# Alpine PDX 1000.1 vs. JL 1000/1



## MXracer115 (Jun 12, 2009)

what are the pros and cons of each?


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

That's really dependent on you, because what's better for me might not work for you.


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## MXracer115 (Jun 12, 2009)

true, but i'm trying to decide which one to purchase, so I figured i'd ask


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

size color and price


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

Things to consider, though you should have thought of these things in the first place:

Does size matter?
Is price an issue?
What Impedance will the amp be seeing?


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## infiniti23 (Dec 4, 2008)

A question I've always had is does going into a lower impedance load on one of these class-D amps have the same negative effects that you see on class-AB amps, namely decreased efficiency in dissapating heat, and lowered damping factor and slew rate ...


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## MXracer115 (Jun 12, 2009)

4 ohms, both put out 1000 watts at 4 ohms which I need, price some what matters, space really doesnt matter


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

infiniti23 said:


> A question I've always had is does going into a lower impedance load on one of these class-D amps have the same negative effects that you see on class-AB amps, namely decreased efficiency in dissapating heat, and lowered damping factor and slew rate ...


More than likely there are changes, but are you going to notice a difference in a speaker playing 20-80hz(or maybe 100hz) probably in a trunk a good 5 ft away from you? My guess would be no.


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

MXracer115 said:


> 4 ohms, both put out 1000 watts at 4 ohms which I need, price some what matters, space really doesnt matter


Flip a coin?


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## MXracer115 (Jun 12, 2009)

haha so i'm taking it both are pretty close in performance?


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## infiniti23 (Dec 4, 2008)

bass_lover1 said:


> More than likely there are changes, but are you going to notice a difference in a speaker playing 20-80hz(or maybe 100hz) probably in a trunk a good 5 ft away from you? My guess would be no.


Probably not at the ranges these things will run ...

Back in the day using old school Soundstream stuff, I would have sworn up and down that those amps sounded much better at lower impedances. Likely a function of the massive increases in power I would guess. Don't get that with most modern equipment ...

Back to the subject, I would thing the Alpine would be a better choice here. Cheaper, smaller, more efficient ....

I have two Alpine PDX 1.1000 right now, one for each IDMAX 10 I have. They are gained at the minimum and can rock those woofers in IB configuration ....


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## MXracer115 (Jun 12, 2009)

infiniti23 said:


> Probably not at the ranges these things will run ...
> 
> Back in the day using old school Soundstream stuff, I would have sworn up and down that those amps sounded much better at lower impedances. Likely a function of the massive increases in power I would guess. Don't get that with most modern equipment ...
> 
> ...


I see, i'll be integrating this into my stock head unit, i'm tapping into the sub output coming out of the stock amp, this amp should work fine because it has adjustable line input, correct?


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## RowJoe (Nov 14, 2008)

I'd go with whichever is cheaper. Neither is a poor choice.


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

Does the Alpine allow for speaker level inputs? If it doesn't then that would be a deal killer for me, as the JL does.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

There's no comparison at all. The 1000/1 KILLS the PDX. BY FAR.
Do some searching, PDX don't have any "balls" and the 1000/1 is under rated.

Alpine PDX Pros: size, price, relatively low current draw
Alpine PDX cons: Weaker output

1000/1 Pros: Sounds great, tons of power, better xover section than the PDX.
1000/1 Cons: It's a current hog, expect to spend money on extras (bigger wire, second battery or a cap) to make it run correctly.

This is just off the top of my head.
And I work at a dealer that sells both.

SonicElectronix has the 1.1000 for 499...
We sell the 1000/1 for 699 all day.
So, if price isn't a HUGE concern, and you have the space, go for the 1000.

Jay


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## MXracer115 (Jun 12, 2009)

bass_lover1 said:


> Does the Alpine allow for speaker level inputs? If it doesn't then that would be a deal killer for me, as the JL does.


im a noob, but what are speaker level inputs?


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

JayinMI said:


> So, if price isn't a HUGE concern, and you have the space, go for the 1000.
> 
> Jay


I think he meant to say the 1000/1... 

Line level inputs will allow you to hook up speaker lines to the amp... it will drop the voltage down to enable it to work with speaker output rather than line output.

This is useful if your head unit does not have a dedicated set of preamp outputs... if that makes any sense at all.


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## MXracer115 (Jun 12, 2009)

so instead of hooking up rca's you just hook up the speaking wires? i'm kind of confused?


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

MXracer115 said:


> so instead of hooking up rca's you just hook up the speaking wires? i'm kind of confused?


Sort of. When you use a LOC (Line out Converter) it takes your speaker wires, and turns them into RCA connections. Speaker level inputs have a different voltage than RCA outputs, so a variable input switch allows you to use either situation.


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## MXracer115 (Jun 12, 2009)

oh I see, I was confused, so speaker level inputs is just the switch that allows you to switch from high level or low level inputs, correct?


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

MXracer115 said:


> oh I see, I was confused, so speaker level inputs is just the switch that allows you to switch from high level or low level inputs, correct?


Correct.


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## MXracer115 (Jun 12, 2009)

both the jl and the alpine have this, but I think i'm going with the JL being as you guys said there is no comparison. I should be fine with my stock powering system, i'll be running 0 guage wire and a 2 farad cap, hopefully it'll be good enough.


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## RowJoe (Nov 14, 2008)

JayinMI said:


> There's no comparison at all. The 1000/1 KILLS the PDX. BY FAR.
> Do some searching, PDX don't have any "balls" and the 1000/1 is under rated.
> 
> Alpine PDX Pros: size, price, relatively low current draw
> ...


