Hey guys. Well I've run out of money, it was inevitable really I'm way over budget and haven't even got my amps yet, so what I need help with is deciding finally which way to go with my amps.
So far my system is:

HU: Alpine 9855
Front Stage: Rainbow SLC365 KICK 3 Way Components
Rear: Rainbow 6" Coax
Sub: Rainbow Vanadium 12"

As you can see I'm gearing it towards a SQ system but with components that will bring out the snap in my heavy metal. I've poured all my money into speakers leaving me with little for amps. So the question arises, what amps are right for me?
For the front stage I need a two channel capable of at least 2x100W RMS, and a Sub Amp capable of 1x400W RMS. Unfortunately I also need to amp my rears as they have a minimum amplified requirement of 50W or so.
I was considering Jaycar but given the quality of my other gear it just seems wrong. The other one I was looking at was Crossfire, but again I wasn't sure if it was up to scratch.
Ultimately I don't want to spend more than about $400 on each amp, and the less the better. I ALSO want all my amps to be the same brand. I was going to use all Alpine (I have a V power 2 channel at home to run the rears) however that's looking too expensive. So I will have to sell the V power and move on to another brand.
Can anyone recommend anything? I dont like the idea of 3 different branded amps, so I need all the same brand. I also need them to be worthy of my speakers. No point in spending $800 on splits only to run them off an amp that will make them sound like bum.
So car audio gurus, grace me with your knowlege. What do you recommend? Feel free to criticise away, I just want my system to be right.

Cheers, Blake

Second hand?

Also there is some debate about SQ and amps, ie Richard Clark's test etc.

If you buy good quality and set them up so they aren't clipping or distorting you can't go wrong really.

Phil

I dont really have much experience putting amps to a budget, with regards to particular models etc, but i'll try to bring up some points to think about

*winces* in all honesty, i dont think your going to get enough amps for your money. It sounds like you want at *least* 100wrms for the 3-way kicks. Can they be bi-amped? You may want/need either a beefy 2 channel, or an entire 4channel to really make those kicks shine, thus warranting another amp for the rears, and a seperate sub-amp.

Perhaps for now buy one good, high quality, strong 4 channel amp. Run the front 3-ways and the sub off it, untill you can afford a good quality mono-bloc, thus freeing up the other channels for the rears.
Or hell, just set up the in-cabin speakers for now. Leave the sub out till you can afford a sub-amp and additional wiring.

Alternatively, how much did the rears cost ya? Might be worth selling/returning them for now, and getting an amp instead. As a driver, you'll be grinning ear-to-ear with just the front stage.

Also, how are you planning to install these? A home install is certainely an option, but 3-way stages are generally pretty damn tricky to get sounding perfect. Theres lots of angling involved etc. I'm going to go ahead and guess you already know this, given the quality of gear you've chosen, but have you budgeted/considered a professional install? You know a good, custom sub-box can cost a couple hundred bucks, right?

Have you budgeted for cabling (power/speaker) etc?

Keep an eye out on the FS forums here too. Plenty of great gear going cheaply secondhand.

save ur dosh and buy some good amps. dont care wat others say because there are many very clever ppl who spend alot of time makin an amp do all the sorts of things they are supposed to do.

u will only end up buying new amps in the future once u realise u can get that little bit more out of ur speakers.

otherwise pm me and i can hook u up with a zapco reference 750.2 with symbilink cable for $600. its part of a liquidation sale.

oh and definitly go second hand.

you 'need' that power? if you compared 'high power' jaycar amps to 'low power' audison VRx, for example, you'll probably consider not 'needing' that power, and go with the quality.

no idea what impedence your sub is; that matters somewhat.

secondhand would be a good option. maybe try and find:

*alpine V12 series: plenty top older series around
*phoenix gold tantrum, titanium, art series
*xtant
*audison LRx series
*JL audio / series

heaps of others obviously.

why not go for a 4 x 100 and a 1 x 500

may be to much power for the rear's but you can turn the gain down.

so going by that $800 for 2 amps should get something decent.


or how about a 5 channel?
http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=66751

it dont put out heaps of power but im sure it puts out more than whats on he spec sheet and would be plenty for what you have,
$600

If I am in your scenario, I would

1. Grab a 4 channel to power the front splits and the sub. Would at least look at something like a JL Audio 300/4. There is also a 6ch amp (can run splits active) from JL but I never owned it so cannot comment on that.

