# JL HD 900/5 amp dead...sweet



## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

So for my bday I bought myself a new JL HD amp. I went ahead..ripped out my amp rack. Shaved at least 70 pnds 
This thing was small enough to tuck under the seat. I was so psyched. ran all my wires, plugged it in..green light comes on..no output. Thank god I bought this thing authorized.


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## LegendJeff (Jun 28, 2009)

Woah, yeah thank goodness. Wonder what could have happened?


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

not sure. definately strange. everything points to it working, but no output at all.


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## Chulodee (Mar 30, 2009)

I just got one and its so sweet! Sound is amazing! Hope all turns out well


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

hey Chule. you like the sound of it? Im coming off class A/B amps to this one class D. Not that it really matters since I use my IPOD for everyhting anyway. What were u running before? Thanks for your input!


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## Chulodee (Mar 30, 2009)

Chule? lol..... i had a 300/4 and a 500/1 but took up too much space. I cant afford to be like everyone here with highend so I figured its a close as possible. I would like to have some highend components but i guess i'll be happy with my beyma's.


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

this amp retails for 1000 lol. up in price with audison, arc, and a few other high enders. i got mine down pretty low..but i dont mind spending money on good equipment. they last forever if you take care of them. I just hope the sound is on par with the highenders.


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## Chulodee (Mar 30, 2009)

1000? I got mine for $600 from my authorized dealer. I LOVE JL but dont think its comparable to Alpine!


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## Chulodee (Mar 30, 2009)

What speakers are you running off the amp?


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

front stage, focal VRs. Bridging to 150 x 2, Focal coaxs in the rear run off the head. Ill pick up either K2Ps or KRXs eventually in the future. Sub is a 10W3.


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

I paid 750..dang! good deal bud. and yours works lol


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## Chulodee (Mar 30, 2009)

OH **** I have 2 W3V3 10''s in a custom box! I originally had 2 W6 10''s but it was crazy amount of bass for me.


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## slomofo (Mar 30, 2009)

Chulodee said:


> 1000? I got mine for $600 from my authorized dealer. I LOVE JL but dont think its comparable to Alpine!


are you sure you didn't get that backwards. I don't think Alpine is comparable to JL


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

Chulodee said:


> OH **** I have 2 W3V3 10''s in a custom box! I originally had 2 W6 10''s but it was crazy amount of bass for me.


Well this sucks. I bought the amp cause I thought my xtant sub amp crapped out. Turns out it was the sub lol. Now I need to buy a sub lol. U still got a w6 laying around


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

mark1478 said:


> Well this sucks. I bought the amp cause I thought my xtant sub amp crapped out. Turns out it was the sub lol. Now I need to buy a sub lol. U still got a w6 laying around


So the amp wasn't dead??? :surprised:


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Chulodee said:


> 1000? I got mine for $600 from my authorized dealer. I LOVE JL but dont think its comparable to Alpine!


Crack is a hell of a drug.

Jay


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## Chulodee (Mar 30, 2009)

People say Alpine is better but my experience shows otherwise. I have family that owns a shop so I get my products from them at low prices!


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

BlueAc said:


> So the amp wasn't dead??? :surprised:


nope. this is wierd. I figured it was my 302a cause it was old. The sub was getting no output at all unless it was CRANKED. even then it sounded like it was getting like 100 watts or so. my midbass on the VRs were louder. Now I switched the amp, and still the same thing. Not that I regret buying the JL HD, ive always wanted one amp to run everything anyway. Plus I took my amp rack out that took up space and weighed a ton in the truck. but i definately wouldve replaced the sub first and saved myself say 500 lol.


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## GregU (Dec 24, 2008)

mark1478 said:


> nope. this is wierd. I figured it was my 302a cause it was old. The sub was getting no output at all unless it was CRANKED. even then it sounded like it was getting like 100 watts or so. my midbass on the VRs were louder. Now I switched the amp, and still the same thing. Not that I regret buying the JL HD, ive always wanted one amp to run everything anyway. Plus I took my amp rack out that took up space and weighed a ton in the truck. but i definately wouldve replaced the sub first and saved myself say 500 lol.


Does it have a "sensitivity" switch? Try setting it to "low".


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

GregU said:


> Does it have a "sensitivity" switch? Try setting it to "low".



it already is..my head is a 2V output


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

Chulodee said:


> 1000? I got mine for $600 from my authorized dealer. I LOVE JL but dont think its comparable to Alpine!


