# newer amps?



## strapdood (Apr 16, 2013)

Hi,
I am old school and I really intended on using all my old gear as well as a few used OS items in my build. I have nearly finished the build using almost all old gear and it rocks! But... I am wanting to add another amp for my 12" sub. I am using a Rockford Punch 40 and it sounds OK, but I really intended to use something like my old school punch 100 that I used to have. The sub really needs to have the correct power to hit hard and tight to have good sound quality. 
I know my OS punch 100 was giving me around 300w when bridged @4ohms. 
I don't have the room for a big amp and after seeing some amps at the local stereo shop that are pretty small but claim to put out big power. The amp I looked at was a Memphis audio amp and was real small. I can't recall the specs, but they were kind of unbelievable to me. 
Can the newer amps that are this small really hit hard enough to make me happy?


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

more than likely they were class D. Class D are much more efficient and dont need nearly as much heat sink.

Look at the JL HD series and the Alpine PDX. they are very small and put out tons of power.


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## RNBRAD (Oct 30, 2012)

I can't speak for Memphis but a lot of these newer class D amps bring a lot of desired qualities to the table. One is small size and also the efficiency. Many may question the sound quality of class D compared to a/b but I think early designs were a little less than desirable specification wise so this skewed peoples hearing perception. Today the specs of the "quality brand" class D amps match the a/b and a more efficient amp brings a lot to the table sq wise also because of less voltage swings at the amp. So to answer your question, yes they sure can and sound stellar doing it!!!


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## strapdood (Apr 16, 2013)

Thanks for the input. I guess I will look into some of the newer amps then. Can anyone suggest an amp for a single 4ohm 12" sub that that has a small footprint and can deliver 300+ watts rms mono at a 4ohm load.
The system right now has OS amps(Xtant, Alpine and Rockford) and the only weak point is the bass, so I appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

look at the JL 500/1 on ebay. you can get em for about $200 and they are solid. (although it is a class A/B) puts out 500 watts into 2-4 ohms.


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## RNBRAD (Oct 30, 2012)

Alpine MRX-M55 around 200 as well. My birth sheet was 613 watts for a 2 ohm load. Although they do not increase in power output and drop slightly, they are 1 ohm stable which can come in handy if needed. I have one running a 1'ohm load to four 12's and it is unbelievable!!


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## strapdood (Apr 16, 2013)

RNBRAD said:


> Alpine MRX-M55 around 200 as well. My birth sheet was 613 watts for a 2 ohm load. Although they do not increase in power output and drop slightly, they are 1 ohm stable which can come in handy if needed. I have one running a 1'ohm load to four 12's and it is unbelievable!!


I like the numbers on that one. Hard to believe you can that many watts for so cheap these days.


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## portwarboss (Apr 23, 2013)

amps are not what they used to be


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

portwarboss said:


> amps are not what they used to be


You are right, they are more efficient, smaller and more powerful. 

Sent from my motorola electrify using digital farts


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## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

PPI Phantom 600.2. 600 watts at 4 ohms for under $150. Also is about the same size as that punch 40. Precision Power PPI P600.2 (p6002) 2-Channel Phantom Car Amplifier


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

minbari said:


> look at the JL 500/1 on ebay. you can get em for about $200 and they are solid. (although it is a class A/B) puts out 500 watts into 2-4 ohms.


I haven't had any problems with my JL 500/1, well its powering a Toby Sheriff which only requires 225watts but even when I had it on for a good two hours it didn't even get warm to the touch.


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

I thought the JL Audio 500/1 was class d but had class ab efficiency due to its strictly regulated power supply? In other words, they were going for 500 watts RMS at 1.5 to 4 ohms so they didn't care about efficiency when they designed that particular amplifier.

Regardless, I owned a 500/1 to see if I could get by with 500 watts on my 13w6v2 prior to purchasing a HD900/5.


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

How long have you had that hd, and how do you like it compared to the ones you've own.


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

ChrisB said:


> I thought the JL Audio 500/1 was class d but had class ab efficiency due to its strictly regulated power supply? In other words, they were going for 500 watts RMS at 1.5 to 4 ohms so they didn't care about efficiency when they designed that particular amplifier.
> 
> Regardless, I owned a 500/1 to see if I could get by with 500 watts on my 13w6v2 prior to purchasing a HD900/5.


