BlackNSilverRS

I need around a 400 to 500 watt amp to power my 2 kicker 10's i got. I got a box and all and i dont want to spend a butt load of money on an amp. I need a reasonable price on an amp that can boost around the 450 watt range.

onebadwagon

you get what you pay for.

rockford,jl, pheonix, etc all make quality amps, there are good deals to be found, but you have to look hard.


adam

chevkid

Whats your price range?

BlackNSilverRS

at the MOST like 200 but i really want to go at around 150.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Would you build a bulletproof transmission, then drop in a 2.8 to power the car?

A good amp is as important (if not more important) than the subs when it comes to achieving high SPLs. If you aren't interrested in getting maximum output and you just want good sound, buy a less powerful amp from a good manufacturer instead of buying a cheaper "high power" amp.

89blackGTA

You can get a JBL 300.1 for around $150 or a 600.1 for around $200

Brian

chevkid

Listen to this guy, he knows what he's talking about.

BlackNSilverRS

well these 2 new kickers are gonna be so badass, but i have decided to get one of the new 200 dollar chrome plated audiobahn with ghost flames on them.

onebadwagon

please tell me you're joking.



adam

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Probably not. Everybody lately seems more concerned with the bling.

onebadwagon

last i heard, bling doesnt make the back window flex, my rockford stuff DOES.



adam

BlackNSilverRS

no im not joking, its a great amp, the chrome plating is just standard with the newer audiobahns. You can get rockford at a best buy or circuit city but if u have the hook ups like i have then u can get the real goodies (MTX, Kicker, Audiobahn, etc.) But im not looking to make the glass flex, that would be alot of money to replace.

HanSoloWS6

Sure the Audiobahn may look cool and "slam", but on the other hand the sound quality to me has little to be desired. I'd prefer the old ugly cast iron look of the old Rockford or Kicker amps that sound good to any of the "bling" amps. And like anyone will tell you, you get what you pay for. Lot-O-Power and some "bling" for a dirt cheap price makes me think of Pyramid and the like, lol.

Sure it slams or whatever, but see which one gets hotter faster or cuts out when comparing ones of the same ratings to the higher end. But still thats an apples to oranges comparison anyway, lol.

Guest

on the rockford amp.

onebadwagon

why do you say that, i have run a rockford BD500 at 1/2 ohm on 4 he2s in an s10.

i have run my bd1000 at 1 ohm in texas summer heat on two power HX2s.

i have a 360.a2 on an old svc 12 that sounds great, never let me down.

and lastly a punch 55 that pounded the hell out of two HE 12's.


say rockford stuff is crap, i have experience that says otherwise.


adam

tamu130

im not sure you know what your talking about. your right, you can get fosgate at best buy (although, i have never seen it at circuit city thank ***), but how does that make something bad. also, where did you get the idea that audiobahn is better in any way compared to fosgate. i would be reluctant to even put MTX on the same level as rockford. and about the glass, he said flex not break. you wouldnt have to replace it if it flexed. i dont think anyone should worry about the rear glass breaking. i have seen numbers in the 160 db range w/ no problems.

and i agree with one, i have had no problems with fosgate and i worked at a shop last year for 3 months with no complaints (none that i know of anyways).

onebadwagon

they make excellent products at reasonable products (im not including the new stuff, as they have resorted to a WOW factor wattage rating for '03, to keep up with audiobahn, power acoustik, planet audio, etc.)

anything that is rated RMS power at 2/4 ohms(anything older than '03 is great stuff.


adam

BlackNSilverRS

i know exactly what i am talking about, the guy who is helping with my system has a very nice system in his truck which has won in competition. In the front he has 3 audiobahn 10's along with an audiobahn amp built in to the center console in a fiberglass enclosure, and in the bed of the truck he has 2 12's on the bottom and 4 10's along the top with a amp in the middle built in with the custom fiberglass enclosure, once again with audiobahn. He personally showed me the difference between audiobahns and kickers amps. Kicker has less selection but they both have fans and auto cooling systems. I have nothing against the best buy and circuit city ones, its just that ive heard rockfords attempt at a system and it sounded like the car had gas. Bass wise, kicker is the best. Sound quality wise, audiobahn is the best. Go to a local freedmans and see for yourself.

tamu130

now im certain you dont know what you are talking about. you are comparing kicker and audiobahn by the fact that they have fans? are you kidding? that has very little to do with quality. its a nice added feature but it certainly doesnt make or break an amp. my fosgate amp and my brothers legacy amp both have heat sinks, does that mean that are similar in quality? hell no. that is like saying a trans am and a civic are the same cause they both have wheels and an engine. and audiobahn is not best for sound quality. if you are saying this stuff from experience, you need to go listen to some more stuff. and saying this guy won a competition really dont mean squat. i dont know if 3 people showed up and the other two blew up their subs or he competed in an event held by his church. you really need to get some legitimate prove before you start making claims.