Lucky you.

My local JL Audio dealers won't budge off of MSRP.


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## ItalynStylion (May 3, 2008)

GregU said:


> Does it have a "sensitivity" switch? Try setting it to "low".


I think we've determined that the amp works just fine and his sub was toast....



BTW, I've got the same amp sitting cozy in it's box right now. I'll be installing it sometime soon. I've already got my wires run and everything. I basically just need to plug it in.


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

ItalynStylion said:


> I think we've determined that the amp works just fine and his sub was toast....
> 
> 
> 
> BTW, I've got the same amp sitting cozy in it's box right now. I'll be installing it sometime soon. I've already got my wires run and everything. I basically just need to plug it in.


Its a great amp. I went through audison, xtant, and even withthis amp being a class D, I like its sound better (for the comps) Well..xtant is close..but then again I was running 2 302a's bridged to Utopia 3 Ways. Youll find the mids are boosted though, so you may have to play with your EQ or cross it over higher to protect your comps. I had to, my Vrs are only rated at 75 RMS and recommended over 80HZ. im running 150 lol. I see you own a shop. I need a new 10. selling anything interesting?


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## GregU (Dec 24, 2008)

ItalynStylion said:


> I think we've determined that the amp works just fine and his sub was toast....


Oh. Sorry


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## beafer (Dec 14, 2008)

i am lusting after that amp. Thanks for the input on it.


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## tinctorus (Oct 5, 2009)

Chulodee said:


> Chule? lol..... i had a 300/4 and a 500/1 but took up too much space. I cant afford to be like everyone here with highend so I figured its a close as possible. I would like to have some highend components but i guess i'll be happy with my beyma's.


Nothing wrong with beyma's 
Ive gota set of beyma ph 35's 4" tweeters and they sound great they are so loud and crisp its unreal
I have them mounted in my kicks right now and have quart qsd216's in the doors and dash and my setup sounds amazing


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## Booger (Apr 27, 2007)

06BLMUSTANGGT said:


> Lucky you.
> 
> My local JL Audio dealers won't budge off of MSRP.


Not sure where you shop but I know of MANY that are DISCOUNTING heavy right now....


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Chulodee said:


> 1000? I got mine for $600 from my authorized dealer. I LOVE JL but dont think its comparable to Alpine!


I think it's safe to say the pdx amps are turds compared to the JL HD amps. Too many noise issues with the Alpine amps. You sure won't catch me running one but would run the HD amps in a heartbeat.


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## kyheng (Jan 31, 2007)

Differential-Balanced Inputs, just this already more superior than Alpine amps....


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## neomsport (Nov 25, 2009)

I have always been a fan of system type amps, and small footprint/light is even better, IF they can do the power. 
I know the prior gen JL 5 channel was not really that great, and it was like a grand too.

I looked at the HD amps, but they are way expensive from any viable retailers, so I opted to save some money and
ordered a Zed 6-ch, so I can add a monoblock later, IF I decide that I want more than the 600 watts RMS 
(but I am pretty sure that it will be). The review on the Leviathan sealed the deal for me. 

Good luck with your search,

Rick


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

ya, had i known about the leviathans i may have went with them. My choice was to go with the JL since it could be moved from my trunk to under my seat. well turns out there is a heating duct down there blowing hot air on them so i had to move them lol. No regrets about the amp, it does sound great. but had i known i couldnt do it, i would have just stuck to what i had or bought two amps.


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## neomsport (Nov 25, 2009)

Well pardner we live and learn. I have heard the HD amps sound better than the 
300/500 slash amps, and you would know I guess, but at least your footprint is now
reduced (but then so is your petty cash).

Glad you like the amp. I have yet to hear one, or see a review, but I will take your word for it.

Rick


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## manstretch (Dec 31, 2005)

How is the sound quality of this amp compared to a class A/B amp? I currently have the PDX-5 and after hearing a class A/B amp (2-way comps) there was a huge difference in the speed of the midbass and overall clarity. Would the JL 900/5 be more comparable?


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## audio+civic (Apr 16, 2009)

I can't decide between 600/4 or 900/5. I want to buy one amp and run my Type R components and a sub for now, but will upgrade in the future when I build up the truck.  In the future I would go 600/4 x2 and a 750/1 or 900/5 X2. What do you guys think.


