# Hifonics amps?



## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

Hi all, I was scouting amps for my midgrade system build up. Initially, I was looking at a US Amps 5600x to power my Diamond coaxs and maybe a JL 12w3, but when I skimmed A Caraudio's website, I see Hifonics amps at ridiculously cheap prices. Although I had never used a Hifonics amp, I always had the impression they were good quality. My question is, am I getting a deal, or am I getting what I pay for? Did Hifonics go the way of Soundstream and PPI (getting bought out by a company like Pyramid)? Is the quality compromised? Although this particular system is just designed to have reasonable sq at decent volumes, the amps will probably be reused in a much higher quality system in the future. I dont want to invest in mediocre amps. Opinions? The amps are Brutus BX1500d ($289) and Zeus ZX6400 ($259). Thanx in advance!


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## 95seRguy (Oct 4, 2004)

well my cousin has a hifonics amp that pushin a 15" XXX and that thing THUMPS!!!..... i think his amp puts out like 1200rms @1ohm..... that thing is sick!


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

they're decent budget amps, put out around rated power, should be pretty reliable....nothing compared to us amps though


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

sr20dem0n said:


> they're decent budget amps, put out around rated power, should be pretty reliable....nothing compared to us amps though


In what way? Are they noisy? Dirty sound? Unreliable? Could you give me some elaboration?


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Some people have had problems with them, and they only make their rated power at 14.4V. At full tilt in a normal car they'll be closer to 1200rms (that's been measured, I'm not just pulling it out of nowhere). And they don't have horrible sound like say a lightning audio, it's just not as good as a higher quality amp. They're good for someone who wants a bunch of power for cheap, but if you have the budget for something better I would go with something better.


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

Hifonics vs US Amps? No comparison, US AMPS is top quality where as Hifonics is like 3/4 quality. Great for the budget though. I had owned a US AMPS TU600 which is a 150x2 tube amp, but this thing cost me $500, whereas something similar from Hifonics would be around $180-$200. I plan on using a Hifonics ZX8000 for an upgrade in the Pathfinder. Still decent quality.


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

US Amps it is. I used to have a 400x Xterminator and was totally satisfied with it, so I have no problems paying for the quality. An amp is the most reusable piece of car audio gear, so it pays to do it right the 1st time. Thanx for the feedback guys!


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## captain_shrapnel (Sep 10, 2004)

Azgrower said:


> Hifonics vs US Amps? No comparison, US AMPS is top quality where as Hifonics is like 3/4 quality. Great for the budget though. I had owned a US AMPS TU600 which is a 150x2 tube amp, but this thing cost me $500, whereas something similar from Hifonics would be around $180-$200. I plan on using a Hifonics ZX8000 for an upgrade in the Pathfinder. Still decent quality.


Hey, I was looking into a tube amp from them for my top end, what was your experience with it? Sound nice and warm? Did you have any issues with the tubes burning out, or issues with temperature? Finally, did they have reasonable control over the midbass area?


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## Yellowsentragirl (Dec 30, 2003)

I have a hifonics brutus 1500d amp and I'm pretty happy with it. It's pushing 2 10" Kicker solo-baric L7s. Packs a good thump and the remote bass boost is a great feature that is really handy.


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## Punkrocka436 (Jul 8, 2003)

I've got a Zeus ZX4000 running my Image Dynamics IDQ10 and for the money I spent it is one hell of an amp. Its nothing that will win shows, but if you are on a budget and looking for good sound, you cant go wrong


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

for once, we agree on something. exactly what he said.


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## Punkrocka436 (Jul 8, 2003)




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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Yellowsentragirl said:


> I have a hifonics brutus 1500d amp and I'm pretty happy with it. It's pushing 2 10" Kicker solo-baric L7s. Packs a good thump and the remote bass boost is a great feature that is really handy.


she's back!


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## Yellowsentragirl (Dec 30, 2003)

sr20dem0n said:


> she's back!


haha...yeah...i'm trying to get a damn enclosure built...the kid who i bought the subs from is offering to make one for free if I give him the boxes I have now...which is FINE with me...just trying to get a hold of him is impossible.

But SR20demon suggested the hifonics and i'm happy with it...my car is falling apart from the booming...just need to figure out where to put it...its small enough to fit on the back of one of the 60/40 seats in a sentra fwiw...


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## Azgrower (Oct 1, 2004)

captain_shrapnel said:


> Hey, I was looking into a tube amp from them for my top end, what was your experience with it? Sound nice and warm? Did you have any issues with the tubes burning out, or issues with temperature? Finally, did they have reasonable control over the midbass area?


The tube amp is really nice, I had it running a pair of Image Dynamics Chameleon components, really clean power, gives it rated juice at 12 volts and not 14.4 like most amps. Great efficiency. The only problem was I had it in my 4x4 truck, and I like to go offroading sometimes cause there are great trails in the mountains here in Arizona...let me tell you tube amps + offroading = breakage. The tubes burned out because of the bumps and extreme vibration. Luckily the factory still allowed the warranty work, so I had it replaced then traded for an Arc Audio cxl 2100 and an Arc Audio cxl 2500. So in the end I think I got the sweeter deal. 

If you do want to look into it, what I did to get a really cheap price was contact the local authorized shop. This was around November 2002, and he explained to me that US Amps was putting out the new 2003 tu600 model soon, so they needed to sell the "older models" for cheaper to clear them out....well the catch is that nothing even changed from one year model to the next. Not even the color or design of the heatsink. So I got my $700 amp for just under 5 bills
:thumbup:


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## funkpacket (Feb 13, 2004)

hifonics amps used to be just plain sick amps. Anything built by zed audio is still probably considered high end. As of now id say hifonics are probably the preferred amp if your spending under $250. That being said, they are not as saliva inducing as they once where.


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