Amplifier/Battery Combination

[organshifter]

Hello all.

Although I will be mentioning various components, this all boils down to what amplifier/battery combo I should purchase. I just want to cover all of my components.

Amplifier Price Range: Up to $265

Battery Price Range: Up to $150

Subs

I have three 12” subs with dual 4 ohm voice coils. Each sub is rated @ 2000W max/1000W RMS. Specs call for 1.5 Cu Ft of airspace each, whether the box is ported/sealed.

Enclosure

I have a triple, 12”, divided, ported enclosure which is (3/4") 16”H X 20”D X 39”W @ 4.9 Cu Ft airspace total. Each sub will receive approximately 1.63 Cu Ft of airspace.

Lead Battery

I purchased a new lead battery for my car a few months ago. It has 875 cranking amps (720 CCA) @ 12v. My alternator is rated @ 90 amps. I have not done the big 3 (yet). The lead battery is located within the driver's side wheel well, so I only have access points under the hood.

Dilemmas:

I plan to run 0 ga power cable from the positive access point 12 inches out into a 250 amp ANL fuse holder, and then on through to the rear battery's positive terminal. From there, I will run another 12 inches out into a separate 250 amp ANL fuse holder, and then directly to an amplifier. I will run 0 ga ground wire from the amplifier to the rear battery's negative terminal, and then from that negative terminal to a ground spot on the vehicle's chassis (sanded). Without the big 3, the above paragraph has a few discrepancies in itself, but I'll move along.

• Would running 0 ga power cable from an access point under the hood defeat the purpose, being that I am not connecting it directly to the lead battery? The flimsy wire that actually runs from the access point to the lead battery's positive terminal is probably already longer than 18”, so the placement of my fuse being 12” from the access point means nothing, correct?
  
• In conjunction with my power cable dilemma, I'm unsure if I should ground the negative access point under the hood with 0 ga cable or not. Would that be pointless being that it has a pretty flimsy cable running to the lead battery's negative terminal?
  
• Amplifier selection has been a real pain. While I don't have the cash for a CEA-2006 Compliant unit that outputs enough wattage, I was at least hoping for something with decent power. Below are the models that I've considered which are in my price range, but not limited to:
  *** (I'm aware that I'll need an appropriate distribution block w/ 2 runs of 4 ga to power these models)
  
  • SPL GRLA 5500/1D***
    
  • SPL FX1-5500D
    
  • Kole Audio TRAX1-5500D
    
  • Power Acoustik CPT1-5500D
    
  • Power Acoustik BAMF-5500/1D***
    
  • Power Acoustik OVN1-5500D
    
  • Power Acoustik STAX 5500/1D***
    
  • SoundStorm (SSL) EV5000D
    

Second Battery

• Yesterday, I cancelled an order on Amazon for a Kinetik HC 800 because I didn't think that I made the right decision. My main reason is that it's a 12 volt battery. Depending on the amplifier, I wasn't sure if I needed a 16 volt offering or not. I read a review that showed an amp performing much better with higher voltage. With that information in mind, I'm under the impression that a 16v battery/cap would make for a better addition. What confuses me is that in reading consumer reviews of the Kinetik HC 800, people have stated that with their stock alternator and HC 800, the voltage never drops below 14 on the hardest hits. How is that possible when the HC 800 driving the amplifier is only a 12v model? Can someone elaborate a little bit on that? As far as a decent battery for my setup, I considered the following (this was before leaning towards 16v):
  
  • Kinetik HC 800
    
  • SHURiKEN SK-BT35
    

Second Batt. to CapCell?

• After taking 16v into regard, I'm not too sure about power requirements or products anymore. The Kinetik HC16V and SHURiKEN SK-BT16V are out of my price range, so I have considered the following:
  (Why is the amp/hour ratio so low on these capcells, or does it not matter?)
  
  • 
    
  SPL SBT-800
  Power Acoustik CAPCELL-600
  Power Acoustik CAPCELL-400

Will the above capcells be able to sustain enough power to provide the amplifier with a consistent 16 volts? How good are capcells anyway?

Is it even safe to power an amplifier with 16 volts on a daily basis? If so, what combination of power source(s) will I need to accomplish this?

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Feel free to mention anything else. I would really appreciate the help guys.

I'd like to place this order by Wednesday (Oct 20th, 2010).

Thanks,

Shifter

[big dee]

how much power are you needing and whats your top price and also i would not use those amps and also use a power cell instead of power cap

[organshifter]

I want to be able to push the subs close to their potential. They are rated at 1000W RMS/2000W Max, so maybe 800W X 3. My price point for the amp is $265, and for a battery is $150.

[big dee]

go w ith audioque amps cheap and good clean power there 2200 is 389 shipped or there 1200 is 250 i know thats more than you wanted to spend but that a good amp and is rated at 12 volts

[big dee]

what subs are you using

[organshifter]

Alright, I know PA amps are overrated (power-wise) but, @ 16 volts, do you think I could get 2400RMS? I can understand not using SoundStorm, but is PA really that bad? What about the Kole TRAX series or SPL?

[big dee]

Alright, I know PA amps are overrated (power-wise) but, @ 16 volts, do you think I could get 2400RMS? I can understand not using SoundStorm, but is PA really that bad? What about the Kole TRAX series or SPL?

i dont think they will and if they did it would be dirty as hell clip city i just had the kole trax 5500d and it was weak an no were close to rated power and i have upgraded elec with 2 power cells

[big dee]

and also pa and kole are the same company

[big dee]

they might put out 1200 i use to run pa but there suckin more and more not what they use to be dont wast your money ttrust me

[big dee]

what subs are you using. and i use to build shit the cheap way and it works and sounds ok but it just dont last you get what you pay for, i have a cheap system in my work van and i go trew sub or two a month so realy its just wasting my money but its still fun to beat them to hell and back tho but i have fun with it and dont worry about blowing shit cause my subs are so cheap . but they hammer hard as hell. so its realy up to you but im done with cheap subs and amps. i was hard headed and would not listen to peps giving me advise. and belive me i dont have a pocket full of cash to blow ether. but your better off buying one thing at a time and then you will have something better in the long run.