Thoughts on this sub/amp combo?

[kahlilj 10+ year member]

Alpine MRD-M500 amp specs:

• 200W RMS x 1 channel @ 4ohms (12V)

• 250W RMS x 1 channel @ 4ohms (14.4V)

• Frequency response: 20Hz – 200Hz

max power: 900W

morel 10" sub specs:

Sensitivity: 90 dB

RMS Power Range : 250 Watts

Peak Power Handling: 500 Watts

Impedance: 4 Ohm

Frequency response: 20-900 Hz

single voice coil

would this sub be underpowered by amp or vice versa?

Click to read more...

 

[thirdgen]

Looks like a good match to me. As long as the amp does it's rated power, but Alpine amps do, right?

 

[kahlilj 10+ year member]

Looks like a good match to me. As long as the amp does it's rated power, but Alpine amps do, right?

Yeah I think so 3rdgen. Alpines are decent quality amps from what I understand. I had one previously MRV-100M & it worked just fine... til my car was flooded //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

therefore time to replace my setup.

 

[thirdgen]

I had one previously MRV-100M & it worked just fine... til my car was flooded //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

Ouch, that sucks.

 

[shizzzon 10+ year member]

it depends what you mean by overpowered?

Technically speaking, there will be an impedance curve and your output power will never be what you wired it to.

IE- 250w, for example.

Averaged output will be more like 40% of that or around- 100w.

But even if you wanted to attempt to match the realistic output by using something larger like a 700w amp, for example, you'd have to take possible precautions mainly in how the signal is being amplified such as not clipping it.

Even ran for a long time, matching realistic output power could thermally stress the driver.

Generally, you'd want to double your amplifier power to the speakers being used. This is common in pro audio.

In car audio, I would typically run 2x the amplifier rated power to subwoofers and 10x for competition.

For front stage, 1.5-2x amplifier rated power.

This is all possible, of course, with fine tuning and active protection from speaker failure.

 

[kahlilj 10+ year member]

it depends what you mean by overpowered?
Technically speaking, there will be an impedance curve and your output power will never be what you wired it to.

IE- 250w, for example.

Averaged output will be more like 40% of that or around- 100w.

But even if you wanted to attempt to match the realistic output by using something larger like a 700w amp, for example, you'd have to take possible precautions mainly in how the signal is being amplified such as not clipping it.

Even ran for a long time, matching realistic output power could thermally stress the driver.

Generally, you'd want to double your amplifier power to the speakers being used. This is common in pro audio.

In car audio, I would typically run 2x the amplifier rated power to subwoofers and 10x for competition.

For front stage, 1.5-2x amplifier rated power.

This is all possible, of course, with fine tuning and active protection from speaker failure.

good stuff shizzon. Thanks for the advice. So for example if my sub is rated for 150W RMS, then my amp should be rated for ~300W RMS? what about the maximum rated power levels for each? Should I basically disregard those and only focus on the RMS power?

 

[shizzzon 10+ year member]

Only focus on rms..

Now, while i said to do that, its not necessary all the time either.

box volume for subs may be larger than recommended. No extra power recommended.

Extremely long duration of play need not double power.

Setting crossovers too wide open need not extra power for front stage.

 

[tc300 10+ year member]

Change that amp to a audio technix AT 400.1 and you will thank your self in the end!!!

 

[kahlilj 10+ year member]

Only focus on rms..
Now, while i said to do that, its not necessary all the time either.

box volume for subs may be larger than recommended. No extra power recommended.

Extremely long duration of play need not double power.

Setting crossovers too wide open need not extra power for front stage.

Gotcha. thanks //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Change that amp to a audio technix AT 400.1 and you will thank your self in the end!!!

thanks but I never heard of that brand, but then I'm no audiophile either. Are they better thsn Alpines then?..... I checked out some info on them, no offense , but they look kinda cheap, but the specs seem good. Are you serious about this one though?

