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Featured Replies

Posted

Anyone had any experience with these amps? Im looking for sq amps but it must be able to fit under the seat of my 07 frontier. This amp seems to fit the bill pretty well as far as size and with the class g/h design should be pretty clean sounding. It will be bridged to a pair of HAT CLARUS 6.5 components. Passive for now.

watts are watts. there might be some other options if we knew your size limitations. 

If have used an Arc Audio KS series amplifier and had no problems with it.

There is no such thing as an "SQ amp". It won't sound any cleaner or better than any other amplifier of the same power. That said the Arc amplifier is fine if it fits your space, budget and power constraints. As lithium said if we knew your budget and actual size limitations there are probably other amps that you could consider as well.

  • Author

When i say "sq" i mean a clean sounding, quality made amp. And watts are watts... However all amps rated at 75x4 will not sound the same. These new class d amps do not sound nearly as good as a regular old a/b amp. Ive had over a dozen systems since the mid 90s and the a/b amps have way more balls!! The class d shit falls on its face at high volumes. I bought the ARC. Ill give some feedback when i install it. Thanks all.

Whats makes class a/b leaps and bounds over class d?

When i say "sq" i mean a clean sounding, quality made amp. And watts are watts... However all amps rated at 75x4 will not sound the same. These new class d amps do not sound nearly as good as a regular old a/b amp. Ive had over a dozen systems since the mid 90s and the a/b amps have way more balls!! The class d shit falls on its face at high volumes. I bought the ARC. Ill give some feedback when i install it. Thanks all.

 

if the amps weren't gained matched than that explains your bias. 

  • Author

Nothing to do with gain!! Lol same vehical, exact same setup, two different class amps.. A/ b amps seem more " " dynamic. Hard to explain... Mainly noticed on snare hits and cymbal crash.. Just sound more " crisp". Anyway didnt wanna argue. Like i said i ordered the amp. And with that being said, i will soon post an add in classifieds for a mint 1 year old jl xd 400/4 with box and manual. Again, thanks all for the input!

  • Author

Edouble101, you said no probs? Did you like it?

Nothing to do with gain!! Lol same vehical, exact same setup, two different class amps.. A/ b amps seem more " " dynamic. Hard to explain... Mainly noticed on snare hits and cymbal crash.. Just sound more " crisp". Anyway didnt wanna argue. Like i said i ordered the amp. And with that being said, i will soon post an add in classifieds for a mint 1 year old jl xd 400/4 with box and manual. Again, thanks all for the input!

 

not arguing just pointing out you didn't test them appropriately. gained matched blind test is the only way to do it. 

  • Author

Bottom line is that i appreciated the sound of the old school amps more than new shit. Am i insane and biased?? Yes and maybe but im moving to a gh class on the highs and i am pretty excited! Sexy lookin lil amp and i got it shipped from authorized dealer for much cheaper than retail..

  • Author

So m5.. You would use a class d for an sq competition build? No one is building hi fi audio, home or mobile with d class amps!! Home audio guys dont even use a/b usually. They're using straight class a and tube preamps! Hahaa any way isnt this forum always pushing the fact that sound quality is mainly subjective ?? Well i own a decent class d four channel and.. I dont like the sound it puts out.. So well see! I will change nothing but the amp and give a real world opinion.

You are severely misinformed.

Oh, and Buwalda and Eldridge both use JL HD amps in their SQ systems. That's just off hand, and they are 2 of the most prolific and well-known SQ builders in car audio....using class D amps.

John Levreault builds some if the best amplifiers in the world for home audio And guess what he builds. Yep. D class

  • Author

I do love the debate bye the way.. So theoretically for a nice sounding amp that will fit under a seat, four channel, $500-600 or less price range.. What do you all think would be a good fit?

  • Author

Really? Now were talkin! I didnt know this! I honestly thought that class d was a new wave because of efficiency and foot print!

I personally like Focal solids.  They are tiny are never had an issue with one.  As long as any amp isnt being over driven youd never hear the difference. 

  • Author

So the arc isnt worth a shit, or what?

  • Author

Just checked out the focal. Its a class a/b! Honestly i dont give a damn what type of amp it is. I just want an amp that sounds good! Period.. Just saw the arc,read some reviews, thought it looked cool, and wanted some feed back!

Really? Now were talkin! I didnt know this! I honestly thought that class d was a new wave because of efficiency and foot print!

You are about 50 years late. They had some growing pains in the 60's, but class D's are damn well rounded at this point.

As for your search anything reputable really will work. A gain block provides gain. A good amp is a gain block. Differences are so trivial it is absurd to even discuss them as there are so many other things that actually make a difference.

Do yourself a favor and do some blind testing with compressed music at different rates compared to FLAC (or pure audio). It'll start to wake you up on what is really important.

Every arc audio amplifier from the   SE, KS, Mini, Xd have all had excellent sound quality, performed just as they should and never had a single issue.

 

If you want something to fit under your seat, sound great and perform then the Arc Mini you've already researched and showed interest in WILL NOT DISAPPOINT.

I do love the debate bye the way.. So theoretically for a nice sounding amp that will fit under a seat, four channel, $500-600 or less price range.. What do you all think would be a good fit?

 

$170, ppi 900.4 or any of the variants (polk, hertz, nvx, etc)  are about the same size as the arc audio amp. 

  • Author

M5, thanks for your input! I do unfortunately listen to alot of mp3 files strictly for the convenience but if i am looking for something that sounds decent i always pop in a cd.. There is no blind testing needed.. Mp3s, unless ive ripped a cd in lossless format, sound like shit. Your not talking to some jerkoff kid here!! Hahaaa this aint my first rodeo! ive be an audio head since the early 90s. U wanna give some advice? I love to learn! Otherwise save it

Most the people on this site don't say stuff just for the hell of it. You are quickly coming off with a know-it-all attitude, at least to me, and are likely to not get the help you are looking for on this site. No one can know the extent or credibility of your knowledge in the audio world, so they start with the basics. There is a wealth of knowledge here, take advantage of it. I know I am, I contribute when I can too.

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