# Morel MPS 550.1 and 400.4



## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

Has anyone had a chance to test the Morel MPS amps? Particularly the MPS 400.4? I'll be using it to power a set of Morel Tempo Ultra 602's. The only thing is the Morel amp is rated at 70 watts x [email protected] ohms. This doesn't seem like enough power for these speakers. What do you think?


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## WS6TA (Oct 28, 2014)

This is a great question. I've been wondering about the Morel amplifiers as well.


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## Brian c (Aug 23, 2017)

dhmcfadin said:


> Has anyone had a chance to test the Morel MPS amps? Particularly the MPS 400.4? I'll be using it to power a set of Morel Tempo Ultra 602's. The only thing is the Morel amp is rated at 70 watts x [email protected] ohms. This doesn't seem like enough power for these speakers. What do you think?


Haven’t heard any reviews yet. They just recently came out though. 
I see your in my hood. I know there is a shop down in new brawnfulles down the road from us that started carrying them a couple months back. I believe one of the guys that work there was doing on install on his personal vehicle. Not sure you could get a unbiased review.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Steve Cook posted an installation on Facebook and I asked him. He’s definitely a fan and says they’re not equaled in SQ in their price point. So that bodes well. I’d think for a 3-way plus dual sub scenario it’d take two four channels and two sub amps. Or two 5-channel amps. From what I gather the Sony GS4’s or Zapco ST-X SQ would be their main competition. 

Looks like there’s a real class out there for inexpensive “SQ” amps in that 70 watt/channel range. Which is smart, I’d think, as probably 95% of dealer installs are right in that ballpark. 


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

There's a few positive reviews on the 4 & 5 channels on Crutchfield. I just feel like I may be disappointed sending 70 watts to a power hungry Morel midwoofer with a 3" VC if I was to use the 5 channel as an all-in-one solution. I REALLY like the fact all the connections are on one side of the amp, & have been wanting to give class A/B another shot on the fronts.


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

fish said:


> There's a few positive reviews on the 4 & 5 channels on Crutchfield. I just feel like I may be disappointed sending 70 watts to a power hungry Morel midwoofer with a 3" VC if I was to use the 5 channel as an all-in-one solution. I REALLY like the fact all the connections are on one side of the amp, & have been wanting to give class A/B another shot on the fronts.




70 watts wasn’t enough for my Tempo Ultras. Replaced the morel amp with an Audiocontrol 6.1200. Now they sing. Just like the morel amp, all connections run along the bottom of the amp. Really impressed with this amp 2 Months in.

















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## vinman (Feb 5, 2013)

That distribution block with the positive and negative feeds with merely 1/8 of an inch of space between them looks like ..... an accident waiting to happen 

Cheers ..... Vin


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

vinman said:


> That distribution block with the positive and negative feeds with merely 1/8 of an inch of space between them looks like ..... an accident waiting to happen
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers ..... Vin




Thanks. There’s an insulated cover that goes over both with a divider. No accidents here.


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## Kcmtbr (May 31, 2017)

I would feed those Morels at least 150 w rms , you want some headroom and the extra power really makes a difference. I went from a 75 w amp then onto 120 w and now have 180 w rms , all making a pretty good difference especially in mid bass authority and acuracy of which I’ve heard those Tempo ultras are really good at .


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

Kcmtbr said:


> I would feed those Morels at least 150 w rms , you want some headroom and the extra power really makes a difference. I went from a 75 w amp then onto 120 w and now have 180 w rms , all making a pretty good difference especially in mid bass authority and acuracy of which I’ve heard those Tempo ultras are really good at .




The midbass is something I have been extremely impressed with!


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## Kcmtbr (May 31, 2017)

dhmcfadin said:


> The midbass is something I have been extremely impressed with!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I think I’m going to eventually replace my Focal PS165’s with those Tempo Ultras , good price and all positive reviews .


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

Kcmtbr said:


> I think I’m going to eventually replace my Focal PS165’s with those Tempo Ultras , good price and all positive reviews .




The focal’s are really nice too. Definitely different. The morels just sound warmer to me. Not that the focals are harsh, I mean they can be untuned, but warmer is the only way I describe the morels. I would recommend them. For the price, you can’t beat the performance. I found the Tempo Ultras on Amazon for 329.00


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

I think another competitor in the realm of these would be the Zapco ST-204D SQ.. They took one of their small class D’s in the “Bluetooth” class, removed the useless (IMO) bluetooth, and bumped the SQ components. Rated at 180x4 into 4ohms.. That’s significant I think for a budget class-D with emphasis on SQ at $399 retail. I’d kinda like two just to have, possibly for the truck since they’re tiny. 


