Sound quality amps?

[VTi-R Civic]

Okay guys, I've been out of the car stereo loop for a while and know alot of change happens as far as what brands are good and what aren't.

What manufacturers are known for making good "sound quality" amps. Considering building a system and want something to go with the front splits I am going to use.

My main concern is that I get something that sounds really, really good.

[arverson]

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35769

look at fhrx's post

depends on budget really but if money isnt a issue then his post is spot on.

if ur more concerned about SQ, ull hear more SQ thru ur speakers rather than the amp. wat splits u got?? take in mind, $200 splits run off a $1000+ amp will still sound like $200 splits, $1000+ splits off a $500 amp will sound much betta.

the amp is half of wat will give u sumthin that 'sounds really, really good.'
the other half, depends on the install. look into SD'ing for increased SQ

[Slow96GSR]

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35769

look at fhrx's post

depends on budget really but if money isnt a issue then his post is spot on.

if ur more concerned about SQ, ull hear more SQ thru ur speakers rather than the amp. wat splits u got?? take in mind, $200 splits run off a $1000+ amp will still sound like $200 splits, $1000+ splits off a $500 amp will sound much betta.

the amp is half of wat will give u sumthin that 'sounds really, really good.'
the other half, depends on the install. look into SD'ing for increased SQ

I beg to differ on speakers making all the difference. It's not totally true.... You will only get out what you put in. You can put crap into the most expensive deck, pass the signal through the best sound processors, in to the cleanest, clearest amps, then hear it on the best speakers and it will still come out as crap.

I have more than $7500USD in audio parts in my car and they are all, ALL, top of the line. I also paid wholesale or less for it and have spent more on stereo then most spend on a house. Over all I spent the least on my speakers. Yes flimsy speakers will sound bad but I have seen just as many top of the line speakers sound poorly too. I wouldn’t go out and buy K-mart specials (Do you have K-marts?) and put them into a SQ comp car but I would buy a low end if it were built well. There are much “better” speakers than Audiobahns and I couldn’t be happier than I am with my AB's. But a lot of that has to do with tuning. Yes tuning. Those EQ’s aren’t there for looks. And that X-over too! You have to put money in to a system to get quality sound. If you spend more on speakers than a good amp, you were ripped off. The US average spent on power now is about 75 cents to 1 dollar per watt. Average spent on speakers is $150-$250USD a set. And those are for good ones, not ones made of gold. Although gold doesn't make the best stereo parts!

You should be able to get a high-end system, deck, mids/highs, 2 subs, sub amp(s), mids/high amp(s), X-over (At least), wire kits, for 3k USD +/- $500 For about 1k more a new high output alternator, battery/cap, EQ’s, Digital volt/amp gauges, and more. The more you want the more it costs. I won’t even go in to what I would have charged in labor for my setup or others I have done. I have done simple installs with just a deck to $100k installs in SUV’s with 13 monitors and 20k watts and the 50kwatts in a van with 3” think windows out of plexi! 177.9 db constant with a 178.9 in 2000! Shit I’ve done a lot! I’m old! Formula builds, Car Stereo for 7 years and going, sales for 3 years, damn I need to go on vacation! Anyone want to house me, I'm coming down!

[arverson]

Originally Posted by Slow96GSR

I beg to differ on speakers making all the difference. It's not totally true.... You will only get out what you put in. You can put crap into the most expensive deck, pass the signal through the best sound processors, in to the cleanest, clearest amps, then hear it on the best speakers and it will still come out as crap.

I have more than $7500USD in audio parts in my car and they are all, ALL, top of the line. I also paid wholesale or less for it and have spent more on stereo then most spend on a house. Over all I spent the least on my speakers. Yes flimsy speakers will sound bad but I have seen just as many top of the line speakers sound poorly too. I wouldn’t go out and buy K-mart specials (Do you have K-marts?) and put them into a SQ comp car but I would buy a low end if it were built well. There are much “better” speakers than Audiobahns and I couldn’t be happier than I am with my AB's. But a lot of that has to do with tuning. Yes tuning. Those EQ’s aren’t there for looks. And that X-over too! You have to put money in to a system to get quality sound. If you spend more on speakers than a good amp, you were ripped off. The US average spent on power now is about 75 cents to 1 dollar per watt. Average spent on speakers is $150-$250USD a set. And those are for good ones, not ones made of gold. Although gold doesn't make the best stereo parts!

