32 replies to this topic

[VR028]

hi guys just wondering if theres a big difference in quality between the JVC KS-AR8004D and alpine pdx f4?
they will be powering morel maximos. are the pdx's worth the extra money?

thanks

[Sorin-Andrei]

I'm not sure about the new series, but the older series JVC amp i had installed in my wife's car did not like high voltage preouts, they had a fair bit of noise with the gain anything above minimum. Installed a PDX4.100 into a friend's car with the same LOC and had zero noise and much less sensitive gains.

[VR028]

I'm not sure about the new series, but the older series JVC amp i had installed in my wife's car did not like high voltage preouts, they had a fair bit of noise with the gain anything above minimum. Installed a PDX4.100 into a friend's car with the same LOC and had zero noise and much less sensitive gains.

wow thats very surprising and troubling seeing as how im teaming it with a jvc hu with a 5v output. what amp did you have exactly?

[jamiebosco]

I have the jvc amp with a Pioneer head unit with 4v pre-outs and have had zero noise issues so far.ive been pretty impressed with the amp myself

[VR028]

so ive decided to go for audison as i can get a good deal on a sr1dk and sr4. im now looking at getting a aerpro 2 or 0 gauge wiring kit. would it be worth getting the 0 for an extra 40 odd dollars?
the sr1 has an 80 amp fuse and the sr4 has a 30 amp

[VR028]

Still haven't made a decision, after reading the reviews here it really sounds like the pdx would be the best option. Any opinions?

[Dylby1]

I've never heard the jvc amps but the f4 Is a great amp. It's what I'll be using in my car.

As far as the wiring Id go 0 gauge, then if you upgrade bigger later on the wiring is already done.

What's the quality of the aerpro wiring like?
I always use stinger wiring kits, they've got alot thicker wire than most other brands for what is apparently the same wire. The cheaper ones seem to substitute it with a thicker shielding over it.

[shiny_car]

The PDX-F4 is class D and thus nice and compact, and these series2 amps are meant to be excellent for SQ.

If you're a 'believer' that class D doesn't cut it, and want class AB (or better) for your speakers, then the Audison SR4 will be preferable. It has a bigger footprint obviously. Class D sub amplifiers are certainly fine cos you won't hear the higher distortion; the sub will produce more distortion than the amp, easily. Same with speakers mind you; which is why it's very hard to blame any amplifier for a reduction in SQ these days, cos they are such low distortion. The main downside can be noisefloor/hiss.

To me, amps like the PDX have the advantage of being compact and efficient, so they take up less space, and that combo would not require 0awg, no way. 4awg would be ample, so it saves more money there.

Class AB amps appeal to more hardcore enthusiasts who refuse to accept that class D can be as good for SQ. But at the expense of efficiency/size, so the amps take up more space, run warmer, and require thicker powerwire. Mind you the combo of SR4 and SR1Dk will also be fine from 4awg; not enough power consumption to require 0awg for a music system (as opposed to SPL competition system).

[VR028]

I recently dropped in a jl xd4004 into a friends car and was amazed at what it could do so I have no problem with class d. Are the jvc amps as good as the pdx
Price wise im putting together a ks ar8004d with a ks 9501d or a pdx f4 and pdx m12
Are the pdx's worth the combined extra 300odd dollars?

[VR028]

I've never heard the jvc amps but the f4 Is a great amp. It's what I'll be using in my car.

As far as the wiring Id go 0 gauge, then if you upgrade bigger later on the wiring is already done.

What's the quality of the aerpro wiring like?
I always use stinger wiring kits, they've got alot thicker wire than most other brands for what is apparently the same wire. The cheaper ones seem to substitute it with a thicker shielding over it.

While I haven't seen the wire side by side with singer I do know the aerpro is much larger than Sony wire.
The full aerpro kit has quality stuff such as a large solid anl fuse and holder and a fused distribution block

[REVNSS.inc]

I'd still look to stinger wiring kits also, although the gauge size may seem similar majority of the stinger kits feature 100% copper cabling whereas the aerpro kits have copper clad aluminium. Whether you will notice a difference is one thing however the the quality of the cable and connections is definitely better.

As for the amps I'd personally go for the alpines for no other reason than perceived quality and apparent better signal to noise ratio and thd according to the specs.

Cheers.

[Dylby1]

My opinions are a bit biased, im somewhat of an alpine fanboy

Same with pioneer (not the cheapo stuff though)

I do know the alpine head units and amps are great. And the type r/type x speakers and subs are too.

