polk vs kicker amp

final omega

Thanks to where I work, I can get polk's C400.4 or Kicker's <a href="http://www.cardomain.com/item/KIC04SX7004">SX700.4</a&gt; amp for about the same price... so which should I buy to push watts into my 4 mmc525? Kickers SX series amps seem pretty high end but which will make my speakers sound better.

By the way, the SX700.4 amp can be briged @ 4 Ohms: 350W rms x 2. Would this amp power one Polk SR124-DVC well or would it struggle to push the sub.

PolkThug

I'm running a 400.4 with two sets of MMC's with no problems. I like having matching brands on my setup.

neomagus00

dear god, it feels good to have someone do some of the work themselves before asking a question...

i would personally choose the polk amp, to keep brands matched like PT says, and because i like polk. nothing against kicker, but the polk 300.2 i have has stood up to several years of work now with no problems whatsoever.

far as bridging it to run the SR - yes, that would work just fine, though you'd be in no danger of overpowering the thing. however, it's likely that you could get a more appropriate amp for the same amount of money, or less, unless you're getting a great deal on those two amps only.

killerb

that kicker amp is very advanced and powerful. it also has dual power supplies. you can go wrong with kicker or polk. the kicker is a bit pricey though.

final omega

Hey thanks for the quick replies guys. Well neomagus00 I get a one time discount on any amp from either polk or kicker. I can get the c400.4 for ~$185 or that kicker for about $225.

neomagus00

if a sub amp is not in your future, but an SR sub is, go with the kicker - it's not polk, and it is a little more expensive, but it will be able to power the sub more effectively than the 400.4

if you are not planning to get a sub, or you are planning to power it with a real sub amp, go polk, they're very nice amps

oh, and to answer a question from the inital post - i am of the opinion that neither will sound 'better' than the other

killerb

i say go with the kicker for that price. you get alot for the money. i was playing with the dsp demo on kickers website, that thing is cool as hell. you can control everything!!

MacLeod

Kicker makes very good gear and Id have no problem running their amps.

However the one thing that I like better about the Polks are that they far exceed their rated power so youre getting more grunt than youre paying for. Kicker amps will make their ratings but wont go much beyond that.

You cant go wrong with either really. Just pick the one that best matches your power needs and you can get the best price on.

Id pick the Polk due to the more power thing and I feel they have better build quality.

killerb

mac, the kicker amps put out more power than advertised also. the sx900.4 is rated at 115x4 @ 4ohms, 225x4 @2ohms and 450x2 bridged. that amp put out 173x4 @4ohms, 335x4 @2ohms and 458x2 bridged at 13v. it made 518x2 bridged at 13.6v. this was from a review linked on kickers website.

MacLeod

In the April 2007 issue of CA&E, the Kicker ZX350.4 is rated at 60x4 and did 51x4 @12 volts and 68x4 @ 14 volts.

Now the SX line is a higher performing line so it may be more powerful.

BaggedLancer

I use a kicker 1200.1 myself, the certificate is claiming it benched 1440 but who knows.....it powers my s10L7's(2) no problem. They are a bit too loud for my liking so i turned the gain down to about 10%.....