You should be able to get a high-end system, deck, mids/highs, 2 subs, sub amp(s), mids/high amp(s), X-over (At least), wire kits, for 3k USD +/- $500 For about 1k more a new high output alternator, battery/cap, EQ’s, Digital volt/amp gauges, and more. The more you want the more it costs. I won’t even go in to what I would have charged in labor for my setup or others I have done. I have done simple installs with just a deck to $100k installs in SUV’s with 13 monitors and 20k watts and the 50kwatts in a van with 3” think windows out of plexi! 177.9 db constant with a 178.9 in 2000! Shit I’ve done a lot! I’m old! Formula builds, Car Stereo for 7 years and going, sales for 3 years, damn I need to go on vacation! Anyone want to house me, I'm coming down!

bleh, i didnt read all that cus alot of it was junk but i did agree on the parts i bothered to read. yes, speakers arnt the only factor. theres many that can affect SQ - like tuning like u said. realise tho i was just talking in general when i said 'take in mind, $200 splits run off a $1000+ amp will still sound like $200 splits, $1000+ splits off a $500 amp will sound much betta'. with all other factors aside, do u agree??

[Slow96GSR]

Realise tho i was just talking in general when i said 'take in mind, $200 splits run off a $1000+ amp will still sound like $200 splits, $1000+ splits off a $500 amp will sound much betta'. with all other factors aside, do u agree??

No because a speaker only puts out what you put in. Period. I can make, no EQ's or processing, $200 splits sound better than $1000 splits. If you go buy splits that are $1000 you are not guaranteed to have better sound than $200 splits. I have seen the cheap stuff win comps over the expensive parts. It’s not all what you spend, it’s what you spend that money on. A good amp will do more for you then an expensive set of speakers. Most speakers sound bad because they are underpowered…. I see a diagram coming…. Wait I have to make it!

Never mind, I found a site that will help more than I can, mostly because it's hard to put in to words. I also see they say underpowered speakers is b.s. but I think he forgets that it's mostly because the amps are too! Signal wise that is! I guess us installers should say undersignaled not underpowered! Here (http://www.bcae1.com/2ltlpwr.htm) it is!

[arverson]

ok ok ok lemme rephrase. with other factors aside, $200 splits will, at best, sound like $200 splits. will $1000 splits sound better if we fed both splits, say 50rms from a amp? which one will sound betta?? with, again, factors like quality of the recording, tuning, SD'ing etc etc aside.

'A good amp will do more for you then an expensive set of speakers', yup agree to a point, but wat if u dont use alll that power to play ur music loudly ALL the time?? ud b betta off sacrificing/compromising sum of that un-used power (therefore money) on betta splits (as u probly know, the front stage is the most important in car audio). or another part of the system

anyway lets not get off topic.. VTi-R Civic, wats ur system consist of atm?? any areas u want to improve in?? wat do u intend to do with it?? (SPL/SQ comps, daily listening). wateva ur budget is and wateva amp u decide to get, just make sure u have enuff power to comfortably power ur system loud enuff for UR personal preferance.

[Slow96GSR]

It can never be too loud, you can always turn it down, but not always up!

[arverson]

yup yup. lets not say anything till VTi-R Civic gives us a budget. til he/she does, we'll concentrate on wat he/she could achieve out of the budget

=]

[J-MuN]

You want Sound Quality, I'd recommend the JL 'Slash' series amplifiers. I have the 300/4 and it's awesome.

[VTi-R Civic]

Wow, thanks for the replies guys!

I've got a pair of Rockford Fosgate "Fanatic X" 6.5" splits (type RF series if I recall correctly). They aren't the current models but I listened to them against Boston and MB quart and these where what I preferred over the other ones. Thing is it is going to be harder to "listen" to an amp before I get one.