Slash were class a/b, the xd 500/1 was class d

Sent from my motorola electrify using digital farts


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## portwarboss (Apr 23, 2013)

portwarboss said:


> amps are not what they used to be


what i'm saying is...i have not found many amps that will put out the lower ohm's that i'm used to. i'm old school, i run old school amps for my subs. not finding the kinda amp i'm looking for these days. running a soundstream 10.0 now. have not found anything that will keep up with it that is newer. if there is any...please tell me what is out there, been out of this stuff for years, getting back into it now.


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

TrickyRicky said:


> How long have you had that hd, and how do you like it compared to the ones you've own.


I had the HD from July 2011 to December 2011. It was clean and efficient and I plan to use one again in the future. I do want to try out that MMATS 6 channel amplifier though. So that is the next all-in-one amplifier that I intend to purchase.



minbari said:


> Slash were class a/b, the xd 500/1 was class d
> 
> Sent from my motorola electrify using digital farts


The 4 channel slash amplifiers were class ab but I could have sworn the monoblocks, the 500/1 and the 1000/1 were class d. A very inefficient class d which is why I could see you calling them class ab.


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

ChrisB said:


> I had the HD from July 2011 to December 2011. It was clean and efficient and I plan to use one again in the future. I do want to try out that MMATS 6 channel amplifier though. So that is the next all-in-one amplifier that I intend to purchase.
> 
> 
> 
> The 4 channel slash amplifiers were class ab but I could have sworn the monoblocks, the 500/1 and the 1000/1 were class d. A very inefficient class d which is why I could see you calling them class ab.


I stand corrected, the mono blocks are indeed class d

Sent from my motorola electrify using digital farts


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## strapdood (Apr 16, 2013)

TrickyRicky said:


> I haven't had any problems with my JL 500/1, well its powering a Toby Sheriff which only requires 225watts but even when I had it on for a good two hours it didn't even get warm to the touch.


I totally forgot about Toby boxes. I worked for a shop that sold them in the late eighties and early 90's. I remember how we sold so many of them since they really made nice bass with not too much power.


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## strapdood (Apr 16, 2013)

07azhhr said:


> PPI Phantom 600.2. 600 watts at 4 ohms for under $150. Also is about the same size as that punch 40. Precision Power PPI P600.2 (p6002) 2-Channel Phantom Car Amplifier


I looked at those and the specs look good, but the small size just makes me wonder if it can perform. I know that I will just have to see for myself and the price is right to see if it will do what I want.


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

strapdood said:


> I totally forgot about Toby boxes. I worked for a shop that sold them in the late eighties and early 90's. I remember how we sold so many of them since they really made nice bass with not too much power.


They're the shiat. Little magnets, little coils, little power but BIG OUTPUT. Toby is now producing bigger versions.....A SINGLE 15" in a TOBY design, I believe this came out last year.


Sweet they recently updated their website. Also moved (which sucks, I liked their old spot) to Haltom City. Sad to read the news about Toby but hopefully the name will live on with the new owners.


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## strapdood (Apr 16, 2013)

On the subject of newer amps, I went to score an Alpine Mono black amp rated at 1000 watts. Looked to be a good deal, but was DOA. Thankfully I tested it before buying it.
I will keep an eye out for another bass amp for the time being.
I decided that it was time to move my enclosure from laying on the back seat of my Avalanche to the bed. This was my plan all along, but was more focused on the front end first so the sub was just there temporarily. I was hoping that putting it in the bed would make it sound better, but had no idea how much better it would end up being.

I had to modify the(bandpass) enclosure by covering the vent/port on the end and reporting it and adding a baffle. For this I used a 6' pvc port that extends into the truck behind the back seat. I have yet to tell my wife that I cut a 6" round hole in the mid gate! 

After getting it all situated in the bed and the port into the cab sealed, I turned on the system and was very surprised. The original point of this thread was to add more bass and tighter bass. By putting the sub enclosure in the bed and reporting it(I did add a bit of port volume) the result was amazing. Not only is the bass cleaner and louder and smoother, but it is very tight as well. 

I will still replace the punch 40 with something with more power just to get the bass a little tighter, but the enclosure and sub are keepers. 

Thanks


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## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

I take it you never lay the midgate down?


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## strapdood (Apr 16, 2013)

I do occasionally to carry something that is really long like lumber etc...
The midgate folds down just fine because I mated the port coming out of the box to the port through the midgate so they actually slide right into each other when the gate is closed. I was glad to see when it was done that I don't have any weird noises coming from the port from bad turbulence. 
The box is mounted with 2 screws to the bed slider so it can come out quickly. I also used a longer speaker wire with tiny bungie cords to keep it tight for when I slide the bed out for loading and unloading. Works pretty slick.


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## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

Very cool.


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