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## audio+civic (Apr 16, 2009)

kyheng said:


> Differential-Balanced Inputs, just this already more superior than Alpine amps....


Not trying to start a JL vs Alpine war here but Alpine is updating the PDX line next year and the current PDX line is 2 years older than a JL HD amp so the JL should be better since it has 2 more years of research in it.


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## xlynoz (Jun 16, 2008)

manstretch said:


> How is the sound quality of this amp compared to a class A/B amp? I currently have the PDX-5 and after hearing a class A/B amp (2-way comps) there was a huge difference in the speed of the midbass and overall clarity. Would the JL 900/5 be more comparable?


I just moved from a PDX-1.600 / PDX-4.100 to the 900/5 and there is definitely a difference. I won't say it's huge but I never had any of the noise floor problems that others experienced with the PDXs. The sound does seem to be a little warmer with the 900/5. I wish I could give a good before/after comparison of the tonal difference but I replaced my tweeters at the same time from the Seas neos to a large format tweeter and there is a noticeable difference between the two so I'm assuming a majority of the difference is due to the speakers and not the amp. If it's the amp then Oh Wow!

It seems the 900/5 has more balls to it on all channels. I have the gains turned down on all channels as compared to where the PDXs were set. Yes that can be subjective but I'm assuming the gain pots are somewhat comparable. The sub definitely has a tighter sound to it. My biggest concern with getting the 900/5 was that I would be dropping wattage as compared to the 1.600. Well that is definitely no issue as it pushes the sub better and appears to have more headroom then the 1.600.

I'll be honest with you, I wasn't displeased with how my PDX's sounded but I am happy with my move to the 900/5.


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## xlynoz (Jun 16, 2008)

audio+civic said:


> I can't decide between 600/4 or 900/5. I want to buy one amp and run my Type R components and a sub for now, but will upgrade in the future when I build up the truck. In the future I would go 600/4 x2 and a 750/1 or 900/5 X2. What do you guys think.


I was actually going to do a 600/4 and 750/1 for my system but due to an issue I opt'd to go the 900/5 route. So far I am happy with it. Now I am only using one 10" sub and I did have a 750/1 on it for a week and it was overkill. The 900/5 pushes it just fine with headroom left over. I'm running 8ohm mids and the amp is pushing them more than enough with power left to spare. I figured if I expanded my system and needed more power, I would get another 900/5 and run two of them.


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## 03blueSI (Feb 5, 2006)

I am currently running a single 600/4 and the sound is great. I will be adding an additional one and a 750/1 or possibly a 1200/1 when out to finish my system once I start installing a 3 way setup again.


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

manstretch said:


> How is the sound quality of this amp compared to a class A/B amp? I currently have the PDX-5 and after hearing a class A/B amp (2-way comps) there was a huge difference in the speed of the midbass and overall clarity. Would the JL 900/5 be more comparable?


I got lucky where the shop I was at was an alpine and JL dealer. I was in an either or position, as long as it sounded good..and to be honest i was leaning more towards alpine cause it was around 2 bucks cheaper. I was able to demo both, in cars. I dont have golden ears...but what i noticed was pretty dramatic. Just didnt seem like the PDX could hold JLs jockstrap. the speakers were the same in both cars except for the sub where one was running a JL w6 and the other an alpine type R i believe. and that didnt bother me anyway..i had them turn off the subs so i can hear the front stage better.The midbass and highs seem clearer, more precise, etc etc. Unfortunately I met 6spdcoupe and bought 3 way dynaudios...so i need more juice to the 8s in the doors, now im buying tru billets..and now wondering if I can pay my mortgage on time lol. when the bug bites..it definately bites effn hard. hold me.


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## manstretch (Dec 31, 2005)

mark1478 said:


> I got lucky where the shop I was at was an alpine and JL dealer. I was in an either or position, as long as it sounded good..and to be honest i was leaning more towards alpine cause it was around 2 bucks cheaper. I was able to demo both, in cars. I dont have golden ears...but what i noticed was pretty dramatic. Just didnt seem like the PDX could hold JLs jockstrap. the speakers were the same in both cars except for the sub where one was running a JL w6 and the other an alpine type R i believe. and that didnt bother me anyway..i had them turn off the subs so i can hear the front stage better.The midbass and highs seem clearer, more precise, etc etc. Unfortunately I met 6spdcoupe and bought 3 way dynaudios...so i need more juice to the 8s in the doors, now im buying tru billets..and now wondering if I can pay my mortgage on time lol. when the bug bites..it definately bites effn hard. hold me.


