recommendation on amp

[jonatbaylor 10+ year member]

Hey everyone,

First, I've read a lot on this forum for about 6 months prior to posting. I suppose I'm just research oriented. I really appreciate all of the information and specs that people share on here. I have a much better understanding of what to ask, if nothing else, but I'm still undecided on my final choice so here goes //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Here is what I have:

Boston Z6's 6.5" with tweets in the front and the same in the rear, in place of 6x9's on the rear deck (inside, behind seats. the standard location for a coupe). The rear deck on the car was fabbed and sealed so that these could fit properly. The tweets are mounted on the pillars in the back facing a 35degree angle towards the front.

Need a recommendation:

Amp(s). Recommended brand and wattage to each speaker. For those of you who don't know Z6's:

Impedance: 3 ohm (these are dual coil)

Min: 20 watt rms

Peak: 400 watt

freq. resp: 22Hz-kHz

sensitiv: 90dB

I need the absolute cleanest signal for these puppies, competition grade or not, and they can handle a LOT of power with no distortion. Like many boston's, these don't bass but I don't want them too, either. I'll get that from my sub that I install at a later date. Some people have suggested running 150watts to each speaker and tweet (not running bi's, just total) and some have said with really good clean signals you can run 250 easy on these with no distortion or worry of tearing them up.

The last time I did this kind of work I had boston pro 6.43 3 ways and rockford fosgate amps powering everything. However, that was like 1997 and everywhere I read these days, Fosgate doesn't make good products anymore.

Thanks for your recommendations!

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[FJF 10+ year member]

What is your budget?

 

[jonatbaylor 10+ year member]

What is your budget?

I could do 1k total for 1-2 amps to powers these two pairs of Z6's, unless for a bit more I can get something substantially better - I doubt thats the case though, but you never know so I put that out there.

 

[FJF 10+ year member]

I could do 1k total for 1-2 amps to powers these two pairs of Z6's, unless for a bit more I can get something substantially better - I doubt thats the case though, but you never know so I put that out there.

How about one of these?

http://www.woofersetc.com/p6852/SE-4200--ARC-Audio-4-Channel-800-Watt-Amplifier.htm

http://www.woofersetc.com/p2379/REF10004--Zapco-Reference-4-Ch-1000-Watt-Amplifier.htm

http://www.woofersetc.com/p130/GT42--Boston-Acoustics-4-Ch-700-Watt-Amplifier.htm

What deck are you using and what car is thing going into? How loud do you normally play music?

 

[jonatbaylor 10+ year member]

How about one of these?
What deck are you using and what car is thing going into? How loud do you normally play music?

I'm running an Eclipse CD dead-head unit. I'd love to put a nav system in the car, but I can't seem to find a head-unit that has superior sound quality that is Nav. Seems like you lose a lot of SQ when you get away from audio only decks.

It's going into an Acura coupe, although, I'm not sure why that matters much unless you are thinking about location/space?

I'm in the process of deadening the car myself at the moment, so everything has a nice and tight sound with minimal loss.

 

[FJF 10+ year member]

It's going into an Acura coupe, although, I'm not sure why that matters much unless you are thinking about location/space?

I was asking to get a gauge on the ambient noise. I asked about the deck, because some amplifiers - like Zapco's DC-series - can be had with DSP-driven tuning options, if the deck lacks those facilities.

 

[jonatbaylor 10+ year member]

I was asking to get a gauge on the ambient noise. I asked about the deck, because some amplifiers - like Zapco's DC-series - can be had with DSP-driven tuning options, if the deck lacks those facilities.

Gotcha.

Well, the Eclipse is the CD7200 and offers an auto-tuning capability called the e-iserve (which you probably know).

I wish I could offer some acoustic / noise measurements for you within my car, but I have not taken such measurements.

you meantion a DSP, are you referring to digital signal processing?

It would be cats *** to fine tune my interior once I get everything in place.

I have no qualms about buying a separate equalizer of sorts to help with frequency adjustment

If this DSP as you state is offered with the those amps, wouldn't you just have to hook them up to your laptop or something and run software that way? But then I wonder where the mic is coming from. Sorry, I'm sorta thinking in circles here..

Thanks!

 

[jonatbaylor 10+ year member]

How about one of these?
http://www.woofersetc.com/p6852/SE-4200--ARC-Audio-4-Channel-800-Watt-Amplifier.htm

http://www.woofersetc.com/p2379/REF10004--Zapco-Reference-4-Ch-1000-Watt-Amplifier.htm

http://www.woofersetc.com/p130/GT42--Boston-Acoustics-4-Ch-700-Watt-Amplifier.htm

What deck are you using and what car is thing going into? How loud do you normally play music?

Thanks for the links, I'm going over the specs for them all

 

[FJF 10+ year member]

you meantion a DSP, are you referring to digital signal processing?

Yes.

I have no qualms about buying a separate equalizer of sorts to help with frequency adjustment

You shouldn't have to do that, given your deck.

If this DSP as you state is offered with the those amps, wouldn't you just have to hook them up to your laptop or something and run software that way?

Correct. A laptop is used.

But then I wonder where the mic is coming from. Sorry, I'm sorta thinking in circles here..

