rambronco Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Looking to upgrade front stage amplifier. I posted earlier about your thoughts on class AB vs. Digital amps for SQ, and this is kind of related (Want to make sure I buy a front stage amp once and be satisfied). I have been into car audio for a long time and since having some equipment stolen I am looking to upgrade. I was curious of your thoughts on amplifier headroom. I know im dating myself a bit here but back in the late 90's I heard the PPI van and was talking to the guys and in that setup they had an art series A2350 amp running a set of MB quart tweets. I realize that there needs to be some headroom to keep distortion to a minimum, but to run a 700 watt amp to set of tweeters seems (shall we say excessive). In your opinion is there a difference in SQ running an amp at 50% power vs lets say 80% as far as SQ goes?. 01 Chevy Silverado X-cab 2 Sundown Z18v4 walled on 2 Lanzar Opti 7k's strapped at 1/2ohm = each amp wired to 1/4ohm. Havent checked impedence rise so not sure what they are actually seeing. 6 group 31AGM's. 2-Eclipse 34230's each one running 2 Eminence 6.5" Beta 6A. These are beastly mids rated at 350w program power. I was skeptical but the eclipse amps are 370w x 2 and when there was 4 mids on 1 amp I could push it into thermal protect within a song so added the 2nd amp. Eclipse 4212 running 4 CT sounds Meso tweeters. and 2 DLS ultimate tweeters up high to raise the soundstage. 96' Ford F350 4wd 4d long bed 7.3 diesel with 91k miles. Will be the sound quality rig if I can ever find the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToNasty Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 I don't really understand what your saying. but sq has a lot to do with placement. im running a rf t400.4 right now (60x4) and soon to have a processor on it ***Super Sellers List***http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/25829-super-sellers-buyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcbrassard Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Ditto, Runing 2 T400-4s @ 75 RMS to two sets of T265 comps off a DEH80-PRS HU active and has some really good SQ to me. Its all in how clean the signal is and how good of an amp you have for SQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToNasty Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 oh oh, your saying to have a bigger amp turned down vs a smaller amp turned up? it shouldn't matter as long as its a quality amp and hu, tuned right and placement like I said ***Super Sellers List***http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/25829-super-sellers-buyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullz Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Dynamic headroom is something best left to be heard and felt cause trying to describe does no justice to what you will hear and experience. 01 Ford focus ZX3 Pioneer AVH-X491BHS PPI PC 4800.2 Morel Maximo 6.5" x2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcbrassard Posted April 15, 2013 Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 All my systems tuned with my DD-1 so i know all gains are matched and i dont feel like its "turned up" to max the potentional of my speakers. I know i am not overpowering them and feel comfortable that i am not underpowering them either. Plus a T600-4 is like an extra $150 in a price jump and buying 2 would have been a around a $1000. I did notice and feel a better response of the speakers going active than passive with the same amps. And the HU really helped as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8ight Posted April 15, 2013 Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 The more headroom the better. Period. Some nicer SQ amps like Zapco, Linear Power come with more hardware than they need to reach their rated output. Some call it underrating, manufacturers call it dynamic headroom. You can net your own dynamic headroom by purchasing an amplifier capable of producing much more power than the needed application requires. For instance I use a Zapco 1000.4 (150x4@4ohms) to push a set of tweeters rated at 50w RMS each on two channels and some midrange drivers rated at 90w RMS each on the other two. My sub stage is to consist of a Pioneer W252PRS (400w RMS rated) being pushed by an Alpine MRV-1505 (900x1@4ohms bridged). I believe it works, I don't think you need a 700w RMS amp for your tweeters though, I think around 40-60% more power than you need is optimal. I'm gonna hate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Lightning Posted April 15, 2013 Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 I don't really understand what your saying. but sq has a lot to do with placement. im running a rf t400.4 right now (60x4) and soon to have a processor on it oh oh, your saying to have a bigger amp turned down vs a smaller amp turned up? it shouldn't matter as long as its a quality amp and hu, tuned right and placement like I saidYes, Placement has alot to do with stage and inage ... And yes, the larger amplifiers you run on your stage and image setup is alot better than having one small amplifer working it's ass off to produce your targeted output ... You always hear me talk about power supply stages in amplifiers ... The less the amplifier has to work to make power, the better headroom you have availiable ... If you go to these BIG Sound Quality events, you will find out that there is a BIG reason why they run LARGE amplifiers on their stage and image sections ... I have a pair of 2 channel amplifiers on mine. 600 watts rms total (150 x 4) ... Kenwood / HELIX / Linear Power (For The Love Of Music) / Brutal Sounds / OverKill Electric Co Questions About Sound Quality ?? Try Here ... Sound Quality, What does it REALLY mean ?? SMD SOTM Winner "White Lightning" 1997 GMT400 Chevy Silverado "The Green Dickle" 1994 GMT400 Chevy "Phantom Dually" Randal's 2007 Chevy Avalanche (we haven't named this one yet) Dylan's "Brutal" 17 Chevy Cruze RS Hatch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ric006 Posted April 15, 2013 Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 The more headroom the better. Period. Some nicer SQ amps like Zapco, Linear Power come with more hardware than they need to reach their rated output. Some call it underrating, manufacturers call it dynamic headroom. You can net your own dynamic headroom by purchasing an amplifier capable of producing much more power than the needed application requires. For instance I use a Zapco 1000.4 (150x4@4ohms) to push a set of tweeters rated at 50w RMS each on two channels and some midrange drivers rated at 90w RMS each on the other two. My sub stage is to consist of a Pioneer W252PRS (400w RMS rated) being pushed by an Alpine MRV-1505 (900x1@4ohms bridged). I believe it works, I don't think you need a 700w RMS amp for your tweeters though, I think around 40-60% more power than you need is optimal. YUP YUP I dont know about any of the newer brands for SQ but the old school stuff i know Mcintosh and Focal still make i personally never used a Focal amp just drivers and then the old school US Amps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Lightning Posted April 15, 2013 Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 Dynamic headroom is something best left to be heard and felt cause trying to describe does no justice to what you will hear and experience.ABSOLUTELY Kenwood / HELIX / Linear Power (For The Love Of Music) / Brutal Sounds / OverKill Electric Co Questions About Sound Quality ?? Try Here ... Sound Quality, What does it REALLY mean ?? SMD SOTM Winner "White Lightning" 1997 GMT400 Chevy Silverado "The Green Dickle" 1994 GMT400 Chevy "Phantom Dually" Randal's 2007 Chevy Avalanche (we haven't named this one yet) Dylan's "Brutal" 17 Chevy Cruze RS Hatch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.