Watts from Company A vs Company B

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Well then he will be the first person ever able to do so, and should collect his $10,000.
Richard Clark Amplifier Challenge FAQ

Screw that, I'd want him to give me one of his Grand Nationals! I heard a rumor that Clark collected them, but don't know how true that rumor is. Then again, I'd never pass his test. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[The_Grimy_One 10+ year member]

I compete sq with 2011 maxxsonic autotek amplifiers.

With all the goodies you usual have, this is crazy...

 

[mpowered325is 10+ year member]

With all the goodies you usual have, this is crazy...

I know. I tell him all the time! But it sounds great!

 

[Shinju 10+ year member]

With all the goodies you usual have, this is crazy...

Just goes to show that a Watt is just that!

I am really impressed with them, I beat out rookie class.competitors running zapco, Hertz and Mcintosh. Its all about driver placement and install. The scion xb has an amazing dash for depth and image.

 

[The_Grimy_One 10+ year member]

Just goes to show that a Watt is just that!
I am really impressed with them, I beat out rookie class.competitors running zapco, Hertz and Mcintosh. Its all about driver placement and install. The scion xb has an amazing dash for depth and image.

Understood...

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

You buy your cheap AP amp. When its burned up and done you will realize you get what you pay for.

 

[The_Grimy_One 10+ year member]

You buy your cheap AP amp. When its burned up and done you will realize you get what you pay for.

I get what people are saying, but yes I try to deal with quality too. Fukc AP amps, period. That sig gif is ridiculous!

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

I do believe there is probably a difference in output quality between the different brands. There is always going to be some degree of difference depending how well designed the output filtering is but as it's been said, it's probably not audible. The biggest difference to me is just average product life, if you push cheap amps to their limits they're more likely to fail in my experience.

 

[Z1NONLY 10+ year member]

We use two main brands of amps for the commercial stuff we do. One brand has a lot of features and costs a good deal less than the other. However the expensive brand tends to survive "out of warranty" situations far better than the cheaper brand.

I have encountered situations where the expensive brand got so hot that it melted the rubber feet of the audio source on top of it due to a dead short.....Find/fix the short and it plays like nothing happened.

The cheaper brand pops like fuse when that happens. (The whole amp dies, not just the fuse(s) in the amp)

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

For personal preference, if there is the option of the super cheap new (ie less then ~ $0.35/watt for A/B multichannel and less then say ~$0.25/watt for classD mono's) vs. used of a higher end amplifier, I tend to buy used.

 

So if money was super tight for a certain need, I would prefer a used ZED over a new Audiopipe if price was relatively the same.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

The difference is not in the power it is everything else. Most amps have various on board settings and/or adjustable ones. Those are the real issue when dealing with sound. That is how you can tell the difference in amps(if you can). If you look at the $10k challenge he takes that away by using outside sources to provide the exact same reproduced sound. Once you do that, then a watt is a watt. However if you read his challenge fully, he will adjust each amp and use external crossovers/EQs to reproduce the sound exactly the same. By doing this the challenge in my eyes is just pathetic and nothing more then a ploy to get attention.

 

[ricebowl 10+ year member]

Considering speakers are a reactive load, what it amp A puts out 1200W @ 1 ohm and 300w @ 4 ohm while amp B puts out 1200W @ 1 ohm and only 200W @ 4 ohm. Wouldn't dynamic music sound slightly different?
Just playing devil's advocate. In laboratory conditions, in theory they should sound identical, but in real world applications you may notice a difference in sound/performcance.

If an amp has a spec sheet and it's honest, read it closer and the power will not double at half load without distortion also increasing.

For a given speaker: So long as both amps are kept out of audible clipping, they'll sound the same. If one amp isn't stable at some point of the impedance curve, it'll probably go into protect.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

I think it shows that the source and the install make the sound quality, rather than an amp. So if you find 2 amps with the same features, and one is more expensive due to reputation and sound quality claims, you know you're not going to hear a difference. He admits that not the cheapest amp is best, that there are a variety of other things to consider. And that settings and features will affect the sound.

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

one thing i would like to point out, is if the 2 amps have different regulation. for instance, if you have 2 1k amps, and a little 60a alternator, the power supply regulation may react differently, actually giving you more, or less power, which still jives with a watt is a watt. then, again, there is other factors, such as the procesing, dampening, and typical rail sag. i can say that i notice by ear that some cheaper amps, boasting astronomically high peak numbers sometimes have a "bubbly" sound to them, where as other amps, with peak numbers not much (less than half as much) more peak than rms can have a more solid sound.