# which amp



## hondakillerZX (Aug 16, 2004)

im getting two mtx 12'' from my cousin and im wondering what kind of amp to buy.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

how much do u want to spend? hifonics makes good amps at very good prices.


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

Hifonics mono amp (Brutus series) or even a JBL mono amp are great budget amps that deliver great power and punch for the $$


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## hondakillerZX (Aug 16, 2004)

are they continous bass


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## schauhan (Apr 29, 2004)

If you are quality conscious go for Rockford Fosgate. I recently added punch amp for my RF punch component speakers. Soon will add a RF 1000W sub with RF amp. I am very happy with the sound quality. There is alot of cheap crap out there, but u get what u pay for. RF's are really really expensive, but you will be happy that u spent on them.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

schauhan said:


> If you are quality conscious go for Rockford Fosgate. I recently added punch amp for my RF punch component speakers. Soon will add a RF 1000W sub with RF amp. I am very happy with the sound quality. There is alot of cheap crap out there, but u get what u pay for. RF's are really really expensive, but you will be happy that u spent on them.


eh, I wouldn't exactly put RF in the same sentence with "quality conscious", "sound quality", or "get what you pay for"

It's good that you're happy, but you seem a little over enthusiastic, RF is still budget stuff, not in the big leagues by any means.


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

sr20dem0n said:


> eh, I wouldn't exactly put RF in the same sentence with "quality conscious", "sound quality", or "get what you pay for"
> 
> It's good that you're happy, but you seem a little over enthusiastic, RF is still budget stuff, not in the big leagues by any means.


Why respond when you have already done it for me...I agree 100%. Now if you were to make that statement 10 years ago, you would be dead wrong. RF has only gone down the toilet the past decade, a damn shame too...they used to put out some of the best amps and subs on the market, not the same story today.


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

hondakillerZX said:


> are they continous bass


How do you mean continuous bass? The music you play determines how much bass you produce...


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

Azgrower said:


> Why respond when you have already done it for me...


so that everyone who reads this thread (and not the other) will know too :cheers:


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Azgrower said:


> Why respond when you have already done it for me...I agree 100%. Now if you were to make that statement 10 years ago, you would be dead wrong. RF has only gone down the toilet the past decade, a damn shame too...they used to put out some of the best amps and subs on the market, not the same story today.



You're right, their old amps are very nice....they've just been going steadily downhill since then and make no signs of getting better

And a lot of people don't lurk in the audio section, they just come here once in a blue moon to post in a thread and then occasionally go back to it through their control panel. At the risk of sounding like a broken record you have to repeat yourself quite a bit unfortunately or only 2-3 people will ever see it.


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## xbrandonx (Mar 27, 2004)

Azgrower said:


> How do you mean continuous bass? The music you play determines how much bass you produce...


maybe he means that can you do low pass/high pass?


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

xbrandonx said:


> maybe he means that can you do low pass/high pass?


I think he means continous power.


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## schauhan (Apr 29, 2004)

sr20dem0n said:


> eh, I wouldn't exactly put RF in the same sentence with "quality conscious", "sound quality", or "get what you pay for"
> 
> It's good that you're happy, but you seem a little over enthusiastic, RF is still budget stuff, not in the big leagues by any means.


Oh well, Oh well, as a matter of fact I havn't experienced other amps but I looked around at the local car audio shops like Circuit city, Fry's Electronics and tries all the amps they had, they were nothing but the cheap crap. I'll keep in mind to compare their sound with other when I get the opportunity. Fact of today is that RF are damn good so far, I get no commission from RF. Also, their customer service is rock solid, I got the answer each and every time w/o a fuss. This all is my openion and you all have the right to differ.

For my curiosity what all factors you guys take into account when making your openions on amp quality, a big thump is not all what is the criteria, after adjusting the crossover frequency on the amp, I got all the frequency responsed I wanted from high to lows and the pair of tweets on each speaker gives all high freq responses to satisfy ur senses. Since I own RF I like to know where to look to have a different openion than what I have that they are really great.


$700 for an amp, does not sound cheap to me either.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Jh81A2nXZCT/cgi-bin/Prodview.asp?readmore=true&g=120&I=575P8004#Tab

I would like to know of some high end stuff for future upgrade, lemme know some brands and models. Thx.


