Amp decision

[Glliw]

Hey everyone. I'm trying to decide on an Amp right now. I need one to power two 6x9 420watt pioneers. I have had two amps recommended to me. One was the MTX 282 and the other was the MTX RT202. The man who told me to get the RT202 said the 282 would be overkill. Does anyone have any recommendations on which amp to get of these to or if not, which one shall i choose? My budget is around 100-150.

 

[90awd4g63]

You can get the 282. It may be overkill but as long as you know you're limits and listening habits you should be fine. I like to have a high "headroom" for power, rather than have an amp that doesnt have enough juice and turns around and feeds my speakers distortion. Distortion is a killer. Thats the usual cause of blown speakers. Look at it this way you can by a P.O.S. amp that says 2000 watts and get a , lets say a JL Audio 1000/1 that does 100 watts, and you'll tell a difference. You'll have a amp that does 1000 watts pure, clean power or have a amp that does 2000 watts of crap.

 

[Glliw]

ok does anyone else wanna chime in a bit please?

 

[rksudrick]

you are better off having to much power and running the cooler than jsut enough power and straining the amplifer..... If your speakers are 400 watts peak they are probaly 200 cont. so I would go with which ever amo has the closes rating...I don't carry much mtx unless it is order by a customer.... I would say go with kicker but your call

 

[rksudrick]

typing errors gotta love em..... It's been a twenty hour day....... FUNFUNFUN

 

[Glliw]

Cool. What kicker for those speakers would you recommend?

 

[DGajre777]

Go to www.crutchfield.com, find an amp that you like and look at the reviews. There are plenty of amps out there.

 

[Glliw]

I would but im not really sure what to look for. That's why I made this post.

 

[DGajre777]

Find the RMS rating of your speakers. Find a 2 channel amplifier that puts out that power in RMS x 2 at 4 ohms. 420 watts is your peak power rating, NOT RMS.

 

[rksudrick]

You can go with the ZX650.4 or A crossfire amplifier would be good also.... If you are looking to order one I can ship them.... Call Ryan at 847-838-6646 If you want....

 

[DGajre777]

The gain knob is not a volume control knob.

The 3/4 rule all the time is not true. It all depends on the preamp volts of the system. 3/4 gain will work if you have 1 volt preamp outputs. If you have 2 volt preamp outputs, then the 10'o clock position will work. If you have 4 volt or higher preamp outputs, you have to turn the gain all the way down. Here is a pic of what I'm talking about. The pic below goes from 5v to 0.2v.

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Some people do it by adjusting for no distortion. The way to set gain this is to set your volume on the highest level that you listen your music at. Turn up gain until you hear distortion and then turn it down until the distortion is gone.

 

[rksudrick]

Dgajre77 is exactly right..... There is alot to consider when buying and tuning your system....I would atleast go with a more powerfull amp and just tune it properly..

 

[bmason]

ive always found it best to do the 3/4 no matter what becuase i went threw like 4 amps by turning it the way up

my system for my eclipse hits 147.6 db and its just 1 12" eclipse titanuim

 

[DGajre777]

ive always found it best to do the 3/4 no matter what becuase i went threw like 4 amps by turning it the way up

my system for my eclipse hits 147.6 db and its just 1 12" eclipse titanuim

As I said earlier, the gain knob is NOT a volume control knob. Turning it all the way up will over power the input signal and blow the amp. I hope you don't have high powered preamp outputs because if you do, you are looking at another blown amp.

It is not about what your system can hit in your setup, it is about hooking things up correctly so you don't blow your shit up. I have had 3 audio systems in 3 different cars and I have never blown an amp. Get a Class D amp, with an internal cooling fan, know how to set it up, make sure it has overload and thermal protection and the amp will never blow.

FYI - My Pioneer receiver has 6.5 volt preamp outputs, if I turn my gain to 3/4, the amp will shut down due to overload and heat in a few minutes.

Congrats on your sponsership and hitting 147db by the way.

 

[bmason]

thank you i have the alpine mrd-m1005 amp and eclipse titanium 12" if anyone wants some box specs i can get them also for any sub in any car

 

[DGajre777]

thank you i have the alpine mrd-m1005 amp and eclipse titanium 12" if anyone wants some box specs i can get them also for any sub in any car

The Alpine MRD-M1005 amp does not have a gain knob. How are you setting it to 3/4?

