Amp. Reviews (for future reference)

LittleCar_w/12s · August 2004

(Amp Review for reference and fun, no shooting match)

Hey I fugured I'd start one of those threads for us to bring back mem's of old amps past, and experiences with any in your travels.

Here's a list of amp brands I think of off the top of my head to get us started:
Polk;), Rockford, kicker, kenwood, jbl, pyle, pioneer, JL, Lightning, Lanzar, Audiobahn, US Amps, Bazooka, MTX, Audiotek, Hifonics, Alpine, MA, Pheonix, Memphis, EarthQuake, boss, diamond audio, Autotek, Sony, MMAT, Legacy, XTant, Profile, hifonics, hollywood sound, Kole Audio, niche, soundstream, directed, planet audio, US Acoustics, Audiovot, orion, jensen, Cerwin Vega, ZapCo, Clif Designs, Infinity Reference, Cadence, HoustonAcoustic, Alphasonic, Precision Power (PPI), Viper, Mark Antony, MB Quart, Tsunami, Eclpise.....

List in groups of won't buy, ok, great etc,... .. give feedback on one or two..... list in preference... etc.

Please only give good info, based on personal exerience, or on reliable experience, hopefully this thread will be a reference for everyone, so NO SHOOTING MATCHES!!! Debating is ok, as long as it doesnt steal the thread.

Get to posting yall, especially if you have experience with any of the really rare brands (mark Antony who?!?!?!

)

-Jerry

goingganzo · August 2004

i have a alpine mrv1000 huge amp i have had it sence 1996 500 wats rms a sied into 2 ohm

i also have a ppi 50X4 rms @4 ohm and 100@4 rms @2 ohm with a super low thd the amp is great and runs like a champ. to bad tiy can get them any more.

and a real bad a$$ amp is a oron sx 250 it is a pro comp amp but it was my first amp and i abused it and it is dead but great stuff

MacLeod · August 2004

My top 5 favorite amps in no particular order.

Xtant
These have always been about my favorite amps but I doubt Ill ever own one as theyre expensive as hell. They are multi SQ winners and are also pretty cool looking. Ive heard several of these and they have all made ultra clean and transparant power as well as having enough headroom to bring out the dynamics in the music.

Crossfire
I like these because they arent anything fancy. The dont have a lot of spectacular x-overs or time alignment circuitry. What they do have is a whole Time Life Edition of whoop **** power. They put out tons of solid clean power. Plus they are kind of rare which is nice. I currently own 2 of these and at first had trouble dialing them in since they were way more than a match for my speakers but now that Ive got a handle on them, my system has never sounded better and is pumping out more detail than ever before thanks to the extreme headroom and clean signal.

MTX
I like these because they are built way beyond any use they will ever see. They can take tons of punishment and never quit. On top of that they routinely crank out Signal to Noise specs in the 110+ range and THD numbers in the .03% neighborhood. Mountains of clean power with bulletproof construction makes for a damn fine amp.

JL Audio
These are also powerhouse amps and have extremely clean signals. With SNR's in the 120 db range, they are amoungst the cleanest around and put out the best specs I know of!

Alpine
Alpine makes some sweet sounding and super clean amps. I have had a couple and they perform admirably. My only gripe is they arent that powerful and almost as expensive as Xtant.

Honorable Mention: Coustic, Kicker, Precision Power, Orion, Phoenix Gold, Audison, Arc Audio.

Amps I Shy Away From: Infinity, Verge, ESA, Crunch, Audiobahn, JBL, Diamond Audio, Hifonics, Planet Audio.

My Favorite Passed Amp: a 1997 model Pioneer Premier 35x2. It had a THD of .004% and 100db SNR. It sounded great even though it was no powerhouse. One of the cleanest amps Ive owned. Plus it looked really cool as well.

LittleCar_w/12s · August 2004

I have only had limited experience with amps, but I will go through the ones I've used.

Jensen: The first amp a friend and I used in his car, for a decent price it kicked plenty of clean power to the 2 12" K.Comps. it was a 200x2@2 I believe.
>>>All in all, a good low-end amp.

