So I've been having issues with my stereo and the techs seem to think it's my amp. I have an alpine MRVF450 amp and when it is cold out (since it's winter) when I start my car up I get no sound from the left speakers. Once it warms up the speakers will flicker and pop and start working properly again. (Sometimes happens after warming up and hitting a bump) Once the speakers work I haven't had them stop working again until I turn off the car and don't start it up again until hours later. Well I have the techs test it and they can't find anything wrong with it. Unfortunately they're kinda half retarded and "can't replicate the conditions" for the tests I specify. I guess they don't have a fridge or a place to leave it outside for a couple hours or something... So they're gonna send it to alpine and "get an estimate" for me. Whatever the hell that means. If the ____ is broken, fix it or replace it. How hard is that? ANYWHOO, if it can't be fixed and they pull a jagoff move and make me pay I'm just going to get a new amp.

So does anyone know of a good amp to replace the MRVF450?
This is my setup:
Pioneer DEHP3800MP
Alpine Subwoofer SWS1022D
lpine 6 1/2 Inch Speakers SPS171A
Alpine 6 1/2 Inch Speakers SPS17C2

 

Change speakers around. Take the left and plug into the right. If it still does it then its not your amp. Alpine charges a flat fee to fix there amps. Just call them and ask. I had my local dealer tell me it was a 150 flat fee to fix mine, but when i called Alpine they told me it was 70.

 

deffinetly just take you speaker wires on the amp and flip them. ALSO DO THIS WITH YOUR RCAS. If it now happens with the right speakers instead of left, it means its an amp thing. If it still does it on the left speakers, its the wiing to the speakers themselves.

Do all the combinations. Speaker wires correct, flip speaker wires, flip rcas, etc!!!

 

Alpine already has my amp... so testing it at this point does nothing...

 

do you want another alpine or what are you willing to look into? budget?

 

Well if all the alpines have issues with cold weather, I should probably go with another brand. I hate to spend more money on the damn thing but I'd probably spend up to about $400 on it. I don't need anything more powerful than the alpine one, just a comparable model (and one that, ideally, will last me the lifetime of my tC).

 

for 4-channels under $400 i would recommend a Sundown 100.4. It has a retail price of $450, but can commonly be found at online dealers for much less. They're some of the most well-built amps around. The boards are Zenon-sourced....one of the top Asian amp makers. The things are a brick....they just won't break. 2 year warranty on them, and 5 year replacement discount if anything happens to it after the first two years. tons of crossover and filter options...it's fully loaded. does 100x4@4 ohms. i used to be a dealer for them....never had a single one come back with any issues. its what i run now.

now, there are plenty of other options though. i'm not gonna cover the mainstream ones simply because you can go to crutchfield's page and do as much research there as you want. just stay away from stuff like crunch, lanzar, pyle, pyramid, profile, or power acoustick.

eD nine.4 65x4@4 ohms - $245
any Arc Audio 4 channel would do fine
Audison SRX 4 - $250 at woofersetc.com
Boston Acoustics GT-40 - $300 at woofers...might be a bit low on power though
Diamond D6300.4 $350 at woofers...again might be a lil low on power but you decide
Eclipse EA4000 $255 at woofers
JL 300/4 $390 at woofers
Kicker ZX350.4 $210 at woofers
Phoenix Gold Ti500.4 open box at woofers 4370
Zapco I-450 $230 at woofers