Do they even make good amps anymore?

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

I would not buy that. It only gives a max rating on the sub channel.I'd recommend a Hifonics Brutus and an efficient sound quality sub. Dayton is pretty good from what I've heard. Depending on the music she listens to, we could recommend a box too

Hahahahaha. That Soundstream is better than anything mentioned on this page.

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

I can "probably" get away with getting this:
Soundstream REF5.1000 1000W 5-Channel Class A/B Amplifier : VMInnovations.com

just to start. Is this a good, clean sounding, and reliable amp? I'm thinking the amp is the guts of a system, and you can go up or down on budget after that, right?

Call them to make sure they have it, those are discontinued now. They are nice amps. Snag it if you can.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

You won't find many 2 channels that can band pass. That gives a big edge to a mono for sub duty

Are you talking about a subsonic filter? Honestly, how often are subsonics ACTUALLY a concern? And who bp's?

most monoblocks you can wire anything 1 ohm and up. 2 channels, either you use one of the channel thats only 2 ohm stable or bridge both thats 4 ohm stable. Wiring options is extremely limited.

How are the wiring options limited?

A mono can go 1 or 2 ohms and higher with less power, a 2 ch can go 4 ohms or higher with less power. Different, yes, but not "limited".

OP's output problem could have been completely avoided if he got a decent quality monoblock instead and wired parallel for 2 ohm power.Either that or get a D2 sub and wire in series to work along with 2 channels.

I disagree. A pair of mid-power DVC 4's matches up just as well with a reasonably powerful 2 ch as it does a mono. And efficiency at ~700w isn't a big concern.

The problem was he thought he was getting an amp capable of 300x2 at 4. The amp is over rated. Being a 2 ch wasn't the problem.

Dropping it to 2 ohms stereo or 4 ohms bridged should improve the sub's performance to a point that any further power increases whether it be from a 2 ch or a mono would probably cause the subs more harm than good.

I'm not lobbying for 2 ch's. I've been using a mono for sub power since most of the people on this forum were still losing baby teeth.

I'm just saying there's nothing wrong with it, and it wasn't the cause of OS's problems.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

For his situation, He has a 4 ohm dvc subwoofer. He could have just gotten a budget monoblock that does power at 2 ohms. This is not a hating on 2 channel amps its just telling the OP he needs to impedance match his gear because now He will get a lot less then optimal power wired series to 8 ohms with the amp bridged. He cannot wire the subwoofer parallel down to 2 ohms since 2 channels are NOT stable under 4 ohms bridged therefore a monoblock is the more logical choice for his current subwoofer.

 

[oldskool79]

I agree with n2audio. I didn't get what I "thought" I was getting which is why I started this thread in the first place. If I would've gotten what I thought I was getting the subs and amp would've matched up much better. I just need to make the best of what I do have right now. I can use the 2 channel amp elsewhere. I am doing 2 vehicles. I can take the Hifonics amp and push the front four on my daughter's car, and I think with the right mono amp and a better box I can get much more out the subs I have. That only leaves me with getting 2 mono blocks, and a sub(s) with an enclosure (maybe 2 depending on whether I can get satisfactory sound from the one I have) for the other vehicle.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

n2audio are you serious or just trying to start a meaningless debate? Who uses subsonic and who band passes? I hope you band pass something

 

[oldskool79]

I'm not a fan of bandpasses. It will be used in a sealed enclosure. All I need now is some real advice on what mono will match up with these particular speakers, and the best I one I can get in the $200 range. Budget restrictions ****, but that's the way it is. I've tried to reason with my wife, saying that you get what you pay for, and if you do it right you only have to pay for it once.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

For his situation, He has a 4 ohm dvc subwoofer.

It was two TS-W260D4's.

n2audio are you serious or just trying to start a meaningless debate? Who uses subsonic and who band passes? I hope you band pass something

We all got along just fine before SSF's became popular. Sub damage from severely clipping an amp at 40-60hz vs infrasonic freq's is probably 10:1, or more.

Again -- I don't know what you're talking about with the BP comment. My sub has an SSF. I use it. It has an LPF. I use that. I guess you might call that BP. My mids are low and passive high passed. I guess you'd call that BP.

When I think BP I think of a big plexi box on the shelf at Best Buy with some random sized ports.

I'm simply supporting my claim that using a 2 ch to run subs is NOT a problem, and certainly wasn't the cause of OP's disappointment with his sub set up.

