# Top 5 channel amplifier?



## joeybutts (Oct 2, 2008)

I'm planning on revamping the system in my Ranger and would like to go to an all in one package. 

I have been looking around and am kind of stuck debating between two amps; The Zuki Hybrid Eleets 5 Channel and the Digital Designs SS5. 

I am really liking the specs, aesthetics and size of the DD, but don't want to jump to that conclusion too fast. 

Any thoughts or experiences with these amps? Looking for opinions on which would be a more solid solution, or if I am just going to be stuck flipping a coin. 

Thanks to any help!


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## x97chevy (Dec 18, 2009)

The DD has great specs. This should be an interesting topic!! 


Sent from Tapatalk son!!


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## smgreen20 (Oct 13, 2006)

While I'm a DD fan, I could care less about the Zuki. But.... After reading the review a friend did on the Eleets4, I can't see the Eleets5 being far off. Both would be good amps. 

I still prefer my Audison 5.1k


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## jpswanberg (Jan 14, 2009)

pasmag has a review fo the dd amp. They complain about a high noise floor. The noise specs don't seem to be too great.


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## willtel (Dec 18, 2008)

I don't have any personal experience with them but when I was shopping 5 channels I liked the DLS A7.


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## joeybutts (Oct 2, 2008)

Thanks Chevy. That's what I was thinking.

smg, I will look into the Audison. Thanks for the rec!

jp, I read that too, and that was the only gripe, though i feel the noise floor difference between that and top tier amps is like comparing ferrari and lamborghinis.

Will- totally forgot about that DLS! Thanks!


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## tyroneshoes (Mar 21, 2006)

hd 900/5?


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## x97chevy (Dec 18, 2009)

tyroneshoes said:


> hd 900/5?


And that right there is a nice choice. All around great option in a small format 


Sent from Tapatalk son!!


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## cruzinbill (Jul 15, 2011)

id say a 900/5 or the voce 5 ch before either you listed... id even go with the jbl 5ez before those


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## gravel (Jun 24, 2012)

How does the alpine pdx V9 compare?


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## roseywat (Aug 13, 2012)

Recently my friend discussed with me about the 5 channel amplifier these are awesome as they tend to provide better sound effects


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## alfaromeo164 (Jan 8, 2009)

cruzinbill said:


> id say a 900/5 or the voce 5 ch before either you listed... id even go with the jbl 5ez before those


Y Your Preference 4 Those Amps?


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## dr.vacation (Jan 9, 2010)

zuki top quality amp,half the price of the same or lessor quality amps,patrick is an audiophile nut of the top order and hand assembles them himself,I live in vegas so got the pleasure to meet and talk to him when I got the 10 channel zuki, he lives for this stuff,even gives you about 10 Cd's which he burns at real speed! being a one man show is how he gives you one of the top amps in the business for about half the price of the others,no advertising ,no hype ,rates them the way he wants to,because its all about what he delivers to your ears! if you want cool looks or to brag about big numbers,I get the feeling he kinda feels that you don't get it.and the audiophile stuff hes owned,shows hes in that crazy small percentage that spend there whole live chasing the "sound",so yea I'd get the zuki,and if you for some reason dont like it youll find it brings almost retail when you sell it,but youll probably have to wait awhile as most of the time there built to order! and mine took about a week


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

How about this...Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D


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## Hanatsu (Nov 9, 2010)

I second that DLS A7, it's a really nice amp.


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## michaelahess (Jul 8, 2012)

gravel said:


> How does the alpine pdx V9 compare?


I love mine, can't compare to any current amps as I've been out of the game for 10 years or so, but the V9 other than a bit hot running, is very powerful. My elate's and crappy kicker 10 sub sound great with it. Has very flexible crossovers as well.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

dr.vacation said:


> zuki top quality amp,half the price of the same or lessor quality amps,patrick is an audiophile nut of the top order and hand assembles them himself,I live in vegas so got the pleasure to meet and talk to him when I got the 10 channel zuki, he lives for this stuff,even gives you about 10 Cd's which he burns at real speed! being a one man show is how he gives you one of the top amps in the business for about half the price of the others,no advertising ,no hype ,rates them the way he wants to,because its all about what he delivers to your ears! if you want cool looks or to brag about big numbers,I get the feeling he kinda feels that you don't get it.and the audiophile stuff hes owned,shows hes in that crazy small percentage that spend there whole live chasing the "sound",so yea I'd get the zuki,and if you for some reason dont like it youll find it brings almost retail when you sell it,but youll probably have to wait awhile as most of the time there built to order! and mine took about a week


i have a hybrid-5. and i have had it open. it is not hand assembled. i also have several of Patrick's CDs and they are in my regular rotation! i would vote LRx 5.1k if its in the budget.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

I would look into the Voce 5.1 or the DLS if I was spending the money.


