Amplifiers NOT to buy

[Explorer96xlt]

Lets start a list,

i think it might help the newbs (myself) who need to learn what crap to stay away from, and what to buy..

 

[Wagonized]

pyramid
legacy
pyle
jensen
rockwood

theres a long list

 

[Explorer96xlt]

how is clarion, or power acoustik?

 

[Dopler174]

pyramid
legacy
pyle
jensen
rockwood

theres a long list

WHOA-WHOA-WHOA! Now, lets start fresh before you bash some of these name brands...YES name brands. First of all, read the specs on everything. The reason for people having so much trouble with these brands are because they tend to abuse them. Very few amps are rated at two/one ohm(S) bridged. Most people bridge them for two ohms.They are rated for four ohms. (Affordable ones anyway!) The smaller company's do NOT build amps that can handle that kind of abuse. I have a Power Acoustik dvc 12 rated at 2 ohms per coil in my wife's Taurus with a legacy 1000w amp...ALL of it came from e-Bay. Brother, it pounds. I've also had a Boss 800w amp on two kicker comp 15's on a 91 civic hatch. I couldn't breath when I sat in the back seat. What are you trying to build up?

P. S. Jensen was top dog in the late 70's winning shows when most of us thought a woofer was a dog that never stopped barking.

 

[bamaboy1234]

i would always buy a power acoustik A3000 again, that was a great budget amp

 

[bigandbadranger]

i have a set of pa ****'s in a 15in size powerd by a quantum 2000.1.

i like
quantum
pioneer
hiphonics
zapco
panasonic
power acustic
profile
kicker
rockford fosgate
scoche
etc,,,,

theres tone of brands out there that work great but like dopler said they need to be used how they were made for

 

[bigandbadranger]

as far as hate. mainly alpine

 

[nvrenufedge]

I could see this thread startin' something between people. Although very interesting and informative. Take bigandbadranger for instance. Chances are he's had some bad luck with Alpine. I have had great luck with them, I've got two Alpine's. I'm not trying to make asumptions, so don't take it the wrong way. Everybody is gonna have brands that they like, and brands that they hate. I say go find yours.

P.S. I hate Sony car audio! lol and not a big fan of Rockford Fosgate for the about 5 years now.

 

[Explorer96xlt]

i just dont want to go out and buy junk that doesnt live up to its claimed wattage

 

[DOZIER]

I Think what would be better is if we had a sticky made here with amplifier brands, wattage claimed by the brand, and then post the true wattage the amplifier puts out. This way, there is no brand bashing and pissing anyone off. I feel this way, the person looking for an amplifer can judge what they need by looking at the stats on the brand and wattage it actually puts out. Does that sound feasable? I can post a few amplifiers and wattages being produced by a few amps. If everyone posts what they have and what it actually puts out. We can put it on a big list on a sticky somewhere.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

CPL has the right idea. I could easily see this turn into a big name calling personal brawl.

I have had some of the brands mentioned above, budget amplifiers mostly. They have served me well and to my knowledge are still working for the people who bought them from me. A true comparison test would be much more effective.

 

[DOZIER]

Amplifiers Claimed Wattage Actual Wattage Cost
Ample Audio 450 W RMS x 1 (4 ohms) About 400 RMS $300
A 1100DX 800 W RMS x 1 (2 ohms) N/A
1100 W RMS x 1 (1 ohm) N/A
Had this amplifier on two JL Audio W1 12's. Great amp. Paid 320 for it.

Mtx Audio
801D 12.5 VDC 2 Ohm Load 500 w x 1 About 700 RMS $300
14.4 VDC 2 Ohm Load 800 w x 1 -400
Had Three of these 801d's on 6 Mtx Thunder 5500 dvc 12's. Paid 525 each new.

1501D 12.5 VDC 2 Ohm Load 1000 w x 1 About 1500 RMS $400
14.4 VDC 2 Ohm Load 1500 w x 1 -500
Had one of these amps bridged on 6 MTX Thunder 5500 dvc 12's Awesome. Paid 500 used for it.

