SR6500 amp recommendations?

m3thod_man

Hey guys I'm buying my system right now and I have a few questions about a component speaker amp. I have a 2003 350z with pioneer premier DEH-P800PRS head unit with a JL 500/1 sub amp and 10" W7 (amp and sub not yet installed).

I am looking at getting the Polk SR 6500 components as I've heard great things about them....

My question is, how many channels on an amp dedicated to these components should I get? and, more specifically, my head unit has some sophisticated features like 3way network mode, time delay, auot-TA, BBE, etc etc and I dont want to get an amp or setup that does not take full advantage of my headunits controls. Also, what line of amps would you recommend to drive these supposedly awesome components that would not hinder their acoustic qualities. thanks in advance for any replies!!!

Jeff

MacLeod

If youre wanting to use the time delay and crossovers youll need a 4 channel amp so you can run each driver off its own amp channel (tweeters off front channels / mids off rear channels).

The JL Audio 300/4 would be a great choice if youre wanting to keep with the JL amp theme. Im using the new Polk 500.4 and its doing a pretty damn good job too. Basically anything in the 50-75 watt per channel range would be fine.

frosty2k

MacLeod wrote: »

Im using the new Polk 500.4 and its doing a pretty damn good job too. Basically anything in the 50-75 watt per channel range would be fine.

I'm thinking of using a HD600/4 in 4 channel mode but backing the gains way down and hoping I dont melt the tweets. (I'm almost expecting a microscopic nuclear explosion)

Speaking of which, what do you have your gains set to on your tweeters Mac (or anyone else)? I'm just trying to get a ballpark figure as to the wattage they'll take before they clip and whether I will be able to set the HD600/4 low enough between the amp gains and my HU.

m3thod_man

MacLeod, or anyone else that can answer this... are there disadvantages to running an individual channel to a 4 speaker component set ( 2 woofers 2 tweets) in terms of sound quality or anything like that? when wouldnt you want to do that for a component system?

tk421

the advice above is sound.

in response to this part..

m3thod_man wrote: »

MacLeod, or anyone else that can answer this... are there disadvantages to running an individual channel to a 4 speaker component set ( 2 woofers 2 tweets) in terms of sound quality or anything like that? when wouldnt you want to do that for a component system?

sound quality is better when bi-amping. it is harder to setup tho. i bi-amp. i run my tweets down to 4000hz and my mids between 4000 and 50hz.

ideally, i'd love to run the tweets down to 6000 and the mids from there down to 50hz. but i dont think the mids can play cleanly up to 6000.

crossover points and slopes are very important factors in setting up a SQ car properly.

tk421

frosty2k wrote: »

what do you have your gains set to on your tweeters Mac (or anyone else)?

my amp is an alpine pdx 4.100. it's 4x100RMS.
my gains are all set to zero (ie- to match a 4v pre-amp input)

at this setting, my tweets sound louder than they should. on my head unit (alpine cda-9887) i've attenuated the tweets by 3 to 4 db depending on the type of music.

hope this helps.

(measuring the voltages at the amp outputs may tell u how much power the tweets are really getting.. but i've argued this point at home with many audio folks... so i'm not telling anyone to do this again)

exalted512

tk421 wrote: »

(measuring the voltages at the amp outputs may tell u how much power the tweets are really getting.. but i've argued this point at home with many audio folks... so i'm not telling anyone to do this again)

Thats not a very accurate reading though...at all.
-Cody

MacLeod

The only disadvantage I can think of is that it will take a little more time to dial it in as opposed to the "plug and play" way of using a 2 channel amp. However it will be worth it as it will have the potential to sound better than 2 channel wiring ever could.

I have my gains set to about 10:00 on mid, tweet and sub gains. I use the level control on my Alpine H700 to adjust output. My tweet's level is at -5, mids at 0 and sub at -9.

frosty2k

m3thod_man wrote: »

are there disadvantages to running an individual channel to a 4 speaker component set ( 2 woofers 2 tweets) in terms of sound quality or anything like that?

I think that the main drawback to this is if you are not using a proper active crossover, low frequency signals sent to the tweeters can damage them. I'll be using the passive crossovers (to avoid the chance of this happening), but bi-amping them for timing adjustment. If you want to really play with the tweeter HPF you'd have to run the amp straight to the tweets.

Thanks for the gain setup tips guys, I'm just trying to get an idea of whether I can back down the 150W enough to not damage the tweeters (stupid 8v output worries me, square wave=evil)

dirthog

frosty2k wrote: »

I think that the main drawback to this is if you are not using a proper active crossover, low frequency signals sent to the tweeters can damage them.

You do have a proper active crossover with the 800. I currently use the 880 active and started with the passive crossover settings, I have deviated from them a little but not much. I like the fact I don't have to worry about mounting those big crossovers.

I'm using an alpine MRV545 125 watts per channel with low gain settings.

denim

Doing a DIY active front stage will usually produce superior results and can be done for less money. I am also using the PRS-880, great unit for a high end SQ install.

dirthog

denim wrote: »

Doing a DIY active front stage will usually produce superior results and can be done for less money. I am also using the PRS-880, great unit for a high end SQ install.

Yes, but it can also be a long road to travel. It has taken me over a year to get my first sq install to sound great and it can take others even longer.

A lot of the time I was just trying different things to learn as much as I could. Now I couldn't be happier.

denim

dirthog wrote: »

Yes, but it can also be a long road to travel. It has taken me over a year to get my first sq install to sound great and it can take others even longer.

A lot of the time I was just trying different things to learn as much as I could. Now I couldn't be happier.

I agree, but I feel its worth it. I am constantly adjusting settings to find that perfect mix. But half of the fun is trying to get the best sound out of your stereo.

dirthog

denim wrote: »

I agree, but I feel its worth it. I am constantly adjusting settings to find that perfect mix. But half of the fun is trying to get the best sound out of your stereo.

Yes it is totally worth it. I'm to a point where I can only get better if I change up my install.

killerb

i just picked up a mint ppi pc4800.2 rated at 100 x 4 into 4 ohms, 200 x 4 into 2 ohms and 400 x 2 bridged. i will be replacing my us amps tu-4360 with this amp. they are very nice sq amps with a s/n ratio of 110 db and power to spare. this is a great amp to bi-amp with.