# Budget Brand Amp Discussion...



## strubby (Nov 1, 2010)

Let's talk about the budget brands. I'm looking into an affordable amp to power a JBL GTO 12 but I'm not willing to buy a Legacy, Pyle, or Boss. I'd like to get a step up, something that works for a daily user but not necessarily audiophile grade. I don't have the money for Rockford, JL, etc. I know a lot of people who are in the same boat, so let's talk about ALL the budget brands and everyone's opinions/experience. I, for example, have owned several Hifonics amps and they were reliable and rock solid. Were they the best sound quality or have the highest output? Surely not, but for the price, I was happy. Here's some brands to discuss...

Power Acoustik, Autotek, Hifonics, Fusion, Planet Audio, Crunch, Soundstorm, etc.

For me, I'm just looking for an amp to power the JBL I'm putting in my girlfriend's SUV. I'll get a Hifonics if I don't hear better things about another comparable brand. Let the discussion begin...


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

Mb quart > hifonics
just my opinion though

some soundstream amps are budget friendly. But also u can get a nice 500x1 amp alpine pioneer kenwood for ~$130


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## slowsedan01 (May 4, 2008)

Cruzer said:


> Mb quart > hifonics
> just my opinion though
> 
> some soundstream amps are budget friendly. But also u can get a nice 500x1 amp alpine pioneer kenwood for ~$130


Aren't MB Quart and Hifonics owned by Maxxsonics? Is there alot of disparity between their brands?

I would say some of the best budget brands aren't available anymore, which is a shame. Brands like Profile California and US Acoustics. Some of the newer Clarion amps have looked really nice and I have heard good things about them.


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## Jonny Hotnuts (Mar 15, 2011)

On eBay there are several PPI A600.2 amps for less then $200. 

A conservative 600 watts, American made, resale value and beautiful inside and out and great SQ.

The A600.2 is just one of many amps-brands you could find used that could fit the bill. 

None of the CHina made amps will come close in any of these aspects. Personally I would buy a quality amp a few years old as apposed to a China made amp just because its new. 

Good luck

~JH


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## jalba (Dec 20, 2010)

I have owned a Power Acoustik LT980/2 and a 12" Sony Xplod for 10 years and they've always been a great combo in my truck, sealed box. They both survived a flood and being submerged in muddy water for a day, after letting them dry out for a day or two they went right back to pumping out great bass. Never had a single issue with them, never cut out due to heat, etc...

They might have been a little better back then than they are now, but that's my experience with them.


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## erknjerk (Dec 24, 2010)

A used/refurb Kenwood is going to be less than $200, I'm loving mine.


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## dragonrage (Feb 14, 2007)

slowsedan01 said:


> Aren't MB Quart and Hifonics owned by Maxxsonics? Is there alot of disparity between their brands?


Yes they are but their products aren't exactly the same. MB Quart is supposedly better. But I have not compared the guts between them so I will not say that with certainty.


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## jel847 (Nov 8, 2007)

memphis, cadence it all comes down to your budget and if you want new or used


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## nick650 (Feb 7, 2011)

Worst and Best Car Audio Brands?

ENJOY!


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## cheesehead (Mar 20, 2007)

nick650 said:


> Worst and Best Car Audio Brands?
> 
> ENJOY!


That's pretty subjective. 

Budget brand is all in the eye of the end user.

There is a lot of great amps out there for very little $$'s. It all depends on your wants and or needs and expectations.

The classifieds or good deals sections are great places to see what others are using.


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## FAUEE (Jul 22, 2010)

I'd go used. A used Kicker, RF, Infinity, JBL, Kenwood, etc. will cost the same as a new super budget amp, and be more reliable and better.

That said, Profile amps were nice for inexpensive amps, the Power Acoustik amps are OK for the price 9totally overrated power wise though, in many cases they produce half what they claim).


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## FAUEE (Jul 22, 2010)

I'm personally pretty fond of the PA BAMF series of amps. Very compact, and pretty good build for the price. If you're not upset about the power they put out(half of rated-ish), IMO they're good amps.

They're very much like a budget RF Punch or Power amp (the newer style). But the problem is they're not that cheap when you consider what kinda power they really put out.


