The old soundstream amps were amazing the new ones quality wise went to the way side.

im going with a 4" rear.. don't know if that makes much of a difference from a 3".. there was some guy on this forum that did it for the rear and it looks pretty neat..
yes I know you wouldn't do rears.. ive seen a lot of the arguments about it haha.. but since its a small investment.. it couldn't hurt..

4 inch still doesn't need to be amped even if you go with them. Run them off the head unit's 22 watts RMS and save some coin.

I would still go with the 4 channel. Even if you do not use the 2 rear channels, as Big said, you have the opportunity to bridge them to a small sub in the future if you decide to go that route.
As far as the quality of the newer SS amps; Big has some bad information. These amps are great, and budget friendly as well. I have installed Many, many of them for friends and family, and not a single complaint yet. Rock solid, and put out their rated power specs.
The first amp I used in my Z was a new model SS reference amp. I have more SQ trophies than you have fingers and toes with that amp running both front stage and bridged to Sub.
I highly recommend SS amps to anyone that asks.
Don't just take my word for it.. Read some of the reviews online as well. And saving a couple $ shouldn't be an issue... Its a $110 amp for christs sake.

hard to me to pull a trigger on the amp now since u guys have me a few options being 2 channel vs 4 haha...
if i was to run subs later on down the road .. i would most likely purchase a separate amp just for the subs..
as of now.. im just planning to get a amp to power my speakers only... i know both u and big is experienced with audio since ive been lurking around for a bit..
not sure if i should run the rear speakers to the HU or to a 4 channel amp and have the amp power my front and rear..
im more of just a install guy.. tried learning about specs on audio but its like reading chinese to me lol

your car.....your call

I'd never say they are totally terrible amps. Just as far as the old school vs their new ones it's night and day. For 110 amp read the reviews of a crunch amp or pyle amp. People like them because they are cheap not necessarily for the quality build product they are.

I'd put the SS reference series up against any amp out there at double the price without hesitation.

Just for giggles, I went to amazon to look at reviews on the amps you mentioned, as well as the SS amp. Heres what I found....
Crunch P1-2000.1 $200- only 5 reviews... 40% 5 stars, 20% 1 star.------------------Pyle Plam3000 $100- 92 reviews.... 47% 5 stars, 21% 1 star.--------------------SS PN4.520 $101-60 reviews.....73% 5 stars, 8% 1 star.
seems as clear cut to others as it does to me. Its not just a cheap thing, its a performance thing.

RonRizz..would you run the rear coaxials to a amp or HU?

Amp... Its going to give you more processing control over them.

You're not getting it, what I am saying is that SS is not the end of all amps. There are others even RF that are in that price range that can keep up no problem. Performance being front and center i'd take Hertz, Arc audio, JBL and Zapco for a bit more money. Even JL's entry level as well as RF. DIY has a thread discussing this very things about SS not being the same. The newer ones are still on the down fall just google around. Even though this is an older thread

Old School Soundstream amps vs new SS amps - Car Audio | DiyMobileAudio.com | Car Stereo Forum

Would depend on his head unit, as a lot of head units he can control the rears and their crossover settings. Or just use a bass blocker.

I didn't realize it was a discussion over old school vs new SS. Of course I agree with that, however, the new models are still one of the best out there when it comes down to brass tacks----watts per dollar, and reliability. Show me a 4 channel from the brands you listed that is 100 x 4 for $105. Am I a SS fanboy?? Look at my sig. no ss products In there anymore. I DO know theres more out there....
FYI Did you read the 4 year old thread you posted? I did. 4 years ago. There is a question posted about the quality of new vs old. Not a single answer to it.
That being said, I will only recommend a product if I have first hand knowledge of it, and that's what I'm doing here.

All good man, yeah that's what I was driving towards. The SS's are good no problem there just other choices too. :happydance::tiphat: