Cleanest amplifiers
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 51,504
Likes: 6
From: Sacramento CA
Originally Posted by knewblewkorvette
Car Audio and Electronics just did a amp comparision. They set it up extremely well, all with set (equal) output. The funny thing is, they all did extremely well (except when they tried a class D as full range, it was worse than the ABs) and the price ranged from a couple of $100 to over $3000 
Moral of the story, in a car's harsh and noisey enviroment, the extra money might not be worth it. In a quite home, that is a different story.
Moral of the story, in a car's harsh and noisey enviroment, the extra money might not be worth it. In a quite home, that is a different story.A $250 RF amp might sound similar in a harsh car environment, but its all about quality of the unit too.
Race Director
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 14,136
Likes: 2,984
From: Iowa
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Originally Posted by Metal Wulf
So has my Jensen amp that's about 8 years old 
Kale,
You are correct. I'll pay more than most for a quality amp, for example, my PPIs are still going strong since 1991. They have been used (in a couple of vehicles) ever since I bought them 14 years ago
I seriously doubt a Sparkomatic, Rockwood, Kraco amp would make it that long 
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 11,840
Likes: 0
From: Galloway NJ
Originally Posted by knewblewkorvette
me too, it has done great just sitting in the closet....maybe I can sell it as a antique on e-bay
mine's been in my vette the last 6 years pumpin out the tunes
Pro
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 580
Likes: 0
From: Boise ID
I think it is more important to get a quality head unit, then to get into the higher end amps.
The most susptible piece in the chain is the head unit, because it contains all the low voltage electronics, then has a lengthly unprotected run to the amplifiers.
The Alpine D900 with a fiber connection to a PXA-700 I reviewed was the cleanest setup I have seen to date.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...it-9-2003.html
.00990% THD that was in the car, not on lab bench with filtered power supplies. The frequency response was even better.
If you take a poor or cheap head unit and connect it to a top tier amp, the whole thing will sound like the cheap head unit.
With a good head unit, any of the major amps will do you fine. (JL, PG, ARC).
The most susptible piece in the chain is the head unit, because it contains all the low voltage electronics, then has a lengthly unprotected run to the amplifiers.
The Alpine D900 with a fiber connection to a PXA-700 I reviewed was the cleanest setup I have seen to date.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...it-9-2003.html
.00990% THD that was in the car, not on lab bench with filtered power supplies. The frequency response was even better.
If you take a poor or cheap head unit and connect it to a top tier amp, the whole thing will sound like the cheap head unit.
With a good head unit, any of the major amps will do you fine. (JL, PG, ARC).
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,752
Likes: 3
From: Bethlehem PA
That Alpine looks like a very clean machine. The screen is great quality, the features and interface are nice, but there is NO info about the DA converter(s)
I can hardly find anything that isn't 1 bit!! That blows
Nakamichi (now out of business in the US) McIntosh and a couple others that cost over $1500 are the only ones that even mention their DA internals.
This makes a HUGE difference in the sound, regardless of how clean a HU may be.
The sound is much warmer and true with imaging that is NOT found in single bit DA's period.
Maybe I'm just a dinosaur, and maybe Alpine has a multi-bit/channel DA in this unit, but why don't they list this info?
Allright, I'm done whining...
Scott
I can hardly find anything that isn't 1 bit!! That blows
Nakamichi (now out of business in the US) McIntosh and a couple others that cost over $1500 are the only ones that even mention their DA internals.
This makes a HUGE difference in the sound, regardless of how clean a HU may be.
The sound is much warmer and true with imaging that is NOT found in single bit DA's period.
Maybe I'm just a dinosaur, and maybe Alpine has a multi-bit/channel DA in this unit, but why don't they list this info?
Allright, I'm done whining...
Scott
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Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 12,599
Likes: 1
From: Texas
Thanks for all the help guys. My current head is my dinosaur Premier P1R. Would love to be able to fork over for their new P9 and the processor for it, but I'm not made of money. I have some bids on a few amps on E-bay, we shall see if they hold up!
Race Director
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 14,136
Likes: 2,984
From: Iowa
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
That PR1 is an awesome deck and you'll have a hard time finding a better unit.
Wait I was mistaken, that is a chitty deck but since I'm a nice guy I'll give you $10 for it.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,550
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From: Now in God's Country, the Big Sky, Montana!
Cruise-In 7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12
Would ya'll consider any of the navigation decks good for SQ? Either the N2 or the Eclipse 5435? I really like the navigation but don't want to sacrifice the quality.
My other two choices would be the DEX-P9 and the processor or the DEH-P9600MP.
My other two choices would be the DEX-P9 and the processor or the DEH-P9600MP.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,752
Likes: 3
From: Bethlehem PA
Originally Posted by Cajundude
Would ya'll consider any of the navigation decks good for SQ? Either the N2 or the Eclipse 5435? I really like the navigation but don't want to sacrifice the quality.
My other two choices would be the DEX-P9 and the processor or the DEH-P9600MP.
My other two choices would be the DEX-P9 and the processor or the DEH-P9600MP.
The quality of mine sorta sucks for SQ. It's about as good as a middle of the road Alpine. My 9855 was superior, and that's nothing to write home about.
The Eclipse should be much better with its single 24 bit DAC AND you have a better pre out set up with 5V output. I think my AVIC is only 2V.
I wanted mine more for nav and dvd, and I got a great price on it.
I'm looking into separate HU's now for audio.
Scott
