Amplifiers / Head Units / Processors / Electrical

Alright here's my Dilemma, I have two head units an Alpine IdA-x200 and a Kenwood Excelon kdc-x589. I'm trying to determine which one is better. They both have their pros and cons starting with the Alpine. pros: Ipod support, good looking, ease of use, and usb support. Cons: 2v pre-outs, and for the kenwood Pros: 4 volt preouts, sounds great cd support, 2.5mm jack in. cons: no ipod support. I'm trying to determine which one to keep and give the other one to my father. Also i was told by a local shop owner who competed in world finals said that typically CDs tend to get louder than MP3's is this true? here's some more specs. Alpine: # digital media receiver (no built-in…

So I'm slowly putting together a small system for my 2005 TrailBlazer, No SPL Comps, just want something thats really loud and sound really good... Would be nice if it threw up some impressive numbers... What I have in hand or on the way already: 2 - sets of Polk Audio MM6501s (got them last week) 1 - SAX-100.4D (just ordered it today) Should be here by Monday, maybe Sooner... No hurry though, need more stuff... 1 - SAZ-2000D (Had it for a few months for the Blazer, was gonna order 3 more for its redo, but I got the TrailBlazer, so I'm doing it 1st, then back to the Blazer) 3 Sets of Scoche RCA (Per Jacobs recomendation) Buncha wire and connecters and such.... Things to…

it was sounding to good to be true. didn't know if these amps are ok. wanting to put it on 2 l7 kicker 15. thanks. saw it on on line car stereo.com

what size alt is needed to run a aqx3500.1?

Anyone have one of these or read any good reviews of the new reference amps from Soundstream they could link me to? Back in the day they were the some of the best around. Seriously looking at the REF4.920.

So say i set my gain at 50%, if i dont even plug in the remote knob, obviously the amp operates with 50% gain. But if i plug in the remote knob and set the knob to 100%, given the amp's gain setting is still at 50%, will i have identical output? or would i have to reset the amp's gain setting with my dmm? From what i understand, the amp's gain setting sets the maximum level of gain, and the remote adjusts the percentage of that gain setting you want to use. i.e. you have the amp gain set at 50%, and the knob at 50%, so you'd be using the equivalent of setting the amp's gain at 25% with no boost knob correct?

Can someone throw me the calculation for RMS wattage, i think it's something about the fuse rating times something else. I Have a Kenwood 4ch amp, with a 15amp fuse wanted to know roughly how much i could possibly expect. Half of all websites arent working at the moment. School server is being funky with the blocking, i think Mr.B needs to reset the filters.

Would going from ~130w to 300w each amongst 4 infinity 1252w's be worth the strain on my car's electrical system? It would only be a difference of 3, maybe 4 decibels. Would a high output alternator be necessary for 1200w, as well as a deep cycle battery? Or should I stick with the setup I have, and not have to dump around $500 into the electrical system of a car I don't plan on keeping? I could always take my battery, so I might get that if it would make a difference on it's own. My lights dim really bad, but even when I step on the brake or roll up a window w/ out the stereo on. My grounds are good, but perhaps my headlight ground is bad? Sorry, I know this ended…

...and what do you like or dislike about it? I am in the market for a DMM. I read here about true rms DMMs after someone mentioned to be aware of this feature. Is this necessary for setting up gains when a constant frequency is used to get a voltage measurement? Also, how accurate or unnecessary would a clamp meter prove to be? At the moment, I feel I am shopping for a clamp meter with true rms feature. I appreciate your thoughts.

Ive got a 105a alt and big 3 done also have a xs3400 under hood and a xs3100 on order, what else do i need to run a 3000w sub amp and a 400w high amp. Im guessing a larger alt . anyone that has ran similar or can give me help, thnx in advance

Does anyone know if it is a true remote gain control or just a bass boost? Also if it is a true gain control, will the actual gain on the amp supersede the remote knob? By this I mean no matter how high I crank the remote knob, it will not go past the gain setting on the amp, correct?

HU: Alpine 9885 (4V) Front speakers: CDT CL-62 (160RMS) Rear speakers: CDT 69X (100RMS) Subwoofer: Fi 12" Here's how I have them wired. Front speakers are amplified, rear speakers are running off the head unit. The rear speakers start to distort at around 25/35 HU volume. Why? Ideally I would have preferred to have my HU @ ~30/35 for PEAK listening levels. But as of now, since the rears distort so early I have my front speakers and sub tuned to peak at around 22/35. Most of the audio is definitely coming from the front and the rears are doing a good job imagining, but I find that I could get much more out of my system if the rears weren't limiting me so much. What are my …

I recently bought a motorcycle battery, to power a small kenwood 4ch amp. It is rated for 12v/160ca/12aH What is a decent budget charger? I was looking at the Kinetic Three-stage, but i don't have $109 Could i use a regular car charger on the 2amp charge setting?

