Hey dude....

Since you're into the more offbrand, umm... how shall I put this..."inexpensive" car audio, give me some ideas on an amp that will push the following, with the following parameters:

1 ohm mono load stable
remote bass adjustment (optional)
accepts 2 gauge wire inputs
will safely drive 2- Soundstream SPL 15 DVC subs with 4 ohm coils(500 watts per coil) down to previously mentioned 1 ohm mono load


The Pioneer is doing fine now, but I know the subs are WAAAAYYYY underpowered. Have a line on a Soundstream Reference 500SX for $150-175, which I've been seriously pondering, as the old Soundstream (NOT PowerAcoustik) line was a beast in the 1 ohm range, as well as matching the subs. Also thought about ditching the SPL's and buying a set of Phoenix Gold TI 12's off the guy who has the Soundstream amp...could go with a smaller enclosure as well. If I redo the 15" enclosure, I'm going to go away from the sealed box and build a ported enclosure, probably a slot port as I like the SQ much better than a round port box, but the ported enclosure for the pair of 15's will be damned near 4 cu ft. so we may have to build it in-car...hell, I dunno Picked up a pair of Infinity Reference 6.05S components for $50 to replace the old paper cone Alpines in the front. Sticking so damned much into the cars that it's hard to justify dumping $400+ on a class D mono sub amp or even a decent 2 channel bridgeable amp right now. Have a line on a new PowerAcoustik Gothic series 1600 for $200 NIB, but I dunno :?

Also in the process of doing a system for a friends sunfire....1 Soundstream T2-15 Tarantula in a slot port enclosure...real nice except dipshit doesn't know jack about car stereos and bought a sub with 1 ohm coils, so the best we can do is 2 ohm mono then buys an amp (the PowerAcoustik) which only runs a 2 ohm stereo and 4 ohm mono load

Some days I HATE installing other peoples stuff, especially when they don't know JACK about car audio....they just look on the internet, buy the biggest damned cheap amp they can find, and expect it to work with any speaker....

Hey Brando...

Heres a couple for you to ponder over that I was checking out.....

Kenwood KAC-X811D (brand new for 2005)
http://www.kenwood-electronics.com.my/c ... 212&CatID=

Memphis 16-ST1000D
Memphis 16-MC1000D
Memphis 16-PR1KD

Or maybe a Memphis "Belle" 6 channel, and lose all the other amps

I just don't like the PowerAcoustik idea too well :?

Guess I could go nuts and buy an Xtant 1001DX

Kinda leaning towards the Kenwood, as my other 2 amps will be Kenwood as well, as soon as I get the 2nd installed...then I can sell the Profile I have running my rear components, as well as the 2 channel Pioneer currently on my subs. Just need to find time to do everything

I've been hearing good things about the Memphis amps, although I don't know anyone who's running one....yet anyways...supposed to be pretty high power in a small package, from what I've been told.

Yes, those Memphis amps are supposed to be good performers....that would be my choice out of that list....with Soundstream being a close second. Soundstream today is nothing like what it used to be. Soundstream is now no longer american made....they got the little china shop kids making their amps now... So build quality went down, thus amp quality went down.

XTANT is a..hmmm...overpriced shit I'm sure it sounds good, but you can do better.

The Memphis Belle....that is a huge ass amp...you should get it!

TOC Admin
Brando

A couple other good brands to look at are Viper/DEI/Orion....can't go wrong with any of their amps...Old School or New School, look on ebay.



TOC Admin
Brando

Kinda the same way with Rockford,MTX and others....if you can buy it at Best Buy/Circuit City when it was previously only available at a stereo shop, that kinda tells you something

The Memphis' all look pretty decent...that new Kenwood doesn't look too bad either, although I don't know how much worse they've gotten over the years....had a stereo friend say about the Orions, especially the old school versions. I see MTX does have a new mono block amp that appears pretty fair...

