Picking out a new amp for 10" Dayton HO, 2013 WRX hatch. Soundstream?

[dan5505 10+ year member]

After searching for a while on this forum, I have come to the conclusion that there is a ton of amps to choose from and everyone has their favorite brand. I have a 10" Dayton HO, single voice coil, 4 ohm impedance, sealed enclosure. My current amp, a Kenwood Excelon KAC-X812D, has static in the lines that bothers me. I am looking for an amp that has a clean output for a sound quality setup.

I read several posts that were recommending Soundstream amps. There product line seems a bit confusing as they have 9 different series of amps. Their prices are good though. How do these amps compare to the higher priced name brand amps like Rockford and Alpine? I will be putting this amp under my passenger seat. Are the compact Tarantula Nano Series Soundstream amps decent?

This is the one I am considering:

Soundstream TN1.1200D Class D Amplifiers at Onlinecarstereo.com

What do you guys think?

Click to read more...

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

Get this. It's tiny. And solid.

Precision Power PPI P1000.1 (p10001) Monoblock Phantom Car Amplifier

Have you researched underseat boxes though? Most hate them.

 

[dan5505 10+ year member]

Get this. It's tiny. And solid.
Precision Power PPI P1000.1 (p10001) Monoblock Phantom Car Amplifier

Have you researched underseat boxes though? Most hate them.

That one looks good too. It has pretty much the same specs as the soundstream one I posted, but its black. Black would look nicer in the WRX.

I have not looked into underseat boxes much. I have heard that the subaru one *****. Right now I have the Dayton HO in a cheap sealed box in the back of the hatch. The only thing I plan on putting under the seat is my amp.

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

I see. I have a 2012 so anything you need, man lemme know.

 

[dan5505 10+ year member]

I see. I have a 2012 so anything you need, man lemme know.

Thanks. I appreciate it. Once I get a new amp, I'll post my install log.

 

[Sonic. 10+ year member]

Quality and compact WoofersEtc.com - XDi 1000.1 - Arc Audio Monoblock Car Amplifier

 

[zako 10+ year member]

That one looks good too. It has pretty much the same specs as the soundstream one I posted, but its black. Black would look nicer in the WRX.

Actually, these are the same amplifier, with different case. The PPI is slightly underrated.

 

[dan5505 10+ year member]

Actually, these are the same amplifier, with different case. The PPI is slightly underrated.

Perfect. I think I will give it a try. I think I just sold my Kenwood for $100, even with disclosing the static, so the upgrade will only be $89.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

One interesting amplifier to take a look at is Polk Audio D1000.1. On the outside it looks very similar to PPI P1000.1. This is no coincidence, because they share board design. However, the individual components, etc, used internally are different, so they can be of different grade. The impressive thing about Polk's implementation is just how clean it is. I already posted a link about this on a different forum:

A test review of Polk Audio D1000.1 subwoofer amplifier - DIYMA Car Audio Forum

Note that I am not making a claim that Polk is better or worse than PPI. It's just Polk the only one that I know someone tested and posted a result online. Having said this, I am happy with my PPI P1000.1. At $200 (sometimes cheaper online), it's a fine value. I'd love to try out the Soundstream REF amp mentioned in my link. These seem to be phenomenally good, but probably more expensive and not to mention the bigger size.

 

[dan5505 10+ year member]

One interesting amplifier to take a look at is Polk Audio D1000.1. On the outside it looks very similar to PPI P1000.1. This is no coincidence, because they share board design. However, the individual components, etc, used internally are different, so they can be of different grade. The impressive thing about Polk's implementation is just how clean it is. I already posted a link about this on a different forum:
A test review of Polk Audio D1000.1 subwoofer amplifier - DIYMA Car Audio Forum

Note that I am not making a claim that Polk is better or worse than PPI. It's just Polk the only one that I know someone tested and posted a result online. Having said this, I am happy with my PPI P1000.1. At $200 (sometimes cheaper online), it's a fine value. I'd love to try out the Soundstream REF amp mentioned in my link. These seem to be phenomenally good, but probably more expensive and not to mention the bigger size.

That's interesting. I bet they all share a common vendor. I do like the case design of the Polk better than the Soundstream and the Precision Power. Since it is going under my passenger seat, I'm still leaning towards the Precision Power due to the price difference.

Thanks for the heads up though. I wonder how many other amps use this board design.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

That's interesting. I bet they all share a common vendor. I do like the case design of the Polk better than the Soundstream and the Precision Power. Since it is going under my passenger seat, I'm still leaning towards the Precision Power due to the price difference.
Thanks for the heads up though. I wonder how many other amps use this board design.

A LOT.

The board is supposedly designed by Nakamachi, so you can see it in their products. Also, the same design is used in NVX Class D amplifier and Hertz HDP amplifiers. I have seen test results of Polk, PPI, and Hertz HDP, and they all look _different_ (besides all of them having a respectable power output), so while the design is the same the individual components are not the same.