Time for a new system, what amp to get?

[Migz]

Before i ask anything id better explain where i live as it'll be important later, i live on a small islands called Jersey, it's a few miles below England and we count as part of the UK.

I'm planning on upgrading my system.

My last system was

6.5" Vibe Blackair Front speakers and tweeters - 120WRMS

6x9 Fli Speakers - 125WRMS

4 Channel Vibe Blackbox 4x 100WRMS @ 4Ohm

Orion Cobalt 800.1 1x 300WRMS @ 4Ohm/ 400WRMS @ 2Ohm.

12" Shark Subwoofer 500WRMS Single 4Ohm Voice Coil

Its okay i guess, 7th or 8th loudest I've heard over here (You have to understand car audio isn't really a big thing over here, yeah most people have aftermarket headunits and speakers, but not many people have powerful subs or amplifiers.), but it really isn't that loud compared to what is being done on this forum. When i originally made this system i hadn't signed up. Since then I've learnt a lot so i thought its time for a new system.

As i said, i live in Jersey, UK so i can't get the same choice in amps as most of you, so really im stuck to what ebay has to offer.

So far i've narrowed it down to two different brands of amplifiers.

The Hifonics Hifi range

(Monoblock 4 ohms: 750 watts x 1 channel.

2 ohms: 1500 watts x 1 channel.

1 ohms: 3000 watts x 1 channel.

4 Channel 4 ohms: 100 watts x 4 channel.

2 ohms: 200 watts x 4 channel. )

and SPL Gorilla range.

(Monoblock 4 ohms: 1700 watts x 1 channel.

2 ohms: 2500 watts x 1 channel.

1 ohm: 3200 watts x 1 channel.

4 Channel 4 ohms: 150 watts x 4 channel.

2 ohms: 180 watts x 4 channel.)

The more attractive one to me are the SPL Gorilla amps, they are a fair bit cheaper and seem to also have more power, i did a quick google of them and the reviews i saw said they were actually great amps, only performed a little under rated but not far off.

But then I've never heard of these amps before, whereas I've heard of Hifonics before on the forum. So im not too sure what to go for, opinions please? Or if you have another brand of amplifier for roughly the same price and same power then feel free to post.

Also a bit of a random question but does anyone know if the Distortion Detectors are posted to the UK? Would definitely come in handy here.

[rickyfromthe407]

Don't buy the carriage before you buy the horse!

Plan it out.

What kind of subs are you planning on running? Are you looking at having a Mono Block amp for your Subwoofers and a multi channel amp for your Mids/Highs?

Id be interested to see where your build goes, since its overseas!

[Trey_Dog650]

Before i ask anything id better explain where i live as it'll be important later, i live on a small islands called Jersey, it's a few miles below England and we count as part of the UK.

I'm planning on upgrading my system.

My last system was

6.5" Vibe Blackair Front speakers and tweeters - 120WRMS

6x9 Fli Speakers - 125WRMS

4 Channel Vibe Blackbox 4x 100WRMS @ 4Ohm

Orion Cobalt 800.1 1x 300WRMS @ 4Ohm/ 400WRMS @ 2Ohm.

12" Shark Subwoofer 500WRMS Single 4Ohm Voice Coil

Its okay i guess, 7th or 8th loudest I've heard over here (You have to understand car audio isn't really a big thing over here, yeah most people have aftermarket headunits and speakers, but not many people have powerful subs or amplifiers.), but it really isn't that loud compared to what is being done on this forum. When i originally made this system i hadn't signed up. Since then I've learnt a lot so i thought its time for a new system.

As i said, i live in Jersey, UK so i can't get the same choice in amps as most of you, so really im stuck to what ebay has to offer.

So far i've narrowed it down to two different brands of amplifiers.

The Hifonics Hifi range

(Monoblock 4 ohms: 750 watts x 1 channel.

2 ohms: 1500 watts x 1 channel.

1 ohms: 3000 watts x 1 channel.

4 Channel 4 ohms: 100 watts x 4 channel.

2 ohms: 200 watts x 4 channel. )

and SPL Gorilla range.

(Monoblock 4 ohms: 1700 watts x 1 channel.

2 ohms: 2500 watts x 1 channel.

1 ohm: 3200 watts x 1 channel.

4 Channel 4 ohms: 150 watts x 4 channel.

2 ohms: 180 watts x 4 channel.)

The more attractive one to me are the SPL Gorilla amps, they are a fair bit cheaper and seem to also have more power, i did a quick google of them and the reviews i saw said they were actually great amps, only performed a little under rated but not far off.

But then I've never heard of these amps before, whereas I've heard of Hifonics before on the forum. So im not too sure what to go for, opinions please? Or if you have another brand of amplifier for roughly the same price and same power then feel free to post.

Also a bit of a random question but does anyone know if the Distortion Detectors are posted to the UK? Would definitely come in handy here.

All i know is that the hifonics hifi line is not very good. They really overrate their amps, thats why its so cheap. And if the SPL gorilla is cheaper than that then i would be more weary of that. The hifonics brutus line at least does rated

[Migz]

Don't buy the carriage before you buy the horse!

Plan it out.

What kind of subs are you planning on running? Are you looking at having a Mono Block amp for your Subwoofers and a multi channel amp for your Mids/Highs?

Id be interested to see where your build goes, since its overseas!

Im going to be hopefully building a sub wall behind me in a Suzuki Carry van(Saving to get a Mk4 TDI Golf so need to buy something just for now) with 4 12" or maybe 15" subs, depending on just how much space i have behind me. I hadn't actually decided on what subs yet, but its between 4 of these wired down to 2 ohm. Or these wired to 1Ohm. Or even four of these wired to 1 ohm.

And yeah monoblock is just for subwoofers, and the 4 channel for mids and highs.

But i cant decide what ones yet, but i've got plenty of time before i start my build, I've got about a month or so before i can get it started.

Also I've heard from various people that you should give a sub double its rated RMS for a clean signal, but i've never read of anyone mention that on here, is this true or BS?

All i know is that the hifonics hifi line is not very good. They really overrate their amps, thats why its so cheap. And if the SPL gorilla is cheaper than that then i would be more weary of that. The hifonics brutus line at least does rated

I'll have a look into the brutus line then. Thanks.

[rickyfromthe407]

Also I've heard from various people that you should give a sub double its rated RMS for a clean signal, but i've never read of anyone mention that on here, is this true or BS?

Where did you hear that...I've never heard that before. The only way you will get a clean signal is by using an O-Scope or the newest crowd fav the DD-1 ; but I havn't been able to get my hands on one yet! But they seem to be badass!

Feeding a sub double its rated RMS is possible, but you have to know what your doing to not clip the hell out of it..

EDIT: it also depends on the sub how much over rated power you can feed it..whether the sub is built to handle it or not.

[Watch the bass]

I guess you German E-bay, looks like that we have the biggest market of caraudio in Europe, and that we have lower prices than in the UK.

I have good experience with buying used amps. Shipping is not this much expensiv from Germany.

There some RF, Audison and other well known brands, used to get. If you want to buy new use this site, it´s a pricefinder.

If you have a question, feel free to ask.

[Migz]

Not too sure where i heard it, i think its just been a word of mouth thing passed around. And they were talking about £50-£100 subs, that giving them double power was good, but seems like BS then.