5 Channel Amp -- A little more

[TDot 10+ year member]

Hi, new here. Yes I know there is a post right below me, but I didnt want to hijack it, and my needs are a little more. Price range $700, really really really reall prefer to stay below $450.

1/ My V input is 13.8 car in idle.

2/ I really want to stay AB class, the 5th ch can be D though if no other choice.

3/ I prefer a 4ohm setup (The Kappa states • True Four Ohm Impedance technology: speaker's 2-ohm impedance combines with speaker wire impedance for a 4-ohm load----but I'm not sure what that means, is it 4 or 2?)

Note, I'm not trying to shake down the block, just have a beautiful sound and add an audible 6-12db to my low end.

As it is, my set up will be.

1/ Infiniti Kappa 62.9i Speakers (all doors)

2/ Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty.3 Processor

3/ Boston Acoustic G310-4 Sub

4/ The amp is where it gets a little complicated for me. From reading up on specs I want to go with a class A/B and stay away from D for the poor audio quality (ch 5 can be D though). I prefer a high SNR. I dont know how much it matters in a car, but when I used to build studios, I made sure nothing was below 110 SNR) Which of these should I go with, or if you have a suggestion?

a/ MB Quart ONX4.80/500 (The specs seem perfect, but I've never heard of this manufacturer before and the price to specs seems too good to be true)

b/ Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D (Great SNR 105 FR/95 Sub, but class D)

c/ JBL GTO-5EZ (Poor SNR 85)

d/ Polk Audio PA D5000.5 (Great SNR 105, but class D)

e/ Alpine MRX-V70 (Poor SNR 85, and class D, but fits the bill)

f/ Image Dynamics i5800

Thanks

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[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Audison lrx 5.1 can be had used in your range

Digital Designs SS5 might be. I haven't seen a street price and don't know any dealers.

 

[Shinju 10+ year member]

Alpine PDX-V9 or a JL HD900.5

I personally run the V9 with the F4 and love it. This whole Class A/B vs Class D is really irrelevant anymore and were ever your read that Class D has poor audio quality is full of ****. I compete in professional IASCA SQ and I run class D and took 1st in Westcoast and 2nd in the Nation and I was up agenst guys running TRU and other high end Class A and A/B amplifiers. Not that their systems did'nt sound good as they sounded amazing, but the point I am making here is that you should utilize what fits your install and your end goal.

Its all about install, placement and tuning before ANY amplifier topologies come into play.

 

[TDot 10+ year member]

I'm going to follow you and take the dive with the Alpine. But now I'm changing the speakers because the Kappas are not actually 4ohms. I want to go 4ohm all around. The new speakers that I'm selecting from are either:

1/ Focal Polyglass 165 CVX

2/ Focal Access 165 CA1

3/ Polk Audio DB651

4/ Pioneer TS-D1602R

5/ JL Audio C2-650X Evolution

6/ JBL GTO629

The only thing that has me concerned about the Focals is the "harsh" high end everyone seems to be complaining about, but in the same breath they say its great and clear.

Any input on the speaker choice, or even a combo with the back and front.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

3/ I prefer a 4ohm setup (The Kappa states • True Four Ohm Impedance technology: speaker's 2-ohm impedance combines with speaker wire impedance for a 4-ohm load----but I'm not sure what that means, is it 4 or 2?)

Infinity's claim sounds like BS to me. A 4ohm speaker is a 4ohm speaker. Keep the wiring out of this please. What they really want to do is to pass this as a 2ohm speaker to people who want a 2ohm speaker and as a 4ohm speaker to people who want to connect a 4ohm speaker. It can't be both, can it? What if I have upgraded speaker wiring (I did!).

I must warn you though that if speaker's impedance does dip below 4ohm a lot of Class A/B amplifiers will not deal with this gracefully. Many will run considerably hotter, and some go into thermal protection on a right hot day if the amplifier's physical install is not good.

4/ The amp is where it gets a little complicated for me. From reading up on specs I want to go with a class A/B and stay away from D for the poor audio quality (ch 5 can be D though).

Lots of people claim than high end Class D amps are just as good. Let's not start this war again. High end amp companies are building Class D amps, and there are also plenty of crappy A/B amplifiers on the low end.

I prefer a high SNR. I dont know how much it matters in a car, but when I used to build studios, I made sure nothing was below 110 SNR) Which of these should I go with, or if you have a suggestion?

Is SNR of 85 really low? I heard claims that SNR of 70 or more is not audible. Specially in the car, SNR is the last think I'd worry about. Ragged frequency response.. speaker path-length differences, lack of sound proofing, bad ground, can have a far greater effect on sound.

a/ MB Quart ONX4.80/500 (The specs seem perfect, but I've never heard of this manufacturer before and the price to specs seems too good to be true)

MB Quart ONX4.80/500 seems ok. At least it measures fine with respect to all claims (russian article) To be fair, the same web site looked at Polk D5000.5 and Alpine MRX V60/V70, both seemed ok too. For the same price, my pick would be MRX-V70 because of size and price, but maybe I am more biased towards these newer Class D amps. It's basically PDX level of technology inside. You get a bit less power than in PDX, for a much lower price. For your criteria MB Quart seems a better fit. MB Quart itself used to be a mid-level brand. Later it got bought by Maxxsonics, and their quality supposedly has gone down. On average, you should very much expect to get what you pay for.