Would you say the JL had more "balls" and quicker midbass attack? Have you heard a class AB amp for comparison? Like you I'm trying to justify double the price basically.


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

i listened to both amps for about 30 mins each in two different cars. Both were trucks BTW with mids and tweets in the doors, but both were JL ZR 6.5s. IMHO, the JL is far superior. Im not trying to start a JL vs alpine war. In my head..the extra 2-3 was SOOO worth it. When we added the subs in, it was just in a different realm. I mean that could be contributed to the subs as well..considering that was also a JL vs alpine sub. but both were 12s, sealed. the PDX is no where near the output and clarity of the JL. As far as mids and highs..bass, midbass, clarity, kick, and anything else SQ, JL hands down, close my eyes I can tell them apart, destroyed the PDX. BTW im selling mine lol. 
but look at this as well:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-mobile-audio-sq-forum/69742-1200-watt-pdx-alpine-amp.html

alot of people feel the same way about the PDXs.


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## tinctorus (Oct 5, 2009)

mark1478 said:


> ya, had i known about the leviathans i may have went with them. My choice was to go with the JL since it could be moved from my trunk to under my seat. well turns out there is a heating duct down there blowing hot air on them so i had to move them lol. No regrets about the amp, it does sound great. but had i known i couldnt do it, i would have just stuck to what i had or bought two amps.


You should still be able to mount the amp's or amp under the seat as long as it fit's.

I know I saw a post on here where a guy did that and just made some air deflectors to avoid having the hot air blow on the amp's or you could just put a small scroll fan under the seat as well to blow air across it.

I know the small 6" long scroll fan that I have moves some serious air.


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

well after i went with the esotecs i had to get more power anyway. well didnt HAVE to, but wanted to. so im going with a tru b6. still a one amp solution..just much much bigger. 



tinctorus said:


> You should still be able to mount the amp's or amp under the seat as long as it fit's.
> 
> I know I saw a post on here where a guy did that and just made some air deflectors to avoid having the hot air blow on the amp's or you could just put a small scroll fan under the seat as well to blow air across it.
> 
> I know the small 6" long scroll fan that I have moves some serious air.


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## neomsport (Nov 25, 2009)

I think the consensus is that the PDX are OK, but not the latest-greatest for sure.

I got my Zed Leviathan installed and dialed in over the weekend and it absolutely kicks ass over the a/d/s PH30.2 - 
which was a $1,200 amp new.

Some of that may also have to do with having ALL xovers be Linkwitz-Riley 24 dB slopes, so I can push the midbass harder,
since the low bass is cut off much sharper. So I can really hear that my midbass and subs are really much tighter and more punchy now.

I have it loaded at 2 ohms on the front and rear-fill midbass (600 watts), and 4 ohms mono on the dual 8 subs (4 ohms on the front tw/mids).
So with this load I am gettting a full 1,500 watts, vs. approx 700w or so from same load on prior amp. The real cool thing is still no prob with
stock battery and alternator, which I was kinda anxious about, but seems just fine.

For the $600 I paid, I am not sure there is anything that can touch it for that combination of of power and SQ. 

That's my .02 cents.

Rick


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## 03blueSI (Feb 5, 2006)

I would say the HD600/4 is no less competent than the DLS A5 or A4 I ran in the past.

Out of the amps I have used I would rate them in the following order Arc 4200SE > Arc 2500XXK > JL HD600/4 > DLS A4 > DLS A5 > JL 300/2 > JL 300/4 > Memphis Bell.

The Arcs, JL HD and DLS are almost indistinguishable. All sound amazing. The DLS is a bit warmer than the JL and the JL and Arcs sound fairly neutral yet real musical. The JL slashes and memphis were fairly lifeless sounding to me.


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

audio+civic said:


> I can't decide between 600/4 or 900/5. I want to buy one amp and run my Type R components and a sub for now, but will upgrade in the future when I build up the truck. In the future I would go 600/4 x2 and a 750/1 or 900/5 X2. What do you guys think.


I would just go with the 600/4 and 750/1. Especially if your already thinking about more power. you would spend less money in the long run.


