I'm in the market to shop for some nice amplifers.

One to power my mids and highs, and the other to possible power to 10's in the future.

So I've narrowed it down to 2 amps one being a 4channel, the other a 2 channel.

I'm looking at getting into either Xtant | JL | Diamond Audio | PPI

Can someone with some expertise, help in determining which mfr. I should go with. I can't ask those car audio sales guys cause their all bias on what they actually carry, so of course there going to bump what they only sell.

Thanks guys.

 

you can't go wrong with either amps...
i have yet to hear a newer ppi amp... so i can't comment on those amps... I just hope they aren't just reshelled orion/directed amps...
i used to rock older xtant 301/302 series amps in my first civic and loved them, super clean for their price range...
JL is great stuff, super clean but a tad on the pricier side, if you use a a 450/4, and a 500/1, you can get away with running only 4 guage and a 2.5 farad cap, and your lights won't dim...
Diamond is also great stuff... just make sure you take advantage of them... don't use any components (radio, speakers) out of its league otherwise you won't be able to recieve it's full potential... your system is only as good as your weakest link...

 

excelant advice ^^^^^^^

all of them work, it just comes down to price and style

 

Excellent advice guys thank you! I'll be amp hunting into the new year! Your help is greatly appreciated?

btw...is there a brief way you can explain what the heck going to 2Ohm load, rather rather a 4 Ohm load will help do?? I get lost in that jargon every time?!?!

 

Since your interior speakers play a wider frequency range i would recommend leaving it at a 4 ohm load, Most aftermarket car audio speakers are made to have a ~4 ohm resistance ...whether it being one set of speakers or components... this gives the speakers more headroom.

however for bass, since you normally don't go higher then 125 hz, some as high as 500... you can get away with running a lower impedance... like 2 ohms...

before purchasing an amp/sub combo, you must take into consideration if you will be getting the max out of your system...

if an amp makes max power at a 4 ohm load... then you would get the speaker combo that would be able to be wired at that impedance... (single dual 2 ohm, or 2 dual 4 ohm wired in series parallel... quad 1 ohm..?!)

here's a tutorial for wiring up subs from jl's website...
http://jlaudio.com/tutorials/wiring/index.html


BTW nice wheels!

 

I'd Say go with Lunaramplifiers. Little guys I like to call Soundquality/cheater amps. :D Runs 4ohm, 2ohms stable, and 1ohm for 30 seconds... The amps are rated on real world power giving you a true wattage at standard 12.5v. In other words, lunaramplifers rating will be 40 watts per channel, which compares to say another companies 60 to 80 watt "claim". You have to call to order, and the sound quality is astounding. www.lunaramplifiers.com Great stuff for Speakers and Subs.
I know because I own the 40x2 and the 100x2

 

The e series amplifers have all the patented (yes patended) circuirty of the "Slash" series you mention. Because the amplifiers do not have R.I.P.S. (Regulated Intelligent Power Supply) they are much less expensive. The amps are rated with realistc in-car voltage (12.5V). You'll need more than a single 4 ga wire to supply a 500/1 and a 450/4 (you'll want at least a 2 ga) and you can skip the capacitor.
If other manufacturers recommend their capacitors to make their amps work right that's fine. The question is: why should you give them more $$ to make their amps work right? Shouldn't the amp be designed correctly in the first place?
Here's a review of the e6450 by "Carsound and Performance" magazine.
http://carsound.com/articles/publish/article_268.shtml
This amp is capable of powering front, rear and subwoofers for a suggested retail price $449.95.
The rest of the e series line-up can be seen here: http://www.jlaudio.com/amps/index.html

 

Check out Memphis Audio, they have a really nice 5 channel Mojo 600 watt amp.

http://www.memphiscaraudio.com/produ...cat=&id=28&p=2

"The MC600D provides four 55 watt channels and a 400 watt @ 1ohm 5th channel. Built in crossovers feature an 18dB slope, and are fully variable from 40-6kHz. This makes bi-amping separates a possibility when no rear channels are used.

Channel 5 has a fully variable low-pass crossover, a sub-sonic filter and an wired remote gain control. "

 

Listen to Mr Hing, he is giving out very good advice.

