Hey Shiny, how is ur monoblock compared to the Alpine? Was it the MRD series? I was looking at the MRD-500, but is there much difference between that and say a LRx1.400 in terms of SQ?

I got a price on that Alpine for $520 at Autobarn from RRP of $799. Nearly half price of the LRx.

The LRx are very high quality amps.
The 1.400 is 1 ohm stable and has an excellent damping factor so it is ideal for its primary design and that is BASS!

Hey Shiny,
Bate taken.......
Fish running..........


Phil K


[ March 17, 2003, 11:33: Message edited by: RM Audio ]

ROFL, yes, it MIGHT be true that some amps are a "waste of money" but i beg to differ on 99% of the occasions, it's like saying to an spl guy "pffft, that amp only puts out 100w more power, what will that do?" well, every tiny bit counts, if you want to win, you go the best, hey It's pretty similar to all amps as well, quite a few people can justify the extra money because it's "supposed" to sound better, hell, i did, and it WAS worth it! 2k on an amp might sound alot, but if you want SERIOUS quality, i feel you can't go past the audison VRx's, the shadow chrome amps look real nice, but the blue ones looks alright, and are much better value
Aaron

Dampening factor? whats that? the ability of an amplifier to make things wet?

(its damping factor)

Oh yeah, thats not a fish, its a hedgehog!

Demonstrating your age I see..

[ March 16, 2003, 02:23: Message edited by: Bassaholic ]

Hey Mr.Bob did you ever get the sub wired at 1 ohm mono to hear what 2Kw would be like... badass?

well i have heard shiny car's system Marc R's system and even judged mr bob's on Saturday...
they all sound different no doubt from speakers used and type of car....but the one thing they all have in common is the warm sound they produce, so its a personal thing if you like that sound or not but they are a nice sounding amp and no doubt with excelent build quality.
The components used inside is were the money is

I also had a listen to t-bros car over the weekend and he is using Kicker ix amps and let me tell you it is one nice sounding car so it does go to show that installation plays a very big role in sq, get it wrong and the best equipment can sound crap....get it right and good equipment can sound excelent

[ March 17, 2003, 22:20: Message edited by: JohnA ]

Well, after switching from my Audison LRx2.500 to my PPI PC21400 yesterday, the sound is totally different, audison has a "smoother" sound i think, the PPI is "harder" i prefer "hard" sound, but it's hard to listen to for extended periods, but audison is nice stuff, very very nice!
Aaron

dredging up an OLD post - Im looking at replacing my PPI PCX480 (i think thats the model any way its the 4 x 80 watt one about 18 months old) with an Audison Vrx2.400.
Is the Audison a better amp? A nicer sounding amp? or should I just stuck with the PPI
I know I should listen to the side by side but i cant pick which one i preffer (Ive had my amp plugged in and the switched over to the Audison and I know it sounds different but which sounds better) either way I am getting the Vrx2.400 its just decided which car it will go in (ive heard reports the PPI is a bit muddier altho I dont mind the sound of the mid bass from it. it seems very much an american sounding amp whereas the Audison had almost an English sound to it if you get what i mean (i listen to rock & indie mostly)

wow that's old, look at some of the members :hehe:
the VRx is the superior amp, no doubt at all, whether you'll hear the difference is always in your install. i know i'd sleep easier with the audison, and i know i'd love one, the PPI is a good amp (i've owned a couple of powerclass') and if its working fine there's certainly nothing wrong with using it, but if i had the choice and everything fits (power supply, decent install, setup etc etc) then i'd go the italian

since this thread began, i've been using the VRx amps (series 1), so a couple years now. i love them, and cannot justify changing them, as it'd be a sideways step at best (given the money concerned), and cost significantly more to improve.

they're a big amp though. then again, the powerclass PPI amps are big too.

what do you want it for? if you want a subamp, then i strongly recommend the monobloc instead. but for a front stage, it'd be very sweet.

Im looking at a 1.500 for sub amp duties as i need something with 1.333 ohm stability (to power 3 focal 27K subs.) atm I have an alpine mrd-m1000 powering one of these subs @ around 600watts @ 4ohms i think the audison would put out around 1700 watts @ 1.33 ohms which would suit the 27Ks nicely I think. plus not being class d is something Ive been thinking of alot lately (dont get me wrong i dont dislike the alpine i think it is a great amp and i will use it on another car at some stage (or if sence gets the better of me i'll sell it to raise my bank balance back into the black))
the PPI has more power on tap for the focal 165ks than the Vrx2.400 has would this be a backwards step?

yeah, that'd be nice. i gather you've got thick powerwire though! 0awg at least.



i very much doubt it. firstly, how much of the PPI's power do you actually use? do you screw it to full power output? unlikely, and you probably only use a small fraction of it's ability, which should be well within the power limits of the VRx.

i think you'd be happy with the VRx combo.