Mtx Thunder 8100 is pretty much the same as the 1501D.
Sony
Sony XM-D6000GTX 600W x 1 RMS into 2 Ohm About 300 max $150
-200
I had a bad experience with this one. I ran the two JL Audio subwoofers mentioned above on the Ample Audio amplifer. Then ran this Sony amp on them for about 30 seconds before I immediately unhooked it and traded this guy back the amp and called it crap. My Ample sounded 100 times better than this sony amp. Highly not reccomended unless you only need 300 watts or so.

US Amps
AX3000DE 3000w x 1 @ 1 ohm More like 3,600 RMS $1,200
-2,000
I have two of these currently with one on each sub. Was told by a very reliable source that these amps come alive at a half ohm. Putting down around 5,000 watts rms. Incredible power. However in the instruction manual it clearly states not to run any lower than one ohm.

Optimus (Radio Shack)
Optimus 400 Can't seem to find any info on it. Very first amplifier. I had it catch on fire on me in the back seat of my nissan 300zx. Please stay away from these. Very cheap to buy, and very cheaply made.

 

[Wagonized]

WHOA-WHOA-WHOA! Now, lets start fresh before you bash some of these name brands...YES name brands. First of all, read the specs on everything. The reason for people having so much trouble with these brands are because they tend to abuse them. Very few amps are rated at two/one ohm(S) bridged. Most people bridge them for two ohms.They are rated for four ohms. (Affordable ones anyway!) The smaller company's do NOT build amps that can handle that kind of abuse. I have a Power Acoustik dvc 12 rated at 2 ohms per coil in my wife's Taurus with a legacy 1000w amp...ALL of it came from e-Bay. Brother, it pounds. I've also had a Boss 800w amp on two kicker comp 15's on a 91 civic hatch. I couldn't breath when I sat in the back seat. What are you trying to build up?

P. S. Jensen was top dog in the late 70's winning shows when most of us thought a woofer was a dog that never stopped barking.

none of the brands i listed will put out anywhere near rated power with any of their amps. And their subs are very very poor. Theres a difference between buying cheap amps from a crap brand and entry level gear from a solid company. Im not bashing any comanies known for high quality products. The only reason pyramid or legacy etc companies are even recognized is because people know how low quality they are.

For cheap entry level amps...JBL, exile, concept are good choices among many others.

 

[SoundQ SVT]

i just dont want to go out and buy junk that doesnt live up to its claimed wattage

My first piece of advice to you is this: do not pay attention to "Max" or "Peak" or "ILS" (If Lightning Strikes....) power ratings on amps from ANY manufacturer. Only believe the RMS or continuous power ratings from the manufacturer for the load you are going to use it for. If there is a "CEA2006" rating on it, that too is a good rating to follow. Do this, and you'll have done all you can to avoid getting an amp that doesn't live up to its ratings.

 

[Explorer96xlt]

Is the Clarion DPX 11500 any good?

 

[bigandbadranger]

its not that i hate alpine but it more of a every one has them and there very much stolen in my area just becouse of the name

 

[Wagonized]

its not that i hate alpine but it more of a every one has them and there very much stolen in my area just becouse of the name

yea i agree....i try to stay away from mainstream brands...its fun owning something different from everyone else

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I Think what would be better is if we had a sticky made here with amplifier brands, wattage claimed by the brand, and then post the true wattage the amplifier puts out. This way, there is no brand bashing and pissing anyone off. I feel this way, the person looking for an amplifer can judge what they need by looking at the stats on the brand and wattage it actually puts out. Does that sound feasable? I can post a few amplifiers and wattages being produced by a few amps. If everyone posts what they have and what it actually puts out. We can put it on a big list on a sticky somewhere.

Anyone that has specs on an amp can PM or e-mail me promodmwrc@wmconnect.com

I will make a sticky & add to it as more comes in.

 

[HappyGilmore]

i have the JL Audio e1800D. its rated for 640 watts RMS at 4 ohms and 1000 watts RMS at 2 ohms. Im running 2 ohms in my truck.

 

[Burns]

No to fosgate.... Bad service and the X7 was the worst amp i have ever had....Blew it up 6 times......same part each time on the main board.....