Which amp?

[tspence73 10+ year member]

Alright,

I'll be getting that replacement amp soon. I'm going to probably sell it to a friend for like $70 and then turn around and buy an amp that better fits my application. (My friend wants to wire it up bridged to two DVC subs off a single line for a 1/2-ohm load. I told him he can't do that and will give him the proper wiring diagrams and if he decides to hook it up wrong he can pay the shipping to replace it this time and I won't give his money back.)

It's come down to these two Class-D monoblock amps:

Kenwood KAC-9102CD amplifier $128.90

 

or

 

MTX TC-6001 amp for $169.98

I will be buying 4-awg powerwire and ground and wiring one of these puppies up right. I will use 12-awg speaker cable and wire up the Pioneer Premier DVC in paralell for a 2-ohm load.

I'm leaning toward the Kenwood partly because of the price and partly because on the adjustments it gives an actual guide on the gain (input sensitivity) adjustment.

This link takes you to the MTX TC6001 images and you'll see that the gain has no sensitivity listed so you would be blind as to what to set the amp to: TC6001 Amplifier

My JVC has a 2-volt preout and the Kenwood has a perfect guide where to set it. This will virtually guarantee if I stick to no more than 80% of my head-unit's volume I won't be amplifying a clipped signal. The MTX amp is more expensive and has no guide on the gain adjustment to perfectly adjust for my head unit.

Which amp do you guys think is the better choice? They both look relativley equal to me. The Kenwood is cheaper and has foolproof adjustment knobs. And I am a fool who has blown a sub and an amp and I need proofing. LOL

Click to read more...

 

[johnson 10+ year member]

Look at the last picture on the MTX page.

 

[tspence73 10+ year member]

Look at the last picture on the MTX page.

What am I supposed to see?

 

[johnson 10+ year member]

I thought I read that you said there was no gain adjustment at all. It is better to set the gains with a DMM anyway so the numbers next to the adjustment dont mean much. I dont have experience with either brand of amps but the Kenwood looks like it would fit your install better since the RMS handling is around 800w.

Have you installed the Kingwood amp? How do your speakers sound off that?

 

[tspence73 10+ year member]

I thought I read that you said there was no gain adjustment at all. It is better to set the gains with a DMM anyway so the numbers next to the adjustment dont mean much. I dont have experience with either brand of amps but the Kenwood looks like it would fit your install better since the RMS handling is around 800w.
Have you installed the Kingwood amp? How do your speakers sound off that?

Yeah, the Kingwood amp is in and running the Inifinity speakers. The sound isn't bad. I'd describe it as standard sounding. It can achieve the loudness I want and there isn't any noise I can hear from it. The Infinity Refs sounded much better at the store audition with the same head unit I have but on an alpine amp. There could be other reasons than amp quality to explain this.

The acoustics of my '07 Sentra aren't helping. Maybe a better EQ than the 7-band built-into the head unit would have made a difference. Also, I definitely need to invest in dynamating the front doors to cut down resonsonces and vibrations that are occurring during even semi-loud moments and distract my attention away from the music sometimes.

I'm going to have to make a project out of improving my sound one at a time. Maybe dynamat the front doors first. Then an outboard parametric EQ 2nd. Then if I'm happy I'll stick with that setup. I'm after sound quality on a budget and putting money into sound deadening and a useful EQ can make a much bigger difference than an amp.

I almost sprung for an MB-Quart 4-channel amp but it looks too long in measurements to fit under my seat not to mention it's $250 vs the Kingwood which was $100 a few years ago and transfered from my last car's install. Everything else I bought new for this new car.

 

[tspence73 10+ year member]

I'm really surprised that nobody is posting in here with an opinion. Is this supposed to be an enthusiast's board? Nobody appears to be spouting any knowledge in here at all to help out.