Bad experience with RockFord

[ayoung 10+ year member]

I had my **** stolen, and the Insurance company sent me some new stuff.

Rockford 500.2 and a Punch Lvl 3 12" sub.

Sub:

Ran it with 1/8 gain and no bass boost for about 10 mins on 2 bass songs to stretch out the voice coils.

Then Let it sit for about an hour while I was finishing up.

After I was done with the install I then set it at:

1/3 Gain, about 1/2 to 2/3 bass boost, and +/-0 @ the Radio. I play various songs, rap, rock, classical, just to see the range this amp and sub had.

Needless to say, after about 40 mins I blew the sub.

Amp:

After install I was playing it for about 2 mins and smoked my 50A inline fuse, ran up to murrays and got 60A'ers (Biggest they had), smoked 2 of those. I just ended up running 2AWG, no fuse for now

Ran it for about 10 mins on the way home and it stopped working again.... WTF! Ended up being BOTH 30A fuses on the amp its self that blew... (By this time I was looseing faith in Rockford.... I bought "cheap" stuff all my life and NEVER had problems like this.)

Replaced those, turned bassboost almost off, 1/4- 1/6 and gain about 1/10 of a turn up. (and BTW, there was no clipping at all this amp DID pound).

So I driving to my buddys house in Ann Arbor, MI, which is about an hour away. The amp and sub had a nice thump to it (SQ, but VERY LITTLE SPL's) and it worked for about 30 mins, then kept tuning off. I was thinking that i had a loose connection or something. So I get into town, just out and pop the trunk to see that the thermal protection it on.... OMFG! WTF! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tomatoface.gif.6507032fedd1868ec0a6a447bb29a18a.gif. Its in the trunk with one of my seats down, and the windows cracked (It was kinda chilly)

So I get to my buddys house and show him it and it starts cracklin, then it just stoped working and sounds like glass inside a tin can.

Im sure I get some kind of flame but any opionions/comments are of course welcome;reason for posting.

Setup: (Dont know exact Model #'s)

RF 500W RMS DVC 2ohm style.

RF 500W RMS Amp (5002) (Running bridged @ 4ohms)

Standard 1.25CF Sealed

Sony CDMX8805x

Adam

BTW, the old setup is in Sig, a ALUM12Q with a Power Acoustic OV2-1600 (about 750RMS)

Also I looking to buy a new Sub and amp... I like to feel my bass (SPL) so I want good SPL and then SQ's. I really liked my Audiobahn but im open to suggestions (Links if possible)

Click to read more...

 

[Black_Jesus 10+ year member]

i dont have anything against RF

but id personally.. never ever use them

 

[LBX2G 10+ year member]

sound like u got bad equiment. Where did u get it form ?

 

[ayoung 10+ year member]

Insurance company. USAA, but it was through "First Choice Solutions"

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Sub:

Ran it with 1/8 gain and no bass boost for about 10 mins on 2 bass songs to stretch out the voice coils.

Then Let it sit for about an hour while I was finishing up.

After I was done with the install I then set it at:

1/3 Gain, about 1/2 to 2/3 bass boost, and +/-0 @ the Radio. I play various songs, rap, rock, classical, just to see the range this amp and sub had.

Needless to say, after about 40 mins I blew the sub.

1st, nothing is going to change with the VC's. If anything, "breaking in" a sub will loosen the suspension, has nothing to do with the voice coils.

2nd, I'm not suprised that you blew it running bass boost. Also, did you fry the coil or bottom it out?? You could have been running too much power to it for the box it was in.

Not trying to defend RF, I do like them but I'm not a loyalist; But when you produce the amount of amps that they do, you have got to expect something to be wrong with some of them. I'd chalk the sub up to user error (bass boost = bad) and the amp up to faulty product.

 

[LBX2G 10+ year member]

I just think you got some second grade stuff. LIke the lightning audio **** ant best buy and walmart is all second grade ****. IT is not even 2 ohm stable.

