Foo - Car Stereo Question...

I just purchased a replacement stereo/CD player and speakers for my aging Nissan P/U. I only have room for door speakers (maybe subwoofer in the future). The stereo has outputs for front and rear speakers at 50W each for a total of 200W output. Since I have no rear speakers...can I run the rear speaker's output (in addition to the front outputs) to my front speakers for more power (you know, say 100W)? Crutchfield's online FAQs kinda answered my question but not exactly in black and white. I could call them but I'd thought I'd toss it out here instead. I'm putting this in myself as I'm an ultra cheapskate.

no...the amps within the unit are not bridgable. Plus the rear set are running on a second amp.

And that "50W" is actually more like 10....the way most audio companies come up with wattage figures is just a hair short of outright fraud. Either way, if your speakers have a good enough sensitivity number, they should play nice and loud from that reciever anyways.

If you want to use the rear channels, just get a set of truck boxes with 6.5" or 8" woofers (not subwoofers...woofers...they are different), and just plant them right behind the seat....most truck boxes can easily run off of a reciever's amp.

Note there is no way in heck you can run a subwoofer off of a radio output....just not possible. Highschoolers have tried it for years, and killed tons of gear that would have not only plasyed louder, but sounded cleaner, and actually survived had they used the proper amplification, instead of pushing their reciever's amps to clipping in a futile effort to drive a speaker that a reciever has no right to even be hooked up to directly. Subwoofers need dedicated amps...go for at least 100w. I used a 140w amp for my sub when I used it (8" Kicker Comp VR, in a 92 Mustang LX hatchback). And get quality amps. Look at the input power, calculate wattage, divide that by half...that is the conservative max wattage you are going to see. Only exception to this are Class D amps, which are extremely efficient....consider all class D amps of 100w or greater output suitable for subwoofer use.

no...the amps within the unit are not bridgable. Plus the rear set are running on a second amp.

And that "50W" is actually more like 10....the way most audio companies come up with wattage figures is just a hair short of outright fraud. Either way, if your speakers have a good enough sensitivity number, they should play nice and loud from that reciever anyways.

If you want to use the rear channels, just get a set of truck boxes with 6.5" or 8" woofers (not subwoofers...woofers...they are different), and just plant them right behind the seat....most truck boxes can easily run off of a reciever's amp.

Note there is no way in heck you can run a subwoofer off of a radio output....just not possible. Highschoolers have tried it for years, and killed tons of gear that would have not only plasyed louder, but sounded cleaner, and actually survived had they used the proper amplification, instead of pushing their reciever's amps to clipping in a futile effort to drive a speaker that a reciever has no right to even be hooked up to directly. Subwoofers need dedicated amps...go for at least 100w. I used a 140w amp for my sub when I used it (8" Kicker Comp VR, in a 92 Mustang LX hatchback).

Crutchfield lists the output on the stereo @ 18W RMS. And if I ever do opt for the subwoofer (Bazooka Tube subwoofers come to mind), then yes, I will get a separate amp for it. Thanks for the info:D .

Some bazookas have built in amps...I'd go for one of those. Less hassle when installing.