I'm in the planning/procurement stage of building a moderate SQ system for a 2015 Camry.
Source: Will be replacing the stock Premium Entune with Nav with a DDin or larger Nav and integrate it with an idatalink maestro rr. Have not chosen one yet cause I'm still waiting for the new Kenwoods to be released to compare. Regardless, preamps will be at least 4V.
Front Stage (already own): JL ZR800-CW in the front doors (with full CLD, MLV, CCF treatment). Morel Virtus 402 comp set: Mid in stock dash corner location and tweeter located just above it on axis for the most part.
Sub: Will run with just the JLs in the doors first to see if it's enough, maybe adding another set in the rear deck, or if I see the need I would look into a larger infinite baffle set up (got an old Kicker F12C to play with), maybe a set of Acoustic Elegance 10s, 12s, possibly 15s depending on my mood at the time
Processor: Will use the HUs built in eq/ta and Amps xover first and possibly add a more capable unit later... or maybe an amp with built in dsp
So now I been watching for a deal to pop up on an amp. Can use a 4ch to start with and then move to a 5/6 channel as needed once I determine what I be doing for the low end. Or can get a 5/6ch right up front and just use the channels as needed. Would at least need to have a LP xover on the rear channels (preferably BP) with a cut off freq up to at least 400hz to LP the ZR800s. And would like enough power to make complete use of the ZR800s capabilities. Also, it needs to be reliable and from a company that has good support in case there is a problem. Budget is < or = $500.
Here are some models I'm considering that I see up for sale currently:
Phoenix Gold Elite.4 (found one on craigslist within my budget)
Phoenix Gold Ti2 1000.4 or 1600.5 (if I can get one within budget)
Arc Audio 4150 xxk (~2008)
US Amps AX4300 (~2006)
Alpine PDX-F4, F6, V9 (readily available used most of the time)
Rockford Fosgate T800.4 (Both the older class A/B or the newer Class D)
JL XD400.4v2
Zapco DC-1004
Now I have no direct experience with any of these amps... matter of fact I've never ran aftermarket with anything but built in HU power.
So I'd like some feedback on your experience with these brand's reliability/support, buying an older amp vs newer (cap deteriation?), another recommendation or whatever else you want to tell me about that you think I should know