Looking for the best bang for the buck

[SPLV 10+ year member]

I'm looking for an amp to power two 8" TC1000's SVC. If anyone knows of any current sales or good deals, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

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[btlking 10+ year member]

search ftw

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

I'm looking for an amp to power two 8" TC1000's SVC. If anyone knows of any current sales or good deals, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

I think you'll get a lot more responses if you provide us with the following:

1. RMS watts you want at certain Ohms.

2. Price range.

3. Space constraints for your vehicle?

4. Any specific needs? (such as 24db/oct xovers, brand preferences, etc).

 

[btlking 10+ year member]

I think you'll get a lot more responses if you provide us with the following:
1. RMS watts you want at certain Ohms.

2. Price range.

3. Space constraints for your vehicle?

4. Any specific needs? (such as 24db/oct xovers, brand preferences, etc).

size? its a **** amp come on now think people

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

size? its a **** amp come on now think people

Yeah, because if he's wanting to stuff a JBL Crown into a Geo Metro...no, size wouldn't be a concern at all. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

Ease up. It's a legitimate question and something that may need to be kept in consideration. We have no idea what kind of an install this is going to be and space *might* be an issue. It sure as hell is in my VW GTI. This is something I needed to keep in mind when piecing my system together and I think it needs to be asked here so we get more concrete answers from the OP in order to provide the best help we can.

search ftw

Take your own level of help and you'll see that size constraints are rather common issues for installers.

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

how much $$ u working with? off the top of my head id recommend a memphis 16-mc1000d, solid amp

 

[SPLV 10+ year member]

Well, I'm going with a buddy of mine's rule of thumb. "Don't spend more on your amp than what you paid for your subs." It just wouldn't make sense to have a nice amp but crappy subs or vice versa. With that said, I'm looking for something in the $100-150 range.

The amp will be going into a 1991 Toyota MR2 if that makes a difference. And yes, the car is extremely limited with space.

I believe the TC1000's are good for about 400rms so I'd like to have anywhere from 300-400 rms per sub. I don't yet understand the concept "RMS watts you want at certain Ohms," but I'll search.

Thanks for the responses so far though.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

look at some crunch

http://ikesound.com/category-category_id/107

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

Well, I'm going with a buddy of mine's rule of thumb. "Don't spend more on your amp than what you paid for your subs." It just wouldn't make sense to have a nice amp but crappy subs or vice versa. With that said, I'm looking for something in the $100-150 range.
The amp will be going into a 1991 Toyota MR2 if that makes a difference. And yes, the car is extremely limited with space.

I believe the TC1000's are good for about 400rms so I'd like to have anywhere from 300-400 rms per sub. I don't yet understand the concept "RMS watts you want at certain Ohms," but I'll search.

Thanks for the responses so far though.

RMS watts you want at certain Ohms = if you are wiring both subs so that the amp will see a 2 Ohm load and you want to send a total of 800w RMS, then you'll want to find an amp that does 800W RMS at 2 Ohms.

As far as your buddy's rule of thumb - it's ridiculous. There are plenty of lower priced subs out there that are capable of putting more expensive subs to shame when powered with the right amp.

Which do you think would exhibit better SQ with each sub in a 1.0cf sealed box? (amps tuned accordingly as to not overdrive the subs where applicable).

OPTION I.

2 of these subs with this amp (claimed 2x450W rms @ 2 Ohms).

**or**

OPTION II.

2 of these subs with this amp.

(hint: those that have experience with M5A subs driven with good clean power will chime in here, I'm sure.)

 

[SPLV 10+ year member]

^ Looks to be a trick question, but what are you trying to accomplish by asking a noob? Maybe to boost your ego? If so, I'd guess the latter choice.

The original question states that I want options for an amp to power two 8" TC1000's. If it helps, I'm looking for sound quality.

 

[Gary S 10+ year member]

Well, I'm going with a buddy of mine's rule of thumb. "Don't spend more on your amp than what you paid for your subs." It just wouldn't make sense to have a nice amp but crappy subs or vice versa. .

- My Soundstream Amp cost me $469.00 new ... 2 new Sabre twelve inch subs, $30.00 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[j3bus2k3 5,000+ posts]

Get a nice BX or BXi hifonics amp. They're budget beasts...

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

^ Looks to be a trick question, but what are you trying to accomplish by asking a noob? Maybe to boost your ego? If so, I'd guess the latter choice.
The original question states that I want options for an amp to power two 8" TC1000's. If it helps, I'm looking for sound quality.

No, it's not a trick question or an attempt to stroke ego. I was simply attempting to provide you an example to refute your buddy's rule of thumb. It is absolutely ridiculous to say one shouldn't spend more on an amp than what was spent on subs. That line of logic automatically states more expensive sub A is going to outperform less costly sub B. That is simply not fact and truth. My apologies that my comparison example didn't come across as I intended.

Lets use the 2 amps from my previous post each connected to 2 M5A MAW10 subs. Which amp would likely be a safer choice for providing good clean power? Not sure about you, but my money's on the Memphis amp. Not saying you have to spend $400+ on an amp to get a good one, just be careful about what you buy at a given price point (although I'm sure this already struck you as common sense knowledge a long time ago). Know what you are buying and how it will perform in an actual real world environment.