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

I'm thinking on the new Morel Amps, especially the 4+1 version, any additional reviews/experience? 

I'm thinking of driving a pair of Morel Virtus in the front and tempos in the rear + a sub. 
I wonder if 75W are enough? 

I'm currently driving a pair of Morel Hybrid 602 (in a different car) with a Sinfoni Adante 95W @4Ohm - and it's way to loud, I barely get above 30% of the volume, so if the Virtus are less demanding perhaps 75W are enough?

On the one hand I trust morel on quality and engineering on the other hand I understand they don't manufacture the amps themselves... 

My other alternative is an Alpine Alpine PDR-V75 - but that one is all class D - your thoughts are welcome - thank you!


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

Personally, I'll never run A/B in a car again, so I look at class D as a pro, not a con. I never knew Morel sold amps, which gives me the impression that they haven't been particularly popular. I'd personally stick with a company with a long reputation of making great amps. They may be perfectly good, but there are so many options for proven amp models that I wouldn't take a second look at Morel, especially when you can get double the power for the same price.


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

gijoe said:


> Personally, I'll never run A/B in a car again, so I look at class D as a pro, not a con. I never knew Morel sold amps, which gives me the impression that they haven't been particularly popular. I'd personally stick with a company with a long reputation of making great amps. They may be perfectly good, but there are so many options for proven amp models that I wouldn't take a second look at Morel, especially when you can get double the power for the same price.


Thank you, 
Can you please elaborate? Why not A/B class?
Also what other alternatives exist? I'm open to ideas.

Thank you!


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

Mohito said:


> Thank you,
> 
> Can you please elaborate? Why not A/B class?
> 
> ...




Biggest reason is they are significantly less efficient than class d.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

The Morel amplifier line is new. I think it is less than a year old. Most of the people that I have seen comment on using them have been very pleased. In talking with Casey from Morel at CES, he indicated that Morel went through significant effort auditioning and A/B comparing many different designs before settling on what they brought to market. 

I personally wouldn't exclude them from consideration, just because they are AB. Then again, I am someone who is about to install 10 channels of Class AB amps into a Scion xB.


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

rton20s said:


> The Morel amplifier line is new. I think it is less than a year old. Most of the people that I have seen comment on using them have been very pleased. In talking with Casey from Morel at CES, he indicated that Morel went through significant effort auditioning and A/B comparing many different designs before settling on what they brought to market.
> 
> I personally wouldn't exclude them from consideration, just because they are AB. Then again, I am someone who is about to install 10 channels of Class AB amps into a Scion xB.


Yes of course, Class A/B is what the high end '2 channel' systems use usually. 
For example my own amp at home the ATI 6002. That's part of what caught my eye about the Morel Amps - if anything Class D in high end home audio is a relatively new thing - that only recently got the 'high end' credentials... 

Anyway I'm tempted to get the MPS 5.950, I'm guessing if the rest of my system is Morel drivers that's what the Amp(s) where developed for. 

Still I'd love some more feedback from actual users...


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

Mohito said:


> Yes of course, Class A/B is what the high end '2 channel' systems use usually.
> 
> For example my own amp at home the ATI 6002. That's part of what caught my eye about the Morel Amps - if anything Class D in high end home audio is a relatively new thing - that only recently got the 'high end' credentials...
> 
> ...




I’ve had both morel amps and I was very disappointed in their performance. I was running Morel Tempo Ultras and thought there was something wrong with my dsp. The amps just had no power. Sub amp included. I took those out, returned them to Crutchfield, and replaced them with AudioControl amps. Immediately blown away by the output. The morel amps are not worth it.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

dhmcfadin said:


> I’ve had both morel amps and I was very disappointed in their performance. I was running Morel Tempo Ultras and thought there was something wrong with my dsp. The amps just had no power. Sub amp included. I took those out, returned them to Crutchfield, and replaced them with AudioControl amps. Immediately blown away by the output. The morel amps are not worth it.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Interesting. This is the first time I've seen feedback like this on the Morel amps. The AudioControl amps should certainly have the advantage in terms of output.


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)

Does anyone know if these Morel amps were designed by Morel in Israel or did they just provide some specs to meet and were fed a cookie cutter from china?


