Amp Questions

[TH3xBO55]

I have heard things about why one amp is better than another but I have never quite understood why. For instance I have an audiopipe ap15001d and it works fine for me and was cheap, but people say I should upgrade to a sundown or something similar when I get the money. Why is that? What makes one amp better than another?!?

[carlosg_313]

all i know of is the efficiency of the amp. some amps that says 1500 watts may only put out 1400 or less. sundown is a bit underrated, of i what i read. from sundown, audioque, rockford fosgate, incriminator, stetsom, any brands known on forums are built for quality. on your amp, whats the rating of rms that puts out?

[TH3xBO55]

all i know of is the efficiency of the amp. some amps that says 1500 watts may only put out 1400 or less. sundown is a bit underrated, of i what i read. from sundown, audioque, rockford fosgate, incriminator, stetsom, any brands known on forums are built for quality. on your amp, whats the rating of rms that puts out?

I cant get on almost anything online becuase of my works firewall but If I remember correctly 1400 @1ohm and down from there. Ive heard that some amps give their rated power at a higher voltage than an actual 12v battery puts out and I dont know if thats the case as far as quality amps. Also Ive heard that some amps have "clean" power versus not "clean" power, which I dont understand. Also, there is reliability issues too. What makes an amp more reliable? I spent $300 on a quailty sub and I dont want a bad amp jacking it up.

[AA98hoe]

i use to believe you get what you pay for npw im not so sure anymore case in point i have 2 DD m4s these amps put out 3500w at 11.9v and i paid over $2500 for them well i took them to my amp guy to get looked at (modded) and the boards and components are very similar to hifonics which i can get for about 300 a piece. my amps will do .25 ohms yes but is that worth all the extra money? no. if your audiopipes work for you use them. if you want more power step up to the next line.pretty much all amps are made in china korea or japan, some in brazil etc so there is not a seperate build house for every amp they are built in same houses and use same materials

[AMI CUSTOMS]

Clean vs not clean, meaning, some company's give that rating at a higher distortion rating, meaning the amp is making more power due to the square wave of the signal. Clean power is un distorted and doesn't clip the signal so it is a nice sin wave and NOT a square wave.

[TH3xBO55]

i use to believe you get what you pay for npw im not so sure anymore case in point i have 2 DD m4s these amps put out 3500w at 11.9v and i paid over $2500 for them well i took them to my amp guy to get looked at (modded) and the boards and components are very similar to hifonics which i can get for about 300 a piece. my amps will do .25 ohms yes but is that worth all the extra money? no. if your audiopipes work for you use them. if you want more power step up to the next line.pretty much all amps are made in china korea or japan, some in brazil etc so there is not a seperate build house for every amp they are built in same houses and use same materials

Do you know what people mean when they say "clean" power or is that just a myth? From what Ive read, what you said seems to be the consensus: As long as the amp gives you the power you need brand doesnt much matter. And btw, 4 DC XL 18"s!?! And I thought my DC lvl4 12" was loud LMAO!

[TH3xBO55]

Clean vs not clean, meaning, some company's give that rating at a higher distortion rating, meaning the amp is making more power due to the square wave of the signal. Clean power is un distorted and doesn't clip the signal so it is a nice sin wave and NOT a square wave.

So let me see if I got this right, Lets say my amp says it will do 1400rms @ 1ohm w/ 13.4V. If that rating was taken with the amp making the sub distort or basically sound like crap then its given the rating nonclean. AKA even with an amp that gives said rating at an unclean power as long as you set your sub so that it doesnt distort or clip you dont have to worry about you sub being damaged? Basically lesser amps might give an unclean rating which is kind of misleading?

[AA98hoe]

Do you know what people mean when they say "clean" power or is that just a myth? From what Ive read, what you said seems to be the consensus: As long as the amp gives you the power you need brand doesnt much matter. And btw, 4 DC XL 18"s!?! And I thought my DC lvl4 12" was loud LMAO!

lol yea 4 and i want more i look at it like this if your not clipping the heck out of your amp and arent getting any smell from your sub. then stick with that amp if your happy with the output of it. i heard 1 audiopipe on 2 18xls get loud so they are decent in my opinion

[AMI CUSTOMS]

So let me see if I got this right, Lets say my amp says it will do 1400rms @ 1ohm w/ 13.4V. If that rating was taken with the amp making the sub distort or basically sound like crap then its given the rating nonclean. AKA even with an amp that gives said rating at an unclean power as long as you set your sub so that it doesnt distort or clip you dont have to worry about you sub being damaged? Basically lesser amps might give an unclean rating which is kind of misleading?

I would rather buy an amp with a clean low voltage rating, that way I know when I add more voltage and clip the signal it will make lots of power. The THD and efficiency also play a big part in this.

[TH3xBO55]

lol yea 4 and i want more i look at it like this if your not clipping the heck out of your amp and arent getting any smell from your sub. then stick with that amp if your happy with the output of it. i heard 1 audiopipe on 2 18xls get loud so they are decent in my opinion

Yeah Im a noob if you cant tell. LOL. The smell thing kinda of worries me tho. There is something of a smell when its hitting hard which is weird to me because it is not a electric smell(dont know how to explain like its not a smell you get when something electric is messing up.) To be honest im not even sure what clipping your amp means. I had a buddy of mine set my amp and he knows what hes doing but now that you mention smell it worries me.