I have owned a few amps. I have been able to hear a difference from one amp to another. I have heard amps with raw power but no speaker control. I want something that can throw a ton of power and sound good doing it. I'm sure Kicker puts out the power but I'm not so sure that I couldn't pick it out up against some of the more high end amps. I have went the cheap route and I've went the expensive route. I prefer to spend a little more and get something that I know will sound great, & last for a long time.