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

rton20s said:


> Interesting. This is the first time I've seen feedback like this on the Morel amps. The AudioControl amps should certainly have the advantage in terms of output.




They aren’t bad amps but considering their manufacturer, I expected a lot more out of them. They are definitely well built just not very powerful.


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

Truthunter said:


> Does anyone know if these Morel amps were designed by Morel in Israel or did they just provide some specs to meet and were fed a cookie cutter from china?




It’s my understanding, after speaking with Casey Thorson- Morel America COO, these are genuinely built morel amps. Designed and built in house like their speakers.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

dhmcfadin said:


> It’s my understanding, after speaking with Casey Thorson- Morel America COO, these are genuinely built morel amps. Designed and built in house like their speakers.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Not actually the case. These are "Designed by Morel, assembled in China." Which really isn't much of a surprise. When I spoke with Casey at CES, he did indicate that they auditioned a ton of different designs before settling on what became the MPS line.


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

rton20s said:


> Not actually the case. These are "Designed by Morel, assembled in China." Which really isn't much of a surprise. When I spoke with Casey at CES, he did indicate that they auditioned a ton of different designs before settling on what became the MPS line.




I guess I misunderstood. Thanks for the correction.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

dhmcfadin said:


> I guess I misunderstood. Thanks for the correction.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


No problem. Amplifiers assembled outside of SE Asia are pretty rare these days. Sure there are examples. But unless a manufacturer is pretty outspoken about where their amplifiers are built, it is a pretty safe bet they're coming from China or South Korea. NTTAWWT.


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)

rton20s said:


> When I spoke with Casey at CES, he did indicate that they auditioned a ton of different designs before settling on what became the MPS line.


Sounds like they auditioned a ton of different (Chinese buildhouse) designs before deciding which one to slap their name on 
I'm finding it hard to believe Morel in Israel designed these. Do they even sell them in the Israeli market? I can't find them on the website... maybe only a us market product?


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

Truthunter said:


> Sounds like they auditioned a ton of different (Chinese buildhouse) designs before deciding which one to slap their name on
> 
> I'm finding it hard to believe Morel in Israel designed these. Do they even sell them in the Israeli market? I can't find them on the website... maybe only a us market product?




You can’t find them on the us website? https://www.morelhifi.com/product/mps-amplifiers/


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)

dhmcfadin said:


> You can’t find them on the us website? https://www.morelhifi.com/product/mps-amplifiers/


No, the Israeli website: ×¨×�×©×™ - Morel IsraelMorel Israel


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)

Double post


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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

Truthunter said:


> No, the Israeli website: ×¨×�×× - Morel IsraelMorel Israel




That’s really interesting.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

I don't know that it would be all that unusual to find that there are products sold by a company in outside markets that aren't found in their home market. Focal does the same thing with their FDP (previouslu FPD) amplifiers. You won't find them on their French site, because they were really a product designed for the US market. It could very well be a similar situation with Morel. 

If you do even a little digging, you will see that many brands that sell internationally do this on one level or another. For the most part, they are just catering to their various markets. Just because a product is available in one market and not another does not automatically make it bad... or good.


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

For the record these amps are sold in Israel - for some reason the 5 channel version is not in stock but the 4 and mono-block are readily available. 

So no conspiracy here 

PS
I'm Israeli


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## Vividi#12 (Aug 24, 2017)

Guess they choose power levels requiring 8 gauge installation kits.


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

Vividi#12 said:


> Guess they choose power levels requiring 8 gauge installation kits.


What does this mean?
That the amps require less power? cheaper to install? Sorry a N00b here...


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## Audi_SQ4 (Aug 29, 2012)

dhmcfadin said:


> I’ve had both morel amps and I was very disappointed in their performance. I was running Morel Tempo Ultras and thought there was something wrong with my dsp. The amps just had no power. Sub amp included. I took those out, returned them to Crutchfield, and replaced them with AudioControl amps. Immediately blown away by the output. The morel amps are not worth it.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I currently run the Morel 5 channel and 4 channel in my vehicle. They power a 3way front stage and a single 12" subwoofer. In my experience, I have been thouroughly impressed with their performance. No issues with lack of power at all. I have all the volume I need....

For the money, they outperform others costing much more.... I've ran some pretty $$$ equipment in the past.. but am currently completely happy with these Morel amps...

