Hifonics Brutus BX1500D...
C-Man
Posts: 307
Just curious, I know Hifonics makes excellent products for the price. They have this amp on ebay... Hifonics BX1500D... Brutus 1500 watts rms @ 1 ohm. I've never owned anything Hifonics, would $265 be a good deal for this amp? I've owned the JBL BP 1200.1... how would this compare to that amp? Better, worse, same? PBD... Damping factor only >155 and doesn't list a slew rate. Is that really important on a class D amp?
http://www.maxxsonics.com/hifonics/amps_dclass.html
Right now I'm running a Zapco Ref 750... does around 900 rms @ 4ohm bridged. I will be getting an Orion H2 sub soon and I think I need more power to feed it's 2000 watt rms rating. I talked to a tech at orion and they said my Zapco would run the sub fine but would not push it as hard as it's meant to be pushed.
Any info/ideas appreciated.
-Chris
http://www.maxxsonics.com/hifonics/amps_dclass.html
Right now I'm running a Zapco Ref 750... does around 900 rms @ 4ohm bridged. I will be getting an Orion H2 sub soon and I think I need more power to feed it's 2000 watt rms rating. I talked to a tech at orion and they said my Zapco would run the sub fine but would not push it as hard as it's meant to be pushed.
Any info/ideas appreciated.
-Chris
"The Big C"
Post edited by C-Man on
Comments
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I think that Hifonics amp will be good and for 265, I think it's a steal. Did you see the specs on it? A Class D amp with a sub .08% THD rating and still pushing 1500 watts? That's incredible!
Anyway, 265 sounds like a deal. I'm betting that it's about 600 retail. And I think that would be conservative.Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
hey guys...
thats one of the amps i had suggested to cody for a replacement for the RF bd1k -- the hifonics does like 1000 @ 2 ohms / 1500 @ 1 ohm and was listed i think at 400 retail at sounddomain on sale (like 6 normal retail with 200 domain dollars back or something).
just about anything is better than a JBL BP1200.1
for 200 bucks - 250 ebay new in box its a good amp... but in comparision to just about every other 1000 - 1500 watt amp on the market, it's really low low low end.
that's a bit low on the damping factor... i coulda sworn it was higher tho????
anything under 250 is gettin **** --- mtx's are at >200, which barely gets by -- the viper 2000 watt+ class d is at 50.. not 250 or 150.... just 50... and u can tell too... it has this very low THD rating, but it is sloppy as hell. i heard a couple of them in a local shop's demo car... dirty dirty dirty sloppy and more dirty. sounded like Road Gear.
if the damping factor is that low the slew rate is probably like 15 or so v/ ms.
now.. i dunno what to say here... because i like hifonics, i've heard nothing but good things about them, but i haven't heard more than one or two of the 4 channels myself.
they look good on paper as far as thd and power output.
but considering the afore mentioned, the JBL is probably the same sound quality as the hifonics... same overall performance -- you'll get more power outa the hifonics, but same overall perf.
to give u a comparison though...
most of zapco's stuff has a slew rate of no less than 35 or 40 v/ms ... damping factors of at least 500, and low thd... i dont know how u can go from zapco to JBL.
can't you hear the difference?
even RF is like 30 v/ms -- >500 , less than 0.5%
then again there are just times when an amp for some reason is better in reality than it is on paper... and while 155 looks ****, it may not be. there's a whole lot that goes into an amplifier, and hifonics is no slouch.
for 265 i'd buy it. if you hate it -- resell it on ebay and get like 90% of your money back.