2. Save up and grab a mono block later on. I had the JL 500/1 before and its reliable and beefy.

3. Rear fills....ummmm.....should really make use of that Alpine V amp and install it under the front seat?

I haven't purchased the rear fill yet, which may work to my benefit I suppose. As for what I don't just run one amp, it's because I want to actually be able to fade front and back etc. But I guess for now one amp might have to do. Will just using one amp effect my SQ or ability to tune my front stage?
No my splits can't be bi-amped, just two channels.
Shiny, Rainbow themselves said I need 75w minimum but the speakers are rated at 100W RMS. And my sub is a 2ohm sub.
Please keep the advice coming!

jlauido slash series are excellent amps 300/4 (4x75 or 2 x150) + 500/1 would be awesome

eclipse pa5422 4 channel is excellent and can be used for sub and fronts then later change to bridged front stage (4x85 or 2 x240) and a separate sub amp.

You guys do realise the Vanadium is a DUAL 3 OHM SUB.

So how is a 4 channel going to bridge into that?


George
Adelaide Pro Sound

bridged 6ohm will work if its dual 3ohm load for a 4channel amp, however the slash series will go safely down to 1.5ohm in stereo 300/4 or 3ohm to 8ohm bridged (so 6ohm will be fine). Eclipse recommends 4ohm bridged so it would have to be used in 6ohm bridged mode (which means less than 240watts output).

Have you looked at any of the AudioSystem amps same guy who brings in Dynaudio, ID etc... imports these and the power ratings for the money you pay they seem great I've got 2 of the F2>500's one to run my sub and the other to run my front stage. There's a review in the forum review section on one of the 4 channels I believe.

The words 'quality' and 'Jaycar amp' DO NOT belong in the same sentence!!

my reference would run it...


maybe this is a good case of wrong product for the application.

Yes thats because the Reference is an old school amp which is stable at a lower impedance FUDD.

No longer available unless you wanna sell yours .



George
Adelaide Pro Sound

For good quality amps on a cheapish budget, i'd look into Alpine V12, Audison SRx, Vibe Blackbox. I've also heard that DD have some quite nice amps.

Take into account that the vanadium is a dual 3.6 ohm sub, meaning you will need to run series for a ~7.2ohm load, or parallel for a ~1.8ohm load.

This is important, because in the price point you are looking at, it would be bloody tough to find a 'sq' amp for your sub which will provide 400w into near 8ohms. You would need something that would put out 'roughly' 800w mono into 4ohm to achieve this.

An Audison SRx2S is probably as close as you will get in that regard. At 2x180w stereo, it should theoretically give you around 360w-400w into 7ohm mono. However, the RRP is closer to the $550 mark.

If you are running it parallel for a 2ohm load, then it you still have a problem - most stereo amps in this price range arent stable bridged into 2ohm, which restricts you to monoblocks.

You'll probably find most monoblocks with with 'at least' 400w into 2ohm will probably retail more around the $500 - $600 mark.. An Audison SRx2 / SRx3 would come close - both will give you around 350w into 2ohm. Again though, I think these are both just outside the specified price range.

Alpines V-Power line may POSSIBLY have something suitable, but i'm not particularly famiilar with this line of amps so can't say for sure.

As far as stereo amps, again a good SQ amp with at least 2 x100 at 4ohm will usually set you back at least $500.

Vibes Blackbox II is a very nice amp and is good value, but is around the $650 mark from memory which is probably just outside your range.