 

[forbidden 10+ year member]

WTF are you goin on about, second grade stuff? Not 2 ohm stable. Lightning Audio was a sole propietary company before Rockford Corp bought it. Lightning Audio has had 2 and 1 ohm stable amps for 3 years now. It's called the Storm series and we have never had a failure on the Storm series. As far as where it is distributed is simple, it is called Marketing 101. Go back to school and study it and you will find that where the line is placed is the best for it's market. This does not mean that it is second rate or inferior at all. Your favorite car audio shop cannot carry all the lines, primarily because of promises made to other manufacturers. Thus if your favorite audio shop carries 10 lines and has firm commitments to them and along comes line #11, it might be the best line in the world but will not get picked up for sale. Thus they take line #11 and sell it somewhere else.

LBX2G, no offense intended at all dude, but if you are going to say things like this, make sure that you have the facts. I am not trying to jump down your throat either dude, just correcting misinformation. As a retailer of 16 years I am privy to much more information than the average consumer.

As far as the Rockford isse goes, to me it sounds like a massive failure of the power supply. Where was the amp grounded to and with what guage wire. What kind of vehicle was it mounted in? Rockford has been a great company from years gone by as well. These days some of the product leaves a little to be desired. Now Marketing 101 dictates to build it like this and with these parts and hit this pricepoint. For the sub to blow this quick indicates either a massive design flaw or abuse. Before you go and reconnect your system with new replacement equipment (probably the same as you just blew), take it to a professional and have the problems found.

Meaning, was the sub in the right box, was the amp clipping, was the cd player clipping. Was the ground on the amp good. It is very easy to buy all the best stuff in the world and when it fails we pronounce it inferior and would never buy it again. It is harder for some of us to find a qualified professional to find the problem and fix it and then help you understand what caused the problem in the first place and how to keep it from happening again. Take the time to find a qualified professional, to me it sounds like an installation and use issue. I hate telling a customer this, be it in person or on-line and if I am wrong, my apologies in advance. Most times I am pretty much bang on, lets see what we can find out is wrong with your gear.

 

[ayoung 10+ year member]

Wire:

Power: 2 AWG, about 2 feet long right to batt

Ground: 4 AWG about 2 feet long right to batt

No the amp was not clipping, and the reciever was only 1/2 volume

I went from a ALUM12Q with a PA 1600W'er and had no problems at all.

Most likely it was use, but the way I look at it, they shouldnt sell 2 items with the same RMS rating and not expect things to happen like this.

 

[powerslide 10+ year member]

ayoung: I would recommend using the larger wire as the ground. However I dont think this would have caused your problems

LBX2g: I cant help but notice your Master P quote. Wasnt that quote actually from the 2pac song If I Die 2 Nite, from the album Me Against the World?

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

Either you have a BMW (or another car that has the battery in the back) or you mounted the amp in the engine bay ?

Or a batt in the trunk

 

[LBX2G 10+ year member]

ayoung: I would recommend using the larger wire as the ground. However I dont think this would have caused your problemsLBX2g: I cant help but notice your Master P quote. Wasnt that quote actually from the 2pac song If I Die 2 Nite, from the album Me Against the World?

you kno what i am going to be nice to u about this. Cus like every 3 months some guy says something about it. I really do not kno. OK !!!!!!

 

[LBX2G 10+ year member]

WTF are you goin on about, second grade stuff? Not 2 ohm stable. Lightning Audio was a sole propietary company before Rockford Corp bought it. Lightning Audio has had 2 and 1 ohm stable amps for 3 years now. It's called the Storm series and we have never had a failure on the Storm series. As far as where it is distributed is simple, it is called Marketing 101. Go back to school and study it and you will find that where the line is placed is the best for it's market. This does not mean that it is second rate or inferior at all. Your favorite car audio shop cannot carry all the lines, primarily because of promises made to other manufacturers. Thus if your favorite audio shop carries 10 lines and has firm commitments to them and along comes line #11, it might be the best line in the world but will not get picked up for sale. Thus they take line #11 and sell it somewhere else.
LBX2G, no offense intended at all dude, but if you are going to say things like this, make sure that you have the facts. I am not trying to jump down your throat either dude, just correcting misinformation. As a retailer of 16 years I am privy to much more information than the average consumer.