Beyond that i cant really comment, as i said before. Ive never had anything to do with JVC so cant really comment

Having used a few cheaper wiring kits aswell as stinger though, i can say for certain that Stinger is worth every cent extra

[REVNSS.inc]

The unfortunate fact with car audio is that it tends to follow the law of diminishing returns, meaning you could spend double the price but only get a fraction better performance.

Case I point is the wiring, I personally would always spend the extra for quality cabling however wether you would notice a difference is arguable.

Same goes for the amps, in reality the speakers and installation is going to have a larger impact on the sound than the amplifiers you choose.

All things being equal the alpines appear to be a better amplifier, however the jvc provide more power.

If you are happy with the speakers, woofers and installation you have conducted, I would lean towards buying the alpine. Only because majority of the specs seem better and although they are a little less powerful the difference will likely be inaudible and in reality the price will more than likely dictate what you choose rather than the amp itself.

[VR028]

I am a little biased too which is why I've asked the question, hardly anybody anywhere seems to use jvc. Im not saying they're bad but im hoping these amps are the last I ever need to buy or at least last a very long time. I would be prepared to spend the extra money on alpine as I know they could just about promise me exactly that

[Equilibrium1990]

My mate is just finnishing up an install with a Alpine PDX-F6 4 x 150RMS running 4 x 125RMS Hertz 165's and holy S#$% they sound amazing. The Amp actually came with a factory output of 4 x 180RMS on the birth certificate which I thought was pretty kwl haha.

[VR028]

I ended up buying soundquest wire 4awg kit which I got cheap from a member here. Good quality kit but next to the aerpro wire it's tiny. Will it be ok to run a pdx m12 and f6?

[Damo95]

Define "tiny"?

In all honesty, I'd be running a 4 gauge power cable to each amp..

Damo95 posting on iphone

[SQXPRT]

Whilst the 4ga kit may be adequate, it's certainly not overkill.

160A worth of fuses is pretty much over the limit for 4ga, but ok for music if its not too loud.

I recommend maximum 120A total for 4ga, 160A for 2ga, 200A for 0ga. - that's over the 5m or so from the front to the back of the car.
If the battery is near the amps, then 4ga is plenty.

[VR028]

The battery is at the front and the cable is about 5m long. It came with a 150amp anl fuse. I don't really listen to music all that loud but on the ocassion I'll crank it to a decent level when show casing it to a friend

[SQXPRT]

The biggest problem won't be the fuse blowing.

You get "sagging" of the voltage to the amps under high load - so the voltage to the amplifiers might drop to 10 or 11Volts on "big Bass" notes.. that can cause the amps to cut out or even fail.

As I said, it will be adequate, but not optimal.

[VR028]

I guess I'll just use it for now and change it later, it will be a while before I get both pdx amps so it should be ok running 1 to start with

[VR028]

I've seen alpine have released new higher power mrx amps. I think I'll wait and grab myself a mrx m110 and mrx f65 rather than spending almost double on pdx, what do u guys reckon?

Edited by VR028, 20 April 2012 - 02:22 PM.

[SQXPRT]

MRX-100 is only 600W at 14.4v /4ohm - as soon as you turn off the engine, back down to <500W RMS
even at 2 ohm, the output drops below 14.4 volts supply. so probably 800W at 12V.

It's work fine tho - any amp with +/- 200W from another will be about the same loudness.

[VR028]

the voltage seems to hang around 14.1 according to my readout on the dash. i know it doesnt really matter but i was hoping to get as close to 1200w rms as possible so i figured a mrx m110 with 1100wrms would be close as alpines tend to be underrated. would the extra power from a pdx m12 be enough to justify almost double the cost

Edited by VR028, 20 April 2012 - 03:46 PM.

[SQXPRT]

street price is a lot lower than RRP.

The M12 is better in power output and noise/distortion specs. also, the output of the M12 is the same for 4ohm or 2 ohm.

[VR028]

cheapest ive seen a pdx m12 was on elite electronics for 700 but theyre out of stock at the moment. the old outgoing mrx m100 was around 450 online so im assuming the new m110 will be around the same price.
im going to be using 2 hertz hx 300's in a 2ohm load. would your advice be to get the pdx m12 for a little headroom?

[SQXPRT]

not heard the Hertz, so couldn't comment on the best amp for them - generally more power will have more headroom, and more control of the cone(s)

[VR028]

ended up getting a JL 1000/1 and plan on a 300/4. so still the same deal 4gauge adequate for both? the wire is a soundquest 4g with a 150amp anl fuse

[SQXPRT]

I'd go 0ga, or a separate 4ga for each. the 1000/1 can be a hungry beast, even for a 0ga.

[VR028]

what about fusing? should i use a fused distribution block with the JL's? the manual says one isnt required