Kenwood: For my second amp, I was given a KAC742 60wx4@2 (yes, this IS an old kenwood). A friend had blown out the power stage half-way, and the amp kept on going untill the other 3 transistors popped. IT cost me $50 to fix it, and a swap of a 1/8w to 1/4w resistor in the design. The best part: Kenwood not only recommended me directly to their parts manufacturer, but provided me with ACTUAL BLUEPRINTS of the amp to fix it, free of charge. This amp is still going today, and powers a friend's 10" subs in his truck. It pumped plenty of power to my 12" DB's.
The next kenwood was a 50x4@2 that was free from a friend's shop.. works flawlessly, clean, and good clean crossovers.
>>>Kenwoods are very dependable, take quite a beating and live, decently priced (though mine were free), and EXCELLENT C.S. Good middle class amp.

Kicker: My Kicker DX700 was a bit of a flop. I have had a great majority of good dealing with Kicker equipment and components, but this one was a pain. The amp was always a little sketch, though powerfully pushing 300w to my DB12's, and would switch off. Crossover module seemed a little unecessary, but offers special options if wanted. Seemed to be a great point to get broken off. The module I had fried, causing a "weeeeooouupp.... POP!" then killing the amp for about 5 mins. I swapped for a passthrough module, fixing the problem for a while, then the input stage went completely dead. I have had NO contact whatsoever from their C.S. dept. via e-mail, and I hate to call.
>>>Good amps, lots of power, but IMPOSSIBLE to repair/troubleshhoot myself due to the way it's constructed. Again, no response C.S. but a good high-power, middle class amp.

Well that is all of my close experience with amps... others I've worked with:
Rockford Fosgate:Good amps, run a bit hot, not the best SQ, but tons of power
Lightning audio:Nice little amps to deal with, compact, good price for decent quality.
Rampage:Total crap, if you buy one of these I'll come beat you with a wet mop.
Sony:If it's an OLD one it may be good, but otherwise it's a cheap power fix with low SQ, though I've never blown one out...

Hope everyone keeps posting. I am very interested in seeing these odd brand names reviewed.. I didn't even know many of these(see 1st post) existed.
-Jerry

AustinKP · August 2004

Originally posted by MacLeod

Amps I Shy Away From: .......Hifonics.......

Why is this? If I remember correctly, you have no experience w/ Hifonics? The reason I ask, is because I'm going to buy one in a week, but I've never heard one bad thing about them. Isn't your only gripe that they don't have a dealer locator and you hate buying stuff online?

MacLeod · August 2004

I didnt mean that to be an "amps I think suck" list but rather products Im not too sure about.

First let me state that I have never heard a Hifonics and have only known of a couple people that have owned one. That being said, here are my reasons for being reluctant to buy one.

1- Out of the few people Ive known that have owned them, a couple complained about the amp dying on them.

2- A local shop in Texas I used to go to used to sell Hifonics and the sales guy there claimed they had shoddy build quality (and we all know how trustworthy salesmen are

)

3- I try to keep up with sound off competitions and dont think Ive ever seen a Hifonics product anyhwere near the winners circle.

4- Ive read consumer reviews on Hifonics amps and theres been a couple that claim the amp just dies without much use.

5- In a magazine test on a Hifonics amp, it fried on the test bench.

6- The customer service is lacking. If I cant get hold of anybody to find out where to buy one, then Im not too optimistic theyll be there if I have a problem.

7- Their parent company makes Crunch amps and, well they aint the best.

Now, again, let me say that Im not claiming Hifonics suck. I am sure there are tons of people that have had no problems and love them. Im not saying theyre wrong in any way nor am I claiming my reasons listed are definitive evidence. Hell it very well could be that Im way off base, wouldnt be the first time. Ive just heard more negative things about them than good and that leaves me a little leary, thats all.

MTXMAN · August 2004

I'm kinda curious as to why you shy away from Diamond amps too...i know they're outrageously expensive (which could very well be the reason) but from what i've heard their D series is a damn fine amp...

MTXMAN · August 2004

sorry for the double post but two completely different trains of thought....

Here goes......