You may need to settle for Jaycar, accept a little less power, or wait till you can save a little more

Of course the other option is to look in the for sale section here - when i started off I managed to pick up an Audison SRx2S and ARC 2100 for under $400 each. The arc is still running perfectly in my car, adn the audison now belongs to my mate.

Edit: I remember seeing a pair of ARC Audio KAR amps in the FS section also, around your budget from memory. ARC make nice amps, and I'd be surprised if you can fidn better for the money. Consider running a search for them and see if they are still available.

George, the only time this amp will ever leave my possesion is when im dead
$200 bought me the best amp ill ever own hehe

That can be arranged.... I wouldn't mind another Oz either...


*whistles innocently*

That can be arranged Fudd... lol

I can vouch that the JLAudio 300/4 is a good amp, but will not run 1.5ohm bridged. you would need to series-connect as 6 ohm, then you'd get about 150 to 200W - not really enough. the 500/1 will drive the sub quite well, and I have seen theese and the 300/4 (for front/rear) on this forum second hand.

OTOH, That rubicon would be just great for what you want, and use your existing amp for the rears.

Just to let you know this is an older vanadium that is dual 4 ohm, not 3 ohm Making it a lot easier to find an amp, so any suggestions?
As for the fronts, Ive been looking at the advice and looking at prices. Man, qualit,y is bloody expensive huh? What DO people think of Earthquake, PG octane and Crossfire anyway?

I try not to think too hard, especially about which things to buy.
the JL 500/1 and 300/4 are the same size, so fit together seamlessly.

The Soundstream is good and much cheaper.
Or you could buy something like I got a couple of weeks ago...

Click to view attachment

it's 95WRMS x 2 (4ohm) or 400WRMS x 1 (2ohm)

I would go with Phass AP 4.65 for your front, and zapco ref 500.1 for your sub.

I know they kind of pricey, but you would not be dissapointed (i.e. looking for improvement in later date )

Yeah it seems awfully complicated just getting some bloody amps. I want my system to sound good but Im nearly over it before it's even in. Part of me is paranoid anything other than top end amps will ruin my system, the other part of me remembers all the debate about whether theres that much of a difference in sound anyway!

I know what people are saying about wanting to upgrade later if I don't buy what I want now, but I WONT improve at a later date thats the thing. Once this is done Im moving on to improving the cosmetics of my car, bodykit and rims etc.

just spend up blakey save and send, i initiated purchase on a set of profi kicks and a new vanadium sub today and i have a C4 and an M1 to power them. Now thats probably out of your budget at the moment but just be careful if u dont by something good enough u will buy more later and be stuck wanting or buying something different (like myself). Anyway u dont need top amps but u need some quality.

better to save up, then spend when you have enough to get what you really want.

keep your eye out in the for sale forum, and also ebay (for genuine SECONDHAND gear).

And, i take it, 600WRMSx1 at 1ohm?

JFTR.
1) Sound quality and efficiency deminishes the lower the Ohm rating i.e. 8 ohm = Great, 4 Ohm = good & 1 Ohm = crape.
2) There are amps out there with regulated power supplies that will deliver the rated output at any given load
eg JL Slash series 500/1 = 500watt RMS at 1.5 ohm to 4ohm load.

no, it says 600W max @ 4ohm

A watt is a watt.

I am personally going to give the new E-audio 480's a burl in my SQ machine to see how they stand up, and for the money/output I would suggest that you do too!

Shieldsy is the guy in Australia to talk to about the specs and pricing - but they are a well built A/B amp that many in other countries are more than suprised at.

Although I'm quite aware of what everyone's reaction will be to suggesting an amp with the "S word" on it in as an SQ suggestion, the XM-7557 is a remarkably clean sounding, powerful 5 channel amp I had running Focal Polykevlar fronts and rears with a Polyglass DVC sub in the Proton. Sounded great, and put a lot of brand-baggers in their place after losing to it in SQ comps!
Cheap option too. Just a thought...
http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=66619

forgot about that amp Mr Wood...

big thumb's up for it!