does brand of amp matter

[arlehk]

i have a 1200 watt xplod amp with a 15" RFFG sub and it really sounds bad compaired to my friends 12" audiobahn w/ an alpine amp. i was looking at a 2000 watt audiobahn sub and buy another xplod amp so im wondering if its my amp not my sub because xplod is really cheap to buy.

[Intruder]

You get what you pay for.
Sony is ****. If you want good cheap power I'd recommend one of the JBL amps. Like this BP 600.1.

[arlehk]

so you really get distortion through a bad amp

[Intruder]

Of course, and it's distortion that kills a sub, not clean power.

[Tazman2]

Audiobahn isn't exactly top notch either but yeah low price + high wattage = crap. Thats why some amps that are 1/4 the watts cost 2-3x as much because its quality you want not just insane wattage that you can't really use!

[blue LEDz]

brand of amp really doesn't matter, if all things are equal. if the sony amp puts out say 400 watts at 1% THD, then comparing it to another amp that puts out 400 watts at 1% THD, you'd hear no difference, in most cases. but there lies the biggest problem you have. you think you have a 1200 watt amp, but in reality it's far less than that.

[Tazman2]

Well then explain why a GOOD 400 watt amp can make a cheap 1200 amp sound bad?

[DeanSweetP5]

yeah, do your homework on Amplifiers...
You can buy a super older amp for half the price of the newer sh!t amps that will last a lifetime. Look for Older Memphis, Soundstream, Hifonics, Kicker, etc. Also depends on what you are using the amp for, if it is just for Subs then clarity/noise suppression isnt an issue but clean watts are. When going for mid/tweet driver spend the money on decent equipment and and eq to divide the tweet/mid.bass signals. Bass blockers/caps are your friend if you don;t have the money to do that. Some of the older amps have the filters. Best amp I own (yes, still own it...) AudioArt 360 from the early 90's. Bascially, you get what you pay for...

[blue LEDz]

Well then explain why a GOOD 400 watt amp can make a cheap 1200 amp sound bad?

if each amp is properly setup and performing within reasonable limits, the 1200 watt amp would sound better, unless you are comparing say a class D to a tube or true class A amp. the problem with the sony amp in question is that it doesn't put out even half it's advertised power, since they advertise the max rating, which is also known as the WLS rating, When Lighting Strikes. now if you think that you can hear a difference when comparing two amps, watt for watt with all internal processing bypassed or shut off, then richard clark has $10k he'd like to give you. but since nobody has won that bet in 10 years, you certainly aren't going to have some miracle ears that can tell the difference.

[arlehk]

i really dont think its half the watts it says because my subs max watt is about 600. i turned it up a little past the mid volume and it blew

[blue LEDz]

i really dont think its half the watts it says because my subs max watt is about 600. i turned it up a little past the mid volume and it blew

trust me, i've been doing this a very long time. they'd put out around their rms power, but it's the max power in big bold letters on top of the amp and all over the packaging. it's to fool uneducated consumers, such as yourself, into thinking it's capable of 1200 watts.

i'm guessing your amp is similar to this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39738&item=5786382710&rd=1

read the description. 500 watts rms is all it's capable of. but wait, it says 1200 watts in big bold letter on the front, so it must be true

look, even this years model only puts out 500 watts:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39738&item=5785769405&rd=1

course you could just get a little 50x2 rockford fosgate T3002 amp that would blow away that sony piece of crap. but the T3002 is capable of 465x2 @ 1 ohm with 14.4 volts input and .05% THD measured on an audio precision. that little 100 watt amp smokes the 1200 watt sony POS.

[blue LEDz]

just to give you an idea, here's what i'm running, minus the CDA-9835, since i got an IVA-D300 to replace it

[arlehk]

yar that be the amp i be usin. so lets say i got another amp a good one ig i hooked 2 up to 1 sub would i get the same sound as i do now.

[blue LEDz]

yar that be the amp i be usin. so lets say i got another amp a good one ig i hooked 2 up to 1 sub would i get the same sound as i do now.

can i get a translation on that? i'd expect a bit more from someone from bloomington, MN. i was born and raised in MN and now live in FL. there's a night and day difference in the education systems.

[arlehk]

i said thats the amp im using.