Difference between budget and high end amps

[nstillmatic 10+ year member]

I know that most of the cheap amps do not do rated power. However, some of the budget amps like Cadence (from what I've read) actually do rated power. So whats the difference between buying say a 500w rms monoblock from Cadence and something like a JL Slash 500/1 (or insert any good amp manufacturer)?

The biggest thing I assume is whether or not it does rated power, but then whats the reason for that huge price gap for those that do? If 2 amps legitimately put out the same amount of power would they not sound the same, or is there something I'm missing...

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[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

the difference is build quality, durability, the ability to put out more than rated power, thd and efficiency, to name a few,

but when you start throwing some "big" brands in there then you start getting into marketing and in some cases end up paying for the name.

 

[Suicide Bobb 5,000+ posts]

According to Richard Clark, all amps sound the exact same.

Lol...what a joke. I'm going all Rockwood and Pyle on my next buildlog

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

if you actually look at that test the amps are tuned to sound the same, which means limiting on or the other to make it equal.

 

[Suicide Bobb 5,000+ posts]

if you actually look at that test the amps are tuned to sound the same, which means limiting on or the other to make it equal.

Exactly!

 

[jake760 10+ year member]

Heat, efficiency, ability to run at lower impedance, customer service, etc.

 

[kmanian 5,000+ posts]

According to Richard Clark, all amps sound the exact same.
Lol...what a joke. I'm going all Rockwood and Pyle on my next buildlog

um that is taking it out of context, it is not that simple nor did RC say all amps sound the exact same.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

um that is taking it out of context, it is not that simple nor did RC say all amps sound the exact same.

what i read on the test was that you could use any 2 amps of the same class and that they would sound the same.

 

[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

According to Richard Clark, all amps sound the exact same.
Lol...what a joke. I'm going all Rockwood and Pyle on my next buildlog

Thats why his multi award winning Speakerworks Grand National used expensive hand made Japanese Alpine amps, right?

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Eveyone is bashing this one guy and saying amps aren't the same.. Shed some light on why some are better than others and what makes them better.

 

[Haunz 10+ year member]

features, R&D, build quality, warranty, customer service, dealer base, name brand recognition... to name a few...

 

[Wingman0121 10+ year member]

I used to have a "1000" watt Pyramid Studio amp in my house except it only did 150 watts before running into clipping, which is distortion.

The difference between a Pyramid to a Sundown is huge. Sundown is not a "name brand" like the **** on Pimp My Ride so you're not paying for its name... it has more flexible crossovers, better input/output terminals, quality control and ability to run low impedance for extended period of time.

A more expensive amp tends to have better protection circuit, better layout on the circuit board and may include capacitors that are rated to higher temperature, matched transistors and tighter tolerance for its parts.

Zapco is way up there in terms of a quality amp but it'll hurt the wallet too.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

Eveyone is bashing this one guy and saying amps aren't the same.. Shed some light on why some are better than others and what makes them better.

there was a night a day difference when i swapped out a ap 2004 for a jbl gts 150, the 150 was much more crisp clean and loud,

just one of the examples that i have seen.

 

[Wingman0121 10+ year member]

there was a night a day difference when i swapped out a ap 2004 for a jbl gts 150, the 150 was much more crisp clean and loud,
just one of the examples that i have seen.

Did you do a straight swap or did you retuned the gain and crossover after install? Some amps are less sensitive than others but yeah Audiopipe isn't really known for SQ, more like GIMME WATTS FOR MAH DOLLA HOLLA

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

Did you do a straight swap or did you retuned the gain and crossover after install? Some amps are less sensitive than others but yeah Audiopipe isn't really known for SQ, more like GIMME WATTS FOR MAH DOLLA HOLLA

it was a straight swap.

and i know its not know for sq. that was just an easy example for miker.