Can't remember manufacturer name for custom amp

erobinson

Hey, new the to board but I've been reading a while. I'm tossing around the idea of getting a new amp, and remembered reading somewhere on this site about a guy that makes his own series of amps that are easy on the wallet but great in performance. I can't remember his name or the website (should have bookmarked it when I saw it).

In case you're interested, my current setup:

Eclipse CD8053
Polk MM6 (what a great deal, amazing power handling!)
JL 12w3v2 in ~1cu.ft. sealed box
Polk C400.4 - Actively bi-amping the MM6
JL 250/1 - Also using the 8053's active 3-way x-over
Monster cable speaker wire and interconnects (as if it makes a difference, I just got them cheap)

I've been looking at JL, Xtant, Arc, USAmps so far, to give you an idea of the range I'm interested in. Thanks for the help!

MacLeod

I thought I just typed this? Hmm, mustve not hit the SUBMIT button.

Anyways, that Polk amp is as good as youre going to get really. It cleanly exceeds it power by a good bit, is built very well and has one of the best crossover networks on the market. There is really no need to upgrade at all.

If youre wanting a different sub amp then get a matching set of Polks and get the 500.1

erobinson

Yes, all amplifiers sound the same, I know. But, I didn't ask that question. My main question was who makes the amp I am thinking of. I'm not interested in the crossover network, simply the amplification section. I want gobs of power, and I want a lot of headroom.

CrBoy

erobinson wrote:

Yes, all amplifiers sound the same, I know. But, I didn't ask that question. My main question was who makes the amp I am thinking of. I'm not interested in the crossover network, simply the amplification section. I want gobs of power, and I want a lot of headroom.

As Neo said once in the past... asking works better than demanding... :cool:

exalted512

usamps can customize their amps to do what you want...and they certainly give you gobs of power
-Cody

neomagus00

for what it's worth, i've never heard of this 'custom amp builder'... i do know that zapco will give you instructions to mod their amps, and like cody said, usamps has options... many high end companies, in both audio and life in general, will do what you want them to do, to a degree... call or email and give them your requirements (asking nicely, or they'll flame and then ban your ****), and ask them what they can do about it...

MacLeod

erobinson wrote:

Yes, all amplifiers sound the same, I know. But, I didn't ask that question. My main question was who makes the amp I am thinking of. I'm not interested in the crossover network, simply the amplification section. I want gobs of power, and I want a lot of headroom.

No, all amplifiers dont sound the same and I said nothing about that anyway.

I assumed you wanted opinions on upgrading your amp since you listed your current setup and the brands you were looking at so I simply stated the one you have now is as good as any of the ones youre looking at so how about ya stick that attitude right up your ****.

erobinson

MacLeod wrote:

No, all amplifiers dont sound the same and I said nothing about that anyway.

I assumed you wanted opinions on upgrading your amp since you listed your current setup and the brands you were looking at so I simply stated the one you have now is as good as any of the ones youre looking at so how about ya stick that attitude right up your ****.

I'm not here to sling insults back and forth across and internet forum. Either you are really misunderstanding my "attitude"... well, that must be the case. I was only trying to clarify my post, which maybe I didn't do very well. My main purpose of posting was asking about the website of the guy that produces his own amps. Secondary to that were recommendations of amps in a similar range as I listed.

I assumed you implied all amplifiers sound the same by saying the Polk is as good as I am going to get. But, maybe I should expect that being on a Polk forum lol. I do like my C400.4, but I don't think it's the best available. I'll also have to disagree with your statement that amps DON'T sound the same. But first, I'll clarify. Above a certain point (meaning, above flea market amps basically), any amplifier that is played within limits and linearly, etc. should be indistinguishable from another amp within the same specs. I'm sure you are aware of the contest to identify two different amps in an ABX test that has been around for a while. No one seems to be able to discern an audible difference between two amps. Measure, yes, hear, no.

MacLeod

I agree that if you take 2 amps and compare them equally (same power, no EQ's, ect), the differences will be inaudible.

However, a lot of amps have differnt features such as EQ's and processors like Xtants ARC EQ, or Polk's pre EQ. These will change the sound of the amps and be quite noticeable. Or take 2 amps with different crossover networks or 2 amps with differnt bass boost setups. These will change the sound as well.

