Amplifiers NOT to buy

[DOZIER]

Dan
You don't want me to email you all that stuff all over again after I typed it up do you?

 

[Dopler174]

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.

Your right on the sub part. ALLWAYS be careful with subs. I personally don't even look at product names. Pyle, American Pro, Phoenix Gold, DEI, It's all the same to me. I read the RMS rating, Ohm load, DB rating, Motor weight in Oz, and the noise ratios....That's about it. Then I find the shoe that fits and wear it. The only product that I don't even look at is Sony. I find that the subs are good, the amps are good, but the radios...I'll pass. I've had 3 quit on me, and everyone of my friends have had the same thing.

 

[Wagonized]

Your right on the sub part. ALLWAYS be careful with subs. I personally don't even look at product names. Pyle, American Pro, Phoenix Gold, DEI, It's all the same to me. I read the RMS rating, Ohm load, DB rating, Motor weight in Oz, and the noise ratios....That's about it. Then I find the shoe that fits and wear it. The only product that I don't even look at is Sony. I find that the subs are good, the amps are good, but the radios...I'll pass. I've had 3 quit on me, and everyone of my friends have had the same thing.

theres a lot more to it than just reading specs...its super easy for a brand to lie about their specs as it is their power ratings. Speakers, amps, woofers, head units it doesnt matter...a shady brand is a shady brand.

When Im ready to spend money on part of my setup I research it for months online until making my move. Reviews, competition scores, advice works wonders. Plus emailing the company directly with any concerns you have helps a lot too. And if possible if you can listen to the component in a car environment before purchasing that helps a lot too.

 

[nvrenufedge]

If you want closer to actual specs, look at the ratings at 12 volts. NOT 14 volts.

 

[Wagonized]

If you want closer to actual specs, look at the ratings at 12 volts. NOT 14 volts.

that makes no difference...if they're lieing about the specs they'll like at all voltages.

also i personally play my system for the most part while the vehicle is running and im driving. With a strong electrical system you shouldnt drop below 14 volts unless its an extreme case

 

[nvrenufedge]

that makes no difference...if they're lieing about the specs they'll like at all voltages.

also i personally play my system for the most part while the vehicle is running and im driving. With a strong electrical system you shouldnt drop below 14 volts unless its an extreme case

Then if it makes no difference, why do companies list specs in 12 volts AND 14 volts?? Most I've seen say one thing for 12 and another for 14..............OK, it used to be like that. I justed checked a couple of websites and they don't list 12 volts. I know they used to.

 

[Wagonized]

Then if it makes no difference, why do companies list specs in 12 volts AND 14 volts?? Most I've seen say one thing for 12 and another for 14..............OK, it used to be like that. I justed checked a couple of websites and they don't list 12 volts. I know they used to.

theres supposed to be a difference between 12 and 14 volts.

power = voltage X current

if the current draw stays the same from 12 volts to 14 volts your amp power will increase.

Its not hard to estimate the power difference if an amp does for instance 1000 watts @ 14.4 volts its not like its going to do 300 watts at 12 volts. Providing you believe the 1000 watt rating to be genuine

 

[Dopler174]

theres a lot more to it than just reading specs...its super easy for a brand to lie about their specs as it is their power ratings. Speakers, amps, woofers, head units it doesnt matter...a shady brand is a shady brand.

When Im ready to spend money on part of my setup I research it for months online until making my move. Reviews, competition scores, advice works wonders. Plus emailing the company directly with any concerns you have helps a lot too. And if possible if you can listen to the component in a car environment before purchasing that helps a lot too.

Agreed. I also read for a LONG time before I purchase. You usually can tell the lairs pretty quickly. For example: The rating is 2000 Watts but the amp is only 8 inches by 10 inches. There is no way. More like 200 watts, If that! What I do is compare. I'll find the hot deal that I want, then find the same type of amp with a major name brand and line every single spec up, from size/weight to what RCA input voltage rating they use.

 

[Wagonized]

Agreed. I also read for a LONG time before I purchase. You usually can tell the lairs pretty quickly. For example: The rating is 2000 Watts but the amp is only 8 inches by 10 inches. There is no way. More like 200 watts, If that! What I do is compare. I'll find the hot deal that I want, then find the same type of amp with a major name brand and line every single spec up, from size/weight to what RCA input voltage rating they use.

yea its all about research..knowledge is power. If it wasnt for the internet I would have wasted 10x as much money as I already have. And thats a lot.