 

[tc300 10+ year member]

Gotcha. thanks //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

thanks but I never heard of that brand, but then I'm no audiophile either. Are they better thsn Alpines then?..... I checked out some info on them, no offense , but they look kinda cheap, but the specs seem good. Are you serious about this one though?

These amp are now called CT sounds... Very VERY GOOD for the price!!! Unbeatable quality for the price.... And you can strap those also!

I got the AT 1200.1 , took it out and put a pair of the AT 400.1's strapped on my Icon 15. Very impressed with these lil amps, almost as loud as the 1200 was

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Gotcha. thanks //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

thanks but I never heard of that brand, but then I'm no audiophile either. Are they better thsn Alpines then?..... I checked out some info on them, no offense , but they look kinda cheap, but the specs seem good. Are you serious about this one though?

They are better then most mainstream brands out there man, puts out a lot more power then its rated for. There's a whole world of quality beyond typical kenwood pioneer alpine stuff. You'll want a 2 ohm morel sub instead of a 4 ohm though.

Dont believe me? then here's a test on their AT 1400.1 for true power.

 

[kahlilj 10+ year member]

These amp are now called CT sounds... Very VERY GOOD for the price!!! Unbeatable quality for the price.... And you can strap those also! I got the AT 1200.1 , took it out and put a pair of the AT 400.1's strapped on my Icon 15. Very impressed with these lil amps, almost as loud as the 1200 was

ok kool.

They are better then most mainstream brands out there man, puts out a lot more power then its rated for. There's a whole world of quality beyond typical kenwood pioneer alpine stuff. You'll want a 2 ohm morel sub instead of a 4 ohm though.
Dont believe me? then here's a test on their AT 1400.1 for true power.

Thanks Jeff. That's good to know & believe me I know the mainstream stuff is not the best out there. I know there are better like JL audio, Phoenix Gold, and a few others, but problem is I don't know all the others. probably need to spend more time on here and reading from the experts //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Any recommendations on other quality, used amps I could get with similar specs to the alpine I mentioned?

 

[shizzzon 10+ year member]

You know mainstream isn't the best but there are better such as....... Mainstream? lol.. That doesn't make sense.

There are only a handful of buildhouses that are good and then out of those, the brands who pay to get it built right.

CT Sounds was not one of them but appears to be slowly doing better.

There was a mass liquidation of their products, over $150,000 worth at monstrous savings to the customer as it was sold direct to customer so no brand markup.

CT Sounds lied about some of thier higher powered amps being durable in certain circumstances whereas the buildhouse told them not to say that but they did anyways.

Then guess what, many amplifiers died because of false specifications.

"Supposedly", they changed buildhouses for better quality. While the customer will never know the real reason, CT Sounds left the buildhouse with a load of inventory they never paid so everyone has been paying WAY below street price for them.

Because of this recent fiasco, it leaves questions in people's minds whether CT Sounds is financially and morally capable of making business decisions.

Because of this incident, a few buildhouses have now viewed the United States business as "shady" and demand money up front now with much less "friend to friend" business.

CT Sounds recognition is only shown by the buildhouses who build them and not who imports them. That leaves much in question as they continue to hop to another buildhouse.

Now, in terms of brands, there are over 300 brands of car audio.

There is no best as best covers many topics and no single company has the best of everything.

There is

performance

cost

innovation

uniqueness

customer service

warranty

cosmetics

competition focused

durability

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

If you want jl, http://www.caraudio.com/forums/amplifier-classifieds/609371-fs-jl-audio-500-1v2.html

 

[kahlilj 10+ year member]

If you want jl, http://www.caraudio.com/forums/amplifier-classifieds/609371-fs-jl-audio-500-1v2.html

Thanks Jeff, but $200 is more than twice what I have budgeted. I have no doubt that amp is worth it. it's still more than my budget though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif. Although the seller might be overpriced for the market (been on sale for at least 2 mos), I think we are too far apart.