The PDX amps are all underrated. For example, 4.100s do around 130w per channel according to the birth sheets. Besides, will an extra 100-200w in this power range REALLY make a difference?

I believe when people say they lack balls they're referring to midbass, but I may be mistaken.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I've never been impressed with the PDX amps. When they first came out we were all like "Sweet, I can fit those in all kinds of places." But the always just sounded "thin," I guess you'd call it. 

I'm not going to get into the "All amps sound the same" thing, but they really don't. I've found that the JL amps have a fuller, more pleasing sound. As far as the 4 channels go, the PDX have proven to have a "thin" output, that lacks midbass/bass. The subs amps never seem to be anywhere near any other "premium" amp of the same power rating.

I've also found that JL's slash series amps are far better at rejecting noise.

Just my $.02, but this is what I've found working with these amps for some time now.

Jay


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## infiniti23 (Dec 4, 2008)

JayinMI said:


> I've never been impressed with the PDX amps. When they first came out we were all like "Sweet, I can fit those in all kinds of places." But the always just sounded "thin," I guess you'd call it.
> 
> I'm not going to get into the "All amps sound the same" thing, but they really don't. I've found that the JL amps have a fuller, more pleasing sound. As far as the 4 channels go, the PDX have proven to have a "thin" output, that lacks midbass/bass. The subs amps never seem to be anywhere near any other "premium" amp of the same power rating.
> 
> ...



Are you sure you're not just a JL dealer pushing your product?

Because I sure as hell don't have any problems getting great midbass or subbass from my PDX amps. I get enough midbass to make my doors sound like tin cans, and I have 2 PDX 1.1000 with the gains set at absolute minimum, each on an IDMAX 10, and I still have to dial the subbass down very low to blend it ...

In some of them, noise is an issue, but lack of power? I don't think so ...


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

I’ve owned both for well over 1.5 years each…

PDX pros: small. Efficient (moreso than the JL from some of the reading I’ve done)
PDX cons: noisy (but it’s a sub amp, so probably wouldn’t matter; not likely to hear the noise from subs). 
*I never personally noticed this, but did have more than a few people tell me that my subs s hould have done much better with that much power. I was running 2 idmax12’s. The guy who built my kicks told me he even changed out RCAs, played with phase, etc and just couldn’t get it to sound right on the low end. Food for thought*

JL pros: power. Regulated might be good for folks… no need to worry about config. 
JL cons: big. You can fit 2 PDX’s in the JL’s footprint. Not as efficient as noted above. I do recall having more dimming issues with the JL but I also had a different wiring setup and stock Honda battery so that’s not a fair comparison.


What about the JL HD750/1? I think I’d give that a go first. 
If I had to choose between the two and didn’t care about space, I’d go with the JL.
If space was an issue (and it is for me), I’d have to go with the Alpine. But again, if it were me I’d buy a JL HD750/1. But, I also don’t need 1000w rms. My 2 15’s get stupid loud even off 300w. 
MSRP on the HD is high, but maybe you can net a good deal from a local dealer. Maybe they’ll even price match an online seller:
JL Audio HD750/1 Amp: Mono - Car Amplifiers at Onlinecarstereo.com


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## kyheng (Jan 31, 2007)

I prefer JL Audio amps as onboard crossovers can be bypassed.


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## SPAZ (Jan 7, 2009)

Are the PDX amps stable to 1.5ohms?


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

MXracer115 said:


> oh I see, I was confused, so speaker level inputs is just the switch that allows you to switch from high level or low level inputs, correct?


The switch is just for the amount of voltage, not for the type of output (ie "speaker level" or "line level") feeding them. _IF_ the amp accepts speaker level inputs (through a speaker wire to RCA adapter), then you would select the switch setting that is appropriate for the amount of voltage going in and not for the type of signal.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

SPAZ said:


> Are the PDX amps stable to 1.5ohms?


Nope and it's a good idea to run them at 4 ohms instead of 2 ohms as well.


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## infiniti23 (Dec 4, 2008)

kyheng said:


> I prefer JL Audio amps as onboard crossovers can be bypassed.


The crossovers can be bypassed on the non-mono Alpine amplifiers ...

Doesn't really matter on the mono amps ...


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## infiniti23 (Dec 4, 2008)

t3sn4f2 said:


> Nope and it's a good idea to run them at 4 ohms instead of 2 ohms as well.


While this is generally true, I didn't see any real difference in performance running the 1.1000's at 2 ohm versus 4 ohm ....

This statement would imply that you think it's a bad idea to bridge these amplifiers also ...


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

infiniti23 said:


> While this is generally true, I didn't see any real difference in performance running the 1.1000's at 2 ohm versus 4 ohm ....
> 
> *This statement would imply that you think it's a bad idea to bridge these amplifiers also ...*


Generally, I'd say yes to that but it depends on the range being played and the actual min. working impedance of the driver. 

A bridged 4.150 feeding a pair 7" 4 ohm midbass, highpassed fairly high? Go for it. You'll have more power then you can use, so the amps PS won't be pushed to its limits.

A 1.1000 on 2 4 ohm small box sealed subs that have a minimum impedance below 4 ohms? I wouldn't. 

830877 | Tymphany

"Nominal Impedance Zn *4* ohm
Minimum Impedance Zmin *2.2* ohm"


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