ARC Audio SE vs Arc Audio XXK vs Art series

[GeeTEye 10+ year member]

I wanted to get some educated advice reguarding the two brands. I am considering running either an Arc Audio 4100 SE, Arc Audio 4050 XXK or a PPI A404. I want sound quality, power and reliability. I have been a PPI fan for close to 12 yrs but I heard from a source or two that the new technology of Arc Audio surpasses the PPI. Anyone have experience or knowledge of the two companies and how these amps might fair against one another? Back ground on the entire system I planned out:

Eclipse CD7000

Front stage Morel 3 way

Rear ....???

Subs Image Dynamics 8" ID8 4ohm DVC (2)

The amp will be run in the typical 2 channel stereo to the fronts, deck power to the rear and bridged to the 8's in a VW hatchback.

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[johnson 10+ year member]

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[GeeTEye 10+ year member]

I'm just looking for advice, and came here to search for it.

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

I'm in the IE in Cali, POS place lol. SE ftw if u can get ur hands on it. I think the SE series are the best u can get, I was gonna get the SE2300 for my subs but ran outta money. Are u buying it from a shop?

 

[GeeTEye 10+ year member]

I'd be getting the SE from Audio Shoppe in Riverside (woot woot) or PPI ebay.

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

omg o00000h I went there 4 days ago to show Matt the FI Q12's cuse he was interested in them. It's a great place, the people know alot, but if u can get the stuff elsewhere I would' I remeber tehy were asking $1,200 for the SE2300 and he said same price for SE4200 which is probably what retail price is, but egh.....I was gonna do the 2300 for subs and 4200 for components //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif, lol U goto school here?

 

[GeeTEye 10+ year member]

The retail on the 4200 is $1399. I'm not sure the retail on the 4100. They quoted me just under $1000 for the 4100. The 4200 will do 117 watts to your highs (screeeeeaaaaaaammming) too much for me. The setup you are planning should sound killer and be loud as hell. I told Alan I wanted a SQ system and didn't want somthing you could hear from 3 blocks away, and he is who hipped me to Arc Audio. I work down in Corona, been outta school a while now.

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

Its not a planned setup, i have everything already. lol Just need to do my door speakers way better and i should be set. the tru amp puts out 150 rms x4 at 4 ohms //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif. I would go with the SE's their really some kick *** amps, and not only that I know almost for a fact that no one else in the area will be running one, cept maybe someone working at the shop.

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

dont go with the ID8's if u want sq, get some IDQ's since ur looking for smaller i'm guessing go with the IDQ10's in a sealed, my bro is running IDQ 12's in a sealed 1 cft each and little over 400 rms, they sound incredible. As for the Morel if u have the money to spend on those PM 6spdcoupe and pick up some rainbow powerline CS's. and I dont think u'll be needing rear fill. so far tho if u decide to go with what u have i think it'll sound great. the CD7k is a good unit, it's pretty fun to mess with. be better if I had a 3 way setup too tho

 

[eatank 10+ year member]

Go with the Arc. PPI used to be great amps, but Arc(in my opinion) kick butt. Again this is just my opinion and I am dying to get my hands on the new stuff,just lack of funds.

 

[BlackMaxima 10+ year member]

Zapco is another good Brand to think about and do some searching regarding Zapco amps. Its not cheap, same price as Arc amps if not more.

 

[GeeTEye 10+ year member]

Pretty much all of the brands I'm considering were suggested to my by Alan. Back when I was really into autosound it was all about: Alpine/Clarion pro audio. MB quart, JL audio and Audio Control and PPI. I guess times have changed. I saw more winning cars with those setups in "94" and"95 than anything else. I did look at Zapco but based on my research it seems the damping factor is about 160 for the refrence series and it was >300 for the XXK's and >1200 for the SE. I figured for the same money if I can get an amp that controls the woofers 7x's better( arc audio SE) I'd consider them.

As far as the ID8's I've always been told "don't spend tons of money on woofers invest in your front stage instead". So I went with their cheepest woofer from a quality company. And he said in my car (GTI) he could build me a speck box that would really bang.

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

whoever told you that don't spend money on good woofers is totally wrong. IMO, your system is only as good your weakest link. i would went with something else, but thats just me.

also i haven't used any of these amps, i do however have a ppi art a200 on hand to use for my tweets in my next install. but anyways out of the 3, i'd get the one with the most power or the best price/power ratio. $1000 seems a way bit much for an amp that does only 65 x 4 (although ~20% underrated so about 75 x 4). i for one am not a huge believer of amps having sound. with $1000 you can do a lot. i'd look for something with more power. maybe a zapco reference 1000.4....

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

If I remeber right the 2500XXK has dampening factor of >2000. that was the one I was considering for my subs before I saw the SE2300, it's cheaper but if u have the money go for the SE2300, and I dont want to say their wrong, but I think two IDQ 10's in a sealed would sound perfect, also they charge alot for work. I remeber it was $65 an hour for labor or something. like I said pick up the rainbow Powerline CS, they will cost u less than the Morels which are still really nice. If Alan is the guy I'm thinking of he is very good at pushing people in making decisions .

 

[GeeTEye 10+ year member]

Getting lots of good feedback. Much appreciated.