As far as budget goes, I think I'd rather wait till I have the money than have crappy sound - I love my music and spend alot of time listening to it in my car so I'd rather buy quality when I can afford it over something cheap so I can have it now. Price-wise once things get into four figures I will want to know I am getting something very good.

Power wise, I don't want to crank it to show off (plus I don't want my gear ripped off) but I want to give the system enough headroom and be able to drown roadnoise out and get clean sound when I want.

Well the factory rating for the splits I have is 70watts RMS. I haven't chosen my rear fill speakers yet but will probably wind up with something similar power-wise there. I'd prefer a four channel amp to rune the fronts and rears and I will go with a seperate amp for subs later...

Thanks for the help so far guys.

[Slow96GSR]

Well there are plenty of 4 channel amps. I do prefer the higher-class stuff but in the end it's still sounding nicer! Not too many people down there have heard of or are using U.S. Amps so you would be unique. Then don’t forget the EQ's and X-over to make the amps get the right frequencies. Don't want to spend a lot of money for poor sound.

If you have a lot of road noise try some dynamat (http://www.dynamat.com/). I wouldn't cover the whole car but the firewall and some of the floor, the doors, trunk lid and a little of the trunk floor can do a lot to cut that down. If you let us know a budget we can design you a great system. Then help you find those parts you want. You can also go to Crutchfield (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-eG6bBDZlnK6/cgi-bin/autoinfo/autoinfo.asp?vehicleid=0&typeCH=home&vb=Y&lp=%2FS-eG6bBDZlnK6%2Findex%2Ehtml%3F%26id%3D0%26vehicleid %3D0&cm_re_o=fB5EzM*5yBpFwEAN*ctzfubflFYgzy) and find parts that fit. Then order them from there. Also there is always Ebay.

[DC5TYPER]

GET THIS AMP:

MTX Thunder TA3404

http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/amplifiers/thunder3404.cfm

It makes a minimum 50x4RMS @4Ohm, 100x4 @2Ohm
But with MTX Products you get a certificate proving how much power it actually makes. It's around 65-70w @4OhmRMS if I remember correctly.

I've fitted many of these and always recommended to customers, and never have they let me down. Comes with cool PrizmFX. You change the illumination colour of the amp and it can change on bass notes. You should check it out at your nearest Strathfield Car Radio.

[Slow96GSR]

LOL!! MTX hated my old shop. I used their stuff as wheel stops in the 2001 (Might have been 2000!) world finals when we did our U.S. Amps/Cerwin-Vega! van. It was funny. Also that year the sponsored car from MTX blew everything up cuz the MTX guys didn't know shit about how to hook stuff up right! Everyone got a kick outta that. They even paid to get his car outta impound just to blow up 10k in audio parts and the car. LOL!!

If you want their stuff it's not that bad just have a pro hook it up. They are picky sometimes. I wouldn't use em but that's just me, I got what I want and well that's just me too!

[na]

http://www.milbert.com/

[ICACHA]

get the BEST that you can afford, otherwise you could just be running around in circles trying to work out whats the best of the best like captian america haha MIB :p

[integraz]

Yeah get the best Amp u can possibly get.

To me i believe that there is a quite a bit of SQ if u spend a good amount of money on an amp.

On the same day, i tried my JVC 150 WRMS 2 channel amp bridged into my 306c the sound was pretty good.. nice and loudish, but i could see that the amp is struggling, i then put in an MB quart AMp 800WRMS 2 channel amp bridged, and the SQ was beautiful, with a 5 times more power, the bass was cleaner, stronger, and the amp was showing that it could last all day, and even with the gain only 1/4 of the way, the sub was screaming for more.

So it is true that u get what u pay for. from a $100 amp to a $1400 amp.

So get the best amp u can buy, so that u dont have to worry about it later, and u can put that behind ur self, then worry about turboing your honda.. LOL

VTEC turbo yo!

[89civic]

How do u know if an amp is distorting and not the speaker?

