Need a little help choosing the right amp. Please!

[Serialkb]

I have picked out the subs I want, which are autotek mean machine m12d4, two of them. I haven't chosen what box for sure yet so any recomendations regarding that would also be appreciated. My main issue is choosing an amp for them I am leaning towards the autotek mean machine m4000.1d but am little worried it might be too much. Am I wrong? What are your suggestions for an amp to power them?

Click to read more...

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

what influenced your decision to buy the Autotek subs?

 

[MisterDeadeye 10+ year member]

They'll be fine.

 

[Serialkb]

They were rated really well, no one had them blow so I figured why not try them out. I like the looks of them too, the led dust cap is sweet in my opinion

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

They were rated really well, no one had them blow so I figured why not try them out. I like the looks of them too, the led dust cap is sweet in my opinion

That seems pretty gimmicky to me. What are you paying for these subs? There might be a much better option for the price.

 

[Serialkb]

$50 each. I am wondering what I will have to add to my grand am to power the 4000 watt amp? Should I put in a power cell battery replacement.

 

[jsluss17 10+ year member]

$50 each. I am wondering what I will have to add to my grand am to power the 4000 watt amp? Should I put in a power cell battery replacement.

you're definitely not gonna be getting 4000 watts out of that amp you'll probably be getting less than half of that honestly. i'd probably go with a second battery or at least the big 3 because that amp isn't going to be too efficient

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

$50 each. I am wondering what I will have to add to my grand am to power the 4000 watt amp? Should I put in a power cell battery replacement.

I very much doubt that that amp will put out 4000w. Ever. That looks like a Max power rating, and there's no way you'll find an amp that will do even half that much power clean for that amount of money (saw the autotek for $180 at onlinecarstereo). Maxxsonics products tend to be pretty overrated from what I've heard, and the stuff you're looking at doesn't look anywhere near as beefy as it should given the ratings.

I'd bet money that you'll be able to find a better option in your price range. You may have to look used (that's what the classifieds are for), but you'll end up with a better product.

Post up your budget (for subs, amp, and enclosure) and listening goals (do you just want to add nice clean low-end to music, do you want to get stupid loud, or do you want to land somewhere in between), and I'm sure we can help you piece together a system that will make you happy.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

you're definitely not gonna be getting 4000 watts out of that amp you'll probably be getting less than half of that honestly. i'd probably go with a second battery or at least the big 3 because that amp isn't going to be too efficient

Quite true. If you don't want to invest a bunch of money in your electrical system (new alternator, better.additional batteries, etc), you'll want to set your sights a bit lower.

 

[MisterDeadeye 10+ year member]

you're definitely not gonna be getting 4000 watts out of that amp you'll probably be getting less than half of that honestly. i'd probably go with a second battery or at least the big 3 because that amp isn't going to be too efficient

I very much doubt that that amp will put out 4000w. Ever. That looks like a Max power rating, and there's no way you'll find an amp that will do even half that much power clean for that amount of money (saw the autotek for $180 at onlinecarstereo). Maxxsonics products tend to be pretty overrated from what I've heard, and the stuff you're looking at doesn't look anywhere near as beefy as it should given the ratings.
I'd bet money that you'll be able to find a better option in your price range. You may have to look used (that's what the classifieds are for), but you'll end up with a better product.

Post up your budget (for subs, amp, and enclosure) and listening goals (do you just want to add nice clean low-end to music, do you want to get stupid loud, or do you want to land somewhere in between), and I'm sure we can help you piece together a system that will make you happy.

The amp he's talking about has the same board as the MB Quart Onyx 1500. @Bettr n' Revrse actually bought a few of the new Mean Machine amps from someone on here a while ago. The guy he bought them from clamped the 4000, and it should be putting out the same as the Onyx. Their efficiency is fine. Since when does bad ratings mean that the amps themselves are going to eat your car?

OP, I think the Onyx is actually a few dollars cheaper now, unless you want to match the subs/amp.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

The amp he's talking about has the same board as the MB Quart Onyx 1500. @Bettr n' Revrse actually bought a few of the new Mean Machine amps from someone on here a while ago. The guy he bought them from clamped the 4000, and it should be putting out the same as the Onyx. Their efficiency is fine. Since when does bad ratings mean that the amps themselves are going to eat your car?
OP, I think the Onyx is actually a few dollars cheaper now, unless you want to match the subs/amp.

Thanks for the info. My main point was that he seemed to be setting his expectations a little high.

For what I'm guessing his price range is, I found the following in about 5 minutes of searching the classifieds.

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/subwoofer-classifieds/546726-fi-q-12-d2-150-shipping.html

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/amplifier-classifieds/546781-elemental-designs-nine-4-nine-1-matching-amps.html

That's $320 for subs and amp, and I'm guessing that combo in the correct enclosure will beat those MM subs, and sound better doing it. DC Creations will build a basic ported box for under $125, so you're sitting at about $450ish all-in.

 

[MisterDeadeye 10+ year member]

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/subwoofer-classifieds/546726-fi-q-12-d2-150-shipping.html

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/amplifier-classifieds/546781-elemental-designs-nine-4-nine-1-matching-amps.html

I didn't even see that eD Nine.4! Why do I always miss the things I want? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[Serialkb]

No that amp will not put out 4000 it's rated 500 rms @ 4 ohm's per channel which is exactly what each of the mm subs rms are, that leaves me with two channels to be bridged for a 15" or 18" somewhere down the road, and i have seen it flex windshields with a couple 15's so it should be able to pound dual 12's pretty hard. My budget is around $400 for everything including the enclosure, I don't mean to be setting my sights high but I think these are very doable, and I want too steer clear of used equipment (just personal preference).

Feel free to keep suggesting different setups I am always open to looking into other options, but I really don't want to buy used. My goal is to feel it as much as possible.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and insight so far

 

[MisterDeadeye 10+ year member]

No that amp will not put out 4000 it's rated 500 rms @ 4 ohm's per channel which is exactly what each of the mm subs rms are, that leaves me with two channels to be bridged for a 15" or 18" somewhere down the road, and i have seen it flex windshields with a couple 15's so it should be able to pound dual 12's pretty hard. My budget is around $400 for everything including the enclosure, I don't mean to be setting my sights high but I think these are very doable, and I want too steer clear of used equipment (just personal preference). Feel free to keep suggesting different setups I am always open to looking into other options, but I really don't want to buy used. My goal is to feel it as much as possible.

Are you on crack? The amp you posted is a monoblock amp, meaning it has only one channel. And the MM subs are dual 4 ohm, meaning you can wire each one to either 2 or 8 ohms, and the pair at either 4 or 1 ohms.

 

[Serialkb]

Well, you are definately right, I must have mixed that amp up with another one when I was reading reviews. Im a noob so I apologize this is my first system, if you couldn't already tell. Anyways that set just got blown out the window. So any help choosing a new one would be greatly appreciated. Please keep it under $500. The systems going into an '01 grand am se if it helps