Ok, this thread is regarding my experiences installing the Aura RPM Stage 2 2300 2x150 watt amp.
The amp came in on Friday from Desertheat. As usual, he boxed it up nice and pretty and save and I had to take a knife to it. I opened the box and was pretty shocked. It's a 2x150 watt amp and it's physically bigger than my old MTX 1501D! It's almost as heavy. The heatsink is nearly 1/4 thick for the whole outline of the amp. It's all a plain gray without chrome. The terminals are big enough for 8 guage, all around. Power and ground are 8 guage. Speaker outs are 8 guage. Remote is 8 guage //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif. The feet are just plain strips of aluminum off either side. Apart from the lightup logo, it's a very plain looking amp. I love it.
So I pick up the manual. I head for the output charts to see if it really is a 150x2@4 amp. Sure enough, it is not a real 150x2 amp. Yeah, it will only do 150 watts a channel, at 0.5% THD. If you're willing to tolerate 1% THD, you can get 170 watts RMS. It doesn't even say what the amp is fully capable of. It has a regulated power supply, so voltage isn't a concern. I look on the side of the amp and see two 40 amp fuses. I look inside and both are attached. I know Aura, like IA, underrates their products all to hell. I'm now scared for the life of my Rainbow comps.
Putting aside any fears, and reassuring myself I'm a good enough installer that I won't fry my Rainbows with more than double their rated power, I install it. It's now Saturday. It took me a day, sue me.
My first impression is that it wasn't as loud as the PPI I had. I had screwed up and set the gain to 5 volts, where I had the PPI set to 4v. No chance in hell I'm changing it, that's just less power I have to worry about. =) As I turn up the volume knob, the extra power and lower distortion of the Aura immediately makes itself obvious. At the same volumes as before, midbass shows up a little more, everything seems a hint clearer (My PPI was never good against distortion). Everything seems good, then my kickpods start resonating. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif
Once again something I half-assed because of inexperience in the past comes back to bite me. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/blush.gif.99bc659ee2012b7d826165e26fb5eebe.gif Sadly I can't work with FG until it's warm enough to do so. So I will either have to pull the amp out or deal with this new limit on volume until summer.
As I sum up my first impressions with this amp, I want to express how impressed I am with it. It's an awesome amp. It's easy to install, it has an AWESOME crossover with easy to read numbers and 18dB/octave slope. It's clean, powerful, and even looks good!
If you're in the market for a nice component amp, it is one. If you're in the market for a nice ~500w sub amp, it is one. =)
I have also been informed that amps with the exact same internals as the Aura RPM Stage 2 amps are now being re-badged and sold once again. (*cough*ED*cough*)
