Hifonics... honest question

[thunderkyss]

I'm really not an enthusiast, like many people, I just want to upgrade my factory system. I want more power, more bass, & I want it to be as reliable as the factory system.

Hifonics has several amps that will fit my goals at an attractive price, however, lurking through these pages it would seem there are reliability issues. As in, I often see the comment, "Spend a little more, for better quality."

Makes sense. But, I don't see many threads here where people complain about their Hifonics amp failing. I also don't see many buyers remorse type threads, or upgrading from Hifonics threads.

I'm assuming my factory system puts out 35~50W & I'm shooting for a four channel 100W or so with a separate 300W sub amp.... I don't expect to be maxing these amps out, probably listening in the 50~70W range on the 4 channel & 150 or so through the sub.

So my question, can I expect reasonable reliability from Hifonics?

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[negolien]

Most people talking about the Hifonics here are talking monoblocks. If you can only afford that then get that but for class a/b's and stuff there's a lot out there. Look for a Kenwood Exclon x400-4 it's a great little amp super small footprint and does 70 @ 4 ohms and 100@2 ohms x 4. I got mine from crutchfield refurbed for 135 bones.

 

[speedyjuarez Premium Member]

I have a brx 200.1 that I bought because of price. I run two 15s at 2 ohms. I have another brx 2000.1 in a box waiting. I'm no expert but I haven't had any issues. From all the videos of the amp on dyno test they under perform. But it gets the job done till I can buy a big boy amp.

 

[potvin]

Hey thunder.

Hifonics used to be one of the better car audio brands. I don't know the official year when they started mass producing China crap but it did happen. Probably in the early 2000's or something.

I am more into the old school car audio when most everything was made in Japan or the U.S. Some of that stuff was actually handcrafted. Now if you want anything made using quality components, you have to spend a ton. I used to own a Hifonics Vulcan amp. I can't remember what it was rated at but it wasn't more than 75WX2 I would imagine. It was the size of a paper back novel, but it was heavy. Super clean and really powerful I ran even a 15" JL back in the day. That thing was beast.

But as far as anything Hifonics today is concerned, I would stay away from it. To my knowledge it's all junk and mass produced. Even companies like Phoenix Gold doesn't really make anything good anymore. If you didn't care about the latest features or looks, then I would buy an inexpensive older quality amp. It's what all I have. Chances are (depending on the brand), you will likely come across a really great sound quality amp that can work wonders for you, instead of trying to weed through all the mass produced junk made today. Some amps are 4 channel that allow the addition of a 5th channel for a mono sub if you like. Or if that's not gonna give you the volume you want you could just buy an additional beefy little amp like what I had mentioned and it would run one of most anything you could throw at it.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

There is no reliability issues as long as you use the amps right, it'll last years and years no problem. However the sound quality of the amps is a different story. I would not pay full retail for the amps, Used or Bust.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

JBL MS line of amps. With Hifonics you are getting what you pay for. They cost the same $ per real watt as a better amp that don't claim unrealistic power.

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

The little baby PPI Ion amps are **** good for the money. Check out Tfades review on them.

 

[C1500martin 10+ year member]

Whatever the amp says itll do at a certain ohm rating lower that a bit and your good. Try to get brutus elite line the previous models not these mew ones. If not brz>brx. The sq is noticably different between them and a quality amp. But for what they are they are more than enough for the common consumer such as yourself.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Hifonics Brutus series is fine.

Most problems are caused by inexperienced users.