Prime or Punch

[SkeetMc]

Right now Im in the process of putting something simple but also something that has some kick to it as well. To start off....Im an old school installer....did it back in the late '80's to mid '90's...had '83 S10 Blazer lowered with ground effects.....Alpine/Rockford Fosgate setup...from 8 15 " woofers...2 Power 650's...6 6 1/2 ...8 1" softdomes ...couple of 5.25 & I think a couple of 3.5 or 4"....did a lot of competitions & stuff..

Now forward about 20 years...since then Ive been blessed with a family & we have spent most of that time racing...hence my avatar pic....my daughter at the Indoor Kart Nationals ...worlds largest indoor karting race where she started 12th & raced her way to a4th place podium finish...not to mention...only girl in her class. Anways...we have taken this past year off & Im wanting to do this before we start back ...if we do even get back to racing...but I wont my 2 kids to get ataste of what I did back in the day.

Heres my question...since its not about busting out winshields or hearing me from a mile away....Im really just looking for something that sounds good but also has some boom to it as well. With me being a RF Punch guy from back when....now there is the Prime series out for the ones not wanting to blow out the wallet. What Im looking at running is our current Alpine 9827 hu...my old school ere-g180 11 band....(only thing I have left from the day & I love it)....2 12's....front & rear door 6.5 or maybe the 6.75...thought going compnant with 1" twitters but really dont feel like doing any cuttin in case we sell the vehicle I can toss the factory back in......Im pretty much gonna fill in all the factory speakers in a '98 Chevy S10 blazer....also looking at a 5 channel amp & Im going to do the big3 as well.

So...with that being said....do you guys or females...feel that the Prime series would be what Im looking for or would I be disappointed & later wish I would have went with the Punch series? Keep in mind Im NOT looking to have what I once did....just something that sounds good without paying an arm & a leg for BUT not end up being disappointed. I realize that this RF's lower budgeted brand but what do you think of it? For the 12's Im gonna build a box using fiberglass just to help make look more like the blazer than just a box in the back ...plus Ive been told by the wife that she doesnt want to give up all the cargo area...so thats why I have chosen the 12's.

Thanks in advance on your help.

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[SkeetMc]

Anyone have any thoughts....

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

both are pretty much crap now , stick with the power series or bcpd amps if you want fosgate ,do you have a budget and goals for what your doing ?

 

[mr_naler]

Go with the Punch. The Prmies are garbage, at least the R1s are. For the same price as a new set of the R1s you can fin used P2s like I have. I paid $150 for them and a Kicker Zx400.1

 

[Falcons 5,000+ posts]

Power series. Beast mode.

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

Id stay away from rockford unless its the upper level amps of the 360.3 the wire isnt bad either but **** is it high

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

I don't care what any of these guys here have to say, If you are looking for a decent setup and not trying to break the bank or compete with the world. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the Prime amps!!!! We've built dozens of systems for people wanting to add some bass to their vehicle's using the Prime amps. Most of the people here have a VERY distorted view of what people need or want, even when they tell them what they want lol....I've installed P1 12's in prefab slot port boxes that have pounded enough for the everyday guy or gal that just wanted some bass and not go broke.....and we have yet to have ONE install using the Prime equipment come back due to equipment failure!!!!!

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

prime does rated punch does a littel more then rated both are decent amps that will get the job done

 

[SamIam71]

First off, congrats and thank you for putting another cool @$$ kid into the world. I too was putting together systems in the same era and have just got back to messing with sound as my oldest child began driving. We put a little bump in his ride and I am currently working on a system in a '98 S-10 I picked up for him.

It would seem a lot of the "Top of the line" makers from back in the day, succumbed to woes of capitalism.I.E, they make crap now. Though they do still offer equipment of a caliber expected of a company upholding their name for 30 years or more, when interest in bass diminished, they started making products of a lesser quality to keep a piece of the market. The good news is, there are a lot of newcomers making sound equipment that can fulfill anyone's needs. I would spend some time looking researching where your old favorites are, as well as checking out the new guys. I have gone with a complete Alpine system except the bass channel. I went with a Soundstream TA1.2000D amp and 2 SA 12's subs from Sundown Audio. Everything is in now except the subs and box (currently sitting in my livingroom which is covered in sawdust) and so far so good. Good luck with your build man.

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

prime does rated punch does a littel more then rated both are decent amps that will get the job done

I forgot all about this test.....people can hate on the Prime and call it crap all they want but when used the way they were designed to be used, these suckers do their jobs period....

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

I forgot all about this test.....people can hate on the Prime and call it crap all they want but when used the way they were designed to be used, these suckers do their jobs period....

crap is boss, crap is Pyramid car audio i hate when People just throw out the crap term to good brands

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

crap is boss, crap is Pyramid car audio i hate when People just throw out the crap term to good brands

I agree, there is soooo much crap out there and then you have the mainstream brand haters as well. I don't believe in nuthugging or hating on decent equipment. Example, today I had a young customer come into the shop for us to install his equipment, he had two kicker comp 12's in a prefab truck box and a Phoenix Digital amp. This we all know is a mucho crappy amp but it was what he had and it was a gift to him so we did the job and made his system sound the best it possibly could with what he had. I made some product upgrade suggestions to him for later on when he could afford it but we made him into a very happy customer simply by treating him with respect and NOT bashing his equipment.

 

[fatboytyler]

Most people hate on the Prime series, but I love my 1200W Prime Amp (R1200). Cheap and clean power. They usually come in tested at at least 50W over the rated power (mine was 100W, I've seen as high as 175). So my power output at 1 Ohm is 1294 Vs. the 1200 Rated.

 

[Milk Mayne 10+ year member]

I haven't personally heard any of the Prime series speakers, but for what the amps are, they definitely do the job. I had the need for a small footprint amp that could put out 1000 watts at two ohms on a pretty low budget, and the Prime 1000 did just that without any issues whatsoever.

People definitely tend to throw the "crap" and "junk" terms around all too often. Not everyone has the need for TC 5400s, or DD 9900s, nor do most people care to spend thousands of dollars on a stereo. Those of us that do, are a very small segment of the population. While I personally would never run a lot of equipment that others think is great (Kicker subs, Pioneer amps, etc), for most of the people out there, that stuff is more than adequate. The worst part about this whole rant is the fact that you're not even contemplating using some crappy low-end stuff, compared to A LOT of the stuff out there, anything from Rockford would be **** near top of the line when it comes to what your average person knows about.

Anyways, I think if you're willing to swing it, to go with the Punch subs over the Primes just for output and clarity (comparatively), but I wouldn't hesitate to run the Prime amps in your application. Great job on tryin to bring another youngster up to be a basshead. If it was me though and I even had the opportunity to grow up driving shifter karts(always was my dream as a kid and I begged my parents every birthday and Christmas for one but it never happened), I don't think I would've ever got into the bass stuff as much as I have.

 

[SkeetMc]

Thanks guys for the responces, I stated above & it seems a few of you understood what getting at, even after I stated that I wasnt trying to spend a lot of money but was looking for something had a good sound with a decent kick to it....NOT the highly priced pro series that Im pretty sure would be great to have if I was going to build a competition install or looking for the best money can buy. Ive did a price comparrison & so far Im at about a $375 price difference...that has really got me leaning more towards the Prime series....even though that Punch series is out there. Again...thanks for the replys guys.