Amps i've had experience with and liked:

Orion - a little 50x4 that i'd had powering my mm6's for a while... not all that loud but clean good sound

Infinity - 202.a that i had powering two old lanzar 15's (pre piramid buyout lanzar that is aka before they sucked) it pushed them pretty friggin hard and was as detailed as you could expect from those subs lol

US Amps - By far my personal fave... TU-600 tube amp powering my Polk MM6 comp set... crisp detailed and still warm, you don't miss a single part of the music (and i now hear parts of songs that wern't picked up on before) the most beautiful amp i've ever heard, there are times where driving down the road listning to music a chill runs down my spine from the beauty of it... I think i'd cut off my pinky before giving up that amp....

MTX - Very powerful, underrated, and friggin indestructible, my experience with them was from when i worked at CC

Polk - i havn't heard them much but they seem to be very good amps, something that i'd be willing to put in my car

Rockford Fosgate - I'm not an RF fan by any means but they are decent amps, good power and reliable

Alpine - not a preferance of mine but they're still good amps, especially the v12's

Profile - definately a good amp for the price, for a low end price you get a decent amount of power and sq... worth they buy for the baller on a budget :rolleyes:

Amps i've had experience with and am indifferent to (not impressed but don't think they're complete crap)

Kicker, Kenwood, JBL, Pioneer, JL... i'm sure there are others i just can't think of them atm

Amps i've had experience with and think are crap

SONY!!!! need i say more?

Pyle - the name says it all... pyle of $hit
Lanzar

Audiobahn- not terrible amps in and of them selves but greatly overpriced and overhyped... i don't like em at all

Jensen - newer stuff is supposed to be decent for the price but the old stuff is worthless

planet audio - don't trust a company that can't tell you the dampening factor and slew rate of their amps... took the cust service rep two weeks to get back to me with the dampening factor and he never could find out the slew rate

Eclipse - don't like the sound from them... sounds too fake, tinny etc...

Amps i'd realy like to have experience with...

Soundstream, Hifonics, Zapco, Tru Technology

MacLeod · August 2004

Originally posted by MTXMAN
I'm kinda curious as to why you shy away from Diamond amps too...i know they're outrageously expensive (which could very well be the reason) but from what i've heard their D series is a damn fine amp...

Well for a couple of reasons.

1- Car Audio and Electronics did a review on one of Diamonds $1100 amps (D7054) and had a few complaints on design and buid quality. To me, a $1100 amp had better have all the bugs worked out.

2- $1100 amp! I can get a super-primo-multi SQ winning Xtant for $1000!

3- My local Diamond Audio dealer has a demo car. A Tahoe. It uses Diamond's M661s in all 4 doors and a pair of Diamond 12's (not sure which series). The system rocked! Sounded great! Clean as a whistle and pounded my guts out! Wanna know what kind of amps he was using? Eclipse! I dont take it as a good sign when a Diamond dealer chooses $400 Eclipse amps over the $1100 "high end" Diamond amps he could have to power his demo car; the car he is going to base his shops reputation on.

These factors have left a bad taste in my mouth for Diamond amps. Again, for clarification, Im not saying theyre ****, just that Im kind of leary of them.

A shame really because I love their speakers. The demo car, even powered by Eclipse, sounded awesome! I would love to own a set of the M6 components.

wire · August 2004

Ive owned a Alpine amp for most of my life

, I think it is the 3819 model 40x40 rms ( it mustbe 18 years old now), i can buy it at a pawn shop for $20 cdn now . I havnt used it at all the last 6 years , but use it now in my truck with some Polk 4a's i had laying around doing nothing

( i found out my Visonic Davids (20 years old) where poping and out of business now

.
I was wondering about Carver Car Amps , I would love to try one of those old pupies out (sonic Holograghy built right into Carver Car Amps i hear ) . Anyone else have the chance to here these Amps ?

AustinKP · August 2004

Well, I've never owned an amp except for the PPI amp that I got that was broken. I never listened to the replacement DCX since It's selling Sunday on eBay. I'm planning on getting a Hifonics Zeus ZX6400 as soon as this sells, and I'll give you a report when I get it hooked up. Also, I'm getting a broken Blau 80x2, 160x1 amp from a friend. I'm going to get it fixed and let you know what I think of that one as well.

MacLeod · August 2004

Originally posted by AustinKP
Well, I've never owned an amp except for the PPI amp that I got that was broken. I never listened to the replacement DCX since It's selling Sunday on eBay.

I remember you having trouble with that 40x4 model. So they sent you one of the new DCX amps as a replacement and you dont want it? I didnt like these things very much when they came out but Im starting to hear some really good things about them.