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## hondakillerZX (Aug 16, 2004)

captain_shrapnel said:


> I think he means continous power.


my friend says some amps dont hit all the time like the sony explode's


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

schauhan said:


> Oh well, Oh well, as a matter of fact I havn't experienced other amps but I looked around at the local car audio shops like Circuit city, Fry's Electronics and tries all the amps they had, they were nothing but the cheap crap. I'll keep in mind to compare their sound with other when I get the opportunity. Fact of today is that RF are damn good so far, I get no commission from RF. Also, their customer service is rock solid, I got the answer each and every time w/o a fuss. This all is my openion and you all have the right to differ.
> 
> For my curiosity what all factors you guys take into account when making your openions on amp quality, a big thump is not all what is the criteria, after adjusting the crossover frequency on the amp, I got all the frequency responsed I wanted from high to lows and the pair of tweets on each speaker gives all high freq responses to satisfy ur senses. Since I own RF I like to know where to look to have a different openion than what I have that they are really great.
> 
> ...


Expensive doesn't mean good, Bose is expensive, and they make some of the worst sounding products ever made.

What I look for in amp selection is name (not how well known the name is, but what kind of reputation they have with people who really know what's going on, the easiest way to find this out is to go on www.caraudioforum.com, www.soundillusions.net, www.elitecaraudio.com, or www.carsound.com and do some searching), damping factor, power output, and....not too much else, the name is the most important to me when I'm searching (again, not how well known it is, but what kind of reputation they hold), assuming each of my choices puts out the kind of power that I want.

True high end stuff?
dls, tru, arc, brax, helix, butler, audison, linear power, genesis, us amps, I've heard the new diamonds are nice, and I'm a big fan of cadence too. That's just for amps, for speakers there's a WHOLE nother list, and yet another for subs.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

hondakillerZX said:


> my friend says some amps dont hit all the time like the sony explode's


don't "hit" all the time?
you mean they go into protection or turn off, or do you mean that occasionally they put out more power than normal? The former can happen if you have a shitty amp, the latter can't because it makes no sense.


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

hondakillerZX said:


> my friend says some amps dont hit all the time like the sony explode's


Does your friend know what he is talking about? Or was he trying to sell you his old Sony Exploder amp?


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

schauhan said:


> I would like to know of some high end stuff for future upgrade, lemme know some brands and models. Thx.


Hey we are all on these discussion forums to learn, sometimes the only way to learn is by making mistakes...thats life. Here is a link to some sub manufacturers, most are mid-to-high end, and you will never see them at Fry's, Best Buy, or Circuit City:
http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125146

Most of the companies who make good subs, also produce great speakers. I think most of the amps were listed above, but I would like to add Ground Zero to that list.


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## schauhan (Apr 29, 2004)

This link is really great, I'll spend some time there to know more. I'll let you guys know when I am able to classify my selection of Rockford Fosgate a mistake, but certainly that's not the case today.


Ok, I am almost set to shoot for yet another mistake:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-gwv3CjovRmS/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=130&I=575T2001BD


Tell me the alternatives ( brand + model ) , I have time and willingness to campare and consider all suggestions strictly on technical ground and not basd on emotions and feelings.

Thaks in advance for yout time and advise.

Happy Thumping.


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

schauhan said:


> This link is really great, I'll spend some time there to know more. I'll let you guys know when I am able to classify my selection of Rockford Fosgate a mistake, but certainly that's not the case today.
> 
> 
> Ok, I am almost set to shoot for yet another mistake:
> ...



Hmmm, try this out....http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18797&item=5736476060&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
DLS Ultimate A6...off of Ebay for $389. 
If you are not comfortable with getting this item from Ebay, I have a contact who is an authorized dealer for DLS, and he got me a few of the DLS Ultimate A3s for a great price. I can contact him about his price on the A6.

Just imagine this amp in your ride. See how beautiful it is? Now these things are efficient beasts, putting out its rated watts, and they are stable into 1 ohm.


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

US Amps:
http://www.usamps.com/

Model: USA-3000, USA-2000

this is the usa 2000:


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

Or Ground Zero (www.ground-zero-audio.com) I also happen to know an authorized distributor/dealer in Nor Cal for Ground Zero, I can get some prices if you like. 

