Amps Amps Amps

jamas33

Quick question for you guys. How do you feel about the McIntosh amps for the car? Is it really that big of a difference? Or is it just like the people that buy the Bose speakers and system for the home. All about the name? Just wondering about quality of sound. Power.. and all pertinent info/feedback.

Thanks

PoweredByDodge

Mc' isn't about a name as much as its about performance... they make some of the best headunits and amps around.

consider yourself lucky if u get to hear one let alone own one.

I don't know any of the product specs, only base general scuttlebut knowledge... but if you want to talk about high end amps in general versus low end...

better amps have better design:
- higher quality and current carrying (per size) power supplies with a higher grade of components (ie. tru tech uses fairchild [has nothing to do with the john fairchild edt. amps ... thats a concidence] semiconductors while MTX uses Motorola, while something like Baja uses base level International Rectifier or something far worse). The lifespan / accuracy of performance / and overall quality are distinct.

- disgustingly more precise output stages... I've seen output stages as simple as less than 100 pieces... some over 1,500 (PPI or hell Adcom). some people are going to use vaccuum tubes, some are going to use high quality fets or bjt's... others will use any generic piece of crap they can find -- and hence why some amps companies will actually **** out a series of amps and when u open them up u find that they may have all the same characteristic properties, but some of hte parts are different -- they'll scour brand surplus lots and use whatever they can get that has the base characteristics they need within a 10% tolerance or whatever.

look at this... now THIS is an output stage... how many circuit city brands are you going to see like this? I dont even know why i make that comment its so blatently out of that league.

Now this is an amp that actually has two parts... the part you ar elooking at is the output stage.. you can then pick which power supply you want and they hook together. if you want to run three of these, you can get one power supply that'll run all three... want one... then u can get one ps to run one. its all about flexibility, options, and making it so that the customer pays for only what they want, how they want it, and when they want it.

this.. this is an amp -- unattainable at any price... the japanese offered phoenix gold a shitload -- they said no... oneof a kind....


anyway back to topic....

when you get into a higher class of amp -- you start to come to certain realizations.... things like "with a better amp, i can put less power to my speakers and have them sound 10 times as lifelike".

--- better equipment gives a richer, more bodied, detailed, precise (i cant get enough adjectives out) sound that makes that of lesser amps look pale and dull.

factors like slew rate / damping / thd / and efficiency go up disgustingly with better amps. as a result, the manner by which the amp controls the speaker and makes it turn tricks becomes so much better.

there is however, in the end, a balance... the best amp in the world wont make factory speakers sound good.

If you're going to use a McIntosh amp, a Nakamichi amp, Adcom, Tru Tech, etc etc... you're using speakers that cost equally as much -- Focal Utopia or SEAS and the like... actually probably something better than those but I really don't know of anything better as most of those companies are 1) tiny 2) make plain black un-noticeable speakers.

There's nothing wrong with midlevel gear... everybody in here uses it.

We're bound to what we choose to use by 3 things.
1- budget
2- skill
3- motivation to do work

if you cant afford it - u cant get it.
if you dont know HOW to use it, you cant get it.
if you have the case, have the skill, but u really just dont wanna put the time in, then you can't get it either.

anywho - thats my two hundred cents.