I am currently installing gauges and a new stereo system in an old Jeep CJ-7 I am rebuilding.

I have these speakers in the dash and these speakers mounted on the wheel wells.

The front speakers can handle 80 continuous watts and the rear speakers can handle 150 continuous watts.

Do amplifiers have the ability to only send 80 watts to the front speakers and 150 watts to the rear speakers? Or do I match the amp to the front speakers and not realize the full potential of the speakers in the back.

I know I am not gonna get great audio riding around in a 40 year old Jeep but I want to be able to hear music while riding with the top off on the highway.

A lot of car audio amps have per-stereo-pair level adjustments.

With that said, the difference in volume between 150 watts and 80 watts is just less than 3 decibels, which is about the smallest audible difference in volume (“twice as loud” requires ten times as much power, not twice as much power).

Also, if you have reasonably efficient speakers, just running 80W continuous through all four speakers in a space the size of a car will make your ears bleed. If your Jeep is a ragtop it wouldn’t be AS bad, but still.

Audio companies’ longstanding misleading advertising of power ratings has totally skewed people’s perceptions of how much volume you actually get per watt. Car audio companies tended to be especially egregious about it. A lot of cheap “1000 watt” car audio amps used to be sold (maybe still are, don’t know?) that would put out maybe 10 watts continuous before the noise and distortion got bad and wouldn’t put out 50 watts continuous cranked all the way up sounding like garbage.

Looking online at inexpensive car speakers from reputable brands, the sensitivities are listed around 90dB.

Four 90dB sensitivity speakers each running 80W continuous gets you to 115 decibels, which isn’t actually enough to be physically painful, but the safe exposure limit to prevent hearing damage is less than one minute.

Ideally you would want a 4-channel amp and a radio with RCA low-level outputs.
Then adjust the front-to-back level with the built-in fader.

You can just use the gain control to limit the amount going to the fronts. Clean power will not kill a speaker though so you will probably be ok with something around 75-100 watts per channel. Polks are generally fairly efficient, your picks are 92 and 94. You may need a sub though to have any bottom-end to the sound.

The amp in my truck is 75x4 with 350x1 to the sub. More than enough, especially tuned correctly.

quote:

Originally posted by Apphunter:
Do amplifiers have the ability to only send 80 watts to the front speakers and 150 watts to the rear speakers?  Or do I match the amp to the front speakers and not realize the full potential of the speakers in the back.

quote:

Originally posted by Bluecobra:
You can just use the gain control to limit the amount going to the fronts.  Clean power will not kill a speaker though so you will probably be ok with something around 75-100 watts per channel.

https://youtu.be/tiOUd3NkOyQ

This video is a relatively simple way to show how to limit the watts to the front and rear.  He used 125w, in your case 80w and your target would be 17.88v. The rear could be maxed out assuming a 100w per channel amp.

also he gives a discount code to Crutchfield, 20.00 off 200.00 using the Crutchfield.com/caf affiliate link

I’d just use this, or something similar… 50x4 rms from a trustworthy brand. It’ll be all you need.

Set high pass to 100hz or so on the front and 50hz or so on the rears, unless you want to add a sub, then set it higher on rear (80ish).

Also, if you think you might want to add a sub I’d consider a 5 channel instead to keep things easy.

https://www.sonicelectronix.co...Alpine-MRV-F300.html

I also suggest looking at a marine grade amp and speakers. Most likely it will be exposed to moisture and elements. Crutchfield has some great options, but also Sonicelecronix is a great online vendor.