Test: Sundown 1500d Vs Rf T1k Part 2

[meade916]

sundowns dont have "birthsheets" they claim to do 1500 at 1ohms,

and RF rates their amp @ 1000 watts at 1 ohm. It does a little more, just like the SD probably does.

[AI James]

yea until a 1500.1500 can be tested this is pretty much moot, as well as any further testing between the 2

[meade916]

they are based on a zenon board they are not the same rebadged amps as IA , atomic, RD, Adassa, and whatever others.

most of the boards are based off each toher but the components on said boards are not .

Again even IF the sundown does 2000 your saying in YOUR words that its ok that the RF at 1400-1500 is the same efficiency as a 2krms amp and thats good?

oh the boards look identical but they are different.........please. Did they use a different resister somewhere? Thats what all the guys who run these amps say....

i got work to do man i dont have all day to sit around the house arguing with you.

[AI James]

the boards arent identical, but its ok you dont have to understand that. Have fun

ia.20.1

sundown 1500d

similar but not the same board

[meade916]

so the sundown has its very own board? I thought i saw some pics where it was the same as a few others, not necessarily the 20.1 (which is an 1800 watt amp)......anyway thats a whole different arguement.

anyway, you cant say i just get upset when someone is talking about RF because its not the case, look at my forum i have MANY manufacturer's on here. Id even give him his own section if he wanted it...if this was sundown 1500 vs kicker 1000 i would be saying the exact same thing. Hell if it was a Rockford T3000 vs a sundown 1500 id step in and say the same thing.......

just out of curiosity, did the RF's have the bass knob hooked up?

[Derrick824]

Whoa, I think some people are taking this way too serious/personal. Everyone keep in mind that these test only truly show whats best for MY application. Someone else will get different results using these exact amps in their system. All I'm saying in these tests is what is working best for ME. I'm not putting either company down or up. I love Rockford T-series amps. IMO they're beautiful and extremely powerful. If my setup was still strictly a "Ground Pounder" then I would still have a pair of T1Ks in my truck. However though, I'm taking competitions more seriously and need a more competition friendly amp that is capable of running at those lower impedances. Thats the only reason I've made the switch to Sundown and they're working out well so far.

Consider my testing done for now. I don't like the way these topics are going so I don't think I'll be posting any more results (unless someone with a T1500-1bd wants to meet up for a test).

[fourlug]

An RF amp is rated at 1000, but is it built to only produce 1000? No its built to produce 1400-1500. RF does this for marketing reasons, so people say "well my 1000 watt amp does more than your 1000 watt amp." They get excited, and feel good when they see their birthsheet that says more wattage then they paid for, great choice on RF's part because it works very well and keeps customers happy.

Since when does a badge matter so much??? Any company can throw a 500 watt sticker on a 5000 watt amp if they choose. The best way of testing is A(V)=W; then look at efficiency's because isn't that what an good amplifier does? Efficiently exchange power from one form to another.

The results will look different in everyone's eye's, I believe that they were extremely close results but Sundown Audio's amps were better suited for his application. From this test I don't believe either amp was deemed to be a better at 1 ohm.

[snafu]

Whoa, I think some people are taking this way too serious/personal. Everyone keep in mind that these test only truly show whats best for MY application. Someone else will get different results using these exact amps in their system. All I'm saying in these tests is what is working best for ME. I'm not putting either company down or up. I love Rockford T-series amps. IMO they're beautiful and extremely powerful. If my setup was still strictly a "Ground Pounder" then I would still have a pair of T1Ks in my truck. However though, I'm taking competitions more seriously and need a more competition friendly amp that is capable of running at those lower impedances. Thats the only reason I've made the switch to Sundown and they're working out well so far.

Consider my testing done for now. I don't like the way these topics are going so I don't think I'll be posting any more results (unless someone with a T1500-1bd wants to meet up for a test).

Didn't mean to spin this . . . but I guess I did. All that I asked for is that you use our amplifier the way that we intended before drawing conclusions. To the "novice" reader, it's quite easy to misunderstand how these results should be interpreted.

For example, if I was the authorized RF dealer that you purchased these amplifiers from and you showed me your findings, my next move with you would be to show you how to upgrade your charging system so that you could get all of the power your amps are capable of. That way I could ensure that you got what you paid for. My first move would be to get you to use larger wiring with these amplifiers - the connector we chose for the T10001bd can take up to 1/0 AWG wire easily. It wasn't selected so that the user could use "up to" that size of wire. [The minimum we recommend is 2 AWG for this amplifier.]

I'm not sure how this is perceived as someone from RF whining . . .

[Chode69]

i think its a pretty good test. put up a t15001bd for a MORE fair comparison.

supposibly that amp is more efficient and RATED the same power as the sundown. that would be a straight across the board test. Each amp wired to 1 ohm. same electrical power, same everything

lets see what that concludes. but i like the fact your going out and doin these tests.

[naruto]

I believe the way Zenon runs their company is a business uses their stock boards but has imported parts to go along with it.... So example is that IA may use a x-over from company A but Sundown uses a x-over manufactured from company B and Zenon puts those "out sourced" parts into their stock board creating it's own individual unique amp though based off the Zenon board....

Parts can range from x-overs, fets, power supplies etc etc...

It's like a dell computer.... made to order, you take their mother board but can add a sony DVD-R, Creative labs soundcard, Nvidia graphics card.... then call it an SMD computer....

I can go to dell get the exact same mother board and use a phillips DVD-R, Intel soundcard, ATI rage graphics card and call it a Naruto Computer......

BOTH computers will perform different even though the MOTHER BOARDS look identical....

I think people missed the point.. He compared a RF amp that's actual output rating (clamp tested by many to do WELL over it's rated power which is impressive somewhere between 1400 ~ 1600)

against another amp that was clamp tested to put out between 1500 ~ 1560.

I understand steves post about putting a rated 1k against a rated 1k.... or opposite a RF2000 vs a sundown 1000

But on that same tolken I can take a zenon amp and have it do 3000 watts stamp a 1000 watts on it and have it go up against a RF1000 watt amp and blow it away, at that point RF people will immediately point to the zenons ACTUAL power of 3K vs the RF 1.5K...

More to the point, would people sing a different tune if we all called the people at sundown and told thenm to change the amps name from SAZ-1500D to SAZ-1000D ??

I work for a shop that sells RF... we are the highest selling dealer of RF amps where i live... and the rep himself says that all of the power amps are underrated... To me underrated means taking a 1500 watt amp and calling it a 1000 watt amp... I mean RF themselves include birth sheets that support this claim... I have seen MANY of the 1000bd i install have birth sheets ranging from 1480 ~ 1600....

So in all fairness, I think both amps should've been clamped for "ACTUAL" output

then if they are close put them up against each other....