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

neomsport said:


> I think the consensus is that the PDX are OK, but not the latest-greatest for sure.
> 
> I got my Zed Leviathan installed and dialed in over the weekend and it absolutely kicks ass over the a/d/s PH30.2 -
> which was a $1,200 amp new.
> ...


I emailed Steve about that amp asking him about specs..etc. If I remember right...that amp cant handle a 2 ohm load on the front channels. Im not sure if he said it about that or the subs. Ive heard mixed reviews about that amp so I just went with a B6 for a sure thing. keep us posted on it..heard it takes a lil to break in but after awhile it sounds great.


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## audio+civic (Apr 16, 2009)

mark1478 said:


> I would just go with the 600/4 and 750/1. Especially if your already thinking about more power. you would spend less money in the long run.


I want to run two 600/4 and a 750/1 or two 900/5


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

audio+civic said:


> I want to run two 600/4 and a 750/1 or two 900/5


now that would be impressive. fully active I assume? got one for sale if your interested in the FS section


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## audio+civic (Apr 16, 2009)

mark1478 said:


> now that would be impressive. fully active I assume? got one for sale if your interested in the FS section


full active. Hybrid Audio Technologies probably. I work for a JL dealer so thanks but no thanks


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## loneshark2000 (Dec 19, 2009)

mark1478 said:


> So for my bday I bought myself a new JL HD amp. I went ahead..ripped out my amp rack. Shaved at least 70 pnds
> This thing was small enough to tuck under the seat. I was so psyched. ran all my wires, plugged it in..green light comes on..no output. Thank god I bought this thing authorized.


so did you get this amp working ?



Chulodee said:


> 1000? I got mine for $600 from my authorized dealer. I LOVE JL but dont think its comparable to Alpine!


so, can you get me one for this price? if not, how much?


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## ItalynStylion (May 3, 2008)

I think you didn't read the whole thread. His sub was toast not the amp.


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## loneshark2000 (Dec 19, 2009)

oh, ok, thanks ! i read down the part where he said he had a 2v out. thanks.


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

03blueSI said:


> I would say the HD600/4 is no less competent than the DLS A5 or A4 I ran in the past.
> 
> Out of the amps I have used I would rate them in the following order Arc 4200SE > Arc 2500XXK > JL HD600/4 > DLS A4 > DLS A5 > JL 300/2 > JL 300/4 > Memphis Bell.
> 
> The Arcs, JL HD and DLS are almost indistinguishable. All sound amazing. The DLS is a bit warmer than the JL and the JL and Arcs sound fairly neutral yet real musical. The JL slashes and memphis were fairly lifeless sounding to me.


I was looking at an A4 to run some Morel Elate Le midbass RMS @ 200w. DLS A4 was recommended even though it only had 150watts x2 . Does the DLS have "reserve power" or greatly exceed their specs? It seems that all of its power is reserved for impedances I would never use.


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## HK_M3 (Sep 12, 2009)

I'd love to try the Arc Audio SE amps. I did an amp shootout between the 300/2, DLS A3, Tru T2.250, Brax X2000 and an Interfire 2900. 

To me the JL and DLS sounded almost exactly the same. Very neutral.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

Bluenote said:


> I was looking at an A4 to run some Morel Elate Le midbass RMS @ 200w. DLS A4 was recommended even though it only had 150watts x2 . Does the DLS have "reserve power" or greatly exceed their specs? It seems that all of its power is reserved for impedances I would never use.


Just so you know, the A4 will do 250rms x 2 @ 4 ohm. 
The A3 will do 150rms x 2 @ 4 ohm though... 

Kelvin


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

subwoofery said:


> Just so you know, the A4 will do 250rms x 2 @ 4 ohm.
> The A3 will do 150rms x 2 @ 4 ohm though...
> 
> Kelvin


Thanks Kelvin, I must have mis-read the specs ( I thought the A4 did 250 bridged mono...) Those are good power ratings! after all


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

Please read those reviews: 
http://www.dls.se/files/564/2/A4 in AutoHifi 4-2003.pdf 
http://www.dls.se/files/667/2/A4_in_Talk_Audio.pdf 

Kelvin


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

subwoofery said:


> Please read those reviews:
> http://www.dls.se/files/564/2/A4 in AutoHifi 4-2003.pdf
> http://www.dls.se/files/667/2/A4_in_Talk_Audio.pdf
> 
> Kelvin


Those were good reviews! Thanks.


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