Cmon now...you're always talking stereos any other time...throw me up some of those oddball brands and some model #'s so I can check em out. I'm not afraid to go offbrand if it's good equipment...who knows, maybe I'll start a new trend! I could always go with 2 smaller 2 ohm mono amps rather than one large one, but it would be even MORE wiring, etc. I like the idea of the 5 channel Memphis Belle, with the exception of the fact that IF theres a problem, the whole friggin system goes down :? Less wiring, more room in the long run, etc....if I did that I'd have so much freakin stereo equipment for sale it'd be scary!!!
3 amps
1 crossover
1 bass driver
probably the parametric EQ

Here would be my choice to push those subs, 1200w RMS @ 1 ohm:
Viper D1200.1
Another good one, 1100w RMS @ 1 ohm:
DEI 1500D

TOC Admin
Brando

If you really wanna pound the shit out of those subs:
Viper D2500.1


TOC Admin
Brando

Aha, I may have a brand you might be interested in as far as "no one has heard of"....

Interfire
IFD-1000C

You can get one and I'm sure that'd be plenty of power to make some boom, but you can get two, sync them together and get twice the power....1 ohm stable

TOC Admin
Brando

Another great amp here, and pretty cheap:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 5761756758

1000 wrms @ 1 ohm.....and it uses Tripath technology so it's easier on the alternator.



TOC Admin
Brando

Currently looking at the following possibilities:
Kicker KX 1200

Soundstream Reference 500 (older Soundstream)

JL Audio 500/1

Still undecided at this point...all depends on the wallet LOL

JL Audio...are you serious, I thought you said "inexpensive"?

Hifonics would be a good brand to look at too!

TOC Admin
Brando

Well...I did, but after further thought, we're talking 2 15" DVC's pushing 500 watts RMS per coil, so......

Theres inexpensive, and then theres downright wasting money

If they were offbrand or something less, I wouldn't be as concerned, but since they are high quality I may as well spend the $$$ and do it right once. Just cause they're older, doesn't mean they can't beat the shit outta many of the newer subs on the market.

Thought about HiFonics too, but heard they'd slipped down the rail a ways in past years, kinda like Lanzar, RF, Soundstreams NEW stuff, and MTX with their Thunder series.

Missed out on a sweet deal on a high end Diamond Audio amp, but it only went 2 ohm mono, and I'd rather go 1 ohm mono if possible. Why not drive em down that low if possible, ya know? Most of the real high power stuff doesn't push serious wattage till you get into the 2 ohm and under range anyways.
Plan on losing the sealed box, and going to a larger slot port box....after having a couple slot ported boxes, I can't stand the sound of a round port box anymore...too damned much port noise compared to a slot port. It isn't like I don't have the room to build a bigger box

"Hmmmmm....I think I need a bigger box" 8)

Well, I picked up the Soundstream 500SX for $170, fresh out of the shop after a thorough going thru.......

BUT......

then I got on EvilBay and came across a screaming deal on......

Memphis Belle 16-MC600D 5 channel.....heh heh heh

55x4 RMS at 4 ohms and 400x1 at 1 ohm rms, built in crossovers and the whole shot.....

SOOOOO.....I'm about to have a whole shitload of car stereo stuff for sale including....

Kenwood KAC-723 2 channel bridgeable
Kenwood KAC-823 2 channel bridgeable w/ fan and sub xover
Pioneer 760 2 channel bridgeable w/ sub xover
Profile Baja series 2 channel bridgeable w/ sub xover and bass boost
MTX 3 way electronic crossover
Alpine 4 channel 7 band parametric EQ
MA Audio bass driver w/ remote bass frequency/phase/ and level adjust(similar to AudioControl Epicenter)
Crunch DS/VU power meter/crossover/ preamp filter (yep Brando, it's the same one....lol)

Will have prices and such soon enough...all pieces are in good working order, good condition, and are being pulled from a fully functioning audio system....just don't need it anymore as everything is built into the Memphis Belle

How much was the Memphis Belle?
What is your speaker setup?

That's a lot to sell!

I wondering, was all that really necessary? I know the Crunch DS-VU was
But crossover on all the amps, MTX crossover, crossover on the Crunch....that's a lot of crossovers...basically, why the MTX crossover?

TOC Admin
Brando