As far as the Rockford isse goes, to me it sounds like a massive failure of the power supply. Where was the amp grounded to and with what guage wire. What kind of vehicle was it mounted in? Rockford has been a great company from years gone by as well. These days some of the product leaves a little to be desired. Now Marketing 101 dictates to build it like this and with these parts and hit this pricepoint. For the sub to blow this quick indicates either a massive design flaw or abuse. Before you go and reconnect your system with new replacement equipment (probably the same as you just blew), take it to a professional and have the problems found.

Meaning, was the sub in the right box, was the amp clipping, was the cd player clipping. Was the ground on the amp good. It is very easy to buy all the best stuff in the world and when it fails we pronounce it inferior and would never buy it again. It is harder for some of us to find a qualified professional to find the problem and fix it and then help you understand what caused the problem in the first place and how to keep it from happening again. Take the time to find a qualified professional, to me it sounds like an installation and use issue. I hate telling a customer this, be it in person or on-line and if I am wrong, my apologies in advance. Most times I am pretty much bang on, lets see what we can find out is wrong with your gear.

ok here is where u get ur all handed to u on a sliver platter. OK tell me this. IF u go buy a lightning audio amp from Wal-mart then go.... let say to a real lightning audio dealer. LIke the SOUnd SOURCE which i interned for. WHere I spoke to the actual lightning audio rep. YEs at the corpartion. And he told me that this from his mouth.( i kno it sound like a lie) . He said that the amp at best buy are so cheap becus they are of a lower build quality. I kno they have a the strom, the strike, and the bolt series. I have heard them and ran them all. HAve u ever noticed at best buy they never sell the strike series. hhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm I wonder why not. I mean they sell the power series of rockford. And the top notch cd, dvd player kenwood sales. BUt not the mid grade of lightning audio when it only a lil bit more.
I will tell u why. Cus they will not compromise the build of there better lines. And yeah thing are built different. If u flip over a best buy lighting audio and real one form a good distributor. You will find that they are made in 2 different places. (Well i kno like 2 or 3 years ago this is true. I am not shure how it holds up today.) Just like Morel. ppl say the the us morel ***** but the european morel is the great one.

 

[forbidden 10+ year member]

I like silver paltters, I dine on them all the time, I'll pass it back to you now. Like I said, I'm not trying to cram something down your throat. Remember this, sales. A sales rep will tell you anything that you want to hear and if it comes from the distributor rep, he wouldn't lie to you now would he / she. Right. I have had so many reps lie to me in the last 16 years it is not even funny. I take great lengths to sit here and listen to their BS and I will actually let them spill their story until I prove them wrong. If a rep lies to me, it can be the best line in the world, I will not carry it. In this business reps come and go as quick as chicks do. Don't listen to what most, NOT ALL of them have to say.

Lightning Audio in particular has 3 / 4 lines of amplifiers. They have the Fast n Furious which is the SAME amplifiers as the BOLT series, same with the subs for that fact + the addition of red paint instead of yellow. (Marketing 101) (should point out that all their amplifiers are 2 ohm stereo stable and a couple are 2 ohm mono stable). The Strike series which are all 2 ohm stereo stable and the Storm series which are all 2 ohm stereo stable and a couple are 1 ohm mono stable.

Now this rep wouldn't have lied to you would he, I'm sorry to say he did and he didn't. It is true that Lightning Audio builds 3 different lines of 3 different build qualities. These 3 different build qualities make 3 different price points. The entry level Bolt and FNF stuff is found at Wally World and other stellar car audio dealers. The Strike and Storm is usually found at specialty shops and big box retailers.