So, I just but in the new BL, (see sig for more info), and I am very displeased with the amp I'm powering it with, so I think it's time for a new one. Current amp is putting out 600 at 1 ohm, (so it claims, not so sure it is), and I am looking to change that; on a $300ish or less budget I was thinking an audioque 1200d or an SAZ-1000d, (the pre-order for the sundown 1200 will be long over by the time I have the money for a new amp, so it is probably out of my price range). Are there other good choices out there? This is going to be a budget-concious set-up so if there are two solid amps putting out decent power, then I'd go for the cheaper one, unless of course it is o…

Howdy, I need some help here. I have two FI 15 BTL subs. Double voice coil,heat ring,etc,etc all options on the sub and built for daily playing. I have two brutus 2600's run by a controller. the amps or subs are not wired together. I also have installed besides the two 850 cranking amp ford battereis, two Kinetik 3800 watt batteries. The altrnator is (was) a 250Amp altenator built by Excessive amperage. After a week to 10 days the alternator gave out. I mean fried. I never ran the system at full power because I am still breaking in the subs. What could have caused the alternator to fry?? or was it just a bad alternator?? Altogether the system at full power is +/- 10400 wa…

Hi , guys I need help. O.K. I have comps up front rated at 150 rms and rear coax spks. rated at 100 , and I know i don't have to use rears, but i have rear seat passengers a ll the time [ three kids] and they love listening to music . Anyhow , how do I feed the comps enough power without overpowering the rear spks. Recommendations please! I was about to buy a Sundown 100.4 because I assumed they were all 150 rms, now i'm afraid the rears won't take the power if the amp is underrated. Sorry the spks are CDT and I think they're entry line , 626/622.

I just bought a new mtx ta7801 well I traded 2 R.F. P1's forit but anyway anyone no of any problems with these amps it sounds nice and clean the birth sheet says it puts out 1732w at 1 ohm. Just wanted your guys opinion onit I've never been a big fan of MTX so idk anything about them.

could someone give me a list of amps that do 2500 watts at 2ohms.

Phoenix Gold was dying a slow death under Rodin owner ship. AAMP of America recently bought PG, and a few old PG employee's are back to bring it back to where it once was. Here are a few pictures I found on the Phorum of the new entry level line of amps: I dig them. There are plans for a high end line and bigger power then the last few generations of amplifiers that were watered down for the Best Buy masses.

i have a jl slash 1000/1 connected to a yellow top battery but have ran into problems w the distrubution blocks that keep melting only the side that has the wire going into my amp will melt.. i use to have 4 gauge wire than upgraded to 0 and am still having the same probblem would it be the amp? or a grounding probblem?

I got a directed d2400 amp hooked up to a JL 13w7. Theres a red and a green light that are both on. The red light has always been on as far as i can remember. The amp keeps blowing fuses like crazy. I can listen to music like half way or so and its fine but when i bang it it will just shut off and pop a fuse. I got 4g wire. I'm not sure why it keeps blowing fuses. I've been through like 7 fuses in a few days. I drive an 01 pt cruiser with no capacitor. Any help will be appreciated, thanks. Side note: it did the same thing when i first hooked it up but it worked fine for a few months now its messed up again. Also my serpentine belt is going bad an it squeeks REAL loud wh…

Hey guys. I'm looking for a new HU. I like in dash screens rather than flip out. But I'm looking for a HU that will work with my setup. I ordered a FI BTL 18 powered by a hifonics 2600, also I have a DC power HO alt on Its way. Any suggestions appreciated

Hey guys, going to be replacing my "200a" alternator, why, because well, I just found out that it reaches it's peak at 5000rpm..lmao Anyways, new system will be ~2500RMS with a total of 260a's of fuses. 200 (mono) + 60 (2chan) What size alternator should I be looking at, would a 200a that reaches peak @ 1500rpm be OK? Or should I go bigger?

yup, another VS thread, and yup this is getting old, I am sorry. Seems the more research I do, the more questions I have. So I want more power than I originally thought. crunch ground pounder 3000 pro, ap3000d, AQX-3500.1?

Got a super old school 40x4 sony from a buddy of a mine and he said it worked. Spent all day running all the wires, got it hooked up and the power light comes on.. But there is something wrong, the only way I can describe it is a very loud thumping every second or so.. I have 2 sets of rca's ran and I think that could be the problem is me not having them set up right. On the back of my head unit I have the rca's hooked up to the sub amp fine. Then I have 2 pre-outs one set for the front and one set for the rear, well on the amp there is a,b,c,d and I'm not sure how this should be set up.. And the 2 sets of rca's are different idk if that makes a difference. Is this amp bl…