Amp info / suggestions

[ChuEy826]

Hey, I've been in the process of putting together my sound system, and I've got everything I need except for amps. I'm looking for an amp to power my front components, CDT audio CL-61s, and an amp to power my sub.. CDT audio CL-1215. I was thinking about a bunch of options.. one was to get a couple pioneer amps for pretty cheap, and hook them up. I figure my head unit is pretty good, and would take care of any type of crossover or any other on-amp feature I would need. The pioneer amps seem to put out enough power for me. However, I stumbled across these amps from a company called "Monitor 1".. supposedly made by Zapco. My question is.. is Zapco a good company to begin with (I don't know all too much about amps), and is this a good amp. The specs are here:

http://www.infinitecaraudio.com/cgi-bin/icastore.cgi?user_action=detail&catalogno=MK2120

Also, what companies should I be looking at for quality amps? I'm looking for an amp that will run me about $120 online.. that puts out at least 50 watts RMS @ 4 ohms for my front speakers, and an amp that will run me around $200 - $250 for my sub... preferably a 2 channel amp with around 125 watts RMS @ 4 ohms.

any input would be greatly appreciated.. thanks guys

 

[SP33D]

zapco is the best company for amps, no questions asked.. but they're very expensive.

 

[ChuEy826]

do you think i'd be safe going with that "monitor 1" amp? those 2 amps are almost exactly what i'm looking for... its quite tempting

 

[SP33D]

to be honest with u i dont really know too much as far as bargain shopping goes. Im the type of person taht will look for the absolute best thing i can get, and dont pay attention to how much its gonna cost and then i save for a long time, and go back to being broke. endless cycle.

 

[got wake?]

zapco is the best company for amps, no questions asked.. but they're very expensive.

i can ask questions(homework)

saying that a company is the best for anything leaves too many questions. while zapco is a great amp company, what about brax/helix, sinfoni, genesis, etc? that for SQ. for SPL, good luck finding competitors using zapco amps. course that is mainly due to their price.

 

[ChuEy826]

can anyone point me in the direction of a good quality, nicely priced amp? How are alphasonik amps, and hifonics amps? Which amps do you use Got Wake? I really like your sound system by the way, I was going to get the CDA-9835, but I got a killer deal on a Pioneer DEH-9600MP. How do you like the 9835?

 

[1sty]

Split the difference.
Alpine MRP-M350 for the sub 350 rms @ 2 ohms
Alpine MRP-F240 for the 4 channel 40x4 @ 4 ohms
Each are $200 at full retail. There are no authorized online vendors that sell for less. Howeverm they are ending there modle year and will likely be discounted soon.

As for $120 for a 50x4, I'd save some money and get a decent amp when you can afford it. I have yet to see an amp at that price that isn't used or simply a peice of junk.

Neither amp has adjustable crossovers but your head unit can take care of that.

 

[ChuEy826]

I actually have an alpine Alpine MRP-M350 in my car right now... I was thinking it was a little bit underpowered for the sub I'm going to get. I have an old 10'' Rockford Fosgate Punch subwoofer.. and when I wire it to 2 ohms, it gets a bit distorted. At 8 ohms it sounds the way I want it to, but its a bit on the weak side. I was thinking about selling my Alpine MRP-M350 and using the money to buy an amp for the front speakers, and then buying a good amp for my new sub. What amp would you advise me to look at, if I was willing to put a bit more money into the amps?

 

[got wake?]

can anyone point me in the direction of a good quality, nicely priced amp? How are alphasonik amps, and hifonics amps? Which amps do you use Got Wake? I really like your sound system by the way, I was going to get the CDA-9835, but I got a killer deal on a Pioneer DEH-9600MP. How do you like the 9835?

alphasonic are now audiobahn pieces of crap. damn anaba group messing up yet another former great audio company

i'm using DLS amps. their classic amps are reasonably priced. i use their ultimate amps, which are not what most would consider reasonably priced.

the 9835 is an awesome unit(headbang)

 

[ChuEy826]

I'll have to look into DLS amps. Alphasonik amps looked pretty good too.. its too bad they got audiobahnified... Thanks for the input!