NEEDAZ

I’m backing onebadwagon and all on this one. Rockford makes a good and SOLID amp. I don’t under stand this “if Best Buy and circuit city sell it, it must be crap” thinking out there. Ya, they sell crap, but some of what they sell good stuff. You just have to watch the brand and model your buying and do your homework before you buy. And onebadwagon, it seems the WOW factor is (ApX3) or (Actual power times three). Again, you just have to know that the numbers on the amp don’t mean anything.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

You can make anything win a competition with enough tuning and equalization. SPL is only a small part of an SQ soundoff, and even crap amps can reach the amount necessary for maximum points. You can EQ a Sparkomatic system to score a perfect RTA, and as long as you can get it to sound half decent, you can get enough SQ points to stay competitive if you score well in all other areas.

When you have an unlimited budget, you can make anything win a competition. Unless you're going to follow the same route, there isn't much to learn from such systems. The true measure of equipment is how well it performs in real-world applications, and this is where stuff like Audiobahn falls short. Sure... it's *decent* stuff. You can have a good sounding stereo with it. You can have a loud stereo with it. You can just do much better for the money if you don't get blinded by the chrome plating.

tamu130

totally what i was going for. thank you jim. if anybody knows what there talking about, it is probably you. are you an engineer or something like that?

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Yup.

BlackNSilverRS

ppl are really making me out to be a dumb person. I am not dumb and ive heard plenty of systems and i havent been impressed with kickers amp because of its limited number of amps to choose from. And i do have a budget, a 200 dollar budget in fact on an amp so im not gonna go waste my money because i still have to get the box and wiring and then i can get it installed. I simply said i have 2 subs, kicker 10s. They are the newest kind which are made of better parts then previous year models. Audiobahn is a good brand and i never said crap is at best buy. I said that things like jl and kicker and audiobahn are not sold their because u have to go to a special shop to get them simply because they are better. I dont like jl's because they are overrated. And even if audiobahn was not chrome plated i would still get it because they have all the things you need in an amp. It wont over heat, you dont have to go back there and tune up your amp with its new controller plus it looks nice. I am sorry for wanting something that looks nice. I dont want to blow my eardrums. I just want ppl to know im there because of my system.
the end.

89blackGTA

I dont think that ppl are thinking you are dumb, its just that you are saying some stuff that isnt quite right.
JL are freakin sweet *** sweet, expensive, but sweet.
Audiobahn is better than legacy, pyramid....yes. But it is not even close to the same category as Kicker, RF, JL.

It all comes down to one thing. You asked for opinions, and on this board YOU GET THEM

BlackNSilverRS

actually i am getting insults from people for who knwos what i did wrong.

tamu130

thats for sure. you get what you want whether you like it or not. i dont think you are dumb, just uneducated in this area. i guess that would make you ignorant. audiobahn is a decent low cost option but they really dont compare to the fosgates, kickers and such. JL is not overrated, they are just overpriced.

BlackNSilverRS

maybe i should just get a kicker amp to match with the new edition subs

twiztid dreams

audiobahn IMPO ranks up there with road gear.

if i was u only havin bout 200 tp spend i would get the JBL amp. good decent quality amp. or possibly look on ebay for like a orion xtr300.2

andf i gotta ask. how much cancellation is ur friend seeing in that truck with 7 10's and 2 12's?? i mean it may look good and and sound half decent but no way in hell is he gettin the full potental out of all them subs with the way i get it pictured in my head from ur description.

also just cause kicker may not have the size line up for amps audiobahn does doesent mean a thing,<not sayin u dumb or nething here>but most kicker amps r underrated and can do least 15-20% more then they say. buddy of mine runs a kicker xs600 to 2 15" eclipse alums. with the amp puttin out a good 1320w at 1ohm. oh and he also does a 150db in a geo tracker with a soft top.

but neway for ur price range i'd go JBL, orion, or hifonics.
just my .02$

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Nah. We don't think you're dumb... just your expectations. $200 isn't going to get you a quality product. Period. The best advice I can give is to try and find a good deal on a used amp, because your budget simply isn't realistic if you're looking for new equipment.

This is why quite often, it's better to map out your plans before you start buying stuff. A great approach with a budget system is to start with 1 sub and use that extra money to buy a better amp. It's a lot cheaper and easier down the road to add 1 more sub than it is to upgrade the amp.

