Help please..?

[coleworld 10+ year member]

Ok, i'm completely new to car audio. I looked around and bought a JL w3v3 in the JL H.O. box, the 4 ohm version. So now I'm trying to find an amp for it. I want to give it close to 500 watts, (the RMS). Every amp that I see that is a 500 watt amp is less then 500 at 4 ohm... I can't wire my sub in series to run a 2 ohm because its single voice coil. The only 500 watt amp I could find that runs 500 at 4 ohm is the JL 500/1, and that is expensive anyway.

So what should I do here? I am trying to avoid spending as much money as possible...

Are there any other 500w amps that can run 500 at 4ohms? It seems like a waste of money to buy a 1000w amp. I don't really know what I'm talking about as you can probably tell, so no hate please...i'm just trying to learn.

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[Fiendstolemyamp 10+ year member]

You can look for a 2 channel amp that does 500 bridged, as they are usually rated @ 4 ohms bridged. What you'd prob be looking for would be something like 125x2@4 ohms, 250x2@2 ohms, 500x1@4 ohms.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Welcome //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wave.gif.002382ce7d7c19757ab945cc69819de1.gif What part of NH are you from?

Audiopipe 1500D does 500 @ 4 and costs around $140 shipped new from VMinnovations.com If you wan't something a bit higher quality I would check out the classifieds

 

[coleworld 10+ year member]

Is audiopipe a good brand? Ive heard the name before but I dont know any of their products or anything. $140 shipped is a good price, but would i be better off with a better quality used amp? I have no problem buying something used, ive been looking around on craigslist and ebay already.

I'm from keene btw, right next to vermont.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Is audiopipe a good brand? Ive heard the name before but I dont know any of their products or anything. $140 shipped is a good price, but would i be better off with a better quality used amp? I have no problem buying something used, ive been looking around on craigslist and ebay already.
I'm from keene btw, right next to vermont.

Cool stuff. Personally I would stay away from craigslist, most stuff people sell is junk. It's hard to find something decent on there. Ebay is fine as long as whoever you buy from has the feedback to hold their reputation.

Audiopipe is about as good of a budget amp as you can get. The ap1500 is rated at 500/1000/1500 on 4/2/1 ohm loads respectively. I've used mine for about 6 months now with not a single issue.

 

[coleworld 10+ year member]

Ok so I went to vminnovations and the amp you were talking about is $148+shipping. For that price, would I be better off with the audiopipe or a more well known used amp like a alpine, rockford fosgate, or maybe even a kicker? I don't know what to think about audiopipe, but I know that bargain brand amps dont have good reputations.

EDIT: It is actually free shipping. So this is seeming like a pretty great deal the more I think about it. The amp is actually rated 600w @ 4ohm. Would that be too much for a 12in w3v3? The RMS rating for the sub is supposed to be 500w, but on the JL website they say that 300-400 is optimal and 500 is the max. What do you guys think..?

 

[05trailblazer 10+ year member]

you can alaways blow em up jk

 

[coleworld 10+ year member]

Ive looked more into the audiopipe amp, and I'm not so sure if its a great brand. I can get the new audiopipe amp for $150, but it has 2% distortion (THD) which from what I understand is pretty bad. Most amps are around 1%, and something like the JL 500/1 is 0.05%.

I can get a used JL amp that works great for around $200...for only $50 more, would I be better off with this amp? I don't want to give up any sound quality for my sub, but if it doesn't matter I would obviously rather not pay another $50.

 

[brodeisel 10+ year member]

i like my ap 1500 in running a 2ohm load with to my single alpine type r 10 and its clean.

 

[coleworld 10+ year member]

Yeah but compared to what? I have no experience with car audio...honestly I dont know if I will be able to hear a difference between 2% and 0.05% distortion. I have no problem putting in the extra $50 or so to get better performance out of my sub...but at the same time, I don't want to spend that money if I don't have to. Will there honestly be a difference in sound with the audiopipe amp and a JL 500/1?

 

[Fiendstolemyamp 10+ year member]

I can get a used JL amp that works great for around $200...for only $50 more, would I be better off with this amp?

I'd rather pay the extra $50 & get the JL for sure. Just my opinion, obviously some of these guys like the audiopipe amps, & thats fine. I'd rather pay a bit more for something of better quality.

 

[coleworld 10+ year member]

I would rather pay the extra 50 too if there is a real difference in sound quality. Do the THD distortion %s mean anything? If there is an actual difference I want the JL amp, but I don't want to waste my money because there are many better places in my car I could put the money into.

 

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

You might want to try one of the MB Quarts amps from Sonic Electronix. The ONX1.1000D does 475W@4Ω for $170, the ONX1.1500D does 500W@4Ω for $200, or the Q1.1500D does 500W@4Ω for $220.

Don't worry about overpowering the sub, just use a DMM to set your amps gain and limit the output to a safe level. Just because an amp is rated for 500W doesn't mean you have to run the output that high.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Get the JL, they have already ****** you into their overhyped overpriced brand. They get you with their stuipid coils and force you to us their amps.

 

[coleworld 10+ year member]

I know JL is overpriced, I didn't (and wouldn't) buy new from them. I bought the 12 JLw3v3 in the high output enclosure for $150 barely used...it retails for $480 i think. I would say I got a great deal for how much I paid. I dont think JL is overhyped, they are what they are and they have better sound quality than a lot of other brands.