 

What are you going to run and what's your budget?

I'd stay away from PPI and the Diamond D5's. The Diamond D7 and the older PPI PC and Art are great though.

Xtant use to be top notch but now they're just overpiced IMHO. Their heyday is over.

JL's stuff is nice for the price though, but not at retail.

Who pays retail anymore? If you plan to then get with me and I'll try to hook you up with a few internet buddies.

 

I'm a huge fan of the older style PPI amps...they rocked hard when I had my 2200 and 2400. Diamonds I've just recently picked up on...I have a buddy of mine running alot of their newer stuff. Very high dollar though.

Xtant is still a new amp, but your right about the $$$ tag.

I'll be leaning more towards the JL line of amps. I'm still sketchy on what to look exactly, its been such a long time, since I've been so involved in a stero set-up.

Price is flexible, I'm will to go top quality, to an extend. Max I'd pay for a 4channel is no more then $350-500. Theres no way in hell I paying retail anymore!

I've work in the aftermarker industry long enough, to know that now! :D

Let me know what kinda help your buddies can provide, I'm sure we can work something out. Just pm the details!

Thanks!

 

That's because MTX bought them.

 

hehe yea, damn Mitek Corp.

Rockford's stock dipping down to the $2 range, would be interesting if Mitek came in and took them out!

 

they are main competitors i doubt they will...

 

If you had a chance to kill off your main competitor.....MUHAHAHA

 

Hey oneslowxa...

I meant to comment on your nice install. I happen to look at those photos in your gallery.

How do you like the new RFG line. I just recently saw there new stuff at Best Buy combing the car audio during the X-mas shopping.

I really like the look of there new amps and subs. But I've been really border line with them with all the neg buzz about there products within the last year or so...care to comment?

 

thanks for the kind words

Rockford amps are definetly power hungry amps... they make more power when you give more power...

Are the last years Rockford punch lines like the old Punch amps that took 1.3 ohm? no, Rockford "toned down" their amps, more as a safety/liability precaution since they were moving into a big box type of store....

Most products out there are good products... installers, "installers" or backyard mechanics, on the other hand make or break the way people percieve the brands...

i love the sound of p1 subs, bang for the buck they have a nice clean hit, very comparable to a Jl w0 sub only with a little more low end, while the jl has a tighter hit...
P2s and p3's are more of the knock your socks of bass... they sound like the older series he, and punch hx2 subs...
T1's are like a grown up version of the p1 that takes more power and has more lows...
and a t2's are just uncalled for... a very loud and clean sub...

the worst/nicest thing about the new amps are they look good but they are huge...
oh and they take 00 guage power wire directly to the power series amps
which means absolutely nothing in ours cars... maybe i can be the first to run a dual alternator setup... on a 1.5 liter =D

 

Maybe I'll have to look at other options...00 gauge is Huuugh! But very nice... :D

Do RFG amps produce clean power...I've remember someone tell me that these amps to your mids and highs, aren't really good...any truth to that?

 

punch series and power series aren't the cleanest amps on the market, but they aren't the worse amps... they are unregulated which means that they were designed more to be get loud then anything else... some guys around here have heard my system and still think it's ultra clean... i've been in car audio for awhile and although it's pretty clean... there are cleaner amps out there..
this all depends on what you have heard.. and what you are comparing them too (price wise)... please guys don't go comparing a 350 dollar amp with a 1500 dollar amp.. there is a reason there is a price difference... although jl is one of the few brands that still give a lot of clean power for the buck... speaking of clean for the buck power... I miss my old xtant amps... oh wait didn't the engineers move to jl ?


type RF amplifiers on the other hand are strictly sq amps... i don't care much for the design however... but sound really good...

 

Hey oneslowxa!

You've been a big help this past week. As well as everyone else thats put in our the topic.

I think I'm well prepared to ask the right questions, and shop for the right spec.s for my set-up...or atleast I feel confident enough again. Those salesmen can be really brutal when it come to sellings things customers dont want.

I think JL might just be one...but I'll have to do alittle more homework. :?