amps....

audiobliss

All right......the Alpine I want is pretty much out.....and I haven't talked to the guy about smaller amps yet......BUT...I got a $100 gift certificate for Best Buy for Christmas (well, actually $150....but I already spent $50....:D ). I went in there today and looked at their amps, 'cause that would really help the budget if they had something that would do all right. The only one that appeared to be acceptable to me was a Kenwood. It was the KAC-7201. It's regularly $200, and there's currently a rebate that brings it down to $180....would this be a good (ok; acceptable) first amp?

Thanks!

exalted512

looks fine to me
-Cody

max3

my friend has had that one for over a year and it works fine he powers some JL 10w0 with it. They sound great.

MacLeod

Personally I would take the RF amps. I dont like RF only because theyre too trendy right now but there is no denying they make some pretty solid gear. Their Punch amps are by far the best BB has to offer if you can stand having the same amp everybody and their brother has.

audiobliss

Well, I don't like the way they look, and I knocked on all the amps there, and the RF amps really seem to be made real cheap. Also, I think they'd be too big to go under my seat......I'm not sure the Kenwood will fit....

Jstas

Don't know about fitment for your application but I have used many Kenwood amps in many installs. Thier standard amp line is a solid performer. They aren't necessarily under-rated but they are clean and have a decent amount of power behind them. You could do a hell of alot worse but in the price point, there isn't much out there that can beat them for value, reliability and ruggeness. They will take some serious abuse and keep on ticking. My first amp from them is about 9 years old and still works like new. Even after my girlfriend threw a baby stroller in her trunk without regard for the expensive sub and caused a ground fault on the power wire going to the amp. That tripped the protection circuit and ended up popping the fuse in the amp. I replaced the fuse and reset the amp and it worked perfectly.

As far as how they sound, they are very neutral and flat in thier response. Highs are mellow but reproduced with gusto. In other words, they are poweful but not fatiguing or abusive. Mid-range is clean and smooth. It's a natural sound, doesn't overboost but can sound thin because there is a total lack of audible distortion. Lows are defintly stout. They will be reproduced faithfully to the recording. Extreme lows (like low 20 Hz range) can get muddied in the lower powered amps. Overall sound is clean and unassuming. They do not color sound much at all.

If you got the Kenwood amp, I doubt you would be dissappointed with performance. At that price point, you will have a tough time finding a more accurate amp from a mass-producer like Kenwood.


If you can swing it, go for an eXcelon amp. Even if you go to a discounter. They are, IMO, one of teh best amp series on the market. You'd have to double thier retail price to find anything that comes close to thier level of performance. But I don't think BestBuy has the eXcelon series and it's probably out of your budget for now. Doesn't mean you can't aspire to it though!