x2, will play loud and very clear. I have also had luck with the american bass pbx components. They are loud and clear also, but are just under the kappas as far as performance.

 

yeah the perfects are the best out there hands down IMO, but if you use the radio's amp you risk messing up the speakers. they need an amp. to the average joe, 600$ (MSRP Kappa Perfect 6.1) is a little toward the side of crazy expensive.

i've never heard of CDT audio, anyone using them?

 

Infinity, memphis, or diamond audio!

Crutchfield.com has lots of good info.

 

question still, are the front components powered by an amplifier?

 

depends. the factory speakers, even bose, are not amped up. the factory head unit powers them, and so would an aftermarket unit. the kappa perfects really need to be externally amplified.

 

Very true. Not only will the speakers come alive and sound better, but you reduce the risk of damaging the speakers. A lot of people think speakers only "blow" from being overpowered, but speakers are just as easily damaged by clipping/distortion from being underpowered, such as from a stock HU.

 

Jk,
What would you recommend using as an amp to power a set of 6.5 components? For example the infinity kappas..

 

I'm putting 85 watts RMS to mine, IIRC. They sound incredible at any volume.

 

Any CEA compliant amp roughly in the 75-110 RMS range will do wonders. I'm powering my Kappa components with an Infinity 4 ch amp (90wrms x4 iirc) in my CTS and an Alpine 75 wrms x 4 in my truck.

 

Might I suggest TMA (Total mobile audio), they are owned by JL Audio but without the JL price tag. I used to run my Kappa perfects on a infinity Reference series amp, and they sounded decent. When I got broken into and the amps taken, the stereo replacement rep from my insurance company talked me into these, and I'm glad he did. Same speakers, same wires, only a different amp, completely superior sound. You can get a 4ch for pretty cheap on ebay.

Here is a used one on ebay as an example.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TMA-320W-x-4-Cha...item439b16e493

JK: Good to see you over here, You are everywhere apparently...haha