Amps??????

Slaytwebeling · Addict Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 892 City: Houston

What kind and size of amp do y'all reccomend for [4 - 125 WATTS 2 WAY ENCLOSURES

4 - 55 WATT ULTRA WHITE LIGHTS [/b] Question

Slaytwebeling · Addict Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 892 City: Houston

does any1 even know anything about amps

Rogan Oliver · Newbie Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 20 City: Norris Lake

I just picked up a Phoenix Gold Tantrum 600.4. It's not in the boat yet, but I'll let you know how it sounds.
Rogan Oliver

slaydit · Posted: Mar 10, 2003 7:08 pm Post subject:

anything over 500 will sound decent. if i were you id get a 750 or somthing. Fosgate throws down some dope shyt.

-jey

grady · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 547 City: d-block

yea but fosgate also costs sum deep shyt too...but its worth the money. all of their equipment is awesome..never heard n e thing bad about em.

as far as ur amp goes....like jey said..n e thing over 500..n e thing less wouldnt push it as good as it needed too. kenwood makes a nice 600 watt amp that would get the job done.

Mike Isler · Moderator Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 718 City: New York

This belongs in Non-Wake Discussion, and is being moved....

RYDOG · Outlaw Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 163 City: NOR CAL

I'd go with phoenix gold over fosgate.

Lyte Skin · Outlaw Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 210 City: San Angelo, TX

go fosgate.
anything else is a waste of money in the long run.
the fosgate will out last anything on the market.

Ryan_m · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 653 City: glen ellyn

i dont know much about what amps to use and what not........ yet i know how to and have made amps before.

RYDOG · Outlaw Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 163 City: NOR CAL

FOSGATE IS GOOD, JUST NOT HIGH END QUALITY... THERE ARE A LOT BETTER AMPS OUT THERE.

George · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 552 City: Chattanooga

well if an amp that cost 350 and only has like 500 watts it better be good. I didn't even spend half that for a 1400 amp. It is a crunch but they aren't terrable. I know everyone is going to say they suck but geez y spend 400 more for a RF amp or PG amp.

franknbeans · Soul Rider Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 272 City: Ft. Worth

Soundstream. expensive, but can handle something like .25 ohm load. they like to work really hard, kinda like mexicans. Wink

RYDOG · Outlaw Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 163 City: NOR CAL

George, I am not trying to bag on you, but your crunch amp really on has around 200 true watts if that. They really are junk. You do get what you pay for with amps in power and sound quality. If you are looking for a good sub amp at a good price, check out the JBL BP1200.1. You can get it on ebay for $260.

wakedork · Posted: Mar 12, 2003 11:19 am Post subject:

if you like Rockford but want inexpensive go for Lighting Audio. Rockford makes them. But if you're looking for a deal here are three things to look fro in an amp.

Wattage- all amps rate their wattage some are over rated some are underrated, rockford and PG both come with "Birth Certificates" this shows what the amp actually did on the test bench most times 30 to 40 watts higher thatn the amp is rated- also on the cheaper amps look at what voltage the amp was rated most cheapo amps rate at 14.4 or 16 volts, your boat will never make that so they are rating high. Also if the amp says it'll do 1000 watts and has a 18 ga. power wire and a 15 amp fuse it ain't happening

Sound Quality- every amp will stat it's THD at the wattage rating ( ie. 0.08% thd at 125 watts into 4 ohm)this lets you know how well the amp reproduces sound without reproducing distrotion. On bass it doesn't really matter that much to 95% of the people but on you mids and highs I wouldn't go with anything over 0.08%.

Class and ohm load- amps come in differnt classes based on their effeiciency most amps out there are B class amplifiers which means that for every amp pulled in it produces x amount of wattage, this will change due to ohm load, most be class amps will double thir power in a 2 ohm load, a majority of amps will only do 2 ohm stereo, some will do 2 ohm mono which is really good on subs, Now there are also some High current amps (usually C class) these amps will pull more current in order to make more power, bur your electrical sysem pays the price, this amps will also bridge down to lower ohm loads, and produce higher distrotion. Now the mack daddy of amps have gained popularity in the last few years and these are the D class amps. the amps are highly effecient with out killing your electrical system and has low harmonic distortion.

akirachan · Criminal Joined: 11 Feb 2003 Posts: 61

My friend Hunter just bought a line 6 flextone II with 60 watt 1x12. He thinks it's loud. I however know nothing about amps.

ohsix · Posted: Mar 17, 2003 12:23 pm Post subject:

i also have an amp question.

