Amped up!

[Clifff150 10+ year member]

Please don’t use D4S if you buy Sundown. Sundown will offer a solid warranty for an off the shelf Chinese product (I am a fan of sundown). Rockford is always solid. JL is always solid. For the power you’re running I don’t think you can go wrong.

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

Why did you mention your occupation? Are you asking which amp is best for that sub or which will get you more views?

Why not. Youtubers make money by views. The more he puts his name out there the more money he makes.

 

[EricTundra]

Why did you mention your occupation? Are you asking which amp is best for that sub or which will get you more views?

When I said Youtuber, I did not mean to imply that that was my occupation, lol, it most definitely is not. I uploaded a video about four years ago just to be able to show it to different friends on a shared platform. From there I added a video every now and then on simple how-to projects and tricks I learned by trial and error.

For my next few videos, I am going to share my experience on sound insulating a truck and then upgrading the stock stereo bit by bit. Whenever I do a project, Youtube or not, I like to gather a sizeable amount of information about every aspect of the venture so I can make better decisions. It's my belief that carefully gathered information is valuable and an asset to someone contemplating a similar project.

My channel is less than a thousand subscribers and I have not made one penny off it and will likely not make any money off it for years if ever. So to answer your question, I gather info to share freely with anyone that will take the time to view the video. In the process, I learn as I go. For instance, I leaned that often the problem with sub installs is that they are either under powered or over powered. That's the reason I am here and getting input on the amps that I believe would be a good fit.

If I present information that makes sense and opens options, in this example, which amps would work best to satisfy the sub, then everything is gravy. I have not and will not make a video or present content simply to generate "views". Kinda passionate in that way.

I do appreciate everyone's input and always give credit where credit is due.

Ok, time to get off my soap box

 

[EricTundra]

Got another question about signal to noise ratio that I didn't get a good grasp on by looking at the google threads. I gathered that a good signal to noise ratio for an amplifier is around 90db. The higher the better, so a 95 or 100db rating is better. So why are some amplifiers rated with a negative db score and how does that compare with the positive values? For instance, the MMATS is rated at -90db signal to noise ratio.

Something else that caught my attention is the frequency response. The values I usually see are something along the lines of 20Hz – 20000Hz +- 1dB, but again the MMATS has a stated frequency response of 10Hz – 300Hz +- 1dB? Does that mean it has no output above 300Hz? Obviously I'm missing something here. Anyone?

 

[Clifff150 10+ year member]

I don’t think their s/n ratio is meant to be a negative number. The higher the better but you’ll open a can of worms about really hearing any difference.
Frequency response is the amps ability to play a frequency range. For a sub, you do not need something that’s up to 20k hz. Most subs are crossed around 80-100 hz.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Got another question about signal to noise ratio that I didn't get a good grasp on by looking at the google threads. I gathered that a good signal to noise ratio for an amplifier is around 90db. The higher the better, so a 95 or 100db rating is better. So why are some amplifiers rated with a negative db score and how does that compare with the positive values? For instance, the MMATS is rated at -90db signal to noise ratio.

Something else that caught my attention is the frequency response. The values I usually see are something along the lines of 20Hz – 20000Hz +- 1dB, but again the MMATS has a stated frequency response of 10Hz – 300Hz +- 1dB? Does that mean it has no output above 300Hz? Obviously I'm missing something here. Anyone?

I wouldn't get hung up on any of that as none of it will matter or make an audible difference for your application. You'll never hear the difference between S:N (assuming they're all even entirely honest specs measured apples to apples) and you will never want to play over 300hz into a subwoofer.

All the amps you listed are reputable and should get you about the same place, with the exception of the Sundown which is going to be a good bit more powerful but is certainly not near as nice as many of the others.

That said JL 500/1 is an absolute monster in the 500W category and the #1 best selling amp of all time (and for a reason). They are very good; I'm not a guy who would normally break out the pom poms for JL, but that would be my top choice in that power range.