.... lets look more at your sub -- 2k rms, is it dual 2 ohm / dual 4 ohm / single 2 / single 4 ????????????????????????
assumig u have the option of choosing coils... u may wanna look at the RF bd1500.1 -- that amp will do 1800 wants without a problem into 2 ohms.
you'd be looking at similar specs to the bd1000.1 -- 30v/ms - >500 damping factor, less than 0.5% thd.
it'll get a little warm, but that's a hell of a lot closer to your rated 2k wattage.
the hifonics is rated at 14.4 v and from what i've been digging up and talking to maxxonic (spelling) its just about dead on the number for rms power -- the RF at 13.8 and underrated by 20%.
i understand that price is always an issue -- and ebay the RF 1.5k may run you like 600 bucks... but its probably worth the extra dough.
i'd want to get as close to the rms rating of my sub as possible.
other idea-USamps 2000x (2000 x 1 at 4 ohms class AB, great specs that more closely mimic those of zapco) its about 750 ebay.
that's the amp you'd probably want to go with if u had a money tree in the yard...
if not -- i'm sure the hifonics will be at least decent -- but like i said, i'm not too keen on the numbers... but i've yet to use a HiF amp, so i can't really give u a true answer.The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge -
Oh no, I went from the JBL to the Zapco. When the JBL was stolen I replaced both my amps with Zapco. Oh yeah I can definately hear the difference. I love them, but I worry too much about underpowering the sub with that amp. It's only half the rated power of the sub. The guys at Orion said it wouldnt' be a problem, but I'm a worryer."The Big C"
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OK, and last question. What do you all think of Audiobahn? Specifically the A1500HCX amp(2000X1 @ 1 ohm) I've heard a lot of mixed reviews. I actually heard one of the Audiobahn subs running on this amp in a car and it slammed, but I've heard a lot of people don't care for them, they have a high breakdown rate, not efficient... etc... etc... Like I've said I wanna get the 2000 watt rating and I can get one of these amps for $400. Any info at all would be appreciated, I'd rather not spend the money if it's gonna be a headache.
http://www.audiobahninc.com/prod/amps/a1500hc.htm"The Big C" -
i'm no audioblah fan --
i mean if u're ok with teh JBL u can do two JBL BP1200.1's for 250 each = 500 bucks, run one to each 2 ohm coil of the sub.
that'd give you 2400 watts... plenty of power, reasonable price, and its an amp you've used before so u know what to expect from it.The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge -
I'm not sure if I'd want to go with the JBL again. I was hoping to find something a little better quality. I'd also like to have a subsonic filter. Possibly something a little more high end then the JBL. PBD any other amps come to mind around $500 ebay? I searched for some USAmps on there and couldn't find much.
The sub I will be getting will most likely be dual 2 ohm coils by the way."The Big C" -
Well, Audiobhan, I don't know. They make nice amps but quality control is lax. They are hit or mis and the rated power is rarely correct. Sometimes they are over, sometimes they are under. The only thing that can point to is bad quality control. I'd stear away from them just because of that.
Vinnie, I can see your point about slew rates and such. Truthfully though, the JBL amp is dirty to begin with. I know that Hifonics will put out the rated power and I know it's power supplies are heavy heavy duty. Look at the shipping weights of those amps sometime. That Colossus amp weighs something like 35-40 pounds shipped! That's a frigging brick! It's all power supply too. I can understand the worries of slew rates, dampening factors and v/ms ratings but I don't know how much a of a difference they would make at those power levels. Also, some of those rating make be skewed because of the impedance drops. We all know that as imperdance drops, quality can suffer. If he is looking for support for that super-sub he has there, I think I would be more worried about clean power and alot of it than quality. That Hifonics will give him lots of clean power, I'm sure of it. The JBL amp is not clean, eventhough it has alot of power.
Given everything into consideration, including C-man's power worries, I'd go for the Hifonics. It's fairly inexpensive compared to other amp choices with better dampening factors and slew rates and such but it is no slouch on power. It may not be as accurate as the others but it is clean. Surprisingly clean for a class D pushing that much power for that price. The other amps are nice but for just over half the cost, the Hifonics comes pretty close to the mark.
