arc audio amps???

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

so u think cvx are bad? like i said i havent bought new subs in like 7 years or so, and as far as i remember all the top end shops sold jl kicker rockford and memphis then, i just heard of arc today

I just don't like newer Kicker subs in general, just don't sound very good to me. And unless you never listen to stuff below 45hz, you're going to wish you went ported with those CVX's...they are not good sealed box subs. That, and you're putting them in the minimum recommend sized box...

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Kicker subs have sounded like poo ever since they went to the square Solobaric design. The old Comps and Solos sounded pretty good, the new ones have been focused on SPL and the fidelity has gone to crap as a result.

 

[Canaan 10+ year member]

Class G/H pretty much means full range class-D w/ very high freq switching. (iirc)

Kicker was nice 7yrs ago, memphis and JL are still pretty good...but like many mainstream brands they have went the way of 'Better sound through marketing' (akin to bose)

Build ALOT of product in china, hype the hell out of it, make $$$$.

Arc does have stuff built in china (ks subs/coax, xxd lines) but the ks amps are great. They are more of a niche brand, sacrificing quantity for quality. (not the other way around like other main-streamers)

 

[Wildbillpb 10+ year member]

That's because those companys got big names and having them, to people that don't know car audio, is awsome. Also better companys make their subs when you order them that way you can get what you want, more spiders less spiders, more cooling less cooling, ect... Making it harder for places to sell them since you can get them off the companys website. The subs that places sell are mass made with no care. Kicker is not as good as you think once you find out about real audio. There is better than kicker for the price you pay. It sounds like the sub shop, like all sub shops, see someone spending good money and try to get then to spend more by telling them all these things they need that they don't need. More expensive things that do marginal things to performance for more money rather than things that matter to performance and cost less. An example is getting you to buy a capacitor rather than telling you about the big 3 upgrade.

 

[mal1980 10+ year member]

i got the big 3 optima batt up front, and 2 hc800 in the back

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Class G/H pretty much means full range class-D w/ very high freq switching. (iirc)

You remember incorrectly. A full range Class D with high freq switching is still a Class D. The output devices of a Class G or H are linear. The difference is that unlike a typical Class A/B amp is that the rail voltage is not constant. It varies to stay just slightly higher than the required output voltage either in finite steps (G) or in effectively infinite steps.

 

[mal1980 10+ year member]

he told me these class g amps have damping factors of 1000 and s/n of 120 or something, and supposed to be really efficient, only draw like 60 amps

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Efficiency with low distortion is the whole reason for a Class G or H amp in the first place. Damping factor is pretty much a BS rating. S/N on a high powered amp rated against full power doesn't tell you much either. S/N over 1W is a much more telling spec as far as how quiet the amp is.

 

[Ksan 10+ year member]

Arc Audio makes some really, really good amps. I have one on my mids/highs and it is a great amp, the SQ is amazing. Their is no way in hell I would put a great amp like the Arc Audio on kicker products though, those kickers are going to sound like crap. If you want to go with the kickers leave the Arc out of it and just get a cheap amp, no use in getting the Arc. I would either get a better sub or get a cheaper amp.

 

[AllenH427 10+ year member]

Arc Audio makes some really, really good amps. I have one on my mids/highs and it is a great amp, the SQ is amazing. Their is no way in hell I would put a great amp like the Arc Audio on kicker products though, those kickers are going to sound like crap. If you want to go with the kickers leave the Arc out of it and just get a cheap amp, no use in getting the Arc. I would either get a better sub or get a cheaper amp.

My man here speaks the truth. You're putting an SQ amp on subs that you really aren't going to notice a difference on from that amp vs others. Kicker subs just aren't even in the same ballpark as where Arc Audio is. Most people want SPL from their subs over SQ, granted I support Arc Audio greatly, I also look out for the best interest in others. I'd save yourself some money and get a cheaper amp if you're going with the Kicker subs.

-AllenH427 for president.

Edit** get yourself an AQ 2200D and call it a day. You'll be underpowering them a little, but whatever, they'll be fine and loud and you won't need any huge major upgrades, big 3, possibly a battery in the back.. that's it. Now if you're getting serious, AQ 3500.1D.

 

[Canaan 10+ year member]

You remember incorrectly. A full range Class D with high freq switching is still a Class D. The output devices of a Class G or H are linear. The difference is that unlike a typical Class A/B amp is that the rail voltage is not constant. It varies to stay just slightly higher than the required output voltage either in finite steps (G) or in effectively infinite steps.

Yes, I was mistaken.

Guess I was thinking about another amp...not the g/h hybrid amps.

Been racking my brain on what model amp I was thinking about.

 

[Farmacist 10+ year member]

it looks like your options are

1. Get a cheaper amp for the subs, no need to run the arc

2. Get BETTER subs (better sq) and then go with the arc amp that it would utilize it more.

3. Get a bazooka tube and save yourself a headache

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Yes, I was mistaken.Guess I was thinking about another amp...not the g/h hybrid amps.

Been racking my brain on what model amp I was thinking about.

Probably a "Class T" which isn't really a class of amp but more a branding thing. The amp uses a Tripath controller chip to vary the switching frequency of what is otherwise a Class D amp. The design is nice in that the platform is scaleable and it provides much of the fidelity of a Class A/B design on higher frequencies while allowing for the efficiency of a Class D on lower frequencies.