i have a kicker 600.4 amp and two mtx thunder6000 10's in a thunderform box. right now i only have the subs running on one channel and when i turn it up the other speakers (that aren't hooked to the amp) distort when the subs hit. why is this and what would be the best way to hook the amp to the subs. also i'm using 4 guage wire to the amp but no capacitor (sp). should i be doing something differently there?

wakedork · Posted: Mar 17, 2003 12:44 pm Post subject:

i need a little more info but it sounds like you have the bass on your radio too high and when the bass hits the smaller speakers can't handle it and are distorting. Give me the specs on the amp and subs and I'll tell you the best way to run it. are you really only running it off one channel or are you bridging it?

ohsix · Posted: Mar 17, 2003 12:58 pm Post subject:

im pretty sure im running it on one channel. there's 8 wire ports, 4 +'s and 4-'s and im using the the first + and -. also when the amp is off the other speakers sound just fine at high volume

here's the specs on the amp and subs. i got them off of crutchfield.com

two 8-ohm 10" Thunder 6000A mica-filled polypropylene woofers • frequency response 33-150 Hz • power range 50-250W RMS per woofer

Versatility, power, and ultra-pure sound quality — Kicker's KX600.4 amplifier has it all! You can drive full-range speakers or components with four channels of clean-as-a-whistle 75 watts RMS power, or switch to 2-channel mode and push your subwoofers with 300 watts per channel. Protection circuits guard against overvoltage, reverse voltage, and overheating.
For some extra thump, adjust the bass boost for up to 18 dB of bass enhancement at 40 Hz. Front and rear variable crossovers (50-200 Hz at 12 dB per octave) set the amp up for full-range, high-pass, or low-pass operation. Adjust your volume from the driver's seat with the included remote gain control. Speaker-level inputs are provided for connection to a factory system (or any receiver without preamp outputs).
Key Features:
· 2-, 3-, or 4-channel output
· Tri-Way capable
· 75 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms
· 150 watts x 4 at 2 ohms
· 300 watts x 2 in bridged mode
· speaker- and preamp-level inputs
· front and rear high-pass/low-pass crossovers (variable 50-200 Hz, 12 dB per octave)
· front/rear bass boost (0-18 dB at 40 Hz)
· remote gain control with 25-foot cable
· frequency response 20-20,000 Hz
· requires 4-gauge power and ground leads — wiring and hardware not included with amplifier
· unregulated Class A/B power supply offers a massive increase in power at 2 ohms
· 22-9/16"W x 2-5/8"H x 10-1/4"D
· 1-year warranty

wakedork · Posted: Mar 17, 2003 1:21 pm Post subject:

does the speaker box only have one input on it, is that why you only are running it to one channel? Give me some more info.

ohsix · Posted: Mar 17, 2003 1:31 pm Post subject:

yeah the speaker box only has one input on it. it's a thunderform box and it came with the subs already in it. it's made for a dodge extended cab pick-up and that's what it's in. my truck has the infinity upgrade that dodge offers. im not sure what kind of speakers it is but there's one speaker in each door and 2 tweeters. im using the stock head unit and it didnt have any preamp outputs so i had to have one added. could that be my problem? i think the preamp has some things to adjust on it but i havent touched them. ive messed with the bass adjustment on the amp and the the head unit and the door speakers still distort when i turn up the sound but they only do it when the amp is on. they work fine when the subs arent hitting.

wakedork · Posted: Mar 17, 2003 1:49 pm Post subject:

hmm, you really have the wrong amp for the box you got unless you plan on upgrading later. the box has 2 8 ohm speakers wired parrallel to give you a 4 ohm load, the ideal amp for this set up is one that runs 4 ohm mono, your amp will bridge to 4 ohm stereo which means you need to bridge 2 of the channels to the box, bad thing is that it leaves 2 channels of the amp not being used. if i were you i'd put the front door speakers on the other 2 channels.

Since your truck has the infinity upgrade it has an amp depending on where and to which speaker leads you hooked the LOC, I'm assuming you used one for your rcas, it's more than likely you are sending some sort of interference into the factory amp.

did you do the install yourself, did you or they bypass the factory amp or tie into it?

