"Clean" sound?

[Nelson9937955 10+ year member]

Ok I hear this alot when discussing, for example, a mono amp for a sub.

Lets say I have a Power Acoustik amp putting out 1000 rms vs a JL Audio amp putting out 1000 rms. I picked those because one is a budget amp and one is a higher end amp. It good be any budget vs. higher end amp.

What kind if differences would i hear in the bass? I know the Acoustik amp in real life would probably be overrated byt I am just saying if it wasn't and it was just watt for watt.

Would the cheaper amp's bass maybe sound muddier or distorted in comparison to the other? What kind of difference would I hear?

Or maybe is there no real difference in the sound and your only paying more for build quality or name?

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[dipitydoo 10+ year member]

Build quality, name, features, reputation, etc., but not for 'cleaner sound' necessarily.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

I've never done a drop-in, A/B comparison between an amp that might be considered "higher end" Vs one that might be seen as a more "budget-oriented" amp so the tonal differences between one and the other, if any, I cannot speak to.

Aside from that certainly you are going to pay a difference for build quality! The JL amp is built better, has features not found in the PA amp (such as more or less the same output across a variance of resistance loads, etc) and all else being equal I would wager that the JL amp will still be kicking long after the PA amp has gone to that CarAudioJunkyard in the sky.

But, apart from that, yes the monstrous machine that is mass marketing rolls merrily along.

JL is a household name. Even people that don't give two hoots about aftermarket mobile A/V gear have heard of JL Audio.

All the kiddies in the highschools are "Wow!" when looking at someone who just had some JL gear installed (even if it's just a pair of W0 subs, so it seems...)

When looking at someone's brand-new, shiny PA amp? "Meh," is more often than not the response.

 

[Nelson9937955 10+ year member]

So let say I run this amp: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_1170_JL+Audio+1000-1.html

v.s

this amphttp://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_9466_Power+Acoustik+OV1-4000D.html

The power acoustik about 200 more rms to account for probably being overrated. I have those 2 amps in identical installs to one sub at 1000 watts @ 4ohms. So there isn;t going to be any real diffrence in how the sub sounds?

Or how maybe it will tax my electrical system?

 

[dipitydoo 10+ year member]

Any differences you hear are not from the inherent 'sound quality' of the amp, but rather on various other factors including gain, signal processing, etc.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

So let say I run this amp: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_1170_JL+Audio+1000-1.html
v.s

this amp:http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_1170_JL+Audio+1000-1.html

The power acoustik about 200 more rms to account for probably being overrated. I have those 2 amps in identical installs to one sub at 1000 watts @ 4ohms. So there isn;t going to be any real diffrence in how the sub sounds?

Or how maybe it will tax my electrical system?

both links are to the JL.

From a PA I'd think around 1500 rated watts would give you about the same power as the 1000/1. At that point - the only audible difference would be due to a visual difference, if you know what i mean //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Nelson9937955 10+ year member]

both links are to the JL.
From a PA I'd think around 1500 rated watts would give you about the same power as the 1000/1. At that point - the only audible difference would be due to a visual difference, if you know what i mean //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

Oops I updated link. So the PA's are that overrated at 4 ohms? I was thinking maybe at 1 ohms it was way overrated but i thought it was close at 4 ohms.

 

[buildmeabox 10+ year member]

I recently compared a Kenwood 9?? 1000 watt 2 channel amp to a RF 250a2 250 watt amp and there was a big difference in clarity and lower freq. reproduction. The Kenwood has more bells and whistles than the RF but the smaller RF kick ***. Anything built inferior will sound the same just like building an inferior box for your subs.