High SQ install

[smoknhothonda]

I am installing a new system in my car.

I have thought about a number of system options for my car this is what I have in mind so far:

H/U: TBA (might be purchasing a Eclipse AVN 6000)

Front stage: MB Quart QSD-216 Rated @ 90-170 RMS

Rears: Just stay with MB's and buy the MB RCE-269 (the car has 6 x 9 standard) rated @ 80-150 RMS

Sub: 1 x JL Audio 12W7 Rated @ 500-1200 RMS

Amps: Alpine PDX4.150 to power the speakers Rated @ 150 WRMS x 4 @ 4 Ohms
Alpine PDX1.1000 to power sub Rated @ 1000 x 1 @ 4 Ohms

My Question is do these amps have a good reputation? I am an love with the design, they look very sleek, have a very small chassis, they are efficient plus they can be stacked on top of each other.

I can get the Amps for a very good price, just over $1k (they retail at close to $2k together)

What size power cable would be best for these amps? I was going to purchase a stinger 4 AWG amp wiring kit, but Im thinking with 1600WRMS in total from the 2 amps I might require 0 Gauge cable???

My other question is, the MB Quarts RCE-269 6x9's come with a crossover and tweeters. Would this be suitable for my rear fill in my car?!?! I am only a newby to high end car audio, but all 6 x 9's I have had in the past didnt include a seperate tweeter or crossovers!?!?

Any advice or feedback would be great cheers!

Shane

[funkdr]

You'll find the alpine amps have a very high THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) compared to other amps in the same price range and you dont want that in an SQ set up


For example:

PDX-4150 has 1% THD]


Where as

The Audison LRx 4.3 has 0.009% THD



Both are around the same price mark.

Wikipedia link to THD

[Vinnie]

thd is only one factor. it doesent automatically make the pdx's a poor choice. the 4.150 in particular has already got quite a good reputation and is being used sucessfully in sq applications. the 1.1000 is also a very good amp and at the prices you have mentioned i would definately be taking it the lrx series audison's are also excellent amps and if you were paying retail for the alpine's i might suggest u reconsider ur options but since ur not...

secondly, for a dedicated sq setup i would be leaving the rears as stock and just using them for rear fill and running them off the h/u. u can then bridge the 4.150 which will provide plenty of power for the front stage

[funkdr]

If you are looking for a SQ then whats the point of bringing the system down straight away but thats just how i feel


But i totally agree with you on rears stock will be fine which means you could just run a 2 channel amp for fronts saving you some cash. Marty (FHRX) has a small write up on the reasons for not needing to upgrade rears here.

And that money you save on the amp and not buyign rears you could prob sound deaden your front doors great mid bass improvement from it

[ICACHA]

You'll find the alpine amps have a very high THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) compared to other amps in the same price range and you dont want that in an SQ set up

Have you heard the PDX amplifiers or are you just woffling on about what others seem to preach? If you're going to make a statement make sure you can back it up with facts "other" than THD.

e.g. I have done back to back tests in my car and I heard a difference in these amplifiers and this is what the differences were...

See what I mean?

Sorry to sound mean, but make sure you compare apples with apples not just price points. Stack the two amps side by side and do a listening test "then" you have something to comment on other than THD and what others tend to preach

On the note of amps, lets say Sinfoni (yes I have a vested interest in the product) they don't give you any specs but have been reviewed by Australian Test Labs who (in my personal opinion) know what they are talking about, a little snippet of the review

The Sinfoni sounded sweet and pure across all power levels... indeed I'd go so far to say the Amplitude 150.2x is the cleanest-sounding power amplifier I have ever heard... ever.

Seems to me like many of you are hung up on specs, how many of you actually know what these specs mean and how they are applied? Let me see a show of hands please

[Vinnie]

If you are looking for a SQ then whats the point of bringing the system down straight away but thats just how i feel


But i totally agree with you on rears stock will be fine which means you could just run a 2 channel amp for fronts saving you some cash. Marty (FHRX) has a small write up on the reasons for not needing to upgrade rears here.

