# Old vs New stuff.. better off with?



## NonSenCe (Jun 4, 2011)

I am thinking about re-entering into car audio after years of hiatus. And I wonder how much better these new stuff available nowdays is in comparison to the old amps I have. 

Which new amp I would need to buy to get equal SQ or output as my old ones offer(ed). It seems that "watts" are cheap these days and they (reputable brands) do match their claims of output. 

So case number One:

i have this old D-class
MTX thunder 500D. (1*250w etc officially) How much improvement i would get really if i were to buy a new amp that is 1*600w/4ohm, 1000w/2ohm, 1500w/1ohm (for sake of arguement this is confirmed and measured output) and i somehow recall the 500d beeing measured something like +400w/4ohm and +700w/2ohm.. what do you think, is this true?

In my plans, i will not need to go under 2ohm load so basically i dont Need a 1ohm or less stable amp. (thinking single 12" or double 10".. got only space for under 1cuft box. suggestions are welcomed)

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case Two: 

old Alpine mrv-f305, 4*30w. 

I liked this one alot driving my tweets and midranges active as the crossovers were good. and when i removed it from the car i realised the re-sale value of it was too low to bother selling it.. so it was more worth keeping just in case i need it than selling it. 

what kind of amp i would need to buy to get similar SQ (to me this had nice and clear sound. are all cheap amps these days equal to this one already?)

i believe all can overpower it these days and this is not enough for any midbass speakers.. but tweets, midranges and fullranges might still like it fine.

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case Three:

Adcom gfa-5745, 4*75w. loooong and big amp. more old skool flavor with its xlr wires (no rca) and other oddities like no built in crossovers etc. so this wouldnt be easy to install. (compared to the small sized alpine and mtx above) but in my mind, this has been THE best sounding amp i have ever had. (thats why i kept it stored for now over 10 years, i actually once thought i had sold it but then rediscovered it from bottom of the closet one year. oh the joy.)

what kind of amp should i be looking these days to get similar sound and for better word "headroom" as this one? Something like the Mosconi lineup or what?

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looking for simple system, mids+ coax/fullrange +sub(s).

been more into sq side. but i do wish to have some authority in the bass and midbass in lower volumes too. i rarely need to crank it loud anymore. thats why i still believe a single 12 is good compromise to my needs. it just needs to be in minimal sized box. 

i have mercedes w124. so there is rainbow 4.75" coax in the dash currently. (was pretty nice sounding pair. im tempted to keep them. just need to add separate midbass and more power to them.. they are only run by my old alpine cd player currently while i ponder the system build.)

i do have peerless 2" fullranges ready to go aswell just in case. (like everything.. open to suggestions as there really is no real system plan yet.) and old DLS Dur1 tweeters too. 

the midbass speakers i had they are failing now, one of them started to distort while back. (old focal k series bullet cones) so im looking for new set of mids. (i would really like to find a pair that would work in 3 liter sealed box.. 0.1-0.15cuft or so? to mount infront of the seats on the floor.)

i have actually thought about simplifying my life and just buying a new 5-6 channel amp for ease of install and be done with it. i could buy a new D-class and 4-channel too but that somehow feels too expensive route for my modest needs. but these old guys in my storage keep bugging me.

so what do you think. what should i do. get back old skool? or search new and improved? (if new. what brand should i start googling?)


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## qwertydude (Dec 22, 2008)

If the amp is still good I'd keep it and not upgrade amps. Amps haven't made any great leaps forward in technology since the introduction of class D amps and since you've already got one, no need to get a new one unless you need more power but 500 watts is plenty if you've got an efficient subwoofer.

But for your mains there have been some decent improvements the most being high quality DSP's. Since you've got the amps necessary a JBL MS-8 is probably one of the easiest SQ upgrades you can do as it will apply crossovers and time delays automatically, which you can tweak also. And it has enough power to run midranges and tweeters just fine. Your other amps can take care of midbass and or subs.


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## Zaphod (Nov 4, 2012)

I've been asking myself the same question lately. I probably haven't bought a new peice of car audio equipment in at least a decade but I'm looking at new cars and it chaps my ass to give ford $2000 to add a half assed gps unit when I know I can build a system from nothing for less, it will sound way better, and I won't have to set the emergency brake to change the volume.

Investigating this had me scratching my head... turns out that amps and mainstream speakers have gotten cheap, cheap, cheap, CHEAP. But almost everything I find on the forums bitches about the how the good old days of car audio are long gone and now you can't buy decent equipment. 

I found the same thing that you did, reputable brands meet their power rating claims hell, they even have a standardized rating system now. You might, like me, remember discovering the hard way that there was a huge difference between max and rms.

I also ask myself how it could be that while every other peice of electronics in my life has made a huge leap forward in quality over the last decade car audio has gone for $hit. Seems unlikely to me... BUT I'm going to find out for sure!

Doesn't really matter anyway, in just the adds listed at the top of the first page I visited on this forum I found a choice of 800watts of Old school clarion amplifiers for about $300 shipped (I had a 4400 in another life, great amp) or a new school 1000 watt soundstream reference for $200 so you pays your money and you takes your chances.

No matter how you see it, my first time around I was working for $7.50 an hour and paying north of $1.00 a watt (sometimes WAY north) and I didn't really know if I was taking home a good product then either.


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## SilkySlim (Oct 24, 2012)

NonSenCe said:


> I am thinking about re-entering into car audio after years of hiatus. And I wonder how much better these new stuff available nowdays is in comparison to the old amps I have.
> 
> Which new amp I would need to buy to get equal SQ or output as my old ones offer(ed). It seems that "watts" are cheap these days and they (reputable brands) do match their claims of output.
> 
> ...


I think the zed Minotaur would be a good choice for a sub amp. There multi channel amps are very good as well real neutral and clean. I have also heard good things about the Genisis amps as far as new stuff. If you still have working old school I would use it.


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