BlackNSilverRS

well 200 dollars is enough IMO i mean anymore than that is too much, were not all made of money u know, and i wont need the best amp ever created to make my kickers sound good.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Well... which is it? You're NOT getting 500 real watts for $200. Period. If you want to power your subs with a $200 clock radio, then knock yourself out. If you want 500 watts, find more cash. There's nothing wrong with being on a budget, but doing a little planning ahead will help you get MUCH more out of whatever budget you have. But... since it's too late for that, you've got to just make the most of what you've got. You can either buy a junk amp, or wait another week or 2 while you save up a few more bucks.

BlackNSilverRS

no, kicker has a 500 watt amp for 210.

9177

You can get 500 watts for 200 but you will be taking a real gamble on either ebay or a new up and coming company which may only be around for a few months or years. So why spend more money with JL, kicker, arc.... Realiability and great customer service. Look around and before you buy an amp and find out how good their CS is.

tamu130

500 watts rms or 500 watts max? theres a big difference.

9177

The AXA 400.2 is rated at 400 watts@4ohms @ 12.5 volts. From what I have read these a,ps are underrated and normal operating level of 13.8-14.4 volt should bring more than 500 watts RMS. Like I said the big question is are you willing to gamble on a newer company or do you want one thats already well established? http://www.edesignaudio.com/ep/avionixx.htm

BlackNSilverRS

Well, i have been really lucky as i have someone who is helping me with the system. He has told me what is good and not good to buy, and he is installing it and he is very good with these things. He choose the kickers i have now and hes really saying that amp wise as long as its a good 500 wattage amp with coolant, i should be in the clear.

Dewey316

i just got my avionixx 500m yesterday. and i have it powering 2 kicker 10's. i can say i am VERY pleased with this amp, the SQ is amazing, and when you turn it up, it will pound. i would recomend avionixx.

tamu130

is this the same guy that told you that audiobahn is better than fosgate? just wondering.

9177

What is a 500 watt amp with coolant?

tamu130

its one that you need to check the level periodically and add antifreeze when necessary .

twiztid dreams

rainbow i belive it was used to make liquid cool'd amps. think it was the art series from 98-99.

they had anti-freeze in them that ran through a set of tubeing in the amp. those amps wouldent even warm up and never had ne issues as far as powering nething in its power range. badass amps but xtremely hard to find and when u do very expensive.

9177

To better my question what amps is his friend sugesting. The only amps in his pricerange I know of that have the coolant is bazooka. But IMO the coolant thing is just a gimick.

tamu130

you mean to tell me they actually use antifreeze? i was joking when i said what i said. thats ridiculous.

onebadwagon

a few friends of mine, back in the day, used to run freon in their amps, through tubes crossing the heatsinks, (when you couldnt really get ahold of anything larger than a "300" watt amp),
so that they could run them at crazy low impedances.


worked very, very well. cold amps make great power.


adam

9177

how could either of those work without a condensor or radiator? For those to be functional there would need to be some way to disapate the heat.

Huckster's '84 TA

PPI also made a few liquid cooled amps. They didn't come liquid cooled, but had passages that if you drilled and added a special kit they sold you could get it running. They are able to run a lot of speakers with one of those amps. In the Sept 2002 Car Audio and Electronics Marine Special they have a boat with 2 PPI PowerClass amps pushing 32 Kappa Series speakers and 4 JL 10"s with 2200 watts. Cool stuff. Bazooka also made an amp with the coolant thing that runs to the radiator I think, or maybe to a separate cooler.



Back to the original topic, a good amp that can push those subs, which nobody has mentioned, is the JBL600.1. This amp with push about 650-700 watts at 1 and 2 ohms and can be had for about $200. I know they can be found for cheaper because a friend found one for only $150. This amp with suit you needs quite well.

82Z28_Camaro

I agree witht he you get what you pay for, EXCEPT when it comes to Kicker. Kicker is the biggest joke i've ever heard. I had a Jensen 10 from Wal-Mart that took a Earthquake Shredder @ 20 hz for 2 whole seconds. The Kicker Vr blew with a mere 600 watts. Boss Audio is a good amplifier that is cheap. Legacy, which is better than Kicker 800 watters go for around $90. Just my experience. Peace

tamu130

did you just say jensen, boss, and legacy make better car audio equipment than kicker? are you stupid? you had one sub, threw it more wattage than it could take (probably w/o breaking it in), and it blew, therefore all kicker suck. i think that sub is only rated to take 300 watts rms. news flash: jensen, boss, and legacy suck. ask any experienced car audio enthusiast. i have worked with all of these brands and the saying holds true: "you get what you pay for". those low quality brands are no different.

82Z28_Camaro

Never said they were better. Just as good for 1/4 of the price. Kicker is WAY overrated and if Kicker is what you guys like blowing your money on, more power to ya.