And that money you save on the amp and not buyign rears you could prob sound deaden your front doors great mid bass improvement from it

i think the comment that the pdx's will immediately bring the system down is a bit unfair. i am currently using a pdx to power my focal splits in a sq application and i can vouch for its quality.

and yes sound deadening would be essential, dynamat all the way

[smoknhothonda]

Thanks for all the informative reply's guys much appreciated!

I must admit I hadn't considered THD when looking at the specs. When matching up the PDX1000.1 against a JL 1000/1 amp I did notice that the THD specs were better on the JL compared to the PDX.

The car I have the system in mind for (Lexus IS300) wont be entering any SQ comps, I guess I should have originally stated, I am predominantly after a system that sounds clean and crystal clear, with lots of creamy smooth bass.

Im definitely not after something that makes your ears bleed with huge SPL and makes little kids run inside their houses crying whilst driving past.

[ICACHA]

smoknhothonda, there are a lot of brands out there. make sure you get something that will do the job right for you, plus THD in a sub amp wont matter much as you will have that in the boot and wont be able to hear it distort anyway, not 0.00000001% anyway as funkdr claims

theres a limit to how far you can go before specs become non-evident while the car is going and that what the car is meant for in reality, not to stand still to listen to an audio system, thats why we have whats called home HIFI

[RMA]

Have you heard the PDX amplifiers or are you just woffling on about what others seem to preach? If you're going to make a statement make sure you can back it up with facts "other" than THD.

See what I mean?

Sorry to sound mean, but make sure you compare apples with apples not just price points. Stack the two amps side by side and do a listening test "then" you have something to comment on other than THD and what others tend to preach

On the note of amps, lets say Sinfoni (yes I have a vested interest in the product) they don't give you any specs but have been reviewed by Australian Test Labs who (in my personal opinion) know what they are talking about, a little snippet of the review

Seems to me like many of you are hung up on specs, how many of you actually know what these specs mean and how they are applied? Let me see a show of hands please

ICACHA would not be slightly influenced by the fact he works with an ex Alpine bigshot who just happens to sell (push) Alpine?

If your after a true SQ am the Audison would be hard to beat (not impossible, but hard). The specs of the Audison can run rings around the Alpine although I will freely admit if you can purchase an Alpine at a reasonable price (certainly not the RRP) they can represent reasonable value for money and can produce a sound quality that many will be more than happy with.
I am not setting out to bag the Alpine product, to put it simply if we were talking fuel it would be like 98 RON vs 100 RON in some cases you would notice the difference in others you would not - does this person need 98 or 100 RON fuel for his stereo?


But on the matter of spec's I often hear from people that specs are all being read incorrectly and that they really mean bugger all, but then the people who make this claim are generally trying to convince people that their product is as good as another which just happens to have much higher spec's.
If the THD and all the other specs means so little why do they publish this information in the first place? Answer because when read in conjunction with the total specification sheet the INFORMED person can make an INFORMED decission as to which should sound / perform better.

Footnote:
RMA is R.M. Audio who are the Australian distributor for Audison.

[funkdr]

Thats a great way to put it RMA

[ICACHA]

I was wondering how long it would take for you to get on here and say something Phil 8 views yesterday, over 100 today so it obviously didn't take long for someone to email you for you to sign up and have a say.

If you think I was bagging Audision, I wasn't, but what shits me the most is people who recommend one brand (regardless which) over the other due to specs and with minimal or no experience in the products. Saying that I doubt this person (funkdr) has ever heard the 2 amps doing the same job in the same car powering the same sub. I for one haven't heard the new Audison amps, but as you can see I didn't discount Audison in my post.

And in respect to fuel, you think that people can actually notice the improvement in performance from just 2 points in octane? I seriously doubt it?

[ICACHA]

Thats a great way to put it RMA

And which way would you put it? hahahaha