You might wanna hook it up and see what ya think. You never know, you may like it!

crx_si_1990 · August 2004

First amp I ever owned was a Jensen, major POS, that's my whole opinion.

Next amp I got was a US Acoustics 300x1 from crutchfield for around $250. I was rather impressed with it for the price. I paired it up with a single MTX Thunder 7000 12" and it was great.

I then graduated to a JBL BP600.1 that was pushing a pair of Alpine type R 12s, absolutely loved that amp. I beat the living crap out of it and never even managed to heat it up passed the point where it was mildly warm to the touch. Sadly, times got tough and I had to sell it and the subs.

I ended up getting a job at Circuit City and got my MOMOs mad cheap. When looking for amps to push all of my new speakers, JBL again got the nod. Keep in mind that Circuit doesn't carry JBL, so I couldn't get a discount on the amps. I could've gotten MTX amps at a great price, but I was so impressed with my previous JBL mono amp that I had to try their new line. I ended up getting the Px300.4 (75x4 RMS @ 4 OHMs) and the BPx1100.1 (1100x1 RMS @ 2 OHMs).

I just can't wait to hear the system that's in the closet waiting for me to save enough to buy everything I need to do my install the way I want to.

Nick

Jstas · August 2004

Heh.

http://www.mastergaragesale.homestead.com/Carver_Car.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18796&item=5712021003&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Some Adcom car audio Reviews

http://www.carreview.com/Amplifiers/Adcom/MPL_571_1806crx.aspx

It was brands like Kenwood, Sherwood, Pioneer, Hifonics, Alpine and I believe, Xtant that started pushing RCA low-level inputs. I had a few amplifiers that had spring clips for the speaker wires from your stereo to be plugged into for your signal source. I even have a pigtailed adapter somewhere that changed a DIN connector to the RCA jacks and another connector for high-level speaker lead inputs to be changed to low-level RCA jacks. Both configurations usually needed a noise filter and ground loop isolator wired inline with teh inputs to reduce engine noise and ground hum from the charging and ignition systems.

Good ole days my ****! That was when car audio required skill to install! Not like now where any putz with wire crimpers, a screwdriver and a couple of bent up coat hangers can install it all.

Wild stuff. Makes me feel old even though it was stuff that was slightly before I started **** around with cars and car audio.

MacLeod · August 2004

I first started piddling with car audio back in about 89. Back then, around here, Rockford Fosgate Punch and Coustic amps were real hot. The serious guys had Orion and Phoenix Gold. Orion was the powerhouse but Phoenix Gold was considered the super sweet sounding amp. I dont know if either was true cause back then I didnt know **** and a stereos quality depended soley on how loud it was!

A buddy had a pair of MTX boxes with 15" Terminators, a horn tweeter and 4" midrange. He put them in the back seat of his Cavilier and powered it with a Sherwood 240 (120x2). It sounded like **** but boy it was loud. I thought it ruled! LOL

My only **** about todays car audio scene is that its no longer about the stereo but the custom fiberglass dash, door panels, kick panel, rear deck, A pillars and on and on. Hell, all the systems in the magazines dont belong in CA&E but rather "Fiber Glass Weekly"! And on top of that, nobody seems to do their own installs anymore.

I would like to compete in SQ competitons someday but doubt Ill ever get out of the Stock and Amateur classes due to the fact I dont want to rip out my entire interior and replace it with all 'glass.

I know MECA's Stock class doesnt even allow kick panels! The only speakers you are allowed to mount in a non factory location is a single pair of tweeters! I dont know if the other sanctioning bodies have these rules as well but this is the class for me!

jamas33 · August 2004

I've had kenwoods in my car since I got it in 1999.
The salesperson pushed me towards the kenwood brand and I've been happy with it. Only thing I can think of is that they should make a more powerful sub amp.
The 401 mono amp is rated at 300 and it pushes my 12m pretty good.

Jstas · August 2004

Originally posted by Kim
It seems that in today's market, there is more emphasis placed on the CAR and less on the AUDIO... "How many screens can be installed and how many subs can I cram into a 8 cubic feet trunk????? "

I go to Lightning and SVTOA events and brag a little about my stereo. People say they want to see so I show them and quite a few end up saying things like "That's it?" or "Where's the TV screens?" The flashiest thing is the MASK faceplace that flips around by itself. It's so hard to find good electronics with a clean, basic, attractive design anymore.

