Got my new HiFonics Amp/MM6 review!

AustinKP

Ok, I just got my Zeus ZX6400 like an hour ago, and all I can say is HOLY FREAKING HECK have I been underusing my MM6's. I had no idea these speakers sounded this dang good! After my experience with my broken PPI PCX440, I was unimpressed, thinking they had no bass response, i.e. they distorted with low power, etc. Now I realize just how broken that amp was. With half the power (85W compared to 160W), these speakers get twice as loud and are crystal clear.
First off, I whipped out my brand new Dream Theater Train of Thought CD that I won on eBay for $9 shipped. Wow. I thought I knew what that CD sounded like playing off my HU, but now I realize that I had no clue. With all the HU settings the same, the tweets are much smoother and detailed, the mids are smoother and more natural-sounding, and the midbass response has doubled. The kick drum now actually sounds and feels like a kick drum!
To start, I listened to As I Am with my HU xover'd at 63Hz. Before, the guitars would be sharp and a little harsh at higher volumes, with a muddy sound. Now they are extremely detailed. During John Petrucci's lead guitar solo near the end, I could hear every single note he played very clearly, and it wasn't harsh at all. Mike Portnoy's drums - especially the kick - were very clear and punchy, with no distortion. I could hear so much detail and clarity in all their songs that I never knew existed.
One of the most impressive parts was the very end of As I Am. I don't know what it's called, but it's where they just let their guitars play the feedback, where they just kinda whine at a high pitch. Before, that part was too loud and harsh. I had to turn it down because it would almost hurt my ears. Now, with my new amp, I had the volume probably 5-6+ dB (a lot) louder, and the harshness was gone, and it was sweet sounding. I didn't have to turn it down at all. All in all, I am VERY impressed. I don't know if it's just the components now coming to life from more power, the HiFonics amp, or both, but I LOVE it! Two thumbs up for HiFonics

MacLeod

Dream Theater just freaking rules dont they! My alltime favorite band!! And thats why TOT is my favorite speaker test CD. It has all kinds on intriquete (spelling?) little licks and a heavy, almost muddy mix. It takes an excellent speaker to pick up all these little licks. Ill give you an example. On the song "In the name of God" at the end of the song they are singing old gospel hymns in the background. Its very faint and its not easy to pick up. I never knew they were there until I was demo'ing the CD on some MB Quart Reference components and heard it. Now that I have my speakers set up better (i.e. bi-amped and no rear speakers) I can pick it up on my Momo 6x9s.

As far as why it sound better, its probably a combination of the MM6 being an excellent speaker and the Hifonics being 1000 times cleaner and more powerful than your h/u.

It was the same way with between my Alpine and Crossfire amps. My Alpine amps sounded very good but once I put in the way more powerful and dynamic Crossfire amps, Im hearing much more detail. Like the aforementioned Petrucci solo. Now I can "feel" every pluck of each string where I couldnt before.

Congrats on the new Hifonics and, most of all, for getting the new DT album!! THEY RULE!

exalted512

HiFonics are great amps! i keep telling you guys
they are overrated though
but still the best bang for the buck out there
and if im right about HiFonics...i have to be right about JL sucking as well:D
congrats on the new amp...pics??
i love getting new audio stuff!!
hell...if its to me...and its in a box...im excited:)
-Cody

AustinKP

I WISH I had pics...no digital camera. Maybe I can borrow my mother-in-law's camera again. It looked freaking awesome when I was driving around tonight showing it to my wife. The HIFONICS label on the top glows bright blue and looks really nice. Also, I've been listening to a whole range of stuff tonight. It all sounds better than it ever has. Especially Saliva's guitars. Not nearly as harsh as they were before. I see why Macleod raves about polks for hard rock now.

MacLeod

Originally posted by AustinKP
I see why Macleod raves about polks for hard rock now.

Yepper!

Its like they were made for metal. They give the guitars much more crunch and a fatter tone. Wheh you top that off with the oodles of detail it sounds awesome.

When it comes to the fattness and crunch of a heavy guitar Ive not heard the Momos equal at any pricepoint!

Jstas

Originally posted by exalted512
HiFonics are great amps! i keep telling you guys
they are overrated though
but still the best bang for the buck out there
and if im right about HiFonics...i have to be right about JL sucking as well:D
congrats on the new amp...pics??
i love getting new audio stuff!!
hell...if its to me...and its in a box...im excited:)
-Cody

What makes them over-rated? It's been my experience that they often perform beyond thier rated specs.

I'll have some pictures of the Jeep's stereo stuff tonight though. All but the subs came in and my friend wants to start working on it.

exalted512

theres been a few bench tests floating around on other forums of the bx1500d and the bx1000d and both did about 100-200 watts less than their rated output at 14.4
i dont know about the 2 channels and 4 channels though
-Cody

AustinKP

Obviously, since this is coming from a HiFonics employee, it's hard to tell how truthful it is, but the tech support guy I talked to there said that mine was underrated just a tad, like 7-10 watts per channel. He said my 85x4 is more like 93 or so.