Mono (class D of course) amplifiers

[hetfield]

I'm looking to replace my Elemental Designs Nine.1 amp that was stolen out of my car a couple years ago. I have an old Lambda Acoustics LE 12" sub sitting in the basement feeling neglected. The ED amp is discontinued, but I *really* liked it and would like to get something similar. The specs were 450W RMS @ 4ohms, and I believe the sub is 4ohm and 500W max.

I never research car audio until I need something, and them I'm always overwhelmed at the brands and options available. From what I've been seeing here lately, something like these would be recommended:

http://www.ikesound.com/MB_QUART_ONX1.1500D
http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/9380
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_20776_Infinity_KAPPA_ONE.aspx
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_18703_Infinity_Reference_611a.aspx

Am I wrong about these? Anything else I should be looking at? I always lean towards SQ instead of sharing my music with my neighbors, so I don't care how hard it hits as long as it sounds good doing it.

 

[steelblueSE]

All solid choices. MB Quart and Hifonics are made by the Maxxsonics corporation and they are very similar models, with the MB being of the highest quality. IMO those 2 amps are really meant to be run at 1 ohm with their unregulated power supplies (not how fast rated power increase as the ohm loads decrease).

Any reason you wanted to stick with a D-class amp?

You can save a little bit of money by going with a 2ch and bridging the channels.

This is a really nice 2 ch, all Sundown amps put out more power than rated: http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/store/products/Sundown-Audio-SAX%2d125.2.html

What type/size of box will you be running and what kind of music do you like?

If you are running a ported box, unless you have it tuned super low (20s) then you will want to run a subsonic (or infrasonic) filter to protect the woofer's mechanical parts from over excursion at sub sonic frequencies.

 

[hetfield]

All solid choices. MB Quart and Hifonics are made by the Maxxsonics corporation and they are very similar models, with the MB being of the highest quality. IMO those 2 amps are really meant to be run at 1 ohm with their unregulated power supplies (not how fast rated power increase as the ohm loads decrease).

Any reason you wanted to stick with a D-class amp?

You can save a little bit of money by going with a 2ch and bridging the channels.

This is a really nice 2 ch, all Sundown amps put out more power than rated: http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/store/products/Sundown-Audio-SAX%2d125.2.html

It's always been my understanding that a D-class mono amp will be more efficient than bridging a 2-channel amp and A/B amps in general. I guess I've always equated more efficient with better quality, but I've been reading around that D-class can theoretically produce more distortion. I know I'm not pushing the limits on the Contour's electrical system, so I'm willing to give the Sundown amp a try.

What type/size of box will you be running and what kind of music do you like?

If you are running a ported box, unless you have it tuned super low (20s) then you will want to run a subsonic (or infrasonic) filter to protect the woofer's mechanical parts from over excursion at sub sonic frequencies.

It is a sealed 2cu ft. box. Music will vary, but mostly metal.

 

[steelblueSE]

My audio experience is more along the lines of subs and boxes and I admit I'm not too knowledgeable on amp circuitry and sq but I have also heard d-class amps also produce more distortion but this really only shows up on a ocilloscope and not so much to the ears. I have run both types of amps with ported and sealed boxes and never noticed any difference.

If I can ever find a buyer for my gear I can't wait to make the switch to Sundown. They are put together extremely well, are very rugged and put out more than their recommended power. Not to mention, their customer service is one of the best in the industry. The owner of Sundown, Jacob, is a real nice guy to deal with and he frequents all the online car audio boards spreading his audio knowledge.

Sundown's most popular amp, saz1500d, a d class mono was created to be a rugged dependable amp that does or exceeds rated power. SPL guys found that they were running stable with less than 1 ohm loads so they are all over the spl circuit. Here's a link of some testing to give you an idea how well these things are engineered:
http://audioforum.termpro.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=013151;p=0


You might might might be able to get that amp for under 200 if you look around more and try to find a local Sundown dealer and haggle with them. I think they just jacked the price up, I swear the link I posted the other day was only $205.

http://www.sundownaudio.com/index.php/dealers.html

product link: http://www.sundownaudio.com/index.php/products/item/sax-1252.html?category_id=1

edit: couple places with $205:

http://1800woofers.com/products/detail/269

http://www.woofersetc.com/p-9256-sax-1252-sundown-audio-125w-2-channel-amplifier.aspx

 

[hetfield]

My audio experience is more along the lines of subs and boxes and I admit I'm not too knowledgeable on amp circuitry and sq but I have also heard d-class amps also produce more distortion but this really only shows up on a ocilloscope and not so much to the ears. I have run both types of amps with ported and sealed boxes and never noticed any difference.

That's why I said theoretically

If I can ever find a buyer for my gear I can't wait to make the switch to Sundown. They are put together extremely well, are very rugged and put out more than their recommended power. Not to mention, their customer service is one of the best in the industry. The owner of Sundown, Jacob, is a real nice guy to deal with and he frequents all the online car audio boards spreading his audio knowledge.

Sundown's most popular amp, saz1500d, a d class mono was created to be a rugged dependable amp that does or exceeds rated power. SPL guys found that they were running stable with less than 1 ohm loads so they are all over the spl circuit. Here's a link of some testing to give you an idea how well these things are engineered:
http://audioforum.termpro.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=013151;p=0


You might might might be able to get that amp for under 200 if you look around more and try to find a local Sundown dealer and haggle with them. I think they just jacked the price up, I swear the link I posted the other day was only $205.

http://www.sundownaudio.com/index.php/dealers.html

product link: http://www.sundownaudio.com/index.php/products/item/sax-1252.html?category_id=1

edit: couple places with $205:

http://1800woofers.com/products/detail/269

http://www.woofersetc.com/p-9256-sax-1252-sundown-audio-125w-2-channel-amplifier.aspx

Thanks for the links. The only local dealer is well over an hour away, so any savings would probably be negated by the $4.20/gallon I'm paying for gas around here. I wasn't planning on making the purchase until after payday at the end of the month; hopefully I can resist temptation and hopefully the price stays at $205 for a little longer.

 

[98Mystique2]

I got a Rockford fosgate 400.2 ... class ab amp that well... i orignaly had a 325.2 from bestbuy for 135 bucks but had a trunk leak that shorted the led light on it (amp still worked fine).. took it to bestbuy since i had the service plan they said here's a 400.2 ... so idk that works amazing for me i think it puts out more like 425 watts or 450 at 4 ohms.. and sounds amazing.. I'd say check craigslist i know by me you can pick them up for like 80 bucks these days