Alright, I'm never one to just go and recommend a bunch of coaxial speakers just slapped into the factory locations and call it good. But I also understand when someone is just wanting to make the transition from the crappy factory speakers to some better aftermarket speakers. One question that comes up on here a lot is running six speakers on a 4 channel deck or amp. There's no one answer to fit every situation but I found a hell of a deal on a quality answer that would be a great fit for those folks who want to upgrade all their speakers and think they need all six and it's also a great solution as well for those who want to get or go with a more advanced setup.

Meet the Zapco I5100.7 seven channel amplifier. Zapco has been a player in car audio for MANY years and its well known how tough it is to beat the quality their products have. This seven channel amp deliver's 25wrms x 2, 50wrms x 4 and 400wrms x 1 all at 4 ohms. For these trucks that would be reasonable power for a pair of 4x6 coax's or plates, plenty reasonable power for new 6.5" speakers in the four doors or front doors/rear panels and very reasonable power for a single subwoofer. It can produce 600wrms into a 2 ohm load on the subwoofer channel as well as 175wrms x 2 when you bridge the 4 50wrms channels. That makes this amp very versatile for all kinds of setups from a single amplifier. Add to that the amp is only $270 at the location I linked and that's a hell of a deal for something this versatile and of this quality.

For example with the six speaker setup if a person went with basic Alpine Type S coaxials the 4x6's would be $55, the 6.5's would be $130 and an amp wiring kit plus the extra RCA's and speaker wire would be $85. I'm going to go with the Fi X series 12" for each setup I recommend as it's a rock solid sub for a great price at $189. With a dual 4 ohm coil configuration it can be ran by the amp with 600wrms @ 2 ohms. That's $730 for a decent nice bunch of equipment that can all be ran from one amplifier simplifying wire runs and setup by a large margin. Any basic HU could be used for this setup.

Next example would be for someone wanting more advanced setup with a component set for the front of the truck running the four 50wrms channels bridged. Using well known and much liked Alpine Type R components that can be picked up for about $150 most places, a pair of the Alpine Type S 6.5's for the back doors off the amp's 25wrms channels and the same sub again the setup is much simplified and could get picked up for $760. Any basic HU could be used for this setup as well, but a HU with more advanced features would be a nicer fit.

For the most advanced setup and most SQ oriented folks a head unit capable of actively processing the signal with a built-in DSP like the Clarion CZ702 for example would be required. With an active setup the signal can be manipulated for each type of driver, its position relative to the listener, and when done correctly will blow the socks off those who've never experienced such a setup. The Arc Audio Black 6.2 components are very nice indeed however Arc charges an arm and a leg for them when it turns out they're nothing more than rebadged SB Acoustics raw drivers. The SB Acoustics SB17 woofer can be picked up for $63. The tweeter in the component set is mounted in a different kind of housing for easy installation in a car but is the same driver as the SB Acoustics SB29 tweeter that can be picked up for $60 each. The woofers can be ran from the amp with the 4 50wrms channels bridged to 175wrms x 2 for great headroom and the tweeters easily at home on the 25wrms channels. More work is required for installation but all the equipment can be picked up and the active setup done for $941 including the HU.

The point is, with it's versatility, quality and the price this vendor is dropping these things for is down right ridiculous and anyone looking for an opportunity to pick up a simpler solution to running a nice quality setup should seriously consider it. I picked one up just because of the price and if the funds allow I'm going to get at least one more as even if I don't use them I can easily resell them and make a few bucks in the process. My wife and I will be replacing the van soon with a new vehicle and something very similar to the active setup I posted above will very likely make it's way into what replaces the van and this amp would be stellar for the application.

Just thought I'd let everyone know about the opportunity that's available for a very reputable brand product at an unbeatable price.

 

If you are going to use all those speakers, that looks like a good option, 7 ch, that is insane. Good find, thanks for the write up.

 

Thanks. The only reason I went through and made that write up was to show some examples of the versatility of the amp. It's a discontinued model but it used to retail for almost $900. I found one other store on the internet still selling them (besides Techronics, the link I posted is from their eBay store) and it's still $600 there. $270 for any amp with the power and versatility of this one is a good deal. Being that it is a Zapco amp with their renowned reputation for quality just makes the deal that much sweeter.

 

Got the Zapco and holy crap is it a monster. Shipping weight said it was 22lbs but I swear it feels more like 30lbs, lol. Again, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but it was too good a deal to pass up. I found one other store still selling it online and they had it priced for $600 so the $270 I paid shipped is a steal IMO.


Here's just a few pics for the fun of it. One VERY interesting thing I found out about the amp is that all 7 channels have their own separate gain ****. Is that not odd, or at least different from the norm?