Amps with DSP.....Just a fad?

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

I like the idea of having digital control on amps, it seems like the wave of the future. Why do you think they stopped making them and went back to analog control?

ie:

Kicker SX

RF Type RF

Alpine MRD

Possibly more?

Am I the only one who wishes more amps were made like this? Or am I crazy?//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

Click to read more...

 

[DD_Dave 10+ year member]

kenwood excelon //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

Yeah, it seems like the next step for amps, but it happened a few years ago and seems to be over already!

 

[Side Show 10+ year member]

because they broke, and noobs couldn't understand how to set them up properly, i dont think that kicker even released the sx line of amps into australia....

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

IDK, the more options/adjustments the better IMO, I just dont get why they came & went so quick.

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

There are companies still coming out with digital processing on board the amps. Check out the new Focals or the Zapco DC Ref's. But these amps are very expensive to make and garner a large price that the mass market is not willing to pay or understand the need. Plus head units or out board processing units like the RF 3sixty.2 are really impressive.

 

[PaulD 10+ year member]

There are companies still coming out with digital processing on board the amps. Check out the new Focals or the Zapco DC Ref's. But these amps are very expensive to make and garner a large price that the mass market is not willing to pay or understand the need. Plus head units or out board processing units like the RF 3sixty.2 are really impressive.

That's exactly what the problem is, audio companies are marketing towards teens .... so they have to make amps that sell for

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

DSP on amps died because the market wouldn't support it. It limited your options, if one of your amps had DSP they all had better otherwise you couldn't tune the system at all. They were and are hugely expensive for the company to R&D and they have to pass the savings on the consumer. As such they found themselves trying to sell an amp that had a price point high enough that the consumers at that price point already had extensive stand alone digital processing that was considerably better and more flexible than that on the amp. The market at that price point is for a plain Jane gain block with no features other than really low THD and really high S/N.

 

[flomofo 10+ year member]

I just got the kenwood excelon x4r and x10d (the 4 channel has dsp) to pair up with my dnx8120 and you can get both amp from million buy for well less than 400 shipped (trying to get two refurbs for 320 right now too since first deal actually fell through somehow).

They are pretty decent amps, look nice and are small, heres a comparison of them against the alpine pdx I originally bought.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...enwood+channel

 

[PaulD 10+ year member]

The market at that price point is for a plain Jane gain block with no features other than really low THD and really high S/N.

dang, someone is speaking my language .... that's really all I am looking for in an amp.

 

[Innovative:Cory 10+ year member]

DSP on amps died because the market wouldn't support it. It limited your options, if one of your amps had DSP they all had better otherwise you couldn't tune the system at all. S/N.

Ummm...care to explain that theory to me? I've done installs with head units with dsp and put amps in the had dsp...you can still tune a system that is mixed and matched....

And the Zapco DC series has a ton of adjustments...true its not for everyone...but it is one hell of a tool....

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Let's say that you want an active setup 3-way front stage. Not at all unreasonable. You can either buy 6 channels of amplification all with DSP and pay a royal shit-ton or 6 channels of basic gain and an outboard digital processor for much less. Gives you a lot more flexibility as well. If only one of your amps had full on processing built into it and you had an outpboard processor to get you the level of processing that you need, you now have redundant processing. Nothing to be gained over a high end outboard processor by including the processing in the amp. Definitely not worth the serious price premium.

 

[thch 10+ year member]

also keep in mind that digital controls need not be DSP based. you can use things like "digipots", analog muxes, and various types of creative filters in an amp. These can have discrete setting steps. Such designs avoid the need for ADC's, DSP's, and DAC's which might be costly.

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

Yeah but with the way tech. is advancing nowadays, you'd think it would be more common...just look at other electronic devices compared to years ago.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

What do you gain by having more than a crossover in an amp? Again, when you get to the price point that the DSP amps fall in, the consumer shopping in that market already has real processing. Putting that kind of stuff in an amp at that price is a complete waste. Until you can get the price of a DSP amp low enough that it makes better economic sense to buy the amps with the processing instead of something like the 3sixty or the H701 and separate amps, they just won't sell in sufficient numbers to make production profitable.