The ideal situation here is to unhook the factory amp run another set of rcas and run all the speakers off the Kicker amp.

idealy replacing the factory head unit is a good step, you'll always get a better signal with factory preamps. the adjustment on the preamp ( are you using a LOC or an actual in dash preamp) is gain levels you use these to get the same amount of voltage to each channel.

ohsix · Posted: Mar 17, 2003 4:43 pm Post subject:

i just pulled my head unit out of the dash and one of the wires on the preamp had come unhooked. not sure if it happened when i pulled it out or not but i put it back where it was supposed to go and the other speakers quit distorting as far as a i could tell. i had the pre-amp and rca's installed but i did the rest myself. im not sure if i have an LOC or in dash pre-amp. it's not in my dash so im guessin it's an LOC. it's a small box with some things to adjust on it that's screwed in. if it came with an amp from the factory where would it be? i tried what i thought was bridging the amp and it would cut out. i put one of the speaker wires in the + on one channel and the other speaker wire in the - on another channel and the amp would hit and then lose power for a few seconds when i turned up the volume.

wakedork · Posted: Mar 18, 2003 6:23 am Post subject:

yea you have an LOC, what year is your truck the factory amp should be somewhere in your dash or under the passenger seat, if you call a shop in your area or crutchfeild they should be able to tell you. Unless the shop that installed the LOC didn't know what they were doin it should be ok the way it is. Sometimes on the high end truck factory systems they use a high power head unit instead of a factory amp.

The amp sounds like it's clipping, which means that it's protecting itself by shutting off. The book that came with the amp should show you how to bridge the amp usually it's right + left-, did you switch the amp over to the 2 channel mode? how high is the gain set?

It's kinda hard diagnosing over the internet but maybe we can get it worked out

how big is your power wire?
how big is your ground? how long is the ground? where is it grounded to?

ohsix · Posted: Mar 18, 2003 7:55 am Post subject:

my power and ground wire are 4 guage. the ground wire is about 2 feet long and is grounded to the metal bracket that holds the back seat. when i turn the gain down or the volume the amp quits clipping. also i dont think i have a 2 channel mode. i have adjustments for: gain, mhz, x-over, and one for hi-pass, lo-pass, or off.

thanks for the help man

wakedork · Posted: Mar 18, 2003 9:00 am Post subject:

do you have the x-over set to high pass or low pass, it needs to be on low pass for the subs, the amp is clipping because you are driving to much distortion through it, play with the gain cntrols on both the amp and the LOC to get a happy medium, your gain on the amp shouldn't be over 3/4 of the way up and your radio volume should never go up more thatn that also at that point it's driving the factory radio's amp too hard and all it's producing is distortion

ohsix · Posted: Mar 18, 2003 3:55 pm Post subject:

i'll go try that. thanks. also what would happen if i ran speaker wire from 2 channels into the single input on the sub box? would that be the same as bridging it or would that screw something up?

wakedork · Posted: Mar 19, 2003 6:29 am Post subject:

that would play havoc on the amp, due to ohm load and short circuiting and it's not the same as bridging

earlcombearl · Posted: Mar 19, 2003 3:19 pm Post subject:

Alpine might be a nice alternative for you. Not a bad amp, not too expensive.

ohsix · Posted: Mar 19, 2003 4:39 pm Post subject:

wakedork- i went to a stereo shop today and the guy told me to wire each sub to 2 bridged channels on the amp so i did that and now i should have 300 watts going to each sub. the subs are only rated to take 250 watts each. will this hurt it? it sounds pretty good now.

wakebrdr190 · Newbie Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 32 City: MN

just remember that for every 3 decibles you want out of your system, you have to DOUBLE the wattage, so a 600 watt amp is only 3 decibles louder than a 300... something to keep in mind

wakedork · Posted: Mar 20, 2003 8:29 am Post subject:

wes how did you wire the amp to each sub, i thought that the box only had one input

the power should be fine, is that 250 RMS or MAX

Power doesn't blow a speaker, distortion does you can run a 1000 wat amp on a 24 watt speaker as long as there is no distortion the speaker will play fine

ohsix · Posted: Mar 20, 2003 11:59 am Post subject:

it's 250 RMS. the box did only have one input so i took the subs out and ran speaker wire to each one individually.

wakedork · Posted: Mar 20, 2003 12:53 pm Post subject:

you should be fine then, just turn down the gain a little or just be easy on the volume knob, remember if it sounds like it's crackling turn it down, this is the hardest thing to get people to understand they think if the volume knob goes up to 30 and you can stand it at 30 then you should play it at 30, NO NO NO. Be conservative and your equipment will last much longer

ohsix · Posted: Mar 20, 2003 5:01 pm Post subject:

iv'e got the gain at about 1/2 and im not too hard on the volume.
thanks for all the help.

wakedork · Posted: Mar 21, 2003 6:26 am Post subject:

no problem that's what I'm here for.