I actually have two amplifiers installed, a Class A/B MB Quart REF4 and a PPI Class D, with one set of spare channels. Maybe I'll try to set gains on both to identical level with DMM and do a comparison test when I am not lazy. I have been actually investigating the midrange harshness coming from my mids running off Class A/B channels. Of course, this could certainly come from the setup, install, and tuning (done by the head unit automatically).

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

Hi, new here. Yes I know there is a post right below me, but I didnt want to hijack it, and my needs are a little more. Price range $700, really really really reall prefer to stay below $450.
1/ My V input is 13.8 car in idle.

2/ I really want to stay AB class, the 5th ch can be D though if no other choice.

3/ I prefer a 4ohm setup (The Kappa states • True Four Ohm Impedance technology: speaker's 2-ohm impedance combines with speaker wire impedance for a 4-ohm load----but I'm not sure what that means, is it 4 or 2?)

Note, I'm not trying to shake down the block, just have a beautiful sound and add an audible 6-12db to my low end.

As it is, my set up will be.

1/ Infiniti Kappa 62.9i Speakers (all doors)

2/ Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty.3 Processor

3/ Boston Acoustic G310-4 Sub

4/ The amp is where it gets a little complicated for me. From reading up on specs I want to go with a class A/B and stay away from D for the poor audio quality (ch 5 can be D though). I prefer a high SNR. I dont know how much it matters in a car, but when I used to build studios, I made sure nothing was below 110 SNR) Which of these should I go with, or if you have a suggestion?

a/ MB Quart ONX4.80/500 (The specs seem perfect, but I've never heard of this manufacturer before and the price to specs seems too good to be true)

b/ Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D (Great SNR 105 FR/95 Sub, but class D)

c/ JBL GTO-5EZ (Poor SNR 85)

d/ Polk Audio PA D5000.5 (Great SNR 105, but class D)

e/ Alpine MRX-V70 (Poor SNR 85, and class D, but fits the bill)

f/ Image Dynamics i5800

Thanks

I had suggested the Quart 4.80/ONYX 1000D to the other fellow based on performance at his budget. for 5 channels at $700?

these are hard to beat for the $ and are underrated a touch.:

WoofersEtc.com - P1000.1 - Precision Power Monoblock 2000 Watts Max Class D Amplifier

WoofersEtc.com - P900.4 - Precision Power 4-Channel 900 Watt Max Class D Amplifier

Serious power. Serious THD. Serious S/N.

here is a very comprehensive test of the 4ch P900.4:

PASMAG | PERFORMANCE AUTO AND SOUND - Precision Power P900.4 Amplifier the THD% and S/N on these things blows me away for the power they provide.

but if you must do A/B, then at least give this guy a shout ..he will answer any questions you may have...

Multi-Channel Amplifiers

Zuki Audio Eleets 4-Channel Amp Review

I am sure you have heard of Steve Mantz...

http://www.woofersetc.com/p-10523-leviathan-iii-zed-audio-6-channel-amplifier.aspx

http://www.zedaudiocorp.com/

 

[Shinju 10+ year member]

I'm going to follow you and take the dive with the Alpine. But now I'm changing the speakers because the Kappas are not actually 4ohms. I want to go 4ohm all around. The new speakers that I'm selecting from are either:1/ Focal Polyglass 165 CVX

2/ Focal Access 165 CA1

3/ Polk Audio DB651

4/ Pioneer TS-D1602R

5/ JL Audio C2-650X Evolution

6/ JBL GTO629

The only thing that has me concerned about the Focals is the "harsh" high end everyone seems to be complaining about, but in the same breath they say its great and clear.

Any input on the speaker choice, or even a combo with the back and front.

The harsh and brightness of your tweeters can be adjusted by tuning with your 360.3. My tweeters are only used for ambiance my 3" mid range does 80% of the work for my front stage. I believe I have my Xovers for my tweeters at 10K-infinity left is -6 and right is -12db 24db slope.

I am going to suggest Hybrid Audio Technology not because I am on Team Hybrids but because they are an amazing speaker and great company. I run the middle of the road Imagine 6.5 tweeter combo that can be had for 200-250 new. My midrange are Legatia L3's (roughly 200-300 set give or take new or use)

If you have the funds I would do a Legatia L6 SE with a Legatia R2 tweeter!

Check out the website here for pricing!

Hybrid Audio Technologies - 12v Electronics

 

[Nitefury360 10+ year member]

memphis belle mch1300

 

[AAAAAAA 10+ year member]

Sticking to class AB is like saying I will stick with my old 486 computer because even though it is bigger, slower and less efficient it handles 0's and 1's alot cleaner.

 

[dalegribs 10+ year member]

TDot - what did you end up doing?