Best 4 channel for 200 or less

[lcbossaliny 10+ year member]

CEA ratings dont mean jack **** they are just a selling point/marketing tool that maxxsonics realized. There's some of tests done on the PPI amps on several forums and they put out a lot of good clean power. As for the heat issue as long as your not starving it for power with low voltages and no amperage, it shouldn't get hot, warm maybe but not hot.

Your rite about the low voltage making them hot but if the voltage is up they only get warm i'll give you that but the CEA means all little something if its at 4 ohms because most people who have four channel amps will run there amps at 4 ohms now if we were talking mono blocks i would hear you on that CEA bull**** but we ain't talking mono blocks that we be running below 1 ohm so CEA means something in my opinion regardless if it's a marketing tool or not. I clamped my BRX2400.1 that is CEA Compliant doing 934 watts at 4.1 ohms during break in period when it's rated at 850.

 

[Bwap]

Well if you decide to go used I have two amps you may be interested in, a JBL GTO 75.ii and a kenwood KAC 8402. Neither are maxxsonics and they are both CEA.

Shoot me a pm if you want to offer on either.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

I clamped my BRX2400.1 that is CEA Compliant doing 934 watts at 4.1 ohms during break in period when it's rated at 850.

You have gotta be kidding?

Regarding the PPI Phantom amps, these have withstood the test of time. They were reviewed, tested, and clamped many times. They do their rated power and then some. They run barely warm, even in hot summer day. I had the 4 and 1-channel. The value is amazing.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

will it be loud though? I have never worked with a 4 channel amp and don't really know how much of a sound difference to expect.

The difference will be big. It's not just about loudness. Even speakers powered by a head unit can get sort of loud, but they will distort so much that your ears will almost bleed. With a bigger amp, you can go as loud or louder, but the sound will be smooth. Be careful not to overdrive the speakers. An average speaker will not play low bass distortion free, even if it's rated for +100watt RMS power, so the high pass filter should be set appropriately. At least 80Hz with Alpine speakers, or may be even higher.

 

[lcbossaliny 10+ year member]

You have gotta be kidding?

Regarding the PPI Phantom amps, these have withstood the test of time. They were reviewed, tested, and clamped many times. They do their rated power and then some. They run barely warm, even in hot summer day. I had the 4 and 1-channel. The value is amazing.

Kidding about what?

I never said they didn't do rated, but from my personal experiences they have gotten very hot especially in the summer time and very warm during winter.

I have friends who by these off sonic electronix for the dirt prices because they are okay but you are speaking and defending these amps like there JL or DD amps like get real are you kidding?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Kidding about what?I never said they didn't do rated, but from my personal experiences they have gotten very hot especially in the summer time and very warm during winter.

I have friends who by these off sonic electronix for the dirt prices because they are okay but you are speaking and defending these amps like there JL or DD amps like get real are you kidding?

He was saying you got to be kidding on this post "I clamped my BRX2400.1 that is CEA Compliant doing 934 watts at 4.1 ohms during break in period when it's rated at 850." He even bold faced that part. Amps dont have a break in period like subs man. The BRXs are great for daily ground pounding, i use one my self, but when that amp starts using for spl burps with 50hz sine waves, the power gets dirty and can only put out 1.4k-1.6k clean But on daily music, they will do rated rms and a lot more if ran down to .8 ohms.

PPI is not sundown, AQ and DD quality but its better than most of maxxsonic's amps according to the Oscilloscope and clamp tests.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

Kidding about what?I never said they didn't do rated, but from my personal experiences they have gotten very hot especially in the summer time and very warm during winter.

I have friends who by these off sonic electronix for the dirt prices because they are okay but you are speaking and defending these amps like there JL or DD amps like get real are you kidding?

I posted the reply, as jeffdachef noted, because of the "break-in" period. There are still battles going on about speaker break-in period, but I thought that the issue of the amplifier break-in had been settled.

To be fair, I'll mention that I never run my PPI P1000.1 at 2 or 1ohm, because I never needed that level output. The amplifier powers my Infinity Kappa 120.9w sub in 4ohm mode right now. I did run the PPI P900.4 both at 4ohm and at 2ohm. This was my front speaker and subwoofer amplifier. This amp was screwed to the back of subwoofer box and facing the back of my car rear seat. It had no ventilation around it and it still run only barely warm even during the hot summer days in Texas. On the same hot days, my MB Quart Ref4.80 Class A/B amp overheated and shut down a couple of times even though all 4 channels were running at 4ohm and the amp had plenty of air in front of it. I still love the discontinued MB Quart REF4.80 amp, but I think the company was too optimistic fitting it with that tiny 12 inch long heat sink, even though the amp was Class A/B and produced far more and its rated power (a Russian magazine tested it and they got 4x120watt RMS output with 4ohm load at 1% THD).

 

[Audio4ever 10+ year member]

imam be getting alpine type r 6.5 and 6x9 coaxials

Alpine mrp-f600

100x4@4

 

[argenis69 10+ year member]

Good thread. So, you guys are saying that for the mids that he wants to power, he's better with the Ppi Class D amp?, Why?

 

[zako 10+ year member]

Good thread. So, you guys are saying that for the mids that he wants to power, he's better with the Ppi Class D amp?, Why?

Why?

Why not?

Class D amps run cooler, take less space, and produce a lot more power. What's there not to like? You want a Class A/B amp that produces 4x150watts of power? How about fitting a 20-22 inch long surfboard that still requires lots of clear air and forced cooling if you drive it hard? This could work in home audio but kind of fails in a car.

 

[argenis69 10+ year member]

Well said, thanks.

 

[PPI_GUY 10+ year member]

There's also the question of how solid the OP's electrical system is. If it's pretty much stock...aside from the Big 3 upgrade everyone should do...then, class D is definitely the way to go. Class A/B amps aren't nearly as efficient as class D and the result is a/b amp generate a lot more heat. That's why they need more ventilation.

Regarding SQ, in the car environment, at highway speeds with road noise, no one will ever be able to tell any difference in the sound quality of a class D versus a class a/b anyway.

If the OP's budget is $200, then the PPI is an excellent choice. He might be able to find a JL XD400/4 in used condition for that amount but, it would take a little looking. The XDs are fantastic little amps.

A JL Audio option that IS a class a/b amp is the JX360/4. Because it's class D it is larger but, it isn't massive and it's definitely underrated. I've used them and they sound great.

JL Audio JX360/4 (JX3604) 4 Channel Amplifiers at Onlinecarstereo.com

Kenwood also has a new amp that is actually a little smaller the JL XD amps!

Kenwood XR400-4 (xr4004) 400W RMS eXcelon Series 4-Channel