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## dhmcfadin (Sep 28, 2017)

Audi_SQ4 said:


> I currently run the Morel 5 channel and 4 channel in my vehicle. They power a 3way front stage and a single 12" subwoofer. In my experience, I have been thouroughly impressed with their performance. No issues with lack of power at all. I have all the volume I need....
> 
> For the money, they outperform others costing much more.... I've ran some pretty $$$ equipment in the past.. but am currently completely happy with these Morel amps...
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk




Don’t get me wrong, for the money, I’m not saying they are bad amps, it just wasn’t for me. I still have a suspicion that I had dsp problems as I was using the Rockford DSR1 for factory integration and that unit had a ton of issues when it came out. I’m glad to hear yours are performing!


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

So now I'm wondering, one amp or two?
I'm thinking of running front and rear pairs of Morel Virtus 602 - some people say one Morel MPS 4.400 can do them justice (again, I'm after SQ not SPL) and others say it's not enough...

I wonder if I should ljust get to 4.400 and run them bridged - that's 200W per speaker pair and should be plenty. If I do taht I might as well go for a pair or Hybrid 602 for the front - the 200W will be more than enough (as I mentioned, I'm currently driving a pair of hybrids with a 95W Sinfoni and don't use more than 40% of the volume...)

I wonder if there's a way of limiting the amps out put (Careful Gain settings?) Since other people drive the car too, if someone would put the volume all the way up... At least hearing damage is guaranteed...


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Mohito said:


> So now I'm wondering, one amp or two?
> I'm thinking of running front and rear pairs of Morel Virtus 602 - some people say one Morel MPS 4.400 can do them justice (again, I'm after SQ not SPL) and others say it's not enough...
> 
> I wonder if I should ljust get to 4.400 and run them bridged - that's 200W per speaker pair and should be plenty. If I do taht I might as well go for a pair or Hybrid 602 for the front - the 200W will be more than enough (as I mentioned, I'm currently driving a pair of hybrids with a 95W Sinfoni and don't use more than 40% of the volume...)
> ...


Will you be using any sort of processor? Either way, there is no need for such a high dollar component set in the rear. Even with proper rear fill, all you need is a decent midrange to cover from around 300Hz - 3kHz. 

If you run a single component set up front + a subwoofer, the 5 channel would probably be your best bet. The 5 channel model is literally the 4 channel + mono in a shared chassis for a few bucks cheaper then buying them individually. It also simplifies the install with only needing to run power and ground to a single amp.


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

rton20s said:


> Will you be using any sort of processor? Either way, there is no need for such a high dollar component set in the rear. Even with proper rear fill, all you need is a decent midrange to cover from around 300Hz - 3kHz.
> 
> If you run a single component set up front + a subwoofer, the 5 channel would probably be your best bet. The 5 channel model is literally the 4 channel + mono in a shared chassis for a few bucks cheaper then buying them individually. It also simplifies the install with only needing to run power and ground to a single amp.


Thanks mate,
No plans for a processor, I can't really afford even this set up...

The rear set is important because I like my rear passengers  They're my kids and should grow up appreciating good sound... 

Having said that, there's a lot of sense in your proposal and if I chose a Maximus component set I could probably drive them from the HU (Android one, so not the nest SQ/power) - and save quite a bit of money by removing an amp... also work time and cables. 

I could probably upgrade the Sub from a Primo to an Ultimo SC too...

EDIT
Looking at the specs of the morel 1.550 sub amp (part of the 5.950) it says:

350W x4 Ohm
550W x2 Ohm

The Ultimo SC 10 is rated at 600W - I wonder if I should go for teh 2 oh version of the sub?


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Mohito said:


> Thanks mate,
> No plans for a processor, I can't really afford even this set up...
> 
> The rear set is important because I like my rear passengers  They're my kids and should grow up appreciating good sound...
> ...


After modeling the Ultimo SC in both the 2 Ohm and 4 Ohm version in a sealed enclosure from 0.6 to more than 1.0CF, I don't see any NEED to go with the 2 Ohm version. It won't hurt anything to do so, but 350W for the 4 Ohm version is more than enough in an enclosure as small as 0.6CF. And you need even less power for a larger enclosure. 

I would personally choose the 4 Ohm model. This allows you more flexibility in the future, should you decide to add a second Ulltimo SC subwoofer. Then you can wire the pair of 4 Ohm subs in parallel for a final 2 Ohm nominal load at the amplifier.


