WATTS, 100 WATTS RMS each.

At high volume, I get distorted sound. I've been told that the head unit does not produce enough power to drive the speakers.

I've also been told that the only way to get decent sound from the setup is via amplification.

Is this true, is this my only option? If so, how do I know what amp to choose to get quality sound (I don't really want to go too loud) and then the big question is, where can I locate it where it won't be seen...? In my car (98 firebird) there is not a lot of space at all, unless it can be cleverly mounted behind the dash somehow...??

Any help is much appreciated.

[77CVT]

Not a guru but...... most head units won't power bigger speakers at full noise.  An amp is the way to go but depends on whether you are wanting to power the rears only (2 channel) or fronts and rears (4 channel).  Basically you’ll need one channel for each speaker that you want to amplify.  Rig the amp straight from the pre-amp output on your head unit.

As for how many watts you need in your amp - depends on how loud you want it.    In my 77 vette I just has a 2 channel 100w amp that I mounted to a custom board across the back wall.  Not a lot of space in a vette so it was pretty loud.  Not sure about a Firebird but I'm guessing you have more options.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to provide power to your amp, which means you’ll have to run additional wires.  You also want it in some air so it can cool (not enclosed in a corner somewhere).