I completed my install in my '02 Ram several months ago. I set up the amp gains according to the FAQ entry. I turned the gain up not to a distortion level at 0dB, but to the loudest that I thought I would ever listen to it.

When driving, I usually have the volume set at -19dB. I'm not really into the bleeding ear effect. However, when I was attempting to entertain last weekend, I realized that it simply wasn't loud enough, even with the doors open. Sound was mostly lost beyond 10 or 20 feet. It was blaring in the truck, but still.

I realize that I could set the gain higher, but I'd like to have some evidence showing just how high and how loud I could go. I'd like to see a correlation, if any, between the RMS ratings of the amp and the RMS ratings of the speakers. I'm also interested in crossover settings. Keep in mind that this is all coming from a guy who has yet to tweak the Empeg EQ.

To break it down:

Amp 50X4 + 200X1 RMS
Fronts 2-90 RMS 45-21,000Hz 90dB Sensitivity
Rears 2-75 RMS 45-22,000Hz 90dB Sensitivity
Sub 75-350 RMS 18-200Hz 94dB Sensitivity

So that's what I've got. Having never really worked with car stereo before, I'm almost clueless where to place crossovers, filters, etc. on the amp. Here's a closeup of the dials on the amp. As of right now, I have all of the gains set to nominal. I'm not sure about the filters. I think I have those correct, for a system with a subwoofer. As for the crossover point for channels 1-4 and 5, I'm clueless about where to set those. I believe I have them set around 170 or so. I'm assuming at least that all three should be set to the same level? The subsonic filter is set at OFF, but I'll be switching that to 15Hz as the sub apparently can't reproduce notes that low anyway. The Bass EQ is basically a personal preference, I wish it had a wired remote for that.

So the amp is rated at 50W RMS for channels 1-4, whereas the speakers are rated at 2-75 and 2-90 each. Is this a problem? Does that mean that the amp isn't powerful enough to blow them, or just that the amp isn't powerful enough? As for the sub channel, the amp is 200W RMS, the sub is 75-350W RMS, same question there.

If anyone knows of an online calculator to figure this out, or any other methods to answering the dozens of questions I have, feel free to share your wisdom. I'd go to the local installer, but from what I've heard, you don't want them to know what you have in your system if they already know your address.