I was running my empeg through a Kenwood HU, which had a reasonable amount of power and aux inputs. The head unit died not too long ago, and I am faced with a choice: get a new head unit, or buy an amp and go with an empeg-only installation. I am leaning toward the latter, because I rarely listen to the radio, and PCA is inching ever closer to my order number anyway.

As far as purchasing an amp, I have no idea where to start. I tend to go with moderate car audio solutions (hence the <$200 amp preference) . I don't care about having a separate subwoofer line. I just want crisp high end and a reasonable amount of bass with my stock '99 Civic Si speakers. I'll save the speaker purchase for another day. Anyone have a recommendation, even if it's just a general brand name?

I did a lot of research on amplifiers myself when considering what to put into my Civic. Did a little research on the car, too. Most amps are rated at 14.4 volts, which is something the electrical system in a Civic just can't deliver. So any manufacturer's claims about an amp's power output won't be true when it's in your car. If you meter it with the car at idle and nothing on, you'll probably see about 13.5 volts, if nothing's wrong. Or at least that's what the car guys showed me with mine.

Because of this, my recommendation is US Acoustics. I still haven't ditched my Kenwood CD/MP3 player for an amp yet. But when I do, it'll probably be this amp. And that's the best price I could find on it, too.

I have the older version of this and have been very happy with it for about the last 3 years. The specs on it (signal to noise, thd, etc.) are all very comparable to higher priced amps.

I am using both MTX and Alpine amps in my Miata and so far no complaints..even when bridging the Alpine for my dual coil JL Audio sub......