sushi, one forgotten thing to check out, be sure your alternator can handle the draw the new amp might want. i've heard of more than one alternator getting toasted after a new install of a killer amp.
dan

Peter, Shawn, Dan,

Your points well taken. Yes, I did notice that car-audio amps sound different from each other indeed -- some of them so obviously different even at low volume levels that I had to conclude that a subset of brands had no intention to make the amp ruler-flat! Clearly this is a very different market from the world of decent home audio gears.

And Yes, one of the things that really worries me is the fact that I cannot audition those cheap brands before I buy. Perhaps there are reasons why even those mass-market stores don't carry these brands on the demo boards!

Okay, why take unnecessary risks! -- I will choose from the "respectable" brands after I listen to them again. Thanks!


By the way, Shawn, did you mean that you installed a quite old (circa-1989) amp on your current Odyssey?

yes, as I stated, I have 5 amps all over 12 years old. One of them is in the new Odyssey.

It was about this time when Alpine started shifting its production from Japan to Korea. Thankfully all my amps are of Japanese manufacture.

psychobabble,
I know Mazda had a factory turbo Miata in the Australian market. I also know that Mazdaspeed (their factory tuner division) is introducing a turbo Protege 5 but I haven't heard of an upcoming turbo Miata for the American market. The standard Miata 1.8 could easily handle 180 hp without having Mazda worry about the warranty so it is a possibility.

Sushi,
You can still find relatively decent amps that aren't too expensive. I'd go for a true 4X50. I've got two old Rockford amps in my Miata. A 4X50 and a 2X100 on my stock alternator. A 4X50 won't tax your stock alternator.

Even though Rockford isn't as good as they used to be, they are still good amps. I'd go with them, MTX or JBL for not too expensive, good power amps. You'll probably pay 200-250 for a good 4X50 amp.

Frank

Thanks for the advises. After some additional listening on the store demo walls (duh...), I narrowed it down to Rockford, Alpine, and Sony. I also found out that the 4 x 50W-ish amps from these brands can be had for less than $150 if you do NOT buy at a B&M store (man... they will gauge you!). Since I've found a local shop who is willing to install the gears that I bought elsewhere without penalty, I ordered a Sony 4 x 60W from etronics.com. No strong reasons for the Sony -- It just looked to me like better-built, and bigger for the power spec. hahaha... It is on the way together with the Infinity speakers now!

My S2000 arrived in the Honda dealer safely, and I picked her up earlier tonight. She is a serious fun machine -- I am glad that I chose this great toy!!!

In fact, I must say that she is our car -- my wife is suddenly committed to learn how to drive a manual stick, which she's never driven ever since she was attending the driving school back in Japan.

Yikes!!!! Just keep her under 6000 RPM! lol

Peter, you made a very important point... The Honda manual specifies, and the dealer double-emphasizes, the importance of /gasp/ BREAK-IN period on the S2000. I should keep the motor below 5500rpm for the first 600 miles, which, in fact, isn't necessarily easy since her engine is soooo free to rev up! I've been consciously watching the tachometer.

She is going to be fun to play with!

CONGRATS!!

On a similar note, I placed the order for my new truck Thursday, (getting rid of the Audi and current "mini" truck) its a '04 F-250 4X4! Weee!! This will give me the chance to finally get a "real" track car and start racing more