New Alpine PDF-M12 and PDF-F6

[randy8876 10+ year member]

So my new toys arrived tonight. The amps look really sharp in person, very clean and not flashy. I love the tiny footprint, as I'm trying to keep everything stealth. Also I really like the plug type connections.

Here they are boxed up, I'll have pics of them in the car tomorrow.



I have two pair of MB Quart QSC-216's. In the front doors with the tweeter in the A pillar and mounted in the rear doors co-axially. They should scream with 150w per channel.

The M12 will power a pair of JL 10W6's in sealed boxes (I also expect these to pound).

Oh, the birth certificates show 164wX4 for the F6 and 1380wX1 for the M12. 2000 watts in a little Nissan Versa should be good enough.

Click to read more...

 

[AllenH427 10+ year member]

Those amps look sharp, a little pricey but for the small footprint, it's what is to be expected. Take some pics of them out of the box.

 

[randy8876 10+ year member]

I picked up the pair for $865. Still a little pricey, but not too terrifying.

Since they are all black the don't photograph very well, but here's an attempt:



The dollar is there to give an idea of size. I put the plugs in so you can see the room they need.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Wow those things are tiny.

ETA: If Alpine managed to get these right, I may have to stop talking bad about them and give them a try again!

 

[fyerbyrd22 10+ year member]

im in for this...keep us updated on how they are and how u like them...im lookin into getting the f6 or the 4.150 to replace 2 sax 50.4s...havent decided yet

 

[randy8876 10+ year member]

I was a dumba$$ and forgot my camera today (I do all my installing in a garage way from my home). But I'll grab a few pictures tomorrow. I installed them under the front seats and you can't see anything with the seat slide all the way forward or all the way back.

As far as installing. This is my first time using the plug style set up. Alpine uses allen head screws and they provide the allen wrenches. The screws have a deep socket that the wrench fits in, which I really appreciate since it was much easier then the shallow ones that sometimes strip. Unfortunately on the cover for the crossover and gains it has a screw with the shallow socket which was a little finicky.

I can't give a review of the M12 yet, as my sub boxes need a little tightening up due to some air leaks.

But, the F6 is great. I'm still dialing in the gains and tweaking the crossover setpoint, but I tried out Guns N Roses, Journey, White Zombie and Sarah McLachlan. White Zombie Living Dead Girl was thunderous, I saw peak current draw of 26 amps. I don't think my Quarts will appreciate getting pushed much harder, as the tweeter light was glowing a lot.

GnR Paradise City intro was so clear and the kick drum was very tight.

Sarah McLachlan was a chance to see if there's any noise at high volumes. Cranked up to 3/4 volume and listening during the quiet interludes I didn't hear any hiss, hum, buzz or other sounds that might piss you off.

I'll tweak it more tomorrow, but if there's anything specific you want me to look at just let me know.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Cranked up to 3/4 volume and listening during the quiet interludes I didn't hear any hiss, hum, buzz or other sounds that might piss you off.

That was what I wanted to know! Thanks for the mini review.

 

[randy8876 10+ year member]

I played with these a bit more today. I kept the volume at 65% for about 2 hours (I was not in the car) and the F6 hardly got warm. I rarely see it pull more than 6 amps, which is good since I have the stock alternator.

The M12 is hammering my 10W6's. The peak current I've seen was 91 amps, but most of the time it stays under 20. Today I connected up the remote bass boost knob and learned something new. It's not just a boost. In the middle position it's +0db. It was a huge surprise when I plugged it in and the subs suddenly were quiet since the knob was on minimum.

Here are a few pictures...

I mounted a panel under the carpet so I could bolt the amplifier securely to the floor.



Here's a little closer picture. You can see the power/ground coming from the center console. Due to the thickness I couldn't run it under the carpet, but luckily there's a space on the seat it can be routed through.



There's an amp under the seat, but nothing can be seen:



If you stoop down really low you can barely see the amp:



But the seat has a flap the hangs down and can block it from view.