The GZNA 2800
*2800 watts bridged at 0.5 ohms!









Or the Grandaddy of them all, the GZPA 1.3000D
*3000 watts at 0.9 ohms!


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

or a cadence zrs-9, 2000x1 @ 1ohm










^ that's a zrs-8, the zrs-9 looks the same but is slightly bigger


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

Although this is not the same caliber of amp that was mentioned above, I would choose this over the fosgate. You could get 4 of these for less than what you were looking at---

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=13121

People seem pretty satisfied, from what I hear (no personal experience yet).


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

captain_shrapnel said:


> Although this is not the same caliber of amp that was mentioned above, I would choose this over the fosgate. You could get 4 of these for less than what you were looking at---
> 
> http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=13121
> 
> People seem pretty satisfied, from what I hear (no personal experience yet).


I was thinking the same thing, but then realized if he is willing to spend over $1K on an amp, then I would throw down some of the highest quality ones I knew of (well there is Helix and Brax, and Marc Antony, but they are well over just a few $Ks, so I didnt bother)


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## Reddragon-T (Mar 24, 2004)

sr20dem0n said:


> eh, I wouldn't exactly put RF in the same sentence with "quality conscious", "sound quality", or "get what you pay for"
> 
> It's good that you're happy, but you seem a little over enthusiastic, RF is still budget stuff, not in the big leagues by any means.


RF still gets decent quality for a low class amp, remember that there is a lot of other crap out there, that sells for more that do not put out the same as good of quality. But to be honest a 100-200 you wont find a lot of difference in the amps, and with good eq's and heads matched with the right speakers caps, and enclosures you can come up with a good system for the price. You dont have to have comp grade components to have a good sounding system, just a little imagination. So they arent comp amps, but not every one is running a comp system. At the same most of there amps put out almost true rms, unlike a lot of other amps. The downfall is that they cannot be bridged at 2ohm. But then again I did say they are not comp amps.


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## Reddragon-T (Mar 24, 2004)

sr20dem0n said:


> don't "hit" all the time?
> you mean they go into protection or turn off, or do you mean that occasionally they put out more power than normal? The former can happen if you have a shitty amp, the latter can't because it makes no sense.



The former usually happens because of overcurrent. Use a line level converter. Usually will take care of the problem. Another problem maybe your sucking more juice then the car can dispense, thats why people use capacitors, to supply continuous juice to the amp when it needs it. you set up as many caps as you want tie them all in together or in series. Depending on what you need. Not saying that there are not other problem and a crap amp could be the case, but more often then not its one of the above answers.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Reddragon-T said:


> RF still gets decent quality for a low class amp, remember that there is a lot of other crap out there, that sells for more that do not put out the same as good of quality. But to be honest a 100-200 you wont find a lot of difference in the amps, and with good eq's and heads matched with the right speakers caps, and enclosures you can come up with a good system for the price. You dont have to have comp grade components to have a good sounding system, just a little imagination. So they arent comp amps, but not every one is running a comp system. At the same most of there amps put out almost true rms, unlike a lot of other amps. The downfall is that they cannot be bridged at 2ohm. But then again I did say they are not comp amps.


sure they could be worse, but for the price, they're horrible. Just look above, $1300 for a 2000rms RF amp that's only decent. You can get something incredibly nice for that price, you don't have to settle for "decent". All of their other amps are the same way, you're paying competition-level prices and only getting mediocre equipment.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Reddragon-T said:


> The former usually happens because of overcurrent. Use a line level converter. Usually will take care of the problem.


?
if an amp goes into protection, it could be because of low voltage, overheating, low impedance, dc, or maybe 1 or 2 other things. A line level converter won't fix any of those, especially considering a line level converter turns a speaker level signal into a low level signal, and if you're already using a low level signal you can't even USE a line level converter.


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## Punkrocka436 (Jul 8, 2003)

once again someone is owned by sr20dem0n

But seriously dude. That post made no sense at all. Line level converters wont do anything in this situation. With a 100-200 dollar amp, most of the time you wont get more than 500 watts out of it (Excluding the Hifonics Brutus amps), and 500 watts is too little to warrant even thinking about a cap. At least you know the proper way to use a cap (to keep the voltage at the amp steady...NOT to fix dimming headlights)


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