[John]

Hello group,

I have a '05 Dakota ext. cab. In the near future I'm thinking about getting
a new head unit and speakers. The head unit I'm thinking about is the Alpine
9857. The speakers I'm not sure on. I'm the type of guy that likes very
clear music, I don't care about it being really, really loud(although
sometimes I crank it up). And I don't care much for subs. Do I still need an
amp? Will it make that much difference in the quality of the music? Any
thoughts and/or suggestions?

Thanks,
John

[MOSFET]

Yes, an amp will make a big difference. And no, it is not about simply
being able to play louder.

An amp will give you greater clarity even at moderate volume levels. This
is because the added power will make your music much more dynamic (the
differences between loud and soft parts will be greater). Greater power
allows your system to play music at moderate levels "without breaking a
sweat". Having this power in reserve means that when a dynamic (loud)
portion of the music happens, it can reproduce it with no strain. This
creates a much more pleasing and lifelike sound quality. The simple fact is
that even the newer Alpine decks (I have the 9853, which I LOVE, BTW!
Alpine makes an AWESOME deck) don't have enough power to reproduce dynamic
music at moderate volume levels (at high volume levels, sever clipping
becomes a problem). It is important to consider road noise (engine, tires
on the surface of the road, wind noise, etc.) and the fact that most people
turn the volume up when traveling on high-ways. This is when your Alpine
will "run out of gas" without an amplifier.

By all means, get an amp, even if you don't want a subwoofer (though I would
recommend one of those as well).

It seems like a popular misconception that amps and subwoofers are ONLY for
playing loud (and bassy) music. This is simply NOT the case. These things
add dynamics and clarity to ANY type of music (classical, country, jazz,
etc.), at almost ANY volume level.

MOSFET

"John" wrote in message
...
Hello group,

I have a '05 Dakota ext. cab. In the near future I'm thinking about
getting
a new head unit and speakers. The head unit I'm thinking about is the
Alpine
9857. The speakers I'm not sure on. I'm the type of guy that likes very
clear music, I don't care about it being really, really loud(although
sometimes I crank it up). And I don't care much for subs. Do I still need
an
amp? Will it make that much difference in the quality of the music? Any
thoughts and/or suggestions?

Thanks,
John