It has a digital screen where you adjust the input level of the amp to match the preamp voltage output of the headunit. You press Mode until you see 'Gain' and then select your preamp voltage between 0.1v and 8volts.

I'm looking at buying either the Alpine MRD-M605 or the M1005 myself. I don't know if I want the 605 for 600 Watts RMS at 2 ohms or get the 1000 Watts RMS at 2 ohms for amplifier headroom and no distortion. Only thing with the 1005 is that it has 80 amp fuse. Class D with 80% efficiency, it will not suck up a lot of juice but I don't know if the stock alternator can keep up with the 1005. For subs, I will be getting 2 x 12" Polk Momo 2124 SVC, 400 RMS Watts each.

Are you running any other amplifiers? still on the stock alternator and battery?

 

[bmason]

stock bat and alternator and if u take off the plate there is a gain button on mine. and that is the only amp i run (besides my 4 channel). i took out my fuse and put my circuit breaker in there

and the mrd1005 is rated at 1000 watts but i easily get 1,800 out of it with out it over heating or having any problems with it

make sure when u get a box for it u point them up at the glass it sounds much better but like im having to do to mine. u have to get a wedge kit and have them dynamat the hatchback lid

 

[DGajre777]

stock bat and alternator and if u take off the plate there is a gain button on mine. and that is the only amp i run (besides my 4 channel). i took out my fuse and put my circuit breaker in there

and the mrd1005 is rated at 1000 watts but i easily get 1,800 out of it with out it over heating or having any problems with it

make sure when u get a box for it u point them up at the glass it sounds much better but like im having to do to mine. u have to get a wedge kit and have them dynamat the hatchback lid

Yeah I have a box pointing the subs up to the glass. Thanks for the info. I guess I'll be getting the 1005 instead of the 605.

EDIT: I have a Dual 12" 1.0 cu ft. sealed Q-logic box made out of 3/4" MDF.

 

[bmason]

in my box they made it out of 1/2 inch wood and i was playin it for like 5 min and the box broke in 2 because my sub is way to powerful for they box so they are making me one from 1 1/2 in wood

they also said they make boxes simialer for w7 and solo barics and have never have that problem so they made me happy

 

[turbo_talon08]

you cant go wrong with an anp thats "too big" thats what the gain is for you can always turn it down...

 

[snyper1982]

in my box they made it out of 1/2 inch wood and i was playin it for like 5 min and the box broke in 2 because my sub is way to powerful for they box so they are making me one from 1 1/2 in wood

they also said they make boxes simialer for w7 and solo barics and have never have that problem so they made me happy

Dude, JL RECOMENDS 1/2" MDF with a 3/4" front surface mount for the w7, I know, I have 2 w7-10's. 1-1/2" MDF is so much over kill it isnt even funny. Another thing, you guys keep telling him to adjust the gain by ear, why not just use a DMM and set the gains AND level match them that way you know for a fact that the amp isn't over powering one side? When you set it by ear, you are doing neither.

The best way to set an amps gains is with an ociliscope, and set it for a 3:1 ratio of cliping. This is getting way beyond what I originally intended though. If anyone wants to know more, shoot me a pm, and I will explain a way to reliably use your amp 3x more effectiveley.

One more thing, NEVER ever let anyone tell you one amp SOUNDS better than another, it is completely false. Buy an amp based on features, power, and reliability. For the most part a decent name brand will work fine.

Your pioneers are most likely 50-60 watts RMS, so a basic 100 watt amp will work just fine. http://www.cardomain.com/item/ABNA2002T that amp would be perfect.

 

[DGajre777]

Or you could buy an amp like the Alpine MRD-M1005 or MRD-M1005 which does not have a gain knob. It has a digital screen where you adjust the input level of the amp to match the preamp voltage output of the headunit. You press Mode until you see 'Gain' and then select your preamp voltage between 0.1v and 8volts.

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/Manuals/500/500MRDM605.PDF

 

[bmason]

when i say 1/2 wood i mean 1/2 mdf and it destroyed the box and im not running w7's im runing 1 12" eclipse titanium


and if u have all of them intsraments laying around go ahead and do that but i dont know anyone who just has them sitting in there garage

 

[snyper1982]

You don't know someone with a DMM? It is extremely easy to set the gains with a DMM. You wont be able to set it to the 3:1 ratio, but you can still set them properly.