[Slow96GSR]

Get an oscilloscope and see if the amp is clipping. if it is then it's more likely the amp. If the signal is good then it might be the speakers. Then to test the speakers a RTA is good to have along with a pink noise cd so you can tune them with the EQ's and X-over. Also keep the O-scope hooked up so you can see if any one frequency is clipping.

[vividjazz]

How do u know if an amp is distorting and not the speaker?

Speakers only output what they are given. They don't distort by themselves but from a lack of clean sufficient power. ie. from the amp. See all the stuff posted about clipping.

[DC5TYPER]

LOL!! MTX hated my old shop. I used their stuff as wheel stops in the 2001 (Might have been 2000!) world finals when we did our U.S. Amps/Cerwin-Vega! van. It was funny. Also that year the sponsored car from MTX blew everything up cuz the MTX guys didn't know shit about how to hook stuff up right! Everyone got a kick outta that. They even paid to get his car outta impound just to blow up 10k in audio parts and the car. LOL!!

If you want their stuff it's not that bad just have a pro hook it up. They are picky sometimes. I wouldn't use em but that's just me, I got what I want and well that's just me too!

Dont know about the gear back then but really good now. Team Mitek rate MTX as they best product. 1 percent world wide return on amp problems in 2005. Well thats what Team Mitek claim. hehe :p

[exp engine builder]

i agree with http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/member.php?u=8181 you get wot you put in. put a dirty low voltage signal in to the amp you get crap sound nomater wot speakers you are yousing get an top of the line cd player no inbilt dvd player nuda with atleast 5volt preout fore front rear and sub
i cant aford an alpine EQ but i got a top o the line JVC dek won best cdplayer of the year fore under $1000 with heps of options to make the sound natral so better than my $700 pioneer
and run all speakers through high pass filter except subs

[94_Accord]

my amplifiers that i have are infinity, i have a monoblock and a 4chanel and im impressed with both

[integraz]

Speakers only output what they are given. They don't distort by themselves but from a lack of clean sufficient power. ie. from the amp. See all the stuff posted about clipping.

yep thats the reason why, ie/ it was clipping - underpowering the sub, when the 306c are rated at 400WRMS and can handle way more than there rated for.

philz

[Fhrx]

GET THIS AMP:

MTX Thunder TA3404

http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/amplifiers/thunder3404.cfm

It makes a minimum 50x4RMS @4Ohm, 100x4 @2Ohm
But with MTX Products you get a certificate proving how much power it actually makes. It's around 65-70w @4OhmRMS if I remember correctly.

I've fitted many of these and always recommended to customers, and never have they let me down. Comes with cool PrizmFX. You change the illumination colour of the amp and it can change on bass notes. You should check it out at your nearest Strathfield Car Radio.

Dude, with all due respect; it has a THD of 0.25%! That's hardly impressive for a SQ related amplifier. Check that amps specs out to say some of these:

ARC Audio
http://www.arcaudio.com

Audison
http://www.audison.com

Boston Acoustics
http://www.bostonacoustics.com

Zapco
http://www.zapco.com

Tru-Technology
http://www.trutechnology.com

Vibe
http://www.vibeaudio.co.uk

Diamond Audio
http://www.diamondaudio.com

Crossfire
http:// www.crossfirecaraudio.com

Milbert
http://www.milbert.com

Brax
http://www.audiotec-fischer.com/englisch/afstart.html

That's just a start. There are many others. :)

[Fhrx]

The article that was referred to at the start of this thread was this one (I figure there is no harm in bringing it across here):

What amplifier specs to look for? (http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3941) :)

[89civic]

can a level controller be fitter to any amp, or jus a capable one?

[Slow96GSR]

Most come with them now. If they have an input for it then they can have it, if no connection is there, then no, you're out of luck. Audiocontrol makes a few units that give you this option if your amps don't have it. The MVC... Master Volume Control, Three.1, LC6/8, Epicenter, Digital Car Audio Processors, and 6XS. I'm sure there are other companies but I don't use them so I couldn't recommend them.