MacLeod · August 2004

One of my favorite competitors is Scott Buwalda. He has an Altima with all DLS equipment and is like the world grand champioon or something.

His system is dead simple. A midbass in the kick panel. Not a custom fiberglass kick that extends all the way to the gas pedal (a.k.a. Gary Biggs) but installed into the side of the OEM kick and firing across the floor. His tweets are in the A-Pillars and fire across the dash and he has midbass speakers in his doors. He uses 3 12" subs in the trunk. Thats as simple as you can really get and he wins almost at will.

As far as I know he has no fiberglass anything. Maybe ampracks or something.

Smooth, simple and effective.

Jstas · August 2004

I found a broken Concord in a junkyard once. Didn't bother with it because I didn't have the tools to take it out of the BMW it was in.

I just had to wire up a new stereo in a Jeep Comanche that a friend bought. It had one of those Pioneers in it. I don't think it was a KP500 though. Was there a lesser model in the 300 range? Like a 320 or something? It wasn't silver. The guy said the tuner worked awesome and since he doesn't have many cd's or tapes or anything, the radio was fine for him. It quit working on him though. Rather than fix it, he replaced it. He has all the old parts, dunno what he did with them though.

I also pulled a broken Kenwood out of a 74 Camaro that a friend bought. The previous owner had installed the Kenwood and it looked like he tried to kick it or something. Still worked but, that was a hack job install. Whomever did it (probably previous owner)wired that in and then had like 8 speakers wired up in parallel that looked like he ripped them out of various Radio Shack and RCA speaker cabinets. He had a pair of wires running to the back seat. If someone sat on them just right, they'd get a shock. I took those out. Apparently, he had a pair of old speakers from Sears in the back seat that were his "speaker boxes".

Lastly, my Ranger came with a crap-**** Clarion, bottom-of-the-line tape player. Previous owner said that the tape player didn't work. I found out why. He had drilled a hold in the bottom support and shovced a screw into the radio to hol it in place. The end pf the screw stuck up just far enough to stop the tape motor from running. Didn't have any speakers though. So until I could put a decent radio in, I had a Sparkomatic stereo hanging around that my dad had used in his truck back in like 84 when the stock one died. So I threw that in so I could have a radio to listen to.

What a mess wiring those damn things was. I feel old too because it seems like I'm the only one who has any clue what Kim is talking about.

MacLeod · August 2004

Originally posted by Kim
We're OLD SCHOOL!!!!!!! or was that just OLD?

Does that mean Im not the only 30+ year old on here?! Yippee!

AustinKP · August 2004

Originally posted by MacLeod
I remember you having trouble with that 40x4 model. So they sent you one of the new DCX amps as a replacement and you dont want it? I didnt like these things very much when they came out but Im starting to hear some really good things about them.

You might wanna hook it up and see what ya think. You never know, you may like it!

Wow, I missed a lot today. Yes, it turned out that the PCX 440 was broken, so Ultimate replaced it at their expense (ended up costing them $50-$60

) for the DCX 300.4 The main reason I'm selling it is because, for the same price i'm selling it on eBay, I can get a Hifonics ZX6400 which has TWICE the power for exactly the same price. This way, I'll just run two channels to my mids, then bridge the rears for my Koda 10. Saves me $200 having to buy a sub amp.

Plus, the DCX has LESS power, but is like 6" longer. THe PCX was 40x4@4ohms, 80x4@2ohms or 160x2 bridged. That's the way it should be. Quadruple the power when bridged. The 300.4 is 50x4@4ohms, only 75x4@2ohms, and only 150x2 bridged when it should be 200x2. That indicates that it has much less headroom when it doesn't double the power when the impedance is halved. Maybe you've heard good things about them, but according to me, if the amp costs another $100 or so retail, it darn well better have something to justify the price. Only thing I see driving up the price is that now they have to import these things from Korea instead of making them in the US. Oh, and it has a Clipping Output LED indicator now. Whoopee. That makes it 6 inches longer? Give me a break...:rolleyes: Maybe I'm missing something though. Any ideas?

