Class D Amplifier?

[GomGom]

Hey guys, I'm building a simple setup in my CRV and not looking for fill the whole trunk with the system. Share what you think in my future setup:

JL C2 6.5" Component (front)
JL C2 6" coaxial (rear)
JL 8W3V3 1 piece
Pioneer AVH-X4500BT

And for the amp, I used the first gen of Alpine PDX before and so far so good. I'm thinking to get Alpine PDX-5M which is $450 for 5 channels. The reason I'm thinking to get another PDX and 5 channels class D is to minimize the space that I would need to place it. PDX is quite small and light.

However, do you think there is anything that I need to change in my setup? What do you think of a PDX? Is there any better option for the amp?

I like listening to music like michael buble songs so I do not want the tweeter to be harsh and sounds too metalic. I do not need to shake the car beside me, just enough bass in the car is enough.

Let me know what you think.

[Cman333]

What kind of vehicle?

Have you tried Focal before? Might be a better option for your music tastes.

[GomGom]

I'm putting it in my CRV. But I require enough space for my work.

I tried focal and it is out of my budget. I have 5.25" KX series on my parents car with audison 4 ch amp. Those are more expensive than all I will buy in total. That's why I'm thinking of going with JL speakers and Alpine amp.

[1990TSI]

Polk makes a 5 channel full range class D amp that should be cheaper than your alpine.

polk is 70x4 @ 4ohms and 400x1 @ 2 ohms(500x1@1ohm), so slightly more powerful

much more flexable crossover (bandpass capable if going active)

bass remote knob included in box

size is very similar, 3" longer but an inch less width and height

not always a sign of anything, but the alpine uses 2x30a fuses. polk uses 2x40a fuses.


I've been using one for about a year and just love the thing, it does everything i want.

as for the speakers, the HAT imagines are in your price range, i'd give them a demo before buying the JLs.

all this can be found at Sounds Good

[GomGom]

Thanks TSI, you actually bring a good point about Polk. I somehow did not think about them until now. What is the difference in amp, say between alpine pdx and that polk, with the same speakers and setup?

Btw, are you talking about PA D5000.5? Are you sure that unit is just a slightly bigger than alpine PDX? because alpine PDX is as big as a bible, slightly thicker maybe.

[Cman333]

If you're on a budget you might be better off just getting 4 channel amp, bridge 2 channels for the sub and use the other two for front sound stage. Why bother putting aftermarket rears, might as well focus on the front soundstage.

Lets say your budget is $300 for speakers, you would benefit alot more spending the whole $300 on the front speakers rather then buy one $200 pair and one $100 pair. If you plan on running an 8" sub you won't need all that much power for an SUV for it to sound great. I'm guessing 150-200 WRMS should suffice.

[GomGom]

Are you saying that leave the rear door stock and not amplified? Would that make a good ambiance in the cabin?

If you say so, then how about putting 6" subwoofers on the rear doors? Would that make the ambiance so unbalanced?

I see only 2 people from 2 different local stores chipping in for opinion here. Tell me what you think I should do for my CRV.
Also, will brand make any different in amplifier if the wattage are the same? For example: JL vs Alpine vs Crunch (which I never heard of). Or just buy any amp with enough power is fine? Meaning I should just focus on the speakers?

[Cman333]

Front sound stage is most important. Rear speakers are really just for people in the back. You shouldn't really hear your speakers in the back if you're sitting in the front. It pulls your soundstage further forward. And usually people put cheaper speakers in the rear, so why would you want to hear them anyways right?

And yes there is definitely a HUGE difference in sound quality between a cheap amp and expensive amp. It's like home hi-fi. Tube amp vs Sony Reciever.

Unforuntately theres no EASY way to measure "Sound Quality". Wattage is more a matter of output, you can have loud, but loud doesn't mean it sounds good. Alot of people read THD% and think that's a measurement of SQ which is so far from the truth. I could get into this for hours and not prepared to type out an essay lol

Found an article on global negative feedback. Kinda explains how amps work, and what they do to "clean" the signal but at the same time you lose some of the detail in the music.

What is Negative Feedback?

The main thing is how picky you are about sound quality. This is just my opinion. Installation/tuning is most important, speakers 2nd, amp 3rd, wiring 4th.

You can take a $6000 pair of speakers and wing it in there and they wouldn't sound better then a properly installed/tuned set of $300 speakers. Might even sound worse then the $300. Installation can make or break the whole sound system.

[orgasm_donor]

Lately we have been using a lot of the JL XD series amplifiers with great success. They are less expensive than the PDX and they sure do pack a big punch as well. The Polk amps are surprisingly clean amp with a small footprint as TSI had said. We also carry the ARC audio mini series amps as well. Soo many choices these days for a small amp!

My favorite new amp by far is the Digital Designs SS5. Its 125 watts X4 @4 ohms and a very beefy 850 watts X1 for the sub channel @1 ohm! Size is pretty reasonable too but not really considered a mini. If you get a chance, you should come by our shop and take a look at what we have...even listen to some nice speakers too!

[1990TSI]

+1 on the JL JX amps, i've put a couple in a buddies jetta recetly and they are tiny. he has a 500wx1 into an ARC 8 (also from sounds good, and sounds amazing in a ported box built to spec) and a 110x2 into some used hertz milles and we did all this by raising his floor a couple inches. The amps are similar sized to the cross overs haha.

