Amps: 1000-1500 watts under $400

[adirevolvo 0]

Most of this is not from first hand experince so please correct me where I am wrong. I'm just trying to save people the time they use asking this question.

Memphis mc-1000d aka 16st-1000d - So the amp I would most recomend in this price would be this. VERY efficent amp at about 85-90%. Costs about $360 shipped on ebay. Puts out 1100 real rms watts at 1ohm at 13.X volts. VERY small also. I often recomend this to people with Brahma's and subs like it. A large step above JBL and Hifonics. mc is black pearl in color, st is silver/chrome. This amp gets my vote. Great SQ with low distortion also.

JBL BP1200.1 - This is probably the most used amp in this range. I'm not a HUGE fan but it is a good amp. It is made decently well. rated at 1200 at 2ohms but people claim it does a good 1300 if not 1400 at 2ohms. They also say that it can work at 1ohm, which I dont doubt, just dont expect any warranty if you do. Not a huge amp but larger then the memphis and will get hot unlike the memphis. This is a cheaper amp at about $200-$250 shipped off ebay. Works ok for SPL and SQ type set ups.

Hifonics 1500d - About the same quality as the JBL. May run a little hotter, but it is a tad better of an amp IMO. rated at 1500 at 1ohm, but it does less then that rms. More like 1300-1400 like the JBL. This is stable at 1ohm unlike the JBL and costs about $50 more at $275 off ebay. A decent option, nothing bad about it for the money. It's a good first timmers amp. Also a good amp for cheap spl as it does not have the best SQ.

Directed 1100d - Basicly like the memphis only not as efficent, not as small and not as cool. But still better then the JBL and Hifonics IMO. About the same price as the memphis, maybe a tad less.

PG 1200.1 - Lots or power for a great price. This amp is fairly efficent, looks kinda cool if your into that look, and puts out some real power. Its rated at 1400 at 2ohms but I know it also works well at 4ohms where I think it does 1200. This is a great amp I would strongly recomend. It's also fairlt cheap at about $330 on ebay. Alot like the memphis onlye bigger, and maybe a tad better made. It is bigger though. A very good amp for SQ on a budget or SPL.

AudioBahn A1300HCT - Laugh all you want but the HC line of audiobahn amps is good. Its rated at 1200x1 at 1ohm and does at least that. This amp is not amazingly well made, but it will take a beating with voltage drops and spikes and stay near rms if you ask it to. Not an amp for SQ at all, but if your running say a a RE SX its worth taking alook at this. About $350 shipped. If your into the blingy chrome flame look, this amp is for you.

SoundStream PIC1.1400D - Not the highest end amp in the world but for the price, at about $230 off ebay, this is a great buy. Does 1350x1 at 1ohm rms, which is really more like 1200x1 but hey, its cheap. Fairly small also. This is another amp this is made to take a bit of a voltage spike beat up. I would not rate this for SQ vs. SPL but it should meet just about anyones needs ok.

And on a side note, Planet Audio, although hard to find is cheap ane very good for the money. They have an amp, the 2250d, which does a good 2200 at 1ohm rms which when on ebay goes for under $300. They also have a 1250 d which is cheap so look for those.

hope this helps someone.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

great review man, are you reffering to the PG Tantrum? cause I love that amp even though its a current hog and great review on the DEI lol

[Tirefryr 1,742]

What about the Crossfire VR1000 or MMATTS amps? THe MMATTS are super efficient and I have yet to have a problem with one. They can be pricey, but Ebay shoppers can find a used one for about the same price as any others you've listed.

[adirevolvo 0]

What about the Crossfire VR1000 or MMATTS amps? THe MMATTS are super efficient and I have yet to have a problem with one. They can be pricey, but Ebay shoppers can find a used one for about the same price as any others you've listed.

The crossfire is a good amp for lots of people but I did not know mmats was effcient at all. I dont know a whole lot though.

[geolemon 0]

Cadence Z7000.. you simply wouldn't believe this amp was actually a class A/B amp, except that it has an appropriately class A/B sized chassis... well exceeding 24". It puts out tremendous power, but the efficiency of it is really what is amazing... it almost seems to be a class D, in operation. We were even stress-testing prototypes using one, and even with an 80a fuse in the underhood fuseholder, got a decent amount of play time out of it before popping it... we really were impressed, particularly as we were playing quite often with tones...

I believe it benched at nearly 1700w.

Better Audio 1600M1... a nice, powerful 1580w amp, that sounded clean, and had a great preamp stage... 24dB/oct subsonic, 18dB/oct crossover slope, and yes crossover - it had a set of slave preamp outputs that were HP'ed at the same frequency, to have a truly coordinated system.

And obviously I'm a bit biased ...but not really since we don't make it anymore (a decision that was our former buildhouse's, not ours... boo! ).

This amp was very similar (same platform) to the Ampman Revo, and the RE 35.1, if you are familiar with either, very similar... all my comments apply to those also.

But, on to newer frontiers...

Hopefully quite soon, we'll have one amp from our lines making this list again - I'm big on value.

Also, a friend of mind used one of those Memphis 1000D's for a long time, he really liked it. Powerhouse, in an absolutely tiny chassis.

Earthquake PHD-2. I'm currently running this in my Civic for kicks (along with a PH2.5). It's powerful, it's got some balls, but I'm really not happy at all with the sound quality. It's turned three tight 10W6's into mud, and I'm running the gains quite conservatively low, as the enclosure was built to drive the 10W6's into full excursion around 600w total... just not right.

But, for SPL competitors, it's not about SQ, it's about power... and I believe it was three years ago, 6 out of the top 10 street 1-2 class world finalists were using this amplifier in their vehicles... that says something.

[foolioGrimz 0]

The Xplod 1200 is a good amp for being a sony. mono amp with 600 watts@2 ohm 1000 watts@1ohm. Crutchfield used to have it with two L1236 subs for $350. It has bass boost, crossover, thermal, protection, and cant remember what else it has but i do remember it had the deal so itd turn off the amp if you were running too much power on the signal.

overall its a very solid amp, and has taken alot of abuse but still in perfect condition.

[sandt38 448]

I'll second Geo on the Z7000. This thing is a damn monster. Mine benched out at 1688 (I just say 1700), and still remained as efficient as the BP1200.1 at wide open throttle. This is a class AB amp, running as efficient as the class D JBL amp pumping 300 watts less. Granted, class AB and D amps get closer in efficiency the more we push them, but a decent D still should be more efficien than an AB of the same (or in this case, greater) power.

I have absolutely hammered this amp with 1 ohm in enclosed amp racks with no forced ventilation and have never had a thermal issue, or a popped fuse (130 amp). This is a direct link to the closed amp rack it is in. You can see no ventilation, and I assure you there are no fans anywhere except the 1 built into the amp (I have some internal pics if you guys want to see it). And I do live in the south, mad humidity and heat.

This is one of the, no, I will correct myself... the nicest high current sub amp I have ever used.

[sandt38 448]

^^ On that note, I am an AB ho though too

[mrray13 30]

i think the mtx 81000d..now called the 1501d should be added to this list. i have yet to see a owner unhappy with one. maybe not an sq amp or the best looking one..but it comes in a vairly small package and puts out very good power...it's only downside being that it isn't one ohm stable...of course i have heard of them being pushed at one ohm and not popping, but have never seen it.

and on to the memphis....i have one and love it to death!! it just keeps going and going and going.....probably one of the ten best, the best in my opinion, sub amps of all time....today i played with it some and at 14.1 volts it was pushing at around 1300..to music(lil john)..not benched, i know, but i like the results!!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Edited February 22, 2004 by mrray13