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(More customer reviews)I installed this KAC 6404 into a 1985 Trans Am using good Alpine 4" speakers (SPS-410) in the dash and Kenwood eXcelon 6x9s (KFC-698) in the rear quarter panels. The headunit is an older Pioneer "Din-and-a-half" DEH-P47DH unit that never sounded too great as it was of too little power - 45 watts peak per speaker and only 22 watts per channel continuous.
These speakers, I used, have 125-300 watt peak ranges and are capable of handling 45-75 watts RMS - matched to this amplifier's peak and RMS ranges as they should be. I used 16 gauge wiring to connect all the speakers to the amplifier and the factory 18 gauge to connect the 6404's speaker inputs (nothing but a sub RCA pre-out is provided on my Pioneer headunit). I also ran all speaker wiring on the driver's side and the amplifier power wire on the passenger side to prevent any noise transfer, and grounded the amp solidly to the body using 8 gauge wiring to match the 8 gauge power wire. The amplifier fitted nicely at the bottom of the rear well in the Trans Am.
I wouldn't recommend this amplifier for bridged mode with subs unless it's matched with two 130 watt RMS rated speakers with a peak wattage range of 500 watts. That performance is still below what most people want when they want to add an amplified subwoofer. Of course, the other speakers will still need to be amplified as most headunits on the market supply no more than 22 watts of RMS power per channel, and factory or "so-so" speakers just don't perform with clear highs and lows. This amplifier definitely does clean the "mud" up - if you're using good speakers.
Without an added subwoofer, this amplifier gave me excellent power with clean highs and lows. I even got unexpected quality bass from the 6x9s. This was more than adequate in a car for most any audiophile, and using the upper range of RMS power was more than enough to drive me out of the car even though the sound was still completely clean and sweet - the undistorted 89 dB and 93 dB sound levels from my speakers was just too loud for any comfort. The car now has clean sound of sufficient volume while driving, which fulfilled my main goal.
Setting the controls on the KAC 6404 is made easy with the included manual. I made my settings using the manual, and the final adjustments were extremely close - in fact, I could have not bothered with the small adjustments beyond the initial settings I made. The KAC 6404 is also a cool running amplifier and needs no fan - just a good open space out of the sun.
Okay, that's not all. While this Kenwood 6404 amplifier and my better speakers are outstanding - there are those other times...
I also have a 140 watt Powermaster alternator on the 406 small block in my Trans Am. A 100 watt fuse and a Rockford Fosgate #4 gauge wiring kit feeds power back to the rear well to a large Audiobahn 1 Farad capacitor and a Lightning Audio distribution block on the capacitor - and from there to the Kenwood 6404 alongside a Kenwood 7201 in bridged mode. In bridged mode the 7201 has 480 watts of RMS power feeding a single 12" Kenwood eXcellon KFC-XW1205dB sealed in an OBCON subwoofer box. The clean bass from the 12" sub can easily be heard a mile away - if turned up some.
Just do your installation right, and this KAC-6404 may be all you ever need or want. Just don't kill your battery using it too long with the engine off. It's for certain everyone will notice the difference using this amplifier, and appreciate your tunes if you've used this amplifier properly.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Kenwood KAC-6404 500-Watt Max Power Stereo Bridgeable Amplifier with Variable LPF/HPF
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