help me find an amp...

[BlkonBlkFG 10+ year member]

Looking basically for a clean and powerful amp. Budget is around $400.

Looking for a clean 150x4 (4-ohm) amp with preferably 18/24 dB slope and a THD rating of .03-.05. Can be a 12db slope, more less looking for clean power.

The speakers will be running at a 3-ohm load, but would mainly like to get 150rms of clean power to them.

Looking at the JBL PX300.4 ($340.99)

Phoenix Gold X200.4 ($469.99)

JL Audio 450/4 (kinda to pricey though) ($579.99)

Soundstream TRA960.4 (seems perfect) ($319.99)

What do you guys think? What other amps are there that you would pick with the features that i am looking for??

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[brandontw 10+ year member]

http://cgi.ebay.com/06-HIFONICS-Zeus-ZXi6406-4CH-680W-A-B-CLASS-NEW_W0QQitemZ140039068170QQihZ004QQcategoryZ4950QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

theres that too...

that soundtream would probly be a nice amp though...

 

[BlkonBlkFG 10+ year member]

thanks man...so far i think i'm gonna stick with the soundstream. Seems like the cleanest and most power for the buck.

 

[2006F150Screw 10+ year member]

Best SQ would be a Zapco 1000.4 Reference can pick them up for less than $400 on ebay.

 

[BlkonBlkFG 10+ year member]

Do you know the sound quality on the Soundstream? Are their power ratings what they actually put out, and is it a pretty clean amp? The Zapco is just a little to pricey for me.

 

[Notwerk 10+ year member]

There is no such thing as a "sound quality" rating. I'm sure the soundstreams will sound fine as long as you set your gains properly. The Zapco might be built better, and that, along with whatever features Zapco offers (symbilink, for example), are what you're paying for. Not some mystical "SQ" magic.

 

[BlkonBlkFG 10+ year member]

Haha...I know theres no sound quality "rating". I was just basically asking if the power given was clean. I know some amps claim 150w x 4 rms....but thats at 14.4v with (THD

 

[Notwerk 10+ year member]

All power from an amp is "clean" provided the gains aren't dialed up inappropriately. No amp made in the past 50 years probably makes "dirty" power. It's a myth. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Tube amps are dirty, in that they introduce distortion, but that's by design. All transistor amps, except in extreme cases, produce clean power -- provided you set it up right.

So, what you're trying to do is pick an amp that provides enough power for the application and then carefully setting the gains to avoid distortion.

Whether an amp is rated at 12, or 13.8 or 14 volt is probably of very little significance. What difference can it make in power? 10 or 12 watts each way? You'd have to double the power on the amp to get a +3db boost in volume. A difference of 10 or 12 watts on an amp that's already producing 150 watts is negligible. I don't understand why people put so much in an amp providing 10 more watts than it's rated at. Or five less. If it's in the ballpark, and you understand what you're paying for and have realistic expectations of what you're paying for, ratings are pretty arbitrary...