Is it the Kenwood KAC648S?

If so, then no, that doesn't qualify as cheap-o. That amplifier should be fine. There are about a dozen other reasons you could be getting pops and noise in the system. Print out these documents for more information:

http://www.installdr.com/TechDocs/999501.pdf
http://www.installdr.com/TechDocs/999502.pdf
http://www.audiocontrol.com/techpapers/tech1002.pdf

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Tony Fabris
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Tony Fabris