I have a set of Alpine component speakers, I'm looking to buy an amp, but the more I read the more confused I get

The speakers have figures of
peak power 180W
RMS power 30W

What size of amp do I need, and should it be 2 or 4 channel

thanks in advance

pav

 

Pretty much any 2 channel amp will run these, those are quite low ratings. Something like this would do:

Car Audio Direct - Alpine MRP-T222 - Amplifier

 

RMS is the power rating you should pay attention to and match the speakers you have to the amp's RMS ratings or vice versa.

This is more of a truer figure than the "Max" rating used by some manufacturers to sell amps and speakers.

Please also remember .... the gain control on the amplifier is NOT a volume control.

Hope this helps

 

always have more power from the amp and never less i was told. this way the cone will never bottom out and blow.

 

Whoever told you that was very wrong. That is their 'rating' but it's not exact, it's a referenc point, and anywhere between 50% and 500% of their rated power is fine. It's not how much you have, it's how it's installed, adjusted, and dialed