I'll also put a +1 up for not amping the rear speakers, or replacing them. I'll still say a 5 channel is a great idea, but use 2 channels for the mids, 2 channels for the tweets and the sub channel for....the sub!

and i'm glad that ARC 8 got brought up again, because that thing is amazing. do you have room for a ported box? we built his box in the spare tire and had enough air space to port the box and the volume levels are on par with my polk SR10 in a ported box. it should be a lot cheaper than the JL 8 you had listed and is proven to be an ass kicker in the right box, while blending well with the front stage even at insane volume levels(for an 8)

I'd go see mike at sounds good in coquitlam and see what they have. you need to see how small some of these amps are in person and listen to a few options for speakers.



edit: just wanted to add, the sub fit ported in the actual spare, not the spare tire well


size

[GomGom]

Amp:
Have you ever used Focal Solid amp such as solid4 for 4 ch and others? They are AB class but they are focal. Should I spend the money on class D 5 channel with JL or alpine or just get this Focal Solid amp for approximately the same money? I saw Focal Solid4 is only $199 somewhere and that makes me wonder if I should try focal. I tried to find a review but it's not as easy as finding review for JL or Alpine.

Sub:
I chose JL 8W3 because my previous experience. However, I realized that there are many other brands that are half of the JL price. I saw RE, Rockford P2 (even the P3 is slightly cheaper than JL), and JBL GTO804. The concern for me is not only the punch and loudness but also the tone and responsiveness. I had 11" Focal Polyglass series before and I love the tone but not enough punch. I switch to Alpine Type X 12", punches like crazy but I hate that it does not produce good tones. Switch to 15" Focal Polyglass and it's so awesome. Perfect tones and perfect punch, not so perfect for budget and space.

That was when I'm in college. Fun and spending time is no longer the same that's why I'm looking just to get enough bass with 8" without sacrificing space in my trunk as I need the space. I need a sub that give me good punch with good tones as well. I does not have to shake nearby car window.

[AVS_Racing]

Not sure what model Focal it was but I've heard the top model Focal amp VS Audison Voce amp on the same set of speakers (forgot what the speakers were, K6? or Focals) and the Audison sounded way better than the top model focal. Much better width and the sound was way fuller.

[GomGom]

That's a good input, avs.

However, how about a low-end focal such as focal solid4 compare to JL XD series and Alpine PDX or even Polk PA series? I'm also eyeing Alpine PDX-5, JL XD700/5 and Polk PA D5000.5. Out of those 3, Polk is being the cheapest and Alpine PDX is being the most expensive. Some says because I will be powering JL subs, I should get JL amp, is it true?

Is the focal solid4 (being an AB class) running hot easily and not good for humid places such as tropical countries?

I just found a thread of a guy using Focal Utopia series speakers and subs however, he used Precision Power Amp and replaced it with 2 JL amps afterward. Is it even worth it to use JL with that top end speakers and subs or it doesn't really matter? I'm confused now.

I got a new input from a friend saying that Image Dynamics CXS64 v.2 has a very good SQ and comparable to Focal KX series with much lower budget and definitely outperform JL C5 series in term of SQ. What do you professionals think?

note: I point out my real questions in red. Just to out-stand it, not being a d*ck at all. I'm so glad there are people like you guys... Thanks in advance

[installerz]

Originally Posted by GomGom

That's a good input, avs.

However, how about a low-end focal such as focal solid4 compare to JL XD series and Alpine PDX or even Polk PA series? I'm also eyeing Alpine PDX-5, JL XD700/5 and Polk PA D5000.5. Out of those 3, Polk is being the cheapest and Alpine PDX is being the most expensive. Some says because I will be powering JL subs, I should get JL amp, is it true? JL have 4 levels of quality. The HD amps are pretty impressive. I have one in my wife's car on factory speakers. Truly impressive!

Is the focal solid4 (being an AB class) running hot easily and not good for humid places such as tropical countries?

I just found a thread of a guy using Focal Utopia series speakers and subs however, he used Precision Power Amp and replaced it with 2 JL amps afterward. Is it even worth it to use JL with that top end speakers and subs or it doesn't really matter? I'm confused now.

I got a new input from a friend saying that Image Dynamics CXS64 v.2 has a very good SQ and comparable to Focal KX series with much lower budget and definitely outperform JL C5 series in term of SQ. What do you professionals think? s... Thanks in advance

These are all really nice speakers. Are they in your budget? We carry the Focal & JL speakers, as well as Morel, Kenwood, Pioneer, Arc Audio, Hybrid Audio & Polk Audio. They all have varying degrees of quality sound. Would you like to hear some different speakers in the price range that you're thinking of? Come on down...

As an IASCA judge, I get to hear all kinds of amplifiers, speakers & systems. While there are amps out there that have no business being installed into anyone's cars for the ideal of SQ, there are many that are acceptable and others that are outstanding.
I always suggest listening to amplifiers on the same set of speakers in the same environment to hear the difference. The amps to listen to would need to be in your price range and size requirements.
How much do you think that you want to invest into an amp? What size max can you afford in your build?

[GomGom]

Thanks Keith for your input. Maybe I should say that I'm not local and I cannot audition any of them. That's why I ask from experts like you guys.

For Comp Speakers, I probably can afford to max $600 but I'm looking more like an alternative of a great brand like Focal. So if I want to compete with Focal Kevlar series, is there any other brand and type that can compete with lower price. Have you heard of Image Dynamics CXS64?

For Amp, probably $600 also for 4 or 5 ch. I prefer 5 channels so I don't need another amp to power up my subwoofer. For sub, more likely I'm going to get JL W3 series.

Currently, I have Focal KF130 with Audison LRx 4.100 in my parent's car but not too impressed. I understand that the driver is small and I should not expect hard punches from it. Some people suggest me to go with ID CXS64 as it's quite cheap and people are comparing it with CDT, Focal Kevlar, Morel ovation 6000. What do you think?