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## dr.vacation (Jan 9, 2010)

assembled, not manufactured, manufactured circuit boards are going to be superior to hand made,but the owner of the brand, assembling it himself would hopefully mean quality control and other factors might be better than foreign or hourly workers assembling it, don't you think? He dosnt advertise so word of mouth for a quality product is how he puts his food on the table,and again getting the chance to talk to him you can feel his passion for sound,and I like the thought of helping the little guy battle the giants,which is kinda what people here tend to do everyday,by putting together mixed speakers, amps etc. Aint it?


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## MacLeod (Aug 16, 2009)

alfaromeo164 said:


> Y Your Preference 4 Those Amps?


The JL would be my preference as well mainly cause it 100x4 and 500x1. Thats more than most other 5 channel amps. And Im a huge fan of JL Audio gear and consider their amps among the best available. I keep reading too many things about turn on pops and other noise issues with the PDX-V9 so that wouldnt make my list.


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## gravel (Jun 24, 2012)

My pdx-v9 has no turn on-turn off pop, and has no audible background noise anymore. It did have a slight hiss when I first powered it up, but it went away in the first hour of running. I'm running it off a factory head unit with LOCs so I attributed the hiss to my system at first..

I wonder how widespread the pdx v9 noise problem really is? Two or three bad units in the right hands can get a bad reputation going pretty quickly...


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## enduro (Oct 14, 2009)

Im sure the new V9 noise problems have been way overstated just as they were with the previous PDX 5.

I also dont see any point in using some of the gigantic amps referenced in this thread . If I'm going to use something with that size of footprint I would just go with 2 separate amps.


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## necrophidious (Aug 14, 2007)

x97chevy said:


> And that right there is a nice choice. All around great option in a small format
> 
> 
> Sent from Tapatalk son!!


X3. Plenty of clean power in a small footprint, power efficient package.


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## BumpaD_Z28 (Dec 12, 2011)

dr.vacation said:


> zuki top quality amp,half the price of the same or lessor quality amps,patrick is an audiophile nut of the top order and hand assembles them himself,I live in vegas so got the pleasure to meet and talk to him when I got the 10 channel zuki, he lives for this stuff,even gives you about 10 Cd's which he burns at real speed! being a one man show is how he gives you one of the top amps in the business for about half the price of the others,no advertising ,no hype ,rates them the way he wants to,because its all about what he delivers to your ears! if you want cool looks or to brag about big numbers,I get the feeling he kinda feels that you don't get it.and the audiophile stuff hes owned,shows hes in that crazy small percentage that spend there whole live chasing the "sound",so yea I'd get the zuki,and if you for some reason dont like it youll find it brings almost retail when you sell it,but youll probably have to wait awhile as most of the time there built to order! and mine took about a week


What's the deal with the wattage rating on the ZUKI website ? Are real specs available somewhere ?

NEVERMIND ! I found PAGES and PAGES of info about the lack of a real rating (stupid IMHO) BUT I still want to purchase some ZUKI amps !

~DaVe


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## huggy54 (Apr 13, 2012)

how about an upgraded Genesis Series 3 Five Channel


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

enduro said:


> Im sure the new V9 noise problems have been way overstated just as they were with the previous PDX 5.
> 
> I also dont see any point in using some of the gigantic amps referenced in this thread . If I'm going to use something with that size of footprint I would just go with 2 separate amps.


