Hi again,

I have decided to up my budget and go for a mono block with whatever amp I end up getting. I am thinking of just getting some "cheapy" mono block like the Phoenix Gold Octane R 500W RMS @ 2 Ohms one.

Now, the First question is... will the mono block affect the sound quality of the sub/whole system? (will better brands/types make it much better?)

Second Question is... If I have an amp and a mono block, should I perhaps get a capacitor? (will any do?)

I know that having a subsonic filter will help and a good Octave/db on the crossover... but i don't know much else. Any wisdom imparted on this topic would again be much appreciated.

You dont really need a cap in my opinion as long as you have a big enough battery / decent cableing...

Caps are a pretty expensive option in my opinion, and the money would be better off spent on buying a new/bigger battery to replace the existing one...

Depending on what the other amp is, you may not have to even replace the battery...

Hi atsq2

Just out of curiosity, what are your current choices of front stage amp, subs and etc......

Car: S15 200SX

Items Purchased:
- Eclipse 8443 (Head Unit)
- Focal Polyglass 165V3E (3 Way splits)
- Tube Driver Blue 475 Amplifier (4 x 75w @ 4ohms)

Items To Be Acquired
- 10inch SQ Subwoofer (small-ish sealed enclosure)
- Monoblock (I know very little about these hence the post)
- Cap? Battery? (unknown)

Budget for sub $300 to $700
Budget for Monoblock $500 to $1000

Why not get a 2 channel Class A amp and bridge it?

Note: box design will have a bigger impact on the subs sound than the amp you choose.

You might consider the Audison LRX 1.400.

As per your question regarding quality of monoblocks, they should be able to give you sufficient performance for your sub. Mainly, because it only handles frequency mainly produced by drum kicks, bass guitar and some techno bass.

Caps are a waste of money. Most people use them just for the look. You'd be better off spending the money on better cabling and a better battery.

Cheers

Alpine mono block,

Xtant mono block

even the new sony mono plock are a good $/watt

The Zapco 500M that i recommend in your other post is a monoblock and its well within your budget.

a Class-A will be quite low power especialy for a sub, plus quite expensive. and i havent really seen any True Class-A amps for cars these days

I was wondering why you stated Class A amps and I saw Gooki's post... I think he meant Class A/B.

And Suparoo, FYI, Tru Technology make a very nice Class A amp - look in the Industry News section of CAA.

It is not a class-A its a class AB, all class AB amps will run class A to a point, which is where the bias point is set to, all they have done with it, is raised the bias point so it stays in class-a for longer.

the benefit of a decent monobloc for the sub is that they are designed for grunty power outputs. they feature big internal power supplies and more internal caps compared with multichannel amps.

as such, they don't sag their power outputs when they need to produce phat bass notes. so quoted power specs from good monoblocs are going to be realistic. power specs from bridged multichannel amps may not be so realistic when they are driving subs (power may be much less); specs would be more realistic if driving some splits which is easy work.

so having gutsy power to your sub should offer better SQ.

steeper xovers can be beneficial although not critical. whatever xovers are on hand, they just need to be nicely matched to the front stage for a nice blend and transition.

subsonic filters are more important for ported enclosures. less important for sealed setups. either way, not essential, but would be ideal where recordings feature really, really low (inaudible) subbass (ie: less than ~30Hz).

a cap is usually unnecessary (in addition to what's in the amps themselves). and certainly poor value. it would be something to consider if you've exhausted all other options and still have annoying voltage sags that manifest in dimming headlights/dashlights/HU display. otherwise, as mentioned, go with the much better value battery upgrade. also ensure the battery and engine block groundwires are nice and thick and fresh; these are essential parts of the whole electrical 'circuit' in the car. some battery/engine groundwires are attached to the chassis with paint still intact (old cars)! ensure it's bear of paint for a quality contact.

as gooki mentions, the subbox design and build quality are far more important though.

the PG amps would be nice. the audison LRx1.400 mentioned is also top value. a JL 500/1 should also be within budget and is a top amp.