Much difference between Arc and Sundown?

[syk69 10+ year member]

I plan on getting some Morel Tempo 6 component speakers in my 350z. Going to run at 4 ohms either Sundown SAX 125.2 or the Arc Audio KS 300.2. Will i hear a lot of difference between these 2? Or should I just go with the cheaper amp? The Sundown does 125 x 2 and the Arc Audio does 180 x 2. Thanks!

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[Grinder1989 5,000+ posts]

You can't go wrong with either. I prefer Sundowns, obviously, but ARC makes nice stuff too. Whatever you can afford would be a good choice.

 

[syk69 10+ year member]

You can't go wrong with either. I prefer Sundowns, obviously, but ARC makes nice stuff too. Whatever you can afford would be a good choice.

is Arc Audio worth the price difference for how much it changes the sound?

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

I had a very knowledgeable friend listen/tune my truck and it was the first time he had heard Sundown amps, and told me it would be a waste of my money to upgrade them unless I went with something along the lines of Arc SE's, Zapco Competition series or Tru and so on.

I am very happy with my Sundown amps and will gladly run them again in the future.

 

[Xprime4 10+ year member]

I would take the extra power of the arc audio over the sd. The arc audio can't sound bad.

 

[sundownz Pro Seller]

A 125.2 will power your Morel set nicely -- if cost is no object then the Arc may be worth it to you, though.

 

[Grinder1989 5,000+ posts]

is Arc Audio worth the price difference for how much it changes the sound?

Well amps do not really "change" sound. They just either do a good job or a bad job. The headunit is what the source input is. IMO, besides the fact that I'm a dealer, I think the extra money for the ARC would just give you the satisfaction of running a high dollar amp with little to no gain of sound quality.

 

[arthurk 10+ year member]

I love arc audio and have nothing but great things to say about the KS series amps

 

[davidtemple 10+ year member]

I have used both and can honestly say they sound great, I would have to lean toward the Arc if used for serious SQ. that means the best HU like a DRZ 9855 , McIntosh, Rockford 8240/50. and the best speakers like Hybrid Audio, Dynaudio, Focal, etc.

on normal Hu like 9887 ( nice BTW ) and Sundown, or Arc KS series I could not tell much difference. Not much difference on the output either.

So either one would be great. Just say away from Maxxisonics Junk.

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

All amps sound the same. Car audio manufacturers are in business because people are foolish enough to believe that they hear sound differences between amps. People swap out and buy different amps believing when one will sound better than the other. It's better to get an amp that is built solidly, does it's rated power, and looks the way you want it to. Like the earlier post said, its better to focus on the speakers and head unit because that's where the sound comes from. All amps do is amplify the sound. Because of the difference in wattage, one amp may sound a little louder but that is it.

 

[davidtemple 10+ year member]

true on the HU and speakers ! but my McIntosh sounds so much better than Pyramid or Rockford amps

 

[LGK 10+ year member]

All amps sound the same

you must be new to the world of car audio, welcome!

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

you must be new to the world of car audio, welcome!

Since 1989, i tell you one thing, I will keep the same high quality amps, buy high quality speakers and a high quality head unit and save my money. I have heard them all and they all sound the same if you set the gains correctly. Reference the Richard Clark test.

I will no longer go out and waste my money believing for a small percentage difference one amp will sound tremendously better than the other. That is an easy way to throw money down the toilet.

 

[LGK 10+ year member]

sooo you'd rather have an Alpine MRD-605 over a JL 500/1?

 

[MakeshiftAudio 10+ year member]

Clean sounds, you are retarded. There is more than one way to convert an analog 10khz signal to high component 120khz to a low component 10khz signal. When you able to understand that, then open your yap.

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

sooo you'd rather have an Alpine MRD-605 over a JL 500/1?

Well, that would depend on the application. The JL 500/1 will make rated power between 1.5 and 4 ohms whereas the Alpine makes 300 @ 4 and 600 @ 2. You probably will be hard pressed to tell a difference between 500 and 600 watts RMS @ 2 ohms BUT you may notice the difference between 300 and 500 watts RMS @ 4 ohms!

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

Clean sounds, you are retarded. There is more than one way to convert an analog 10khz signal to high component 120khz to a low component 10khz signal. When you able to understand that, then open your yap.

He may have not mentioned EVERYTHING regarding the RC challenge, but for the most part, he is correct. With enough equalization one would be hard pressed to tell the difference between a mass produced budget amplifier and a hand built high end amplifier. Granted, some amplifiers have higher noise floors than others and that may could contribute to a noticeable difference along with the fact that some amplifiers purposefully color the sound. In the end, if one can get them to measure the same they will sound the same!

Then again, you may have ears of gold and could be that person to take $10,000 from Richard Clark! Just think of all the bragging rights you would have plus the fact that you would be famous all over the world.

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

Oh jeez.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

FWIW Richard Clarks test is NOT about all amps sounding the same.

They dont.

 

[MakeshiftAudio 10+ year member]

Well, I'm more for a clean replication of the input signal. The dampening factor and the driving frequency are major parts of consideration when designing an amp. Then comes the mosfets, blah blah blah. This may be too technical to be even mentioned, for the sake of relevance.

Simply put, compare the input signal to the output signal with an oscilloscope, a lot of the time you will see the driving frequency, or a harmonic (1/4, 1/5, etc) of it.

 

[GAM3OVR 5,000+ posts]

Since 1989, i tell you one thing, I will keep the same high quality amps, buy high quality speakers and a high quality head unit and save my money. I have heard them all and they all sound the same if you set the gains correctly. Reference the Richard Clark test.
I will no longer go out and waste my money believing for a small percentage difference one amp will sound tremendously better than the other. That is an easy way to throw money down the toilet.

Lol so the S/N Ratio on an amp and the THD really doesn't matter at all how good the amp sounds becuz they are all the same? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif:laugh://content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif:laugh:

Dampening factor? Freq responce? nothing either?