Exactly...that's a very good point

My experience with the new V9 has been nothing but positive


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## Hanatsu (Nov 9, 2010)

BumpaD_Z28 said:


> What's the deal with the wattage rating on the ZUKI website ? Are real specs available somewhere ?
> 
> NEVERMIND ! I found PAGES and PAGES of info about the lack of a real rating (stupid IMHO) BUT I still want to purchase some ZUKI amps !
> 
> ~DaVe


Agree, those specs are just ridiculous. Read somewhere that you could easily add 10times to the rated output to Zuki's amps, dunno if there's any truth to it though, I can't remember where I saw it either =/


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## NA$TY-TA (Mar 25, 2009)

Hanatsu said:


> Agree, those specs are just ridiculous. Read somewhere that you could easily add 10times to the rated output to Zuki's amps, dunno if there's any truth to it though, I can't remember where I saw it either =/


More like 20 to 30 times his power rating on his site. I Have the hybrid and have seen one tested put out 90-100X4 and 600X1 and his class D 5 Channel is even more of a beast at closer to 160w X 4 @ 4 ohms + 1200w X 1 @ 2 ohms.

He 's not about the power rating's, plus it gets conversations going and thats free advertising LOL 

Ill be testing the Zuki Hybrid this week in my car if i can get the car rewired to by-amp my Utopia's.

Kyle


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

enduro said:


> Im sure the new V9 noise problems have been way overstated just as they were with the previous PDX 5.


If you count the turn on/off pop along with the HISS as soon as the slightest bit of signal was applied to the RCAs overstated, then color me crazy! Replacing the PDX V9 with a pair of known working amplifiers solved ALL noise issues except for an ever so slight turn off click. Basically, the turn off click can't be avoided in my setup until I address he HU powering down before the amplifiers do. Why can't the DEH-80PRS have a soft turn on/off like my CDA-9887 did?

Back to Alpine's PDX amplifiers... The only luck I had with them was BAD so they are permanently crossed off the list. If I install another 5 channel in the near future, I will stick with the JL Audio HD900/5 from here on out. Well, until someone knocks the HD900/5 off the top. That MMATS 6 channel was a strong contender too, but I decided to use the amplifiers I already owned.


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## gravel (Jun 24, 2012)

Chris, how many pdx amps have you used? Not trying to dismiss your experience at all, just wanting to understand it better. And how was alpine when you had problems?


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

gravel said:


> Chris, how many pdx amps have you used? Not trying to dismiss your experience at all, just wanting to understand it better. And how was alpine when you had problems?


Two... PDX-5 was purchased authorized and professionally installed. It was sent in for repair and returned noting that nothing was wrong. I want to say the sheet said something about either measuring or operating within manufacturer specifications, but this was 4 years ago.

PDX V9, same noise issues but purchased from an alleged distributor with a 30 day return policy. I wasn't even going to play Alpine's game this go round.

Fool me once, shame on you. Tell me that noise issues are a thing of the past, and convince me to try your product again, I guess that is shame on both Alpine and me. Alpine for obviously being wrong and myself for wasting my time, money, and effort by giving them another chance.

On the flip side, the PDX V9 made me realize that the fan noise on my Lunar Amplifiers was not as bad as I made it out to be. With the car running during the quiet passages, I barely notice the cooling fans. With the PDX V9 I heard the HISS during the quiet passages along with the turn on/off pop at every power cycle.

The moral to this is that I am sticking with what I know that works from here on out! I have a LONG list of manufacturers and products that I will no longer purchase and a very short list manufacturers and items that I will purchase. Crazy how the process of elimination works.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

I feel what you are saying, I went around and around with several said amps. My Alpines also gave me noise (3) to be exact. They were sent back and replaced and still the problem persisted. Alpine amps are to me hit and miss. I went to my JL HD source and all was good. The only reason I don't still run them is I read too much and convinced myself that I needed to have Italian for my amps lol.


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## enduro (Oct 14, 2009)

I've had zero noise issues on my PDX-5,although I do have the the turn on "pop" though.


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## MacLeod (Aug 16, 2009)

That's what I keep hearing about the PDX, the turn off pop. That's what makes it unusable for competition. As strict as they are on noise now and as close as scores are lately with them scoring in 1/4 point increments, losing a point everytime will kill you.


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## enduro (Oct 14, 2009)

Mine pops when turned on, it does nothing when turned off. The PDX 5 does need a better subwoofer output, definately using an efficient sub/box is mandatory if you're a basshead.

If the JL 900/5 wasn't 3x the cost of a PDX5 , I would probably use that amp instead though.


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## donnieL72 (Jun 20, 2012)

There are tricks to eliminate the turn on and turn off pops...