MTXMAN · August 2004

Originally posted by Kim
We're OLD SCHOOL!!!!!!! or was that just OLD?

Just old kim, just old

MacLeod · August 2004

Well, ratings dont tell the whole story, especially in top shelf equipment like PPI. These things are made for competitions and such are going to be way underrated. Like my Crossfire rated at 50x4 but Ill guarantee its at least 75x4!

Anyways, Performance Auto & Sound has a test on the DCX500.2

Rated power: 125x2 @ 4 ohms and 250x2 @ 2 ohms.
Actual tested power at 14.4 volts: 253x2 (!!!) @ 4 ohms and 387x2 (:eek: ) at 2 ohms!!! Efficiency was 69% which is pretty damn good for an A/B.

Now maybe this was a type-o but I dont think so.

The last line in the test is "This amp is stunning and is highly recommended".

I was the first one to **** that DEI had ruined PPI but as I started to hear good things about them and then read this test, I may have to admit to being wro......mistaken!

Jstas · August 2004

Originally posted by MacLeod
Does that mean Im not the only 30+ year old on here?! Yippee!

I am younger than 30, I just have experience beyond my years!

MacLeod · August 2004

Great! So Im still the old timer here.

I should just go hang out on the HT side and talk about how good Frank Sinatra and Lawrence Welk sound on my home speakers.

exalted512 · August 2004

i know a little about the old stuff...not from personal experience, but from other people and forums etc

my favorite amps are HiFonics...ive only seen one actual problem and it was with one i installed...go figure
it was inducting noise somewhere and couldnt figure out where...
moved the ground many times...replaced all the grounds in the vehicle and even added a ground from the cab to frame
moved all the wires around...replaced all the wires
put another amp in and no noise...so he sent it back to HiFonics

if you want to go up the price scale, then def. USAmps
good stuff

RF amps just get too hot...and since they get too hot theyre very vulnerable to frying stuff...which ive done...many times

stuff id buy:kicker, kenwood, jbl, Pheonix, MMAT, Profile, soundstream, directed, US Acoustics,orion,Zapco, Cadence

good stuff but over priced:jl, diamond audio, Precision Power (PPI), Viper, Eclpise

stuff i stay away from:Lightning, Lanzar, Audiobahn,Bazooka, EarthQuake, Sony, Legacy

stuff if iffy about:MTX, Audiotek,Alpine, MA, Autotek, XTant(new)

on a side note, my next amps are most likely going to be HiFonics, USAmps, or Cadence
-Cody

MacLeod · August 2004

Why the iffy on the MTX, Alpine and Xtant?

I know MTX has a rep for being dirty but their specs are very respectable and their build quality is top shelf. I almost bought them instead of my Crossfires but liked the fact that Crossfires hold most of the DB world records in the USACI. Pretty good selling point!

Alpines I do understand. They seem to not be the best built. Ive only had one amp die on me in my 14 years in car stereo dabbling and it was an Alpine. I do think they are one of the best SQ amps tho, so long as you can keep them working!

Xtant are awesome, at least I think so anyway. Ive not heard anything negative about them, other than their way, way, way high price!

exalted512 · August 2004

ive always been kind of leary of MTX...i dunno why...ive had a few of the connectors break on me to the power wire and the rca's before
alpine...egh...not really a big fan of alpine for anything...ive heard about some reliability issues with the 2002 yr models...but havent heard much about it since...
Xtant...their old stuff was better...i have a friend that swears up and down that he can hear a difference b/t their old stuff and their new stuff...i trust him and hes not one where he hears what he wants to hear...
-Cody

MacLeod · August 2004

Im just the opposite with Xtant. Ive only heard one of their old amps and a couple of their new ones. I dont hear a difference but Im not that familiar with them other than by reputation and what Ive read.

Jstas · August 2004

Originally posted by MacLeod
Great! So Im still the old timer here.

I should just go hang out on the HT side and talk about how good Frank Sinatra and Lawrence Welk sound on my home speakers.

HEY! DON'T KNOCK FRANK!

MacLeod · August 2004

Originally posted by Jstas
HEY! DON'T KNOCK FRANK!

LOL!

Well, mafia guys seem to like him in all the gangster films so I guess he's ok.

"Leave the gun. Take the canolis."

Amp. Reviews (for future reference)

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