JL Amps

[Kamikaze54 10+ year member]

Hi, i'm kinda new to amps and I would like to know if JL makes good amps. Mostly their monoblock amps. How are they compared to Alpine and kicker?

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[BIGsherm7272]

Kicker > JL > Alpine

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

they're nice, but overpriced. the slashes draw a crapload of current

 

[SWEET06CAMRY 10+ year member]

JL amps are overpriced, The JL 1,000/1 puts out only 1,000 watts for almost 1,000 bucks //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif

I wouldn't buy them...

 

[John3000 10+ year member]

Depends on what you are looking for. JL is good for odd ohm loads, but $1 per watt is pretty steep. I was looking at the slash series for my 12w7 but I couldnt justify spending that kinda money so I picked up some PG Xenons. Kicker has nice amps and are underated. I have heard got things about the new compact Alpine amps (forgot the model) and they are underated as well.

Boils down to budget, setup and if you want to match up equipment.

 

[Pickler 10+ year member]

Yea they are WAY overpriced.

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

they're nice, but overpriced. the slashes draw a crapload of current

not really. ...

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

Kicker > JL > Alpine

lol based on what? i run the jl slash series and they are pretty rock solid, look awesome (i have the black amps), great xover features, and put plenty of good solid power. but i did get my amps at cost though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif. i would just go with the amp that gives you the most power, best cosmetics, and within your price range. all 3 companies are pretty good.

 

[Jaice 10+ year member]

I think there overpriced also, but it really depends, If buy them if I was running some JL subs, like w3s or above.

 

[xtremebassjunky 10+ year member]

not really. ...

i have heard that the 1000/1's are somewhere around 65-70% efficient....

thats not very good.

my class a/b zapco is 76% efficient....

oh yea...can't forget that you will pay a few extra hundred for that JL logo.

 

[XTRProBoy 10+ year member]

The JL Slash series amps are indeed overpriced compared to other similar power-output amps that make more power as the impedance drops. But that price premium is not only because of the JL name but also because of the relatively sophisticated power supply they have (RIPS)--they're regulated such that they output the same power from something like 1.5-4 Ohms or whatever it was now.

It's an interesting feature but personally I never really liked the idea. I mean it's good on one hand because if you change sub(s) often and end up with different coil configurations (and therefore different total impedance driven) you'll always be getting the same power. Also if the supply (car) voltage drops off, the amp continues to make around the same power. So you'll be getting ~1000W whether your supply voltage is 12.5V at a stoplight or 14.2V while driving along...

But on the other hand more unregulated amps are better buys otherwise. If you pick your sub(s) (or own them already) and don't plan on changing them or at least don't plan on going to a different total impedance later on, you can buy an amp that fits your needs and puts out more power for less money.

JL does have A-series amps as well, which are more conventional in nature and don't have the RIPS on them. These are a little cheaper, but I think they are still a little overpriced. Personally I wouldn't buy a JL amp but there isn't anything wrong with them... The Slash series in particular is simply a different design mentality than most other car amps out there.

 

[andar 10+ year member]

look into Total Mobile Audio...JL owns them and they are ALOT cheaper...idk what they have in terms of power though

 

[BukvaMan 10+ year member]

KICKER all the way !! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

I'd choose Kicker out of the 3. I love their amps.

 

[Cbass 10+ year member]

The JL Slash series amps are indeed overpriced compared to other similar power-output amps that make more power as the impedance drops. But that price premium is not only because of the JL name but also because of the relatively sophisticated power supply they have (RIPS)--they're regulated such that they output the same power from something like 1.5-4 Ohms or whatever it was now.

Pg xenons have regulated output too and they are a lot cheaper and they're at the same level as the slash series IMO.