what amp should i get??

[Big-Cat 10+ year member]

I'm going to get 2 12w3'ss. they're w3's are 250 watts rms. I was going to get a jl 500/1 because that's what i was told to get, however i've read a lot of reviews on the punch series from rf, and it looks like they're good as well and they're cheaper, but i've also been told that if the amp doesn't go with the sub well it doesn't sound good. What amp should i go with, or which company is a good company to stay with??

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[jlman 10+ year member]

No amp matching brands make no difference in performance but if i were you i would go with the jl 500/1 perfect for those subs have the same setup hitting 142.8 **** it sounds sweet as hell i love them great sub amp combo Rf amps are ok but speaking from experience the JL amps will walk all over any of thier RF comp.

 

[SuckMikeHawk23 10+ year member]

i think rockford beats jl in any comparable amp. i'd take a bd 500.1 over a jl 500/1 any day. but thats just me

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

both are great but i think the jl's are stronger out right than the rockford punch series.....plus many of the people in the know rave about the jl amps.........

 

[Unregistered]

This is Jlman yeah right take the bd500.1 over the jl 500/1 theres no comparsion dude that amp wouldnt touch the jl that amp only puts out 500x1 bridged into 2 ohms were the jl puts out well over a 1000 in 2 ohms no comparsion maybe the bd1000.1.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

in all loads 4-1.5 ohms the jl amp puts out 500-600 watts no matter what.

 

[SuckMikeHawk23 10+ year member]

audiolife is correct, the jl 500/1 will put out 500 watts at ANY ohm load. if ur set on getting 500 watts at a 4 ohm load, then get a bd1000.1, as jlman said, or a power 500.2. if ur gonna wire ur subs in a 2 ohm configuration, then go with the bd 500.1. like i stated before, i think this setup would be better than a jl 500/1 setup.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

i would choose accordingly the bd 500 poses some advantages but over all over the whole spectrum the jl is better, now the bd 1000 over ...ooohhh 20% of the time would pose a true advantage...but 80% would still go to the jl.....now i know price is an issue and rockford makes great stuff..would NEVER argue that..but in a straight out application choose a good amp that WORKS best...if you want to know how to determin this let me know.....everything i speak about i can prove and show you. i just dont want to write essays on fundamentals of reactance...or why a speaker acts different when its placed in a box with a port larger than the woofer displacement........its all ratio's of ohm's law..voltage laws and physics... if you put these woofers you want into a sealed box the jl would/should be better in normal ported it would depend on the tuning frequency to weather a low impedence optimized amplifier would have an advantage... i might add also that 1 ohm voice coils and 2 ohm voice coils were introduced for more than just "wireing options". they were brought out to keep hi current amps in their power zones=) also it depends if you get d2 or d4's

 

[SuckMikeHawk23 10+ year member]

i think its quite unfair to say that the whole spectrum of jl is better. i'm not saying gonna come out and say that the fosgate 500.1 is a better choice, because as you (audiolife) stated, "choose a good amp that works." so saying the features that jl offer are better is kind of contradicting in the sense that the fosgate can offer certain features that he wants, or vice versa.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

only time a bd 500 will keep up is at 2 ohms the rest of the time above 2 ohms it will fall behind. simple subs will go between 80 ohms to .5 ohms at times producing music (values are a genaric selection can be higher or lower) so an amp that just pruduces all of its power into low impedences are not going to be 500 watts all the time...... unlike the jl...a more fair comparision can be made between the bd 1000 vs jl 500 where the 1000 will actually have an advantage even if only at low impedences ...... remember speakers are reactive. power equals voltage squared divided by resistance....except in the jl amp in the very usefully range between 1.5 ohms- 4 ohms the jl will produce 500 watts.........

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

again i am not saying the bd 500 is bad just saying it is a 250 watt amp capable of more (in restricted areas ..and nominal rating means little since what we listen to is reactive) where the bd 1000 is a 500 watt amp capable of more....the jl IS a 500 watt amp 80% of the time ....the 1000 would be 500 watts plus about the same and the bd500 would be at full capable power what maybe 20% of the time?

 

[SuckMikeHawk23 10+ year member]

that i would definetly agree upon. good stuff audiolife. its just that when i read ur previous post, u said that the jl would post an advantage over the fosgate 80% of the time, and i just found that hard to believe. but no comparison can be made between the two amps really, since one is "rated" at 1000 and the other at 500. a fairer comparison would be the 500.1 and 500/1, where the advantage obviously goes to the latter considering it provides 500 watts at all impedances.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

the bd 1000 would pose different result altogether "tip the scale" to the rockford as they underate as well but then you have the jl 1000/1 being released in march lol