 

[1sty]

I actually have an alpine Alpine MRP-M350 in my car right now... I was thinking it was a little bit underpowered for the sub I'm going to get. I have an old 10'' Rockford Fosgate Punch subwoofer.. and when I wire it to 2 ohms, it gets a bit distorted. At 8 ohms it sounds the way I want it to, but its a bit on the weak side. I was thinking about selling my Alpine MRP-M350 and using the money to buy an amp for the front speakers, and then buying a good amp for my new sub. What amp would you advise me to look at, if I was willing to put a bit more money into the amps?

SOmething is either wrong with the sub, amp, or your wiring. At 8 ohms your limiting the amplifier to less then 1/4 of its potential power. Roughly 125 watts rms. At 2 ohms it is giving the power it should. If it is distortion then its either too much power for the sub, your gain is way to high or its not really at 2 ohms.

What is the model number of the subwoofer?

Your setup of the amp and sub is what is making it week, not the amp. Before spending more money, fix the problem you have first. A DLS amp will even more power will be useless, if the alpine is already too much for the system.

 

[ChuEy826]

The sub i'm using is this 10'' Rockford Fosgate sub my friend had laying around in his garage. I don't know the model number.. all i know is that its a Dual voice coils 4 ohms each and the thing is pretty damn heavy. Soon I'll be running the CDT 12'' Sub.. just need to pick out or make a box.

Yanno what.. now that I think about it.. the gain was set way too high. I wired it to 8 ohms.. and turned the gain way up, and when I rewired it, I didn't turn it down. The main reason I want a 2 channel amp for the sub, is cause' I want to run it at 4 ohms... the amp I have right now has 0.3% THD into a 2 ohm load... I figure thats kinda bad. I'll definately hook my new sub up to my current amp to see how it sounds though.

 

[1sty]

The sub i'm using is this 10'' Rockford Fosgate sub my friend had laying around in his garage. I don't know the model number.. all i know is that its a Dual voice coils 4 ohms each and the thing is pretty damn heavy. Soon I'll be running the CDT 12'' Sub.. just need to pick out or make a box.

Yanno what.. now that I think about it.. the gain was set way too high. I wired it to 8 ohms.. and turned the gain way up, and when I rewired it, I didn't turn it down. The main reason I want a 2 channel amp for the sub, is cause' I want to run it at 4 ohms... the amp I have right now has 0.3% THD into a 2 ohm load... I figure thats kinda bad. I'll definately hook my new sub up to my current amp to see how it sounds though.

Are you absolutely sure its a dual 4 ohm sub?

0.3% THD is far below the human limit of human hearing. Especialy in the sub bass range. The very best of us can only hear 1% and that is in midrange where are ears are the most sensitive. Also, simply stating .3% THD is BS stat that only consumer electronics gets away with. That crap doesn't fly in my world. Here is what Rane electronics has to say about it.
http://www.rane.com/note145.html

Essentialy there is alot more to the distortion that we hear then just THD. To summerize, don't ditch your amp based on that or by another one based on THD either.

You'll notice, that these days companies are making less and less large 2 channel amplifiers. Class D technology is getting to the point of being just as clean as class AB and it produces much more effecient power. Because of this, in my opinion atleast, powering a sub with more then 300 watts from a 2 channel is asinine. It just a waste of power and space.


Now a question for you, why a CDT sub? I never understood the fad.

 

[ChuEy826]

I'm not 100% on wether or not its a dual 4 ohm.. but my friend said it was when he gave it to me.

Depending on how clear the sound is when I get everything in, I think I'm probably going to keep the alpine sub amp. How's the Alpine 2 channel V-Power? Would that be a good match for my components up front?

I got the CDT sub just for the hell of it. I have their front components, and I'm more than happy with them. I bought a pair of CDT components for the rear, and I'm planning to power those with the head unit. I bought them because I carry people around a lot, and I get a lot of comments on the sound from the front, but from the rear nobody gets music.. just bass. Even if I turn down the bass, the sound isn't as good as I want it to be back there. I also enjoy a bit of music coming from the back.. dunno why. Seeing as how I am going to have all CDT speakers up front, I figure it was only fitting to have a CDT sub. I like the general look of it, and though I haven't had a chance to hear it, I know I would always wonder how it would sound, so I had to get it. My other option was to get an Image Dynamics sub.. which sound great, but it would have definately tempted me to get a much better amp.. which would just lead to me spending a lot more money in the near future.

