Overrated amps

[jimmclrk1 10+ year member]

I know this is a widely discussed issue on these boards, but I just want some closure on the issue. Brands like Legacy, Pyle, Pyramid, and the likes aren't popular because they are "not quality". From what I can gather, this usually means that either they have a bad ratio of working/non-working off the shelf, and that they are overrated, and to acheive the rated power you end up clipping the hell out of your signal. But, say I was buying a Lanzar Heritage amp to power 2 12" subs rated at 200w each, and the power rating on the amp is 200w RMS x 2 @4ohms. What kind of power am I really going to get? Seeing as how a watt is a watt, if I go into the purchase knowing that the amp won't do rated power, then I should be able to keep it from clipping by setting the gains to levels that better match the amp's real ability. Does this sound right?

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Yes, but remember, there's the issue of reliability over the long run too //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[TeenWolf 10+ year member]

Careful...logically, a "watt is a watt", but some companies over-rate their product. If they say 200w RMS, then it's probably much less than that. Some companies are very modest with their ratings. Also be careful of MAX watt and dynamic. I very seldom see RMS on the packaging for cheap stuff - They use MAX for marketing purposes.

 

[jimmclrk1 10+ year member]

I understand that the amp is overrated. But if I go into the deal knowing that the amp isn't going to put out 200w, but instead 100w, then I can set up the system based on that knowledge and come out with decent sound quality. Just to kinda separate myself from the brand name of the amp, I do not plan to use this amp in my car. I am buying it to sell as a package deal with a couple budget subs to a guy who just wants subs regardless of brand.

 

[jimmclrk1 10+ year member]

I know this thread is making me come off as a 12 year old punk who has never seen real audio gear. I am decently versed in car audio and have pretty extensive experience in pro audio gear. Like I said, I just want to hook this kid up with some budget subs and a budget amp. I just need to know that the amp will perform decently if I understand that the amp is vastly overrated.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Like I said...you could get away with it as long as you keep the signal unclipped, but those amps aren't cheap for no reason - you have to assume there have been shortcuts made with the quality control and reliability of the amp itself. The construction quality won't be up to par with an amp costing two or three times more...

 

[jimmclrk1 10+ year member]

Like I said...you could get away with it as long as you keep the signal unclipped, but those amps aren't cheap for no reason - you have to assume there have been shortcuts made with the quality control and reliability of the amp itself. The construction quality won't be up to par with an amp costing two or three times more...

I'm getting the amp for $50... so even if it exploded when I hooked it up, it wouldn't much matter. I'd just let the kid borrow my MTX 801D, or my Alpine MRP-M350, or my Mark Antony 25opcm... we could figure something out.

 

[stones 10+ year member]

I know this thread is making me come off as a 12 year old punk who has never seen real audio gear. I am decently versed in car audio and have pretty extensive experience in pro audio gear. Like I said, I just want to hook this kid up with some budget subs and a budget amp. I just need to know that the amp will perform decently if I understand that the amp is vastly overrated.

I don't think that you sound like a 12 year old punk at all, you have asked a very reasonable question.

I'ts all in how it works

For cheap companys like Boss, Lanzar, Pyramid, Pyle, Legacy, Blitz, Audiobahn, Dual, Majestic, Ultra linear and so on, they don't engineer their own products.

A higher end company will engineer its own stuff in house from the ground up, and then either have them manufactured in house or overseas (manufacturing costs are cheaper overseas), They test the amps themselves and give a minimum standard output rating at specific voltages.

The cheap companys, they just get ahold of these companys overseas that manufacture amplifiers (like in Korea or China) and order certain amps to meet their marketing needs and put their own brand names on them. these amps that they order are based on older designs from higher end companys, some of these older designs work quite well and will give you great performance while others are terribly flawed. These guys don't test these amps for minimum standard output rating they just throw on an unrealistic max output rating but if you look carfully you can somtimes find the original RMS rating from the manufacturers on line or in the manuals. Since there is no cost to engineer the amplifier and the cost of manufacturing is less you can find these at much lower prices then a high quality equivilent.

Conclusion

Everything has its application, if you are careful and know exactly what the amp you are getting is capable of then these budget amps can be a great value.

BTW-PM me with any specific amplifier models you are curious about and I will do the best I can to give you its actual capabilities.

 

[alexkerhead 10+ year member]

With car audio.

Rule #1

You get what you pay for.

Legacy makes a good $50 amp, 300watt max, I had it checked, stable 96watts rms@2 ohms bridged.

Fix it up with a pair of lightning 10s, and you have a descent little budget system.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/naughty.gif.94359f346c0f1259df8038d60b41863e.gif

 

[Ignatowski 5,000+ posts]

I prefer underrated TY...........

its like getting free power

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

Underrated amps are WAY more expensive than straight rated amps, and especially mildly overrated amps. Free power is relative. All other things aside, I'd rather get a Power Acoustik that benches within 5% of it's rated power than something underrated that's $100 more.

 

[bibby 5,000+ posts]

If this is any help...

I had a lanzar vibe 1600w max 2ch amp, so i'm asuming it did 400wrms per side. I pused two cvr 12's and it sounded great, then i bought a kicker kx800.2, rated at 800wrms. It didnt make a big differnece, but it made a difference. The amp held up for over a year, in two different trucks, and 5 different boxes before i sold it to a friend who had it hooked up right to two jlw3 10, in a wel built ported box, and that really slammed(outbeat my two 12's on the kx800.2 in a cheaply made ported box. but when i got a box from the same place he did, i put him away with over 2x the loudness. anyways it held up untill he fouled the amp up, lasted 1 1/2 yrs before he messed up, or it would prob be still kicking.

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

Yes you could just find out what the actual unclipped power rating is and set the gains to achieve that.

One of the first amps I had bought was a legacy LA1990. Still works after 5+ years...

 

[jimmclrk1 10+ year member]

Yes you could just find out what the actual unclipped power rating is and set the gains to achieve that.
One of the first amps I had bought was a legacy LA1990. Still works after 5+ years...

Exactly what I was looking to hear.... looking to hear??? Anyways....

 

[tristan20 10+ year member]

marc antony amps