 

[DOZIER]

yea its all about research..knowledge is power. If it wasnt for the internet I would have wasted 10x as much money as I already have. And thats a lot.

What he said....Without the internet..I would be lost. Forums, reviews, more forums.

 

[SoundQ SVT]

theres supposed to be a difference between 12 and 14 volts.

power = voltage X current

if the current draw stays the same from 12 volts to 14 volts your amp power will increase.

Its not hard to estimate the power difference if an amp does for instance 1000 watts @ 14.4 volts its not like its going to do 300 watts at 12 volts. Providing you believe the 1000 watt rating to be genuine

I disagree with the statement that there is "supposed" to be a difference in the power output at 12v vs 14v. It is entirely a function of how tightly or loosely regulated the power supply is.

If an amp has a very tightly regulated power supply, there could be little to no difference in power output at 12 volts and 14 volts. Conversely, if the power supply is very loosely regulated, there could be a significant difference in power output.

Neither approach is better than the other in the grand scheme of things, but one may be more suited to a particular application than the other. I tend to prefer amplifiers that are tightly regulated myself.

My Xtant X604 amplifiers are tightly regulated amps, and are extremely high quality and good sounding as well.

 

[Wagonized]

I disagree with the statement that there is "supposed" to be a difference in the power output at 12v vs 14v. It is entirely a function of how tightly or loosely regulated the power supply is.

If an amp has a very tightly regulated power supply, there could be little to no difference in power output at 12 volts and 14 volts. Conversely, if the power supply is very loosely regulated, there could be a significant difference in power output.

Neither approach is better than the other in the grand scheme of things, but one may be more suited to a particular application than the other. I tend to prefer amplifiers that are tightly regulated myself.

My Xtant X604 amplifiers are tightly regulated amps, and are extremely high quality and good sounding as well.

ya you're right there. Regulated power supplies are fairly rare though compared to non-regulated

 

[KPT]

Run away from Sony as fast as you can.... I had two 200x2 or some such Sony amps. Both died twice under warranty. I admit they were running two ohms bridged mono at times. One of the techs at the place I got them said to run them at that, and I said aren't they not stable at 2 ohms mono. He shrugged. Both of these amps are non-functional after receiving them from warranty repair and NOT running them at 2 ohms mono. Resistors melted, pics follow. People if you want these pay shipping and you can have them.

 

[Nocturnall]

Not trying to bash any companies but Fosgate sucks, Sony too. My buddy spent over $1000 on subs and an amp for rockford fosgate subs and a "1000watt" amp or something like that. My 2 xtant subs with my 400 watt kicker amp was 10x louder then his setup. His setup is now in a dumpster because the amp crapped the bed several times and he got tired of fixing it and the subs kept blowing. I adjusted everything properly for him upon install so I know he didn't have the setting's messed up.

I'd like to go with JL stuff. Something about 1 of the 10inch w7 subs shaking the whole car audio section at tweeter makes me think that would be decent in my x. Just expensive.

 

[Wagonized]

my experience with sony really wasnt all that bad. The first amp i ever bought was a sony explode 100 X 2 and it worked just fine.

Once I moved on to better gear i ran it full tilt bridged at 0.33 ohm for about 15 minutes until it bit the dust.

 

[DOZIER]

Its always fun smoking an amp that you don't care about.

 

[Wagonized]

Its always fun smoking an amp that you don't care about.

ya it worked out well because i sent it in for warranty then sold it for nearly what I paid for it because sony gave me a whole new amp rather than fixing my broken one

 

[gsx220]

i blew up two kenwood amps ( my fault over powered them with bigger subs) and one sony amp that was just a poor amp all together but i love my JL amps they have nice clean power sometimes i think they under rate them,

 

[Lateralus28]

Phoenix Gold amps period. Eclipse aluminum cone subs

 

[LONO100]

i been playing with car audio for over 15 years, i used to sell them and install them too. it's way too easy to make generalizations with just brand names. we are talking brands, different models, and different years components were made in. you never know unless someone points out a particular piece and then start a discussion on it. for example, clarion decks were the **** during the late 90's to early 00's, but started to fall off in quality in the last couple of years. same thing with pioneer amps and speakers.

some of the audio component brands that stay high quality and durable throughout time from my personal experience using them, installing them and selling them are:

ALPIINE
MTX
JL
BLAUPLUNKT
INFINITY
MONSTER

there are plenty more to mention as well. it would probably be best if someone points out a particular part and then we can break it down. just my opinion.