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## strubby (Nov 1, 2010)

Some decent responses on here guys. I know one of the brands I listed will work for what I need, and other alike. I've looked into Soundstream but it seems I can get a matching JBL GTO for about the same price. I've also submerged one of my Hifonics amps (Zeus I think?). Apparently the rear hatch didn't seal tight and I went through an automatic car wash... Dried out and worked perfectly for years. However there's so many options... Keep 'em coming.


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## strubby (Nov 1, 2010)

FAUEE said:


> I'm personally pretty fond of the PA BAMF series of amps. Very compact, and pretty good build for the price. If you're not upset about the power they put out(half of rated-ish), IMO they're good amps.
> 
> They're very much like a budget RF Punch or Power amp (the newer style). But the problem is they're not that cheap when you consider what kinda power they really put out.


Power ratings... So if I'm wanting to power the GTO at 2ohms, I should be looking into the BAMF 2000W-ish range? I never had the Hifonics amps I've used benched or anything, but the 1000W Zues amp I had on my old GTO pounded hard. Almost positive is was putting out more than half rating (500wx1). I'm just trying to get a feel for how they all compare. Seems the BAMF series is priced about the same as Hifonics amps. And that's all I presonally have to compare to.


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

strubby said:


> Power Acoustik, Autotek, Hifonics, Fusion, Planet Audio, Crunch, Soundstorm, etc.


Truthfully, I'd purchase the Zeff designed uBuy rebrands such as Clarion, Cerwin Vega, Elf, or Vibe before I would purchase any of those "budget" brands.

I just installed a Cerwin Vega EXL-400.4 in my sister's car to run her whole setup and she is more than pleased with it!


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## Zrowcool (Mar 18, 2011)

any opinions on powerbass amps? I installed one in a friends car and was happy with the performance/price ratio. I think he paid like <120$ for a 4 channel puttng out 400w RMS. 
I also liked the clean simple look to it. Many amps have too many lights and bling for my taste to be mounted where they are visible.


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

I work with low-end budget amps frequently, and brands like Power Acoustik, Planet Audio, Soundstorm, and Kenwood are actually fairly reliable most of the time, and many people are satisfied with that because they don't know any better.

That being said, the difference in value becomes very apparent when compared to entry level lines such as Kicker DX or Rockford Fosgate Prime - all other things being equal (source signal, power connections, install) the power output you get across the spectrum is notably stronger from the name brand amps than from their budget brand counterparts, given similar power ratings on paper.

I hesitate to put any numbers on it, because this would be hard to verify without some real testing to quantify it, but hopefully some other installers will back me up on this. Even though you might pay a small premium for a name brand amp, I think it's fair to say that the performance you get for the money is well worth it in real-world daily driver applications.

My advice to anybody looking to buy a basic amp on a tight budget is to either wait until you can spend a little more for the better product to begin with, or buy something high-end but used in order to save some coin.

Not that I'm complaining exactly, but a lot of people who buy the cheap stuff and come back looking to upgrade wind up spending more money than if they had just bought the better amp(s) in the first place. A point worth considering if you have high expectations for aftermarket autosound applications in your own vehicle, and can appreciate some common sense.


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## Angrywhopper (Jan 20, 2010)

Rockford Fosgate Prime series. They are very budget friendly yet put out the power they claim.


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## FAUEE (Jul 22, 2010)

Chaos said:


> I work with low-end budget amps frequently, and brands like Power Acoustik, Planet Audio, Soundstorm, and Kenwood are actually fairly reliable most of the time, and many people are satisfied with that because they don't know any better.
> 
> That being said, the difference in value becomes very apparent when compared to entry level lines such as Kicker DX or Rockford Fosgate Prime - all other things being equal (source signal, power connections, install) the power output you get across the spectrum is notably stronger from the name brand amps than from their budget brand counterparts, given similar power ratings on paper.
> 
> ...


I've personally always found Kenwood's amps to be very, very good. They do offer some cheap crap ones, but we never carried them. We had the 720x, 910x, 840x lines and they were great. Great build and sound quality, lots of power, honestly we never had any issues with them. When they came out with the "1 ohm stable" 9103, they didn't really like to run at 1 Ohm, just like Alpines don't like to run bridged. A lot of the Excelon stuff is top notch too. I was especially fond of their stuff from a few years back. 

In short, IMO Kenwood isn't really a budget brand. They perform just as good as anything from Alpine, Kicker, RF, etc. 