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

rton20s said:


> After modeling the Ultimo SC in both the 2 Ohm and 4 Ohm version in a sealed enclosure from 0.6 to more than 1.0CF, I don't see any NEED to go with the 2 Ohm version. It won't hurt anything to do so, but 350W for the 4 Ohm version is more than enough in an enclosure as small as 0.6CF. And you need even less power for a larger enclosure.
> 
> I would personally choose the 4 Ohm model. This allows you more flexibility in the future, should you decide to add a second Ulltimo SC subwoofer. Then you can wire the pair of 4 Ohm subs in parallel for a final 2 Ohm nominal load at the amplifier.


Thanks mate,
I appreciate the advice! 

There's no chance I'll get another sub into this trunk (with the current wife 
and while I hear you, I have to say that 350W for a sub that's rated at 600w (peak 2000w!) is barely more than half...

I do wonder about the enclosure, I'd prefer something small, but looking at Morels manual it seems optimal output is a 1.92 cu. ft - I'll go for sealed... Do you have a view on this?

Thank you!


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## Red Saber (Jul 5, 2018)

I like to buy more power then needed. You can always take some away.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Mohito said:


> Thanks mate,
> I appreciate the advice!
> 
> There's no chance I'll get another sub into this trunk (with the current wife
> ...


This is my take on it...

I typically model in WinISD to Xmax (9.5mm) + 15% (10.925mm). Certainly you could get more stroke than that out of the Ulitimo SC, but I don't know the mechanical limits of that specific driver. I do know the voicecoil is a 2 layer, 130mm diameter (big) x 31mm high unit, but that doesn't necessarily tell you what Xmech or "hard bottom" might be. 

So, in the case of the Morel Ultimo SC, this is what I get (rounded for simplicity). 

*2 Ohm - 0.52 CF Sealed (0.6CF - Driver Displacement)*
Fc: 62 Hz
Qtc: 1.06
Power to Xmax + 15%: 400W
Excursion at 600W: 14.5mm

*2 Ohm - 0.92 CF Sealed (1.0CF - Driver Displacement*
Fc: 50 Hz
Qtc: 0.88
Power to Xmax + 15%: 185W
Excursion at 600W: 19.9mm

*4 Ohm - 0.52 CF Sealed (0.6CF - Driver Displacement)*
Fc: 60 Hz
Qtc: .90
Power to Xmax + 15%: 350W
Excursion at 350W: 11.0mm

*2 Ohm - 0.92 CF Sealed (1.0CF - Driver Displacement*
Fc: 49 Hz
Qtc: 0.75
Power to Xmax + 15%: 175W
Excursion at 350W: 15.7mm

What does all that mean? Build the bigger enclosure and you'll have a better performing subwoofer. In the larger enclosure, you only need half the power the amp can provide (or less), regardless of which voicecoil configuration you choose. I'd still choose the 4 Ohm in the larger enclosure. Less work for the amp, less likelihood of over-excursion in the large enclosure, plenty of head room and in the off chance that you do find a way to add a second sub, the amp is ready for it.


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

Thanks mate,
If it helps, here are the specs for the drive(s) - Ultimo SC 12":
https://www.morelhifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/UTLIMO-TI-SUB-spec-for-web-1-5-16.pdf

And the manual where they go into details about expected response from different enclosures:
https://www.morelhifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Ultimo-TI-Ultimo-TI-SC-manual-for-web.pdf


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## ebrahim (Sep 21, 2009)

Are you running those Morel Hybrid 602 with an amp that does 95 x 4 @ 4 ohms?

Thank you.



I'm currently driving a pair of Morel Hybrid 602 (in a different car) with a Sinfoni Adante 95W @4Ohm - and it's way to loud, I barely get above 30% of the volume, so if the Virtus are less demanding perhaps 75W are enough?

On the one hand I trust morel on quality and engineering on the other hand I understand they don't manufacture the amps themselves... 

My other alternative is an Alpine Alpine PDR-V75 - but that one is all class D - your thoughts are welcome - thank you![/QUOTE]


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## Mohito (Mar 7, 2011)

ebrahim said:


> Are you running those Morel Hybrid 602 with an amp that does 95 x 4 @ 4 ohms?
> 
> Thank you.


[/QUOTE]

No the amp is a two channel one, so just the front pair (although gloriously!), for the rear I have a pair of Tempo Coax driven by the HU (alpine).


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