I do not have an amp and I can hear my speakers great even while at full throttle. I can't even turn mine up 3/4 volume otherwise it hurts my ears. You just have to make sure you have a descent cd player. Mine is a 200w max power which is plenty to power both my speakers. Now if you want some loud thump then you will need the amp. But if you are just looking for some tunes a 200w cd player will do it.