The clamps I've seen have shown the RF Prime amps not doing rated power. I haven't seen any clamps on the Kicker DX line, but I'd assume that they're likely the same way.

I've heard good things about Powerbass, but never tried them. Supposedly they're pretty clean, reliable, and do rated power despite their price. Sorta like the new version of Profile. Basic and cheap amps that do what they're supposed to without any real frills.


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## jbreddawg (Dec 28, 2009)

cajunner said:


> half would be good.
> 
> some of these amps are less than 1/4 of the rated specs.
> 
> ...


 Steven Mantz once mentioned the boss amps they built would put out HALF the rated power that was spec'd . And those were budget amps built from a legend .

Now,take those new companies in china that bought an old school name like soundstream,rockford,hifonics,ppi .
They are a COMPLETELY different amp with zero in common with their old school counterparts other then a purchased name.There is no lineage and no concern other then making money. 

I would take a 20 year old "real" amp over most of whats produced today. 

There are exceptions though like was stated like the Zeff designed stuff. But even there ,your going to pay a bit more then the flea market brands that have been mentioned.
If you just want to go boom , any of the stuff listed will work fine but dont expect high end sound for dollar store prices.


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## slowsedan01 (May 4, 2008)

ChrisB said:


> Truthfully, I'd purchase the Zeff designed uBuy rebrands such as Clarion, Cerwin Vega, Elf, or Vibe before I would purchase any of those "budget" brands.
> 
> I just installed a Cerwin Vega EXL-400.4 in my sister's car to run her whole setup and she is more than pleased with it!


Good advice here. Powerbass is another good alternative.


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

In all fairness, the eXcelon line of amps from Kenwood is very competitive in terms of price & performance with middle-of-the-line products like JL XD or RF punch. 

However, in terms of power output from the budget line, I have found that they are more similar to something like Power Acoustik or Boss. Of course they are priced accordingly, and very reliable, so they do offer a good value at their price point. If the budget is very conservative, I would much rather have a low-end Kenwood than something from Pyramid, for example.

I still contend that you get more bang-for-your-buck out of entry level lines from the few major names that have stood the test of time, but I'm probably biased because I have seen and heard the results of directly swapping el-cheapo-grande amps that go up in smoke from being pushed beyond their limits for something just a little bit more expensive, and that tends to leave an impression.


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

I've never used rf prime but i find it hard to believe they don't do rated. Are thy CEA certified?

I have a kenwood amp since I was 18 that's CEA certified and I've had no problems


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## Streetbeat Customz (Mar 19, 2011)

I'll take the Audiopipe 1800s for $182 on ebay anyday!

If you wanna pay for impedance rise - go ahead! Your best bet is multiple cheap amps if your looking for powa!


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## anthonyott99 (Mar 21, 2011)

Maxxsonics produces tough to beat for the price products, i personally have a 600 watt JVC amp i have used for many sets of subs and mids and it has held and pushed strong for over 2 years !!


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## PottersField (Mar 18, 2011)

How about the Pioneer amps? I've been giving them the eye lately as they're CEA compliant and they seem like a decent option if a guy is on a budget.


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## flexdmc (Aug 14, 2009)

What about buying used top quality amps from older generations/model lines?


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## BossHogg95slt (Feb 28, 2011)

Personally profile and power acoustik were my favorites both decent power never bothered to clamp either but have been pretty impressed with the power acoustik performance especially the crypt and bamf series


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## thefowlerfam (Mar 18, 2010)

The new Hifonics BRZ seem to great amps for the $$. I have a BRZ 1700.1 running 2 Type R's @ 2ohms and its louder than my old BXi2010 & MB Quart DSC 2000.1...I bought mine for $250 w/ free shipping from Sonicelectronix. I can play it loud for hrs & it barely gets warm. This is just my opinion...


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## NIU_Huskies (Feb 24, 2011)

slowsedan01 said:


> Aren't MB Quart and Hifonics owned by Maxxsonics? Is there alot of disparity between their brands?
> 
> I would say some of the best budget brands aren't available anymore, which is a shame. *Brands like Profile California and US Acoustics.* Some of the newer Clarion amps have looked really nice and I have heard good things about them.





