i have a JL12w6 and i need an amp. my choices are the JL 500.1 or the Precision Power dcx 1000.1. i dont know anything about car audio even though i have been asking questions at the car audio stores. the stores all have their prefrences in what they recommend to what they sell. i hear that JL is a great amp and delivers clean sound. i also heard that the PPI is just as good for a lower price. these are my two choices because i can get them for a decent price. does any one know which one would be a better amp all the way around for rap and rock? thanks

 

PPI and JL both make quality amps. I have two JL amps and they are great for the money, excellent quality. It depends on how much you want to spend, either amp will be OK for that application.
Check out www.woofersetc.com, good prices.

 

I agree. I would lean towards the JL amp though

 

why would you lean towards JL. this is the kinda thing i wanna know. is JL far more superior?

 

I perfer JL Audio because of the quality and engineering that is put into thier products. PPI in its day was a very good name but now it has been bought by DEI for that very reason. People could argue all day and say PPI is just as good for less money just like they compare other subs and say "its as good as the W7". So you have to ask yourself why do most people compare what they want to buy as being as good as JL. JL owns more patents on thier products because of thier innovation than most companies. I could claim JL is the best in car audio at thier price points and it my upset some people so all I could tell you in my years in car audio my opinion is JL because it is a better product.

 

No, not FAR more superior, but probably slightly superior. Another way of looking at it is that to get a better amp than the JL, you have to start spending a lot more money. There are even better amps out there - McIntosh, Arc Audio, Brax, etc. If your ear is not too critical, and you yourself know whether it is or not, then you won't be able to tell the difference between PPI and anything else. JL is probably at the top of the midrange class of amps that include PPI, Orion, Xtant, Alpine, etc. The lower class is full of your Sonys, Kenwoods, Pioneers, the stuff you find in Circuit City and Best Buy.
One of the most important things in choosing an amp is its projected reliability, in addition to the sound quality. If your amp goes down, it usually requires a lot of frustrating ripout and repair time, often not easy.

 

Well said, but I am not sure I want to put Arc Audio amps up there with Macintosh and that much better, if any, than JL.

 

Why not? I love my ARC AUDIO amps!!!

I am thinking of changing my sub because of it...

 

They are nice amps too...

What are you going to change your subs to?

 

I have a 12" L7 now, in a ported box, and I do not really like it. I loved this sub in my Tahoe, but in the GS, it is not the same. I am thinking about a JL W6 in a sealed enclosure firing in the factory hole. I really like the 12" but I might have to get a 10" to fit the mounting location so it does not fire and hit the bottom of the rear deck....

Any suggestions?

 

im gonna stray a little. what do u guys think about the zapco reference 500.1? would that be strong enough for a 12w6 in a ported box?

 

Yes. Zapco amps are excellent.

 

I would still love to do a shootout with all of these amps. But it wouldn't be fair since my McIntosh amps are modded. Mc, as far as I know, is the ONLY one to perform better than their advertised numbers in real life situations, not on the test bench. CSR did a review on the MC4000M quite a while ago and their numbers were better than advertised. Still can't think of one other company that would claim that.

As for JL amps, does anyone have a picture of the inside of one of these guys? Would be interested to find out what kind of engineering and parts they put into these. With Mc, it's overkill. With Brax, it looks highly organized and they're quite good. Just have them get rid of the BB2604 op amps, then they'll sound better. Still better than the NE5532 series anyday though.

Price points not considered, I would agree with Engin_Ear. It's hard to match up to the ones he mentioned.

Percy

 

The JL amp also put out more power than advertised. The RMS ratings they publish are rated at 12 volts. With the car running and at 14.4 volts you output would is much higher.

 

Percy:
I don't have any pics of the insides of JL amps, but I seem to remember that they have some pics on their website - www.jlaudio.com . Don't think you can see down to the level of reading part numbers though.

Jerry