 

[oldskool79]

Exactly. You can still get great sound, albeit with less efficiency, with a 2 channel pushing subs. They just have to match better than the setup I have.

Now, can anybody help me with my next question?//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Hahahahaha. That Soundstream is better than anything mentioned on this page.

I didn't see an RMS rating on the sub channel, but I may have missed it.

The last Soundstream amp I had got really hot. Gains were set correctly and it was not wired below rated impedance. It was pushing a Sundown SA8v2

For what I paid, I expected better. I'm kinda gun-shy of Soundstream now

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

I didn't see an RMS rating on the sub channel, but I may have missed it.
The last Soundstream amp I had got really hot. Gains were set correctly and it was not wired below rated impedance. It was pushing a Sundown SA8v2

For what I paid, I expected better. I'm kinda gun-shy of Soundstream now

Most people are. They used to be among the industry leaders. Now they're generally a Power Acoustik clone brand with a line or two a little better than that, and PPI is right beside them.

But I still think the better lines are nice -- Rubicon and Phantom at least.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

It was two TS-W260D4's.


We all got along just fine before SSF's became popular. Sub damage from severely clipping an amp at 40-60hz vs infrasonic freq's is probably 10:1, or more.

Again -- I don't know what you're talking about with the BP comment. My sub has an SSF. I use it. It has an LPF. I use that. I guess you might call that BP. My mids are low and passive high passed. I guess you'd call that BP.

When I think BP I think of a big plexi box on the shelf at Best Buy with some random sized ports.

I'm simply supporting my claim that using a 2 ch to run subs is NOT a problem, and certainly wasn't the cause of OP's disappointment with his sub set up.

Um that's exactly what BP is.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Most people are. They used to be among the industry leaders. Now they're generally a Power Acoustik clone brand with a line or two a little better than that, and PPI is right beside them.But I still think the better lines are nice -- Rubicon and Phantom at least.

I had the picasso series. I even used 0 gauge wire, thinking that it wasn't able to draw enough current through cca 4 gauge. It didn't help any. Didn't drop below 13v at idle either (this was before I got my new alt and D3100).

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

It was two TS-W260D4's.


We all got along just fine before SSF's became popular. Sub damage from severely clipping an amp at 40-60hz vs infrasonic freq's is probably 10:1, or more.

Again -- I don't know what you're talking about with the BP comment. My sub has an SSF. I use it. It has an LPF. I use that. I guess you might call that BP. My mids are low and passive high passed. I guess you'd call that BP.

When I think BP I think of a big plexi box on the shelf at Best Buy with some random sized ports.

I'm simply supporting my claim that using a 2 ch to run subs is NOT a problem, and certainly wasn't the cause of OP's disappointment with his sub set up.

A bandpass box is limiting low and high frequencies, depending on where it's tuned.

A bandpass crossover is using a HPF and a LPF, limiting a central portion of frequencies. A SSF is nothing more than a HPF in different terms. Anyone that's using a SSF and a LPF on a sub, or any HPF and LPF on mids is using bandpass crossovers (really just using each one individually, but it's a bandpass. 3-way passive component sets use passive bandpass filters for the mid-ranges, and you can buy passive ones too.)

I didn't see an RMS rating on the sub channel, but I may have missed it.
The last Soundstream amp I had got really hot. Gains were set correctly and it was not wired below rated impedance. It was pushing a Sundown SA8v2

For what I paid, I expected better. I'm kinda gun-shy of Soundstream now

Ok first, do you always judge how good an amp is by how hot it gets? A/B amps get warm, it's just what happens.

The new, lower-end lines of SS aren't great. The REF series has always been good, the older stuff more so, but the new REF series is damn good. The older RUBs are damn good too, the newer ones are pretty decent for the money too though.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

I'm not a fan of bandpasses. It will be used in a sealed enclosure. All I need now is some real advice on what mono will match up with these particular speakers, and the best I one I can get in the $200 range. Budget restrictions ****, but that's the way it is. I've tried to reason with my wife, saying that you get what you pay for, and if you do it right you only have to pay for it once.

Pick up a Pioneer GM-D8601 from me and enjoy your better bass. You will have a factory warranty on the amp. Wire your subs in parallel, on the individual subs and again with both subs so you have a 1 ohm load. This will give you a real 800W to play with, and the amp includes a remote bass knob to be able to turn the bass down quickly from the dash.