Need Help choosing between one of these 3 amps...

[lazrguira]

1) polk audio on sale for $149 reg price is $249 and seems to be the most powerful

Polk Audio 600W Class AB Bridgeable 4Channel MOSFET Amplifier with Switchable Bass Boost PA 660 - Best Buy channel&cp=1&lp=3

2) Alpine $199

Alpine 300W Class D Bridgeable Multichannel Amplifier with Variable Crossover MRV-F300 - Best Buy channel&cp=1&lp=5

3) kicker $199

Kicker CXSeries CX300.4 600W Class AB Bridgeable Multichannel Amplifier with BuiltIn Crossovers 12CX3004 - Best Buy channel&cp=1&lp=3

So would you save $50 and go with the Polk? Need to know by tomorrow.

Thx

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[jrouter76 10+ year member]

go with the polk amp,I personally don`t like how Class-D sounds on mids and highss,sounds kinda dry to me,I am a fan of Alpine amps and HUs,but not Class-D for mids and Highs,Polk amp seems to have a better weight-build to it and you save 50.00 dollars.

 

[lazrguira]

Thx for your opinion. Appreciated.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

I like the Polk too, mainly because I subscribe to the theory that you can never have "too much" power.

The alpine is small, and I like small amps, and unlike Router, I have no issue with full range class D amps. I use a full range class D that's in the "budget" range by most standards and I've been very happy with it. If fitting your amp in a small space matters it would be worth considering the Alpine IMO.

 

[lazrguira]

Thx N2audio . Thats 2 for the Polk. Hey I see you have lanzar amps on your sig. Always wondered about those amps. How good are the 4 channels? I guess my biggest concern always was the quality of the electronics inside. I was always scared of whining alternator ground noises. I know they make several different lines. From economic to really good. They use that brand allot on the Dominican Republic.

 

[lazrguira]

Can't believe the signal to noise ratio on the alpine is 80db. I thought it would have been the highest of the 3 amps . Polk is the lowest at 75db.

The kicker seems to be the cleanest coming in at 95 db

 

[BoomTaco64]

i have installed many of the alpine amps and they are great amps. never had an issue.

 

[lazrguira]

Yea alpine is my personal favorite As well. Always sounded the clearest and most crisp IMO.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

The author of bcae1 has a section on s/n -- the point is above about 50dB you're entering the "inaudible" range.

Regarding Lanzar -- I've been a fan since my brother did a BIG (4 amp) install in the early 90's going with Lanzar for almost everything. That was back when Lanzar was one company all in house in CA and was considered among the highest quality available.

Now Lanzar is just a name owned by Sound Around out of Brooklyn dealing in largely chinese amps and speakers. The exception is Optidrive which is their "flagship" line still getting most (all?) their amps from Korea.

The last non-optidrive amp I had was the original black vibe's from the early '00's. They were ok budget amps, nothing special.

Both amps I have now are optidrive. One's from the Zed Audio (USA built) era. The other is the full range class D I mentioned above (Korea).

I've been very happy with both of them.

The 1000.1d is going on 15 yrs old and has never missed a beat.

The 4x400d has been solid too. Originally I thought it had a noise problem, but I experimented with my HU ground and got that cured. Recently it's been dropping a channel, but I'm fairly sure it's a wiring issue, not a problem with the amp.

These days I will generally avoid anything from Lanzar other than Optidrive.

Although I've been considering one of the Reign class D's. The power ratings are a joke (typical non-opti Lanzar) but actual power vs price looks like a bargain.

Someone here bought one a while back and was happy with it a few months in.

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

i'd go with the Kicker, its slightly smaller and has a better S-N ratio plus it can be 2 channels in or 4 channels.

 

[lazrguira]

Thanks guys. I decided to go with the Alpine because I like the small foot print. And you can never go wrong with alpine for the highs and mids.

 

[lazrguira]

Here's an update on my Rear Fill Project On the Factory Bose system.