zapco amps

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Yes, if the gains are set right then you will not hear differences. I have used many many many amps and found that to be the case. The Richard Clark challenge just validates what myself and others on this forum believe.

RC's test is designed such that during listening the amps will measure the same...after EQing or padding outputs //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I have no problem saying something that measures the same will sound the same, that's common sense. But that's not saying all amps sound the same, if none of those adjustments are made.

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

Yes, if the gains are set right then you will not hear differences. I have used many many many amps and found that to be the case. The Richard Clark challenge just validates what myself and others on this forum believe.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[genxx 10+ year member]

I have never had issues with any Zapco product. IMO they make excellent products.

Their customer service is one of the best in the industry.

Their amps good clean power and products last.

Like any other company everyone once in a while they are going to have an amp that needs repair but not very often is this going to occur.

So if you want a well made, great product and with excellent customer service then its worth it IMO to buy Zapco when possible.

Their are companies out there that make a great product also. So look around do some searching and make an self informed decision on what to buy.IMO

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

RC's test is designed such that during listening the amps will measure the same...after EQing or padding outputs //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I have no problem saying something that measures the same will sound the same, that's common sense. But that's not saying all amps sound the same, if none of those adjustments are made.

Richard Clark challenge speaks of the the non-differences between sound of car amplifiers and tube amplifiers and even home audio amplifiers. When driven right before the point of clipping, all amplifiers will sound exactly the same. The only difference between the sound of the amplifiers comes when the power rating of one amplifier is more than the other which means it will be driven even less to the point of clipping than the amplifier with a lower power amplifier.

RC's amp challenge is the source of much debate but I have found it to be very helpful. The challenge simply proves that 100 (or insert whatever number pleases you) unclipped, unmanipulated watts from a less expensive amp will sound the same as 100 unclipped, unmanipulated watts from an expensive one. Does this mean everyone should run out and buy the cheaper amp? No. If the expensive amp is constructed with a higher quality of parts, is designed with a heat sink that functions better, has a nice crossover with more user functions, a better warranty, etc. then clearly it is more desirable. Furthermore if you only want 100 watts and the expensive amp can produce 130 watts before clipping compared to 105 watts before clipping for the less expensive one, this is an added bonus. I have seen some post on this forum expressing dislike for the challenge because (A) it states the obvious and (B) it doesen't tell you which amp is better for the end user. Both of these statements are true. For those of us who are just learning about car audio, however, RC's challenge serves a good purpose. It helps us to see past the marketing hype that wants us to believe that 100 unclipped, unmanipulated watts will sound different from one amp to the other (like when they compare distortion specs from two amps that are both well beyond the range of human hearing).The amp challenge will not tell you what you should buy, this is not it's intended purpose. It helps to educate consumers like me. The amp challenge helped me to understand what I really need to look at when considering an amp. To me this seems to be it's intended purpose and it serves this purpose well.

This is an excerpt from his challenge.

The differences between the sound coming from the amps are indistinguishable. This is how companies make their money off of consumers based on this invalid theory. It's much much better to buy an amp that will do it's rated power, has excellent build quality and uses top notch components rather than buying an amplifier with the assumption that it will sound better than the next amp. That's why the classified sections are filled up every day because people are believing that there are better products based on sound quality.

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

So if you dont have any processing at all you can just plug in any two similar watt amps and they will sound the same?

That my good friend is sheer ignorance. If you would truly like to understand why, do a few searches on here and diyma. You may learn a thing or two.

 

[Chad7n7 10+ year member]

The sound quality is the same for all amps, the major differences come with reliability, durability and quality of parts the amp is made with.

Please go back and re-read what I posted, I said NOTHING about sound quality differences sir.....I stated "quality amplifiers" and if you read the rest of it, my main argument was about reliability of amplifiers..... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

I wasn't going to get into the whole "sound quality" thing...it's all a matter of opinion that can simply be argued by anyone by posting RC's challenge, but realistically, look at the guidelines and rules he has applied to this challenge....that's arguable also.

And to be quite honest, my opinion is that they differ...but that's not the argument, I was simply replying to the OP information about the reliability of an amplifier.

But, there again, I was not arguing that fact.

 

[terra 5,000+ posts]

So if you dont have any processing at all you can just plug in any two similar watt amps and they will sound the same?
That my good friend is sheer ignorance. If you would truly like to understand why, do a few searches on here and diyma. You may learn a thing or two.

x2. Processing the sound to produce the same sound does not mean the amps sound the same.

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

How are zapco amps? Are they good amps for highs? Thanks.

This is in response to the original post. The person who started this thread.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif

 

[Shocks 10+ year member]

I have never had issues with any Zapco product. IMO they make excellent products.
Their customer service is one of the best in the industry.

Their amps good clean power and products last.

Like any other company everyone once in a while they are going to have an amp that needs repair but not very often is this going to occur.

So if you want a well made, great product and with excellent customer service then its worth it IMO to buy Zapco when possible.

Their are companies out there that make a great product also. So look around do some searching and make an self informed decision on what to buy.IMO

Exactly

 

[RowJoe 10+ year member]

Yes, if the gains are set right then you will not hear differences. I have used many many many amps and found that to be the case. The Richard Clark challenge just validates what myself and others on this forum believe.

Punch EQ

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

an equalizer will be set by Richard Clark and inserted inline with one of the amps so that they both exhibit identical frequency response.

How is it not about things measuring the same? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Seems to me that, if what you're saying is true, they'd be no need for any EQs or resistors on outputs, would there?

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

I have never had issues with any Zapco product. IMO they make excellent products.
Their customer service is one of the best in the industry.

Their amps good clean power and products last.

Like any other company everyone once in a while they are going to have an amp that needs repair but not very often is this going to occur.

So if you want a well made, great product and with excellent customer service then its worth it IMO to buy Zapco when possible.

Their are companies out there that make a great product also. So look around do some searching and make an self informed decision on what to buy.IMO

The only post in this thread worth reading.

 

[neonrt 10+ year member]

How is it not about things measuring the same? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
Seems to me that, if what you're saying is true, they'd be no need for any EQs or resistors on outputs, would there?

dont waste your time, from what he has posted, he truely believes that all amps of equal wattage sound the same.

i say lets humor him and recomend he goes out and buys a boss amp at the same wattage as his amp. bet it will sound just as good. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

and to boot he will save money. lol