Good/Great amp to match with these components

[Novanutcase 10+ year member]

Planning on running Pioneer P99Rs or Pioneer PRS880 H/U, ID horns, JBL 2118H's or Morel MW-266 8" mid-bass and ARC Audio Black 10 sub so 2 way with sub.....

What would be a Good/Great amp to run with these components? Prior suggestions have been Zapco DC1000.4 or Mosconi AS 200.4 but I have a feeling these are overkill for a 2 way and sub. It would seem that most high end manufacturers would reserve their highest fidelity amps for larger array setups but do they also make one for a small 2 way/sub? Not really looking for an amp with future expandability since the system will be set in stone once it's in the car. Just looking for something that will fit the bill with the highest quality/fidelity I can find.

John

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[BnGRacing 10+ year member]

Are you looking for a 3 channels (front L&R + sub) or are you looking for 5 channels to run everything active off your HU? (channel for each speaker including sub)

 

[Novanutcase 10+ year member]

From what I've been told active is always better so I guess 5 channel. Not really sure what would be a better setup. I'm pretty new to all this so school me on the pros and cons of each.

John

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Is that a 2ohm or 4ohm DVC sub,or?

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Found a brand new PPI S.580.5 Sedona 5ch Percision Power for 159.85 shipped on the bay.. that I feel would be a nice amp to run your set up?????Just a suggestion to you.

 

[BnGRacing 10+ year member]

From what I've been told active is always better so I guess 5 channel. Not really sure what would be a better setup. I'm pretty new to all this so school me on the pros and cons of each.
John

Active is a PITA. Is it 'better'? I don't think so...but it's certainly more convenient to have control at your fingertips than to fab up another passive crossover network. The thing I like about 'active' setups isn't the EQ or crossover, I think analog components sound better, it's the time correction aspect. You can correct every speaker for superior imaging while using near factory locations. That's cool...but digital x-overs & EQs have never sounded right to me. What I've done in the past was bi-amp the passive crossovers supplied with the speakers. The passives handled all the crossover, phase, & linearity stuff while I time corrected from the driver's seat.

What you'll have to do in an 'active' system is basically do what the passive crossovers do; set a HP & LP crossover point for your mid & tweet, compensate for efficiency differences between the mid & tweet, and compensate for impedance/freq. spikes in each driver. The crossover part is self explanatory. The efficiency stuff is really level setting. It's so when you turn up the volume +5, both speakers increase volume in equal measures. The impedance/frequency spikes all speakers have are actively taken care of with an EQ. Passively, you'd use a Zobel or notch filter.

You can do all of that with the right HU or processor...it's just a real pain to get things right and to resist the temptation to constantly tweak instead of just enjoying the music.

Does it automatically make the speakers sound better? I've never thought so.

 

[Novanutcase 10+ year member]

Found a brand new PPI S.580.5 Sedona 5ch Percision Power for 159.85 shipped on the bay.. that I feel would be a nice amp to run your set up?????Just a suggestion to you.

Thanks! I'll add it to the list of potentials!!

Active is a PITA. Is it 'better'? I don't think so...but it's certainly more convenient to have control at your fingertips than to fab up another passive crossover network. The thing I like about 'active' setups isn't the EQ or crossover, I think analog components sound better, it's the time correction aspect. You can correct every speaker for superior imaging while using near factory locations. That's cool...but digital x-overs & EQs have never sounded right to me. What I've done in the past was bi-amp the passive crossovers supplied with the speakers. The passives handled all the crossover, phase, & linearity stuff while I time corrected from the driver's seat.
What you'll have to do in an 'active' system is basically do what the passive crossovers do; set a HP & LP crossover point for your mid & tweet, compensate for efficiency differences between the mid & tweet, and compensate for impedance/freq. spikes in each driver. The crossover part is self explanatory. The efficiency stuff is really level setting. It's so when you turn up the volume +5, both speakers increase volume in equal measures. The impedance/frequency spikes all speakers have are actively taken care of with an EQ. Passively, you'd use a Zobel or notch filter.

You can do all of that with the right HU or processor...it's just a real pain to get things right and to resist the temptation to constantly tweak instead of just enjoying the music.

Does it automatically make the speakers sound better? I've never thought so.

Great Info! Thanks for taking the time!

I like the idea of having that much control over all the speakers so active will probably suit me better. I'm a born fiddler so active will probably be the way to go for me.

One of the reasons I'm considering the P99Rs is that it has the processor already built in. I hear ya on the digital stuff although they seem to have improved markedly over the years. I've heard some all digital systems that sounded really good.

John