I have a VRX1.500 to power my 13" Focal Utopia sub, and VRX2.400 to power my Seas excel 5" mid (and my Vifa mids before the Seas). In my opinion, they are one of the nicer amps you can get. Audison has a very warm character which I like.

Shiny_Car of course i'll have big power cable - my old man owns a structural steel fabrication place. so 4x runs of the biggest most fattest BOC gasses welding cable i can get my hands on (2x for full length negitive and 2x for full length positive cause i dont trust grounding through the chassis. (this could start some more 'discussions')
and fused at the battery end and attached to a pair of distrubution blocks (obviously the negitive wong be fused because the fuses wont ever blow) then the wire from the distribution block to the amp will also blow because of the redundency in the circuit. - thats the plan at this stage any way. 2x runs of 00 gauge might do instead.

I used to give the PPI a fair wack - obviously the PPI wasnt putting out the rated 320 watts @4 ohms bridged (seen load 2ohms) because the 165k's arent exactly going to put a load on the amp (well this is my understanding any way. I'm lead to belive that amps work like turbos they only make power when a load is applied. ie with out much mechanical resistance there isnt too much electrical resistance to use the power availible.) correct me if i am wrong.

Yup, you'll have to keep the battery voltage up too... The audison is "reasonably" what i could call "unefficent" at 1 ohm loads..... my battery voltage gets to 9.8v.... with 200+amp draw (makes the soldered connections on 0ga warm!) after running a tone for 15sec... the battery voltage drops after about 1-2 sec..... and the car's almost stalling!! It's not an old ****box either, and it's got a very good alt...... So it's not just cabling, you need a good battery too!
Aaron

You may also want to considder a secondary battery that is mounted closer to the amp (optima, odyssey, orbital etc) as the shorter the cable run to the battery the lesser the voltage drop in the system.

If you continually keep dropping the voltage that low expect BAD things to happen to the amp.

it's a class AB amp, and not class D, so some of those 'bad' things won't apply - not that i remember what they are! :roll:

An interesting thread

I'm looking at going for a VRx myself to run my front stage once I upgrade it. Still havent decided which yet, as this will be determined by which splits I end up buying. Probably a toss up between a 2.250 and 2.400. Also have to decide whether to go with the standard or Shadow Chrome (CS or the EX) models.. decisions decisions.

I recently connected my splits to my sub amp (audison SRx2S) while my ARC was off on repair, and was surprised how nice it sounded for the money. Had a really sweet, smooth sound which I like in an amp, and played LOUD even at 50% gain.

My other strong option seems to be an ARC 2500-xxk, but if I go for somethign like Dyn's or rainbows this amp will be overkill..

For anyone looking for reviews, check the american Audison website. If you go to the VRx2.400 page there is a link to a product test report there. Some nice comments and results, with the amp being tested to put out 272w continuous (at both 13.5v and 14.4v) and 1,066 in 4ohm mono! That's some big power..

As far as reliability/durability, i was running my IDMAX off my SRx2S in 1ohm bridge for about 2 months (accidentally, didnt realise i wired it wrong). It would heat up and cut out only at very high volumes (say, 85%). Protection kicked in on several occasions, one fuse blew. Since then I realised the problem and corrected it (now at 4ohm bridge) but despite all that torture, the amp is still operating beautifully. Has not gone into any protection since correcting the setup. I see it as a real testament of the amps quality that it took that punishment for so long and didnt take any damage.

I've been really happy with both the audison and the ARC (2100-xxk: only had to send it away to repair a snapped crossover knob) and would gladly recommend either brand.

Since my last post, I have sold both my VRxs and got myself 2 Phass HP100s and a Venom VD2000. Why? Because my VRxs kept cutting power because of overheating and they (the vrx2.400) in particular is outputting inconsistent power. We would RTA the system, leave it on for one minute, RTA it again and get totally different graphic.

were your vrx amps series 2 already?

I am not too sure. They are the wooden cased ones, bought them used. Thing is, I am not even sure if it was just MY amp, or if Audisons are genetically "hot" amps. But I'm using Phass amps now, no such probelms