tneig002

Don't worry man, no one learns this **** overnight.

But yeah, in my opininon it's going to make a pretty noticeable difference in sound quality between the two amps. Like I said, you might get 200 watts from that Crunch amp and you might get 200 watts from a similar Kicker amp, but what matters is the potential of each amp to combat noise and provide straight, clean power. I can almost guarantee any Kicker amp you choose will provide a much more distortion-free sound than the Crunch.

Now it may not be anything you'd notice. I'm used to hearing lots of different amplifier/speaker combos so over time you kind of get used to what's good and what's not. If you don't hear what's better it's understandable to not know