CDT sqa-1000 reviews please

[Ralph LaCivita 10+ year member]

This amp looks good on a stat sheet except I didn't see CEA-2006.  I have two vintage/NIB Eclipse 8615.8's @ 200rms each.  They will be wired to 4ohms. Any suggestions for other amps welcome under $400.

Mahalo.

View attachment SQA-Series amplifier specification manual .pdf

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[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

It'll do rated power but you need more than that to drive subs considering rise, imo 

You need something rated at more like 1kw rms to get 500w after rise. 

You have plenty of options with a budget of $400... here's just one of many http://store.crescendoaudio.com/symphony-s1-fullrange-monoblock-amplifier/

Can't you wire to 4 or 1 ohm? 

Another option that is obviously too much power but a great SQ option in case you want to upgrade in the future.

http://store.crescendoaudio.com/encore-c-2sq/

 

[Ralph LaCivita 10+ year member]

The subs are 8ohm svc, so I can get them to 4ohm.  I have my future mid/high JL 300/4v3 on the subs now.  I was mentally in the 400wrms-500wrms @ 4ohm range for both subs.  I am also looking at the AudioControl LC800-1for the subs.    

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

The subs are 8ohm svc, so I can get them to 4ohm.  I have my future mid/high JL 300/4v3 on the subs now.  I was mentally in the 400wrms-500wrms @ 4ohm range for both subs.  I am also looking at the AudioControl LC800-1for the subs.    

You won't get 400-500w out of an amp that maxes out at 400-500w at 4 ohms because of rise. You need 2-3x the power otherwise you'll be missing out on performance. 

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

what he's trying to say is once you put power to the sub, the coil travels through the magnet and the impedance changes. When you wire to 4 ohms you will never see 4 ohm power, you'll be seeing 8 to 12 ohm power out of the amp, its not avoidable at all, its just how physics work.  But if you dont care about output, then it'll be fine as a bass fill, you are paying too much for the amp for too little power though.

 

[Ralph LaCivita 10+ year member]

help me out cousin.  I should be looking for 1000 wrms @ 4ohms?  I was going for good sq sound.  I ran into some problems without having ideal box volume for my subs.  I had to experiment, starting at 2cubes each, then 1.6, now 1.25.  Some songs sound good some don't.  I know I need more power, show me some amps.

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

help me out cousin.  I should be looking for 1000 wrms @ 4ohms?  I was going for good sq sound.  I ran into some problems without having ideal box volume for my subs.  I had to experiment, starting at 2cubes each, then 1.6, now 1.25.  Some songs sound good some don't.  I know I need more power, show me some amps.

Yes, that is correct. You want something rated at 1kw or so at 4 ohms. Remember, you can always turn  the gain DOWN but when you turn it up to try and get more power out of an amp thats too small you get into distortion. 

There's a very slim chance you will hear ANY difference between a "SQ" mono amp and a regular mono amp on the substage. @Jeffdachef swears he can hear it on midrange drivers but that's still up for debate lol on subwoofer amps (<100hz) it won't matter. 

Hell, this might be a great choice for you: https://www.amazon.com/Taramps-3000-1-Watts-Class-Amplifier/dp/B07L4434DS/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_107_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=R7A3ME2CNCB89DJX8EK2 

It's nice and small and will put out plenty of power even at 4 ohms. 

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Yes, that is correct. You want something rated at 1kw or so at 4 ohms. Remember, you can always turn  the gain DOWN but when you turn it up to try and get more power out of an amp thats too small you get into distortion. 

There's a very slim chance you will hear ANY difference between a "SQ" mono amp and a regular mono amp on the substage. @Jeffdachef swears he can hear it on midrange drivers but that's still up for debate lol on subwoofer amps (<100hz) it won't matter. 

Hell, this might be a great choice for you: https://www.amazon.com/Taramps-3000-1-Watts-Class-Amplifier/dp/B07L4434DS/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_107_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=R7A3ME2CNCB89DJX8EK2 

It's nice and small and will put out plenty of power even at 4 ohms. 

an SQ 4 channel? just clips a lot smoother better resolution but its not 3 or 4x the price worth compared to a quality budget amp, its small differences to nitpick.

 

[Ralph LaCivita 10+ year member]

So, here's my set-up:  98 tacoma extra cab; Kenwood KDC-X997; Four Focal KRC165's two on the dash and two mounted up high in corners of back window.  I don't have them amped up and they still sound awesome (I did take down the high end treble with the HU eq).  The Eclipse 8615 15" subs were built for eq, I AM totally bummed I could not get an Ideal volume for the sealed box.  That being said, the excursion on these are 0.413", tiny for a 15" sub.  The bridged JL 300/4 seem to be doing a fine job.  I'm temped to run the system as is for a while and work on dialing a good volume for a sealed box.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

So, here's my set-up:  98 tacoma extra cab; Kenwood KDC-X997; Four Focal KRC165's two on the dash and two mounted up high in corners of back window.  I don't have them amped up and they still sound awesome (I did take down the high end treble with the HU eq).  The Eclipse 8615 15" subs were built for eq, I AM totally bummed I could not get an Ideal volume for the sealed box.  That being said, the excursion on these are 0.413", tiny for a 15" sub.  The bridged JL 300/4 seem to be doing a fine job.  I'm temped to run the system as is for a while and work on dialing a good volume for a sealed box.

shove that box full of polyfill and see what happens, should get you like 10% increase in airspace like performance.

 

[Ralph LaCivita 10+ year member]

will try the polyfill.