FAUEE said:


> I'd go used. A used Kicker, RF, Infinity, JBL, Kenwood, etc. will cost the same as a new super budget amp, and be more reliable and better.
> 
> That said, *Profile amps were nice for inexpensive amps*, the Power Acoustik amps are OK for the price 9totally overrated power wise though, in many cases they produce half what they claim).


Wow, you two just named amps that i have or have had as my first amps.

I agree that both were great products for their price. Some of the best $ per watt ratio around.

I still have my US Acoustics that is in my signature. What i loved about their amps is their power was rated at 12.9v so they were underrated amps when most cars should be putting out 13.5 to 14.4v with the alternator running.

Too bad both went out of business. They were never big market names but considering how people in this day in age like to save $$ by purchasing online they should have done well with today's crowd.


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

Ok guys, lets put all this info in to a nut shell...When it comes to car amps "you get what you pay for"


China's cheap labor has really helped increase the watts per dollar ratio over the last 10 yrs, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing


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## strubby (Nov 1, 2010)

You get what you pay for... I would agree with that for the most part. The point of this thread isn't that the budget brands perform less than the high end brands. In most cases, that's a given. However, for someone like my girlfriend, it would be a waste of money to buy a $300 Kicker amp to power her $85 JBL GTO. And for a lot of people it simply wouldn't be necessary. Now, I definitely want reliability and am not cheap enough to purchase a Pyramid, Boss or Legacy. That's what this thread is for, to discuss the brands that are good bang-for-your-buck and will fit the bill for your average person. The Powerbass ASA400.1X or Kenwood KAC-8105D might not be bad fits for the JBL. A new Hifonics HFi100D is under $150, so I'm just shopping around before I buy.


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

if u only need like 300 watts if she has no other amp, an a/b might be cheaper, just more strain on electrical.

another amp that will do [email protected], [email protected](allowing for upgrade if need be) but class D, perhaps some might like it more reliably over the powerbass and kenwood, is an alpine. $142
Amazon.com: Alpine MRP-M500 - Amplifier - 1-channel: Electronics


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## strubby (Nov 1, 2010)

Well guys, I think I've personally decided on the setup for the Explorer. Going with a single 10" Alpine Type-S 2ohm DVC and Kenwood KAC6104D amp. Both 300w RMS, under $190. I'll build a sealed downfiring box and it should be more than enough for the girlfriend. Seems Kenwood is a good bang for your buck and the amp is actually less than nearly all the budget brands listed in this thread (Under $100). Feel free to keep the budget amp discussion going!


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## Resonant (Mar 20, 2011)

I have decent experiences with newer Hifonics amps, and the price is decent on them.


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## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

Soon I will be looking for a budget 4-channel amp with each channel rated 100-150watts RMS at 4ohm, or 300-600 in bridged mode. 

So far I have selected

VIBE Audio DEATHBOXS4-V1
Hifonics Zeus ZXi150.4
MB Quart ONX4.125

They're priced in the range 200-250 dollars in the US. Any ideas which could be better?


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## Resonant (Mar 20, 2011)

I use a 4ch Zeus that is similar to that and I love it :laugh:


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## strubby (Nov 1, 2010)

I've had good experiences with all the Hifonics I've ran, and would have gone that route again if the Kenwood wasn't exactly what I needed and had such an appealing price. I've ran two mono's and one 4 channel, all Zeus I think. They were reliable for me. :thumbsup:


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## Resonant (Mar 20, 2011)

What about budget old school? I had an old Jensen amp that sounded great, some of their old school stuff was alright :laugh:


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## Jsracing (Apr 1, 2011)

About half of these budget amps mentioned cost about the same as JLs JX line of amps, and that's before going through non-authorized dealers for even lower prices. Considering that, I'd rather go for the JL JX stuff if your budget is in the $200-250 range. Even RF pouches can be had new for around that price. I'd much rather go for the JL or RF first.


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## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

nick650 said:


> Worst and Best Car Audio Brands?
> 
> ENJOY!


What a load of BS that list is:

Phase Linear on the stay away list? lol, they made some of the best products on the market in their day-before the Jensen guys got their hands on the brand!

Lots from the high q list should be on the comp list

Fusion on the HQ list-my arse!


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## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

ZAKOH said:


> Soon I will be looking for a budget 4-channel amp with each channel rated 100-150watts RMS at 4ohm, or 300-600 in bridged mode.
> 
> So far I have selected
> 
> ...