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

None of my amp pop on turn off when remote wire disconnected or power to remote wire interrapted. If I just cut the power to main terminal all amps pop.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2


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## jel847 (Nov 8, 2007)

Victor_inox said:


> None of my amp pop on turn off when remote wire disconnected or power to remote wire interrapted. If I just cut the power to main terminal all amps pop.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2



how and why would you cut the power to the main terminal? i dont understand what you are saying..


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

jel847 said:


> how and why would you cut the power to the main terminal? i dont understand what you are saying..


He probably did the same thing I did to troubleshoot the noise.

First, I disconnected the remote turn on output from the HU.

Next, I put a toggle switch between the +12v and the remote turn on at the amplifier. At this time, nothing but the speakers were connected to the amplifier because I pulled the RCAs too.

Flip the switch on, POP
Flip the switch off, POP

For grins, I connected my iPod to the RCAs where channels 1&2 controlled everything else. As soon as the PDX received the slightest of signal from the iPod at the RCAs, HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

The turn on/off pop and hiss were repeatable with the DEH-80PRS utilizing my in vehicle wiring. They were also there with my Clarion DXZ785USB wired directly to the amplifier, including a separate set of RCAs that were as isolated as I could get them. As in, they were next to NOTHING.

Replace the V9 with a pair of known working amplifiers, no more horrific turn on pop and more importantly, no more hiss. I get an ever so slight turn off click, but that is the HU powering down before the amps, I'm 99% sure of that! Regardless, the turn off pop is still way less than the PDX V9.


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## SoulMan76 (Aug 20, 2012)

How about a jl Xd 700/5.. i run a xd600/6 with 80prs, and they both are dead quiet, damn loud and clean. No pops ,hiss, noises, nothing, if I have the volume at 40 in between songs or on pause, you wouldn't know it was on. I still have the pioneer beep when doing any adjustments, but that's unavoidable.


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## jel847 (Nov 8, 2007)

ChrisB said:


> He probably did the same thing I did to troubleshoot the noise.
> 
> First, I disconnected the remote turn on output from the HU.
> 
> ...



oh he was talking about the remote turn on power, i get it now.


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## jel847 (Nov 8, 2007)

SoulMan76 said:


> How about a jl Xd 700/5.. i run a xd600/6 with 80prs, and they both are dead quiet, damn loud and clean. No pops ,hiss, noises, nothing, if I have the volume at 40 in between songs or on pause, you wouldn't know it was on. I still have the pioneer beep when doing any adjustments, but that's unavoidable.


i agree, i am using a pair of xd amps with no issues at all. great amps for the price


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## hawaii_broncos_fan (Nov 30, 2011)

I use a zapco iforce 5100. Its a 7 channel amp 4x50, 2x25 and 1x400 @ 4 ohms. I forgot what it does @ 2 ohms but the sub does 600 wats. I run it in 5 channel mode by bridging the front and rear for 200x2 (zapco says you get 175x2) for my front mids, then I use the 25x2 from the center channel for my tweets and 600x1 for my sub.

I got the amp for a steal on ebay bnib for 300 bout a year ago.


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## jel847 (Nov 8, 2007)

hawaii_broncos_fan said:


> I use a zapco iforce 5100. Its a 7 channel amp 4x50, 2x25 and 1x400 @ 4 ohms. I forgot what it does @ 2 ohms but the sub does 600 wats. I run it in 5 channel mode by bridging the front and rear for 200x2 (zapco says you get 175x2) for my front mids, then I use the 25x2 from the center channel for my tweets and 600x1 for my sub.
> 
> I got the amp for a steal on ebay bnib for 300 bout a year ago.


that zapco 7 channel is a great amp, i ran one in my gto for a while and regret selling it!


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## hawaii_broncos_fan (Nov 30, 2011)

jel847 said:


> that zapco 7 channel is a great amp, i ran one in my gto for a while and regret selling it!


Dude bout 2 months ago there was a bnib 5100 openning bid was $450. It went with no bids for two seperate auctions both of them w/the same openning bid. So the same seller put it back up for a third time w/open bid @ $175 w/no reserve. I watch dat acution all the way to the end and no one bid on it. I regret not buying it.

I love mines, even bridged for the front stage and 2 ohms for the sub and my amp runs cool as a mofo. The size is a beast though lol.


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