Now for some insight into business. I'll try and make this simple. No store will usually fully support the entire lines of any one company, especially a big box retailer. They have quarterly commitments to each company that must be met. If they are met that is great. So how do they grow their business, do they buy another line and take dollars away from who they deal with already or do they purchase more and get a better deal and pocket this better deal, trust me, they take the better deal and pocket the savings as pure profit. Business dictates that they make the most $ they can. This is why most big box retailers do something called scewing. They pick and choose from the various manufacturers what they think will sell the best at that particular price point. This is also Marketing 101.

I as a retailer support many lines, do I stock and carry all the Lightning Audio, no I do not, why? maybe a compeitior has better value to the customer at that particluar price point. Case in point right now is Concept with a 3 year warranty vs. Lightning with 1 one year warranty. All these amplifiers from pretty much all companies are built in singakoreachinatiawanapore and do not differ that drastically in build quality or componentry when comparing apples to apples. Lines are built with different price points to appeal to different customers with different budgets. They are also built for different capabilities. This has nothing to do with a lower build quality. Imagine how expensive that bottom of the line Bolt would be if they used the same outputs , power supplies and componentry as the Storm series. It would be a great amp, but would no longer sell at the same low low price. They are built good and built to last at the price point that they are at. As you come up the line the componentry used is superior and so are the capabilities. Same thing goes for cars, we all like the low price of a Chevy Sprint but want the performance of a Chevy Corvette and end up buying the Chevy Cavalier.

For a sales rep on a sales floor to say that this brand and this series of this brand is absolute bloody crap and that is why they do not sell it, well that is an outright lie. The Best Buy guy on the floor does not control what they sell on the sales floor, head office does. And head office is who deals with marketing 101. Hope you like your platter.

 

[LBX2G 10+ year member]

ok whatever man ur right and i am wrong. I really do not care. And i do not feel like reading ur post. But it think Ayoung if that amp is not factory sealed. Take it to a repair shop and ask it to open it up. IF he deal with amp and **** all the time like mines does he will be able to tell u it is second grade.

But to the guy who own his own shop. I have also seen this **** in person. when i took one of my amps to get repaired. THe guy had 2 amps he was workin on bot same model of RF and he showed me difference in them. But i guess I am blind.

BUt my last ? to forbidden why are u controdicting ur self.

 

[forbidden 10+ year member]

It's too bad that you don't feel like reading, sometimes you can learn a thing or two. This is not about being right and wrong at all. It is about the proper information being spread. If these two identical amplifiers you saw had two totally different amplifier boards, they would not be the same amplifiers. A company could not and would not market them the same. Thus they would be totally different with different model #'s. No company, especially one like Rockford Corp. would ever set themselves up for a wide open lawsuit like the scenario that you are suggesting. This would be a total misrepresentation of the product.

Now Rockford Corp also has a nice little disclaimer in thier price books and I'm sure that you have seen it before. It's called "Pricing, descriptions and specifications subject to change without notice." as taken from the Rockford price list. This means that a company will continually be upgrading their componentry, maybe what you saw were two similar amplifiers by style of heatsinkwith two totally different boards in them. Thus they are different and not the same. Maybe what you saw were in fact the same heatsinks with a new and improved circuit board, thus they can me sold as and marketed as the same. But to say that Wally World sells second rate equipment is far from the truth, and this was the point of contention.

Some companies manufacture models specifically for the purchaser and give them a specific model#. This is generally done by the big box stores that can afford it and guarantees to them that they have the lowest price because it is not available anywhere else. Again, Marketing 101. One day maybe you will have the chance to sit on this side of the fence where I have been for the last 16 years and visit many manufacturers and listen the reps BS you all day long. Maybe one day you will learn to dismiss most of the BS they spurt from their mouth as you have educated yourself to the point of knowing they are feeding you BS. Things don't happen overnight and there are new things to learn everyday. I continually try to improve my knowledge of this industry everyday as well, by reading topics like this and getting to know the real facts.