Out of those the MB Quart, though as the brand didn't make any amps before Maxxsonics took over (IIRC) it's more than likely a hifonics of sorts.

VIBE are a teen brand in the UK, not my bag at all...


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## kkreit01 (Aug 27, 2009)

used US Acoustics


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## eggyhustles (Sep 18, 2008)

ZAKOH said:


> MB Quart ONX4.125
> 
> They're priced in the range 200-250 dollars in the US. Any ideas which could be better?


My go to amp for budget installs. 

What other amp will give u 125 x 2 + 500 x 1 for <$175?


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

eggyhustles said:


> My go to amp for budget installs.
> 
> What other amp will give u 125 x 2 + 500 x 1 for <$175?


is it clean power? ive heard some people say they liked them but they have some noise


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## eggyhustles (Sep 18, 2008)

I haven't noticed any yet..

The dsc's(older model) were a tad noisy


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## dragonrage (Feb 14, 2007)

Cruzer said:


> is it clean power? ive heard some people say they liked them but they have some noise


If the DSC/ONX is like my Q4.150, then they meant fan noise. Not noticeable unless I put my ear within maybe a foot of the amp. Can't hear it from inside the car.


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

eggyhustles said:


> I haven't noticed any yet..
> 
> The dsc's(older model) were a tad noisy


now that may be, as the ones ive read were the dsc not the new onxy. i might invest in one one day as i want to just have 2 amps and not 3, just a little skeptical


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## ryomanx (Feb 18, 2011)

ChrisB said:


> Truthfully, I'd purchase the Zeff designed uBuy rebrands such as Clarion, Cerwin Vega, Elf, or Vibe before I would purchase any of those "budget" brands.
> 
> I just installed a Cerwin Vega EXL-400.4 in my sister's car to run her whole setup and she is more than pleased with it!


does any one know of away to get these amp directly from ubuy?


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## labcoat22 (Mar 29, 2009)

ryomanx said:


> does any one know of away to get these amp directly from ubuy?


Yea cant get a ones two'sy from them now ya want a few hundred maybe you cant talk to them.

Ry-


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## Gary S (Dec 11, 2007)

The problem is, there is not much variance these days... almost all amps are clones of Rockford Fosgate.... they are all "trimode" amps. Before Fosgate became popular, most amps had identical left and right channels. Not anymore.

Soundstream Reference was one of the last lines that was not trimode (they had a coherent stereo/trimode switch). No wonder they are so famous now. If they would not have screwed up with one line of amps back in the 90's, they could have owned the amp market.

Incedenty, JL Audio started thier buisness with speakers and subs only. They did not have their own amps at the beginning. Guess what brand amps they used for their own show cars back then? - They used Soundstream, Audio Art, Precision Power, and Xtant. They used to have a gut's exposed Fosgate amp in a display case with a sign on it that said, "We don't use this". At the time, I thought it was a little over-the-top... I don't think that way now.

The other problem is "Made in China"... it's hard to do quality control when the factory is on the other side of the world. That's how you get things like lead paint in toys. I wonder what they put in those amps!

The DEI brands like Polk and Orion are a good bang for the buck, especially the Orion HCCA and XTR lines. I'm sure there are some other good brands out there, but that's the only thing I have confidence in right now as far as budget amps go.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

I like Kenwoods for cheaper amps, that is cheap as I would run. They are well built amps, but you can break them if you try they are not overbuilt to save costs. I like alpine and most of the large brands that have not been bought up like RF/kicker/MTX/JL/etc. You get in that popular range though and you will get a good amp if it has a known name on it. It is very competitive market. I picked up a refurb infinity kappa class D full range cheap, going to check that out.


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## antikryst (Feb 26, 2011)

good read. i have a db drive okur amp which is pretty much priced like a power acoustik amp... im sure it doesnt do rated power. hopefully i get my slight hiss problem sorted out once i switch out to a better one.


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## Vega-LE (Feb 22, 2009)

i run a Profile AP 1040 to my front comps and a Powerbass 600.2 to my sub and they both sound just fine. have had the Profile running for about 7yrs. now, and the PB for about 5yrs. neither have had a single issue.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

The infinity kappa seems to work well, sure has some nut compared to smaller amp that was in there. No noises or anything.


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