And something else I'm sure you know but I'm going to repeat for the benefit of anyone reading this: There are 2 things that can make or break how a sub performs (up to it's physical potential and limitations, that is): 1. the quality of the signal it gets and 2. the enclosure it's installed in. You cheap out on either (metaphorically speaking) and you might as well flush your system down the toilet. Because what normally is parked on a toilet is what the system is going to sound like. The two cheaper subs on an amp known for it's SQ will be a better choice for SQ than the two more expensive subs on a crap amp. Both subs are good choices and very capable drivers, but it's going to depend on how they're installed and how they're powered.

Sorry if I came across as trying to snipe a forum noob in my earlier post - that was simply not the case. I've said it before and I'll say it again...we are all noobs at one point; we learn by asking. I was simply trying to help with what you were asking.

 

[DeuceLee 10+ year member]

No, it's not a trick question or an attempt to stroke ego. I was simply attempting to provide you an example to refute your buddy's rule of thumb. It is absolutely ridiculous to say one shouldn't spend more on an amp than what was spent on subs. That line of logic automatically states more expensive sub A is going to outperform less costly sub B. That is simply not fact and truth. My apologies that my comparison example didn't come across as I intended.
Lets use the 2 amps from my previous post each connected to 2 M5A MAW10 subs. Which amp would likely be a safer choice for providing good clean power? Not sure about you, but my money's on the Memphis amp. Not saying you have to spend $400+ on an amp to get a good one, just be careful about what you buy at a given price point (although I'm sure this already struck you as common sense knowledge a long time ago). Know what you are buying and how it will perform in an actual real world environment.

And something else I'm sure you know but I'm going to repeat for the benefit of anyone reading this: There are 2 things that can make or break how a sub performs (up to it's physical potential and limitations, that is): 1. the quality of the signal it gets and 2. the enclosure it's installed in. You cheap out on either (metaphorically speaking) and you might as well flush your system down the toilet. Because what normally is parked on a toilet is what the system is going to sound like. The two cheaper subs on an amp known for it's SQ will be a better choice for SQ than the two more expensive subs on a crap amp. Both subs are good choices and very capable drivers, but it's going to depend on how they're installed and how they're powered.

Sorry if I came across as trying to snipe a forum noob in my earlier post - that was simply not the case. I've said it before and I'll say it again...we are all noobs at one point; we learn by asking. I was simply trying to help with what you were asking.

hey wassup steven...

yeah i'm the buddy and its my fault for not explaining things more clear to him...when i said spend about the same amount for the amp as what you spend on the subs and vice versa, i didn't mean on just one sub, i meant add up the subs and since you spent $120 shipped on each of them, that totals $240, regular price is $140 shipped = $280, so if you were to want to buy a new single amp for the two subs, i'd spend no more than $240-$280...

cus you don't want to have say 8 TC1000's @ $120 each and only spend $120 on a new amp for all of them...i wouldn't spend more then $960 on the amps...etc...

there is a difference between SQ, SQL, and SPL...my rule of thumb works more with SQL and SPL and not so much with PURE SQ...with pure SQ, you don't care about XMAX or hitting 150db's, you care more about the quality which means you may have some much cheaper subs like image dynamics idq's or M5A's powered by a extremely expensive clean amp such as a zapco, dls, or whatever...but still, i think its stupid to spend $1000 on a amp to power a pair of $50 subs when you could have spent say $150 on each sub and $800 on the amp and make the ratio not so far away and most likely get better performance...

not only that, but my guess is that 10% or less people in car audio goes for this pure sq stuff anyways, and probably have a ton of deadning as well as some good knowlege is highly unlikely going to be spending $50 on a pair of subs and $1000 on an amp...

i'd guess the majority of people on here go for SQL, and small percentage goes for pure SPL...with SQL or SPL, i think my rule of thumb works fine, its still a rule of thumb and doesn't mean you have to have it 50/50...for example, spend $700 on a pair of TC3K's with a $700 Kicker KX2500.1 will probably sound better and be louder then two TC LMS-5400 and a $100 4000 watt boss amp that probably puts out 500wrms or less...or the TC3K/kicker vs $1400 RF T40001BD and two $100, 3000 watt pyle super subwoofers junk...

ofcourse it depends on the install and power...in this hobby, it is very forgiving unless you are a complete tool...like tuning your BTL to 200hz or forgetting your polarities...and unless you're competing for SQ or SPL, theres not going to be too much of a noticeable difference between a $300 amp that does 1500rms and a $400 amp that does 1500wrms...

if its too hard to imagine for you guys, imagine a guy that has $4000 20" chrome rims and a $6000 system on his $1000 value car, does that make much sense? didn't think so...alright, enough with my rant...

don't forget, i still got my MTX 801D for $120 i'm sure many people can vouch for this amp and this deal...

otherwise i can find you some more deals on 2 ohms stable amps with 600-800 total power for ya...

 

[DeuceLee 10+ year member]

oh yeah, glad to see that you join on here...this is a great place to learn about car audio...i became a member here and other places like realmofexcursion and a while back on sounddomain and i increased my knowlege 10 fold...but does take away alot of your studying time:crap:

what the heck, you're a smart fella, you don't need studying...join me in this money and time pit called car audio:laugh: