Ive decided

[spwuinmk67]

When my next paycheck comes, so like 2 weeks, I'm ordering the MB Quart Q's. I told the guys I usually get stuff from, they said around $500, so I said, I'm doin it. No more debating. Just wanted to let you guys know. Probably gonna be getting a new amp too, maybe the Hifonics ZX6400. I know I'm getting at least $700 for this half of the pay period, we'll see how the rest goes before I decide about the amp. And I'll make sure to give lots of pics and reviews.

[exalted512]

you know how i feel:)
-Cody

[spwuinmk67]

And I gave you my answer, 2 weeks to persuade me. Same Price range, maybe a little higher, not much.

[Josh]

Polk SR6500's:) ...Oh wait, can't get them yet.

[aussieaustin]

what are you talking about? You dont know crap. Get off the message board if you aren't going to say anything productive!!!!

[neomagus00]

you are aware that this is one of the guys that helps make this company, right? note 'polk installer' under his name? yeah, that's there for a reason...

[dakotaboy]

Obviously aussie just doesn't know what hes talking about!

[spwuinmk67]

Originally posted by Josh
Polk SR6500's:) ...Oh wait, can't get them yet.

How bout I just send the money directly to you guys, and you guys send me the first set? :D :p

[MacLeod]

Originally posted by Josh
Polk SR6500's:) ...Oh wait, can't get them yet.

Quit teasin'!! Im dying already to hear these things!! :(

SP - first off, you need a shorter name! ;)
Second, youre gonna love those Q's. I envy ya!

Word of advice tho, get the best amp you can cause these speakers are good enough that they will make any weakness in your amps very obvious.

[spwuinmk67]

Originally posted by MacLeod
[BSP - first off, you need a shorter name! ;)
[/B]

How bout Bill? Amps I'm not certain about yet, the hifnoics was an idea.

[exalted512]

i told you what speakers id get...
-Cody

[Toxis]

Man, I stay away from mobile for not even a year and look what happens. People are putting Q's on Hifonics? That's like putting Utopia's on Pyle's or Legacy's. I honestly hope someone bought out Hifonics and did some SERIOUS reengineering on them because for the past 10+ years, Hifonics hasn't been anything worthy of a speaker except $50 subs and $20 coax's.

[exalted512]

HiFonics is a solid amp. I like em.
-Cody

[spwuinmk67]

The amp I'm still not sure on. Hifonics was an idea, I've looked at some others, like US-Amps. Quick question though, whats the difference between tube amps versus regular amps.

[neomagus00]

tube amps are generally the 'audiophile standard'... they are generally accepted to have a warmer sound, but they run hotter, less efficiently, and with more distortion at a given power than a standard solid state amp. in addition, they're delicate and must have the tubes replaced on occasion. in all, a great choice to try out in the home, but rarely used in the car.

[mbdyer12]

If anything, I'd say Hifonics is worth putting on $300 speakers. Theres been no real complaints about hifonics besides maybe that they're "overrated," and I'm not sure thats been proven....

[MacLeod]

Originally posted by spwuinmk67
The amp I'm still not sure on. Hifonics was an idea, I've looked at some others, like US-Amps. Quick question though, whats the difference between tube amps versus regular amps.

Tubes are more expensive and more fragile.

There is no difference in the sound other than maybe power and distortion levels. All amps sound the same. Some have more power, more headroom and less distortion but tonally they sound the same. One amp will not have a "warmer" sound or "tighter bass" over another amp.


When picking an amp, choose on build quality, features and price.

[spwuinmk67]

I just don't know. I've talked to a lot of people about speakers, not so many about amps. So I'm just kinda lookin around, reading, asking for ideas, etc.

[MacLeod]

Thats cool. Dont misunderstand. There are major differences between amps, just not TONALLY. A lead guitar on a $550 Xtant will sound exactly like a lead guitar on a $150 Profile. The differnce will be that the Xtant will have lower distortion and more headroom and so it will be more detailed. It will also have much much better build quality with beefier power suppiles and so on.

So you should still buy the best amp you can get. Just dont get bogged down in the "those X amps are too bright" or "X amps are much warmer and have tighter bass", cause they dont.

[spwuinmk67]

Yeah, I know that all amps are tonally the same. I've hung out here enough, as well as check out some other forums. So without goin too crazy, any ideas?

[exalted512]

the amp for my components next go around will be a tube amp. well its actually a hybrid tube amp thats much better suited to ca. its the usamps tu-600. im very interested in how they sound. everyone says they have a "warmer" sound and im curious as to hear what that might be. ive heard a tube amp before but i wasnt really able to do a direct comparison like i will be able to do in the new truck.
my mind is made up on that amp. its the sub amp that i again have no idea what im going to go with. at first i was going to go with the de-3000. but then the ratings changed as well as the price. both for the worst. it was 3000x1@2 ohms. now its 3000x1@1.5. the new DD amp theyre coming out with was the next choice since it does 2600x1@2. This amp is a total haus and im not completely sure why. straight from Jeff's email. "The price runs $5395.00, and the thing is big. The current version is 24"
long, weighs about 42 lbs, and stands 4.3" HIGH, AND 9.5" WIDE."
Its also way out of my price range. So I'm back to thinking about back to the DE-3000. I'd like to stick with the DEs because of their 90, yes 90% efficiency. I might go with dual ab's again though. Like 2 AX-1000s or something which'll give me 1300watts at 4 ohms. They have an ab amp that does 2400x1@2 which could work as well. Its called the 2000HC. damping factor of >1000...HOLY CHIT!!
anyway, sorry for taking over your post...
btw, id get the dyns i showed you over the quarts...
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Speakers I will spend $1000's on. Amps I cant justify more than $500 unless its in the kilowatt range.

That being said, as everybody knows, MTX and Crossfire are my favorites in the sub $400 range. Theyre built like a tank and make tons of power cleanly with lots of headroom. I prefer Crossfire simply because they are a little more rare than MTX.

In the upper leagues, I like Xtant most of all. Plenty of features, superb build quality and makes very strong, clean power and they look cool as hell.

Same with Alpine V12's. They also are built well, not as well as the Xtant but very solid. They also arent quite as powerful as Xtant but are just as clean. They also have tons of features.

JL Audio Slash amps are top end for me as well. The best crossover network on the market, tons of clean power and decent looks. What I dont like about them is theyre fully regulated so they lack the headroom Xtant, MTX and Crossfire has.

Other honorable mentions would be Orion, Polk, Coustic, Kicker and Arc Audio.

So in summary:
$400 and below:
1- Crossfire
2- MTX
3- JL Audio E series
4- Kicker

$400 and above
1- Xtant
2- Alpine V12
3- JL Audio Slash series
4- Orion

[spwuinmk67]

Hey cody, you have that link again? I didn't save it, I was too tired when you showed me them...lol. Two amps that i've kinda looked at are the Hifonics ZX6400 and US-Amps US-4300X. Still gotta keep lookin into other options.

[exalted512]

what link would that be?
-Cody

[spwuinmk67]

nevermind, it was for the dyn's, but I found them...

[Toxis]

Originally posted by MacLeod
There is no difference in the sound other than maybe power and distortion levels. All amps sound the same. Some have more power, more headroom and less distortion but tonally they sound the same. One amp will not have a "warmer" sound or "tighter bass" over another amp.

Please tell me there's some sort of sarcasm here. If you honestly mean that, you have a world of knowledge a head of you my friend. To say this honestly is the same as saying there's no difference in sound between headunits, or cables. You amplifier plays a huge roll in the sound, just below the speakers themselves. Well, I guess this is mobile so I'll have to say placement/setup is just under the speakers but you get my idea.

[neomagus00]

i think he forgot an important qualifier, that being 'above a certain point'. that is, amps will sound better up to a point, but beyond that, the only differences worth paying for are in powersupply, etc. clearly, a twelve dollar 1000 watt amp is going to sound like shizz, if it doesn't light your car on fire first. but, the tonal difference between an $800 and a $2000 1000 watt amp are generally below the level of human hearing, and so the only reason to spend the extra $1200 - other than the name on the amp - is powersupply quality, etc.

does that make sense?

oh, and this ignores the tube amps, cause there is, for some reason, still argument about this. i'm not sure why it isn't blindingly obvious one way or the other, but i haven't heard a tube amp, so...

[AustinKP]

Originally posted by Toxis
To say this honestly is the same as saying there's no difference in sound between headunits, or cables.

Wait, you're serious about this? Without using any built-in processing, I'd like to see Anyone tell a difference in the sound between HU's. Just a few threads ago, I believe it was Justin (a polk installer) who said that he couldn't even hear a difference between Denon and something like panasonic or sony.
As far as cables, granted, there is a ton of difference in noise rejection, and I think that's what you are talking about. However, there is no difference in the "sound" of cables. No cable is "warmer" than any other, etc.
Just making sure I understand what you're talking about.
-Austin

[MacLeod]

No sarcasm intended. I stand by my statement.

Dont misunderstand me though, Im not saying all amps SOUND the same because some amps are more powerful and can produce more detail, they will have less distortion and so on and can change the sound.

What Im saying is that TONALLY they all sound the same.

Take my previous amp, a $150 Alpine and my current amp the $380 Crossfire. When I hooked the Crossfire up to the same speakers Id been listening to my Alpine on for over a year, I heard no difference at all except for more detail due to the substantial increase in power and headroom in my Crossfire. The Crossfire also had less distortion and made screechy guitar solos a little less screechy.

Proof? Ever heard of the $10,000 amp challenge ran by Richard Clark of Carsound and Performance Magazine? Its a blind test and all you have to do is listen to music thru the same set of speakers coming from different amps and choose the different amp and you win the 10 grand. Simple huh? In the decade or so Clark has had this challenge standing, NOBODY has collected the check.

Again, Im not saying that you should ditch the Xtant for the Jensen. There are tons of differences and advantages in higher end amps in power, build quality, distortion, power supplies and so on. Just none tonally.

Also, I agree with Austin. All head units sound the same too. Cables now there Im witcha bro. Anybody that cant hear a difference between some Zero Noise 6 and some Radio Shack RCA's has a problem. ;)

[exalted512]

hey...radio shacks gold series are pretty nice...i have gold series y-connectors hooked up to my SW 5.0s...
-Cody