 

[1sty]

I'm not 100% on wether or not its a dual 4 ohm.. but my friend said it was when he gave it to me.

Depending on how clear the sound is when I get everything in, I think I'm probably going to keep the alpine sub amp. How's the Alpine 2 channel V-Power? Would that be a good match for my components up front?

I got the CDT sub just for the hell of it. I have their front components, and I'm more than happy with them. I bought a pair of CDT components for the rear, and I'm planning to power those with the head unit. I bought them because I carry people around a lot, and I get a lot of comments on the sound from the front, but from the rear nobody gets music.. just bass. Even if I turn down the bass, the sound isn't as good as I want it to be back there. I also enjoy a bit of music coming from the back.. dunno why. Seeing as how I am going to have all CDT speakers up front, I figure it was only fitting to have a CDT sub. I like the general look of it, and though I haven't had a chance to hear it, I know I would always wonder how it would sound, so I had to get it. My other option was to get an Image Dynamics sub.. which sound great, but it would have definately tempted me to get a much better amp.. which would just lead to me spending a lot more money in the near future.

The V power alpine 2 channel puts out 50 x 2 but doesn't have an adjustable crossover, just a switch. To match the other amps its fine though, just not as flexible in tuning as I like. If you need more power then that and still want to match the other alpine amp then use the alpine MRP-F240 and bridge it to 2 channels. That will give you 100x2, still no adjustable crossovers though.

 

[ChuEy826]

Will my head unit make up for the lack of crossovers? The thing has got some crazy 13 band equilizer and high / low pass filters, so I was thinking I woudln't really need the tuning options as much on the amps.. though it would be nice.

I want to have a lot of power running to my speakers, but my biggest concern is that the stock wiring won't be able to handle the power. Also, I believe Poseur was able to run speaker wires to his front speakers, but he had to do a lot of modifying to the plug type thing in the door. Will I have to worry about doing this if I run 100 x 2 to the front speakers?

Have you heard any of the CDT subwoofers? Was it a bad decision to go with em? Thanks for your advice 1sty, you probably just saved me a couple hundred bucks. BTW thats a real nice car / bike combo you've got going there, looks like someone's got a need for speed(2thumbs)

 

[1sty]

Although I like the EQ's in headunits for setup, I prefer to have the amp do the task. Your right though that in your situation you can certainly use the deck. Its an awsome peice.

With more then 50 x4 RMS at 12 volts I would definilty upgrade the wiring. It dones't take much work really. Drilling theplug is the easy part. Getting the bastard out is harder.

I have not auditioned the cdt subs yet. I have yet to agree with the internet trends with audi equiptment. They sell as being just as god but less expensive. I have yet to agree. Doesn't mean its a bad sub or a bad choice.

The bike could be faster

 

[got wake?]

I have yet to agree with the internet trends with audi equiptment. They sell as being just as god but less expensive.

haven't tried a brahma yet, have you?(headbang)

 

[1sty]

haven't tried a brahma yet, have you?(headbang)

Yes I have heard a couple now. SQ wise, I think the JL W6 is easily there equal. SPL wise....no.

 

[ChuEy826]

I have yet to agree with the internet trends with audi equiptment. They sell as being just as god but less expensive. I have yet to agree. Doesn't mean its a bad sub or a bad choice.

Yeah, I went to check out this very high-end audio shop here in Riverside. They had people who really knew what they were talking about.. and they carried many quality products. The guy working there talked me through a lot of stuff.. even though he knew I was probably not going to buy anthing that day. In fact.. he even told me not to buy anthing, and think about it. He also showed me his almost stock looking honda accord, with a KILLER sound system.. it was some serious stuff. I was thinking about buying audio components from them, but the price was just way too high for me.

In my case, the internet is a Godsend, cause without it I would have never gotten the deals that I have found on audio equipment, and I would almost definately not have tried to build a nice system.

I guess its all how you look at things, but in my next car I'm definately going with some Rainbow or Morel speakers... or something of that sort. After all.. you do get what you pay for.