What Amp Should I Use??

skitz · Newbie Joined: 06 Sep 2003 Posts: 17

So I finally got my tower and went ahead and purchased a set of cans from Raul. Like most, I am going with the MB Quart 216's as my speakers. Now I just need to figure out what kind of amp I need to run. I purchased four cans, but now that the tower has been fabricated, it looks like I am going to install only two of them to save some headroom. What channel/watt/ohm amp would do the best job? Like I said, I am an idiot when it comes to this stuff.

PortlandBrder · Soul Rider Joined: 18 Apr 2004 Posts: 352 City: Portland

are you eventually going to run all 4 tower speakers? whats the specs on your MB's.

skitz · Newbie Joined: 06 Sep 2003 Posts: 17

The speakers are 4 ohms with a frequency response of 38-32k. They handle 60-130 watts. I would eventually like to run 4 speakers for sure.

Bruky · Guest

I'm really hooked on JBL right now. Sound great (use similar tech. as JL) and are going for a fairly good price. A GTO 75.4 would work great for you.

skitz · Newbie Joined: 06 Sep 2003 Posts: 17

Does anyone else have any experiecne with JBL amps?

PortlandBrder · Soul Rider Joined: 18 Apr 2004 Posts: 352 City: Portland

Never used them. I had a simular topic that I posted. After reviewing everyones opinions I researched each amp that met my power needs. I ended up with Eclipse, PPI and MTX amps being the best for what I needed.

Let me know what your budget is and if you want to only run 1 or 2 amps?

mbrown2 · Newbie Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 16

JBL amps are one of the best values out there for the money...I frequent another board for hotboats and some members I know on there use them. They swear by them; don't get hot and are conservatively rated, and the power for dollar the best thing out there...I have not used them, but have them in boats and they sound great...

PortlandBrder · Soul Rider Joined: 18 Apr 2004 Posts: 352 City: Portland

I know JL are good amps but have no experience with the JBL line. I only heard that they are basically a cheaper version.

skitz · Newbie Joined: 06 Sep 2003 Posts: 17

I plan on using the amp to push my four 6.5 tower speakers. I don't have any other amps in the boat right now, but would maybe upgrade with a sub in the future. Right now I'm just taking it one step at a time. Money is not too much of a consideration, I just want a quality amp that will deliver optimal sound at a reasonable price. I don't need bells and whistles. Oh....when an amp is "conservatively rated", I am assuming that it makes good or better on the wattage that it promises.....right?

lumpy · Criminal Joined: 25 Jul 2003 Posts: 99

When I was doing my search I hit some of the electronic forums. US Acoustic was a name that came up alot-it is a brand that Crutchfield carries and it has a two year warranty on it if bought through them. A four channel (65rms per) ran around $150. If I would have bought something new I would have likely gone that direction but I wound up buying a used Sony XM3040F for $25, it pushes my Alpines (SPS170A & SPR174A) just fine. Don't know what I would buy if money was no object, my mind won't seem to work that way.

PortlandBrder · Soul Rider Joined: 18 Apr 2004 Posts: 352 City: Portland

Trust me don't buy US Accoustic, I made the mistake of listening to some guys from Crutchfield that didnt know jack about car electronics. I bought 3 US Accoustic amps. Worst mistake. Im ripping all three out, I spent all this money on high end speakers on my boat then turned around and bought some cheap amps. My system only runs about a third of what it should. So my 2 cents is buy a high end amp, like PPI, Eclipse, Zapco. They use much higher end parts and will power your system cleaner.

Bruky · Guest

In a sense JBL is a cheaper version of the JL stuff. Little less compact than the JL stuff as well. We had the oppurtunity of demo'ing some sound equipment for our boat, since with this install we have planned, we are going to be the ones keeping the audio shop in business. We tried out the Memphis M-Series of amps, and they sound great, are compact (built like bricks) and have individual fans. We tried some JL stuff, sounded great and we were totally reaching into our pockets to pick them up, but then we saw the JBL stuff and figured we would give them a chance right before we pulled out the money. They sounded almost as clear and had damn close the quality as the JL at a much lower price. The shop also had all of the JBL amps we needed for the install. That 1100 bucks we saved is going towards the 3 batteries, actuators, equalizers and everything else we are going to need soon. JL by far sounds the best, but per dollar, you get more bang with the JBL's.

PortlandBrder · Soul Rider Joined: 18 Apr 2004 Posts: 352 City: Portland

Bruky,

I guess you have to decide how serious you are about your system sounding the best it can. Sounds like JBL is the way to go for the best bang for your buck.

Bruky · Guest

PortlandBrder, I'm just curious about your sig. I know, as I have often seen, it looks like a lot of people on the lake with VLX's and Nauti's can't even jump the wake, do a 180, etc, but how do you know that it's not just their buddy that is learning or something...ussually the guy who owns the boat won't be riding. He'll be doing most of the driving...just a thought as I always see your sig.

Sorry about the hi-jacking.

skitz · Newbie Joined: 06 Sep 2003 Posts: 17

Thanks for the info everyone. Looks like I might be heading toward a JBL. I'll let you know how I like it once everything is up and running.

skitz · Newbie Joined: 06 Sep 2003 Posts: 17

Thanks for the info everyone. Looks like I might be heading toward a JBL. I'll let you know how I like it once everything is up and running.

lumpy · Criminal Joined: 25 Jul 2003 Posts: 99

The consensus on one of the sites was the US Acoustic stuff has been declining in quality over the last couple of years, sounds like that is no rumor. Kinda glad I didn't spend the money now. I will have to second the "not knowing jack" thing regarding the Crutchfield reps. I am always amazed at their lack of actual electronic knowledge, lots of marketing hipe though. Its just hard to beat the "been there, done that" guy or like the Bruky approach, find a way to demo.

PortlandBrder · Soul Rider Joined: 18 Apr 2004 Posts: 352 City: Portland

Bruky,

Good point. But when you ride in the same spot for years on end you see the same boats on the lake. I would never make fun of somone who tried real hard to get good. I just making light of the people who buy these boats and gear and just kick it. But when you talk to them at the bar they give you a line of B.S. on all the inverts they through that day. Trust me I see it all the time. Bunch of Posers.