Your ears are the mic. While auto-tuning with an included, calibrated mic can offer a turnkey solution, it isn't very effective. Unless the car is standing still, or is unusually quiet like a big Lexus, ambient/drivetrain/road noise will become a factor that will alter the system's presentation when a car is on the move.

All this said, your deck offers plenty of tuning features, implemented in the digital domain, not to have to worry about an amp doing the same.

Thanks for the links, I'm going over the specs for them all

If I may, don't get stuck on the specs. For the most part, they're meaningless and won't tell you anything relevant about the amp's performance. I realize that excluding the specs from the process gives you even less to go on, but that's the way it is. Without the ability to audition the amps in one's own system, you're pretty much left with basing the decision on gut feel and general preference.

 

[jonatbaylor 10+ year member]

Yes.


You shouldn't have to do that, given your deck.

Correct. A laptop is used.

Your ears are the mic. While auto-tuning with an included, calibrated mic can offer a turnkey solution, it isn't very effective. Unless the car is standing still, or is unusually quiet like a big Lexus, ambient/drivetrain/road noise will become a factor that will alter the system's presentation when a car is on the move.

All this said, your deck offers plenty of tuning features, implemented in the digital domain, not to have to worry about an amp doing the same.

If I may, don't get stuck on the specs. For the most part, they're meaningless and won't tell you anything relevant about the amp's performance. I realize that excluding the specs from the process gives you even less to go on, but that's the way it is. Without the ability to audition the amps in one's own system, you're pretty much left with basing the decision on gut feel and general preference.

Your insights are helpful, thank you.

Man, so still doing the old ear-tune eh? That shit took probably 10 hours to get everything right last time I ventured this far into a project. Which reminds me, I was using a sound stream amp in those days. Do you think they still make quality amps? I was very satisfied with those and the rockford fosgates I was using.

 

[jonatbaylor 10+ year member]

Yes.


You shouldn't have to do that, given your deck.

Correct. A laptop is used.

Your ears are the mic. While auto-tuning with an included, calibrated mic can offer a turnkey solution, it isn't very effective. Unless the car is standing still, or is unusually quiet like a big Lexus, ambient/drivetrain/road noise will become a factor that will alter the system's presentation when a car is on the move.

All this said, your deck offers plenty of tuning features, implemented in the digital domain, not to have to worry about an amp doing the same.

If I may, don't get stuck on the specs. For the most part, they're meaningless and won't tell you anything relevant about the amp's performance. I realize that excluding the specs from the process gives you even less to go on, but that's the way it is. Without the ability to audition the amps in one's own system, you're pretty much left with basing the decision on gut feel and general preference.

Well let me throw this out there. Are we still playing by this ruleon't use more than 80% of your amp power? The old theory was this would help alleviate a number of things, such as heat, distortion and signal/noise ratios by not having to crank the amp way up.

I.E., I'm planning on running probably 200-250rms per side. If I was maxing out a 1000w 4CH amp, I might run into heat and signal loss issues. If I ran the same amp at only 80% or 200w rms per side, then I would be less prone to such problems.

That used to be the prevailing thought, even on high-quality amps. I don't know if that is still the case.

 

[FJF 10+ year member]

Well let me throw this out there. Are we still playing by this ruleon't use more than 80% of your amp power? The old theory was this would help alleviate a number of things, such as heat, distortion and signal/noise ratios by not having to crank the amp way up.I.E., I'm planning on running probably 200-250rms per side. If I was maxing out a 1000w 4CH amp, I might run into heat and signal loss issues. If I ran the same amp at only 80% or 200w rms per side, then I would be less prone to such problems.

That used to be the prevailing thought, even on high-quality amps. I don't know if that is still the case.

As a very general rule of thumb, you're always better off with more power. How much more depends on the environment, your individual listening habits, and the (working) sensitivity of the loudspeakers. In my case, dealing with a very loud car that allows every bit of ambient noise into the cabin, I'm running ~350wpc to the mids and ~70wpc to the tweeters. The system needs the power to overcome the noise. As a listener, I want to hear lightning-fast transients, no compression on (musical) peaks, and razor-sharp detail. Without the power, relative to the noise, such a thing couldn't happen in this system.

In your case, the environment is a lot more quiet, your speakers are more sensitive, and you're running two pairs of components. All this points to lower power requirements. I bet a Zapco Ref1000.4 pumping 150wpc would play music with headroom to spare in your system.

Which reminds me, I was using a sound stream amp in those days. Do you think they still make quality amps? I was very satisfied with those and the rockford fosgates I was using.

The older Soundstreams were terrific amplifiers that hold their own today. The newer models, not so much.

 

[HCCA 10+ year member]

I am using Boston Pro 60's, and feeding them 225W/side (GT-24). I actually think that 300W/side would be better. So, if you're looking into how much power, I think you might want to look into the Boston amps. The GT-28 would be ideal. You can pick them up off of Ebay, now, for a song. The newer amps are out, and the price for a BNIB "old" model GT-28 is down at least $100 from what they used to ask, for new.

 

[jamesw 10+ year member]

Hey everyone,
First, I've read a lot on this forum for about 6 months prior to posting.

^^this

 

[jamesw 10+ year member]

If you really want a quality amp

sorry down one