That is considering that C-man's budget may not be equal to the national reserve. I know mine isn't!Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
I owned many Hifonics Amps. I'm working in Holland for the distributor from Polk Audio en Hifonics. The price and quality are right for the BX1500. in Holland the normal price for consumers is $599,- . it isn't teh topline from Hifonics but for $265,- I think you should take it and have fun with this amp. Audiobahn is good looking and to expensive for it's quality.
greetings
gio -
Originally posted by Jstas
he is looking for support for that super-sub he has there, I think I would be more worried about clean power and alot of it than quality. That Hifonics will give him lots of clean power, I'm sure of it. The JBL amp is not clean, eventhough it has alot of power.
well the idea w/ suggesting the two jbl's was that for around 500 he can get 2400 w rms... if he was going to have to choose SQ over power due to cost, given the setup he's going for, i'd be going with the 2400 watts versus 1500.
however, u're right, the jbl is dirty as madonna's old latex shorts.
the only reason i even starting looking at damping factor was i noticed amps that had low THD ratings and high power outputs making high power subs sound sloppy.. and i wanted to know why -- that got me looking at damping factors and slew rates.
i actually have to disagree with u on the "at that power" thing -- given low power (say 400 - 500 watts -- that's not low, but compared to 1.5k / 2k it is) those ratings aren't really gonna make or break anybody's sound system.
but at 2k watts you're looking at a TON of power going through a sub... i mean that's like 65-ish volts around 2000w rms @ 2 ohms. you've got a lot more ground to cover there. It's like you're steering a golf car't you dont really need an accurate mechanism, but drive that 20 something foot boat i've got giving me issues in the garage and you're gonna hit something if your'e nto careful.
one of the chief killers of high power subs is "sloppy" amps... as i said, that JBL has killed more IDmaxes than Fred (repair guy over there) can count.
I don't think the Hifonics is bad at all... its just that THD ratings can be misleading and while they accurately reflect sound reproduction qualities, they don't reflect control of the speaker at extreme power output.
anywho -- the Hifonics wont do a bad job... its just the guy is coming off using a Zapco...
i'll try and dig for somethin in the 500 ebay range that i think will do ya better on a dual 2 ohm coil sub...
i mean hell u can do 2 BX1500D's if ya want -- 265 x 2 = 530 and then you've got 1000 x 2 at 2 ohms (1500 x 1 at 1 ohm) -- the raised impedance is going to improve damping and give u even lower thd most likely. i get the feeling your'e not up for 2 amps though.The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge -
here u go dude....
USamps 2000x --- 2000 x 1 at 4 ohms bridged (just series your dual 2 ohm coil sub andu're good)...
this one is 550 "buy it now".... its used but states in perfect working order... u're not gonna find em new for less than 800-ish
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3034338660&category=18796
this one is "bid" for 500 with 1 day left...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3033464528&category=18796
get this for GOODIES though...
cliff notes on specs from the owners manual is ...
POWER = 2000 x 1 bridged into 4 ohms (u'll get 2250 outa it easy)
THD = less than 0.006 percent
DAMPING = greater than 1,000 *yes 1000 not 100*
SLEW RATE = 150 volts per micro second
NOW THAT'S A FRIGGIN AMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and that is what i'd say is compareable to your zapco stuff -- actually its better than you're zapco amp, but u get the idea dude.
**** -- i want this amp now.
god mtx looks like dog **** next to this thing.
know what sucks? i paid about 700 for two 81000d's total -- coulda got a used 2000x for like 550 like that guy has his up for.
the pain of not knowing...lol.The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge -
Yeah, I don't think my electrical system could handle another amp like that. (Upgrade on that definately not in the ol' budget)
If I were gonna do a full on 2k, I'd probably try to go with one amp... that's why I suggested the Audiobahn. But like Jstas said, I'd really rather not take the time or spend the money on a possible pile of ****. It's like I said, I've heard and read a lot of reviews from people who love the things, but I've also heard some from people who have had to ship their subs back for multiple warranty. I haven't heard a lot of bad things on the amps, other than that quality control issue (heard that from several people). I suppose I could buy it and if something goes wrong just keep sending it back till I get a good one... lol. J/K
Anywho, let me know of anything you can think of. Thanks."The Big C"