So if you take my Crossfire with no EQ and only 6 db bass boost and put it up against a Xtant 2.2 with the ARC EQ on and 12 db of bass boost and youll get a much different sound but if you turn all that stuff off and compare them at equal power, there wont be any noticeable difference.

exalted512

jesus i hate that stupid contest. it just confuses the **** out of everyone. I promise you, find two amps that are in different quality ranges and have them set up where both amps are equal in actual volume and there will be people that can hear the difference. You are right, an amplified signal is an amplified signal, but to say all amps sound the same is totally untrue.
-Cody

PoweredByDodge

custom amplifier manufacturer...

Harrison Labs.

They do have "pre-designed" models that you can choose from, but you can also call them up and say, "I need a 2 channel amp that is 500 x 2 at 1.5 ohms, with a slew rate of better than 'x' and a damping factor better than 'y' and i also want a mono amp with such and such specs" - and if they don't have something in their normal build that will satisfy your needs, they'll make you one.

the only downside to H-labs, is that none of their stuff has internal bass boost, crossovers, or any of that good stuff... it's just straight amplification. gobs and gobs of power. ... www.hlabs.com is the address.

they have 400, 800, and 1600 w amps, as well as 3200 watt "strapped" models, and more... they can do just about anything you want... but you WILL PAY FOR IT.

1600 watter is about 700 bucks "as is" ... any "goodies" you want on it stoke the price up exponentially.

MacLeod

Nobody says all amps are the same, or even all amps sound the same. Thats not what RC's amp challenge is proving (and by the way his wasnt the first to do so).

His exact words are:

i have never said or even inferred that there is no meaningful difference in amps--of course there are differences--some amps cost more because they are built better--perhaps they will last longer--or play longer without overheating--or have better resale value because they have more "brand appeal" or do more because they have more features--all I ever said was that WHEN THEY ARE COMPARED EVENLY THE SONIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AMPLIFIERS IS BELOW THE AUDIBLE THRESHOLD OF HUMAN HEARING-- as for what we actually hear consider that if we compare two identical amps but turn the bass boost up on one and leave the other flat we will be able to hear the difference between two identical amps that have consecutive serial numbers--read my challenge rules--it should make sense

PoweredByDodge

and meanwhile, back on the ranch, the pig said 'moooo'

erobinson

MacLeod wrote:

I agree that if you take 2 amps and compare them equally (same power, no EQ's, ect), the differences will be inaudible.

However, a lot of amps have differnt features such as EQ's and processors like Xtants ARC EQ, or Polk's pre EQ. These will change the sound of the amps and be quite noticeable. Or take 2 amps with different crossover networks or 2 amps with differnt bass boost setups. These will change the sound as well.

So if you take my Crossfire with no EQ and only 6 db bass boost and put it up against a Xtant 2.2 with the ARC EQ on and 12 db of bass boost and youll get a much different sound but if you turn all that stuff off and compare them at equal power, there wont be any noticeable difference.

Absolutely agree. I am referring only to the actual amplification section of the "amplifier". Nowadays when we use the word amplifier (in car audio anyway), it has a lot more to the meaning than the name implies. Since I prefer active x-over over passive (why anyone would prefer passive given the choice I'm not sure), I don't care about x-over's, bass boost, whatever. I'm glad we agree.

erobinson

exalted512 wrote:

jesus i hate that stupid contest. it just confuses the **** out of everyone. I promise you, find two amps that are in different quality ranges and have them set up where both amps are equal in actual volume and there will be people that can hear the difference. You are right, an amplified signal is an amplified signal, but to say all amps sound the same is totally untrue.
-Cody

Then I guess you will win the $10,000. Read what mcleod said about x-overs, eq's, etc. I refer simply to the amplification section. I'm not sure what is confusing about the test. So far NO ONE has been able to hear a difference, equal volume, within limits, etc.

erobinson

PoweredByDodge wrote:

the only downside to H-labs, is that none of their stuff has internal bass boost, crossovers, or any of that good stuff... it's just straight amplification.

That's the downside?

MacLeod

Personally I like the added features. While Im not a big fan of bass boost I do like the crossovers. It was a big pain in the **** years ago when no amps had even the low pass. I also like the 4 channel amp.

neomagus00

right, 'years ago' would be the problem . i'm personally a big fan of active xovering, despite the fact that you need more channels of amplification (and 2x100 is cheaper than 4x50)... cause other than that, it's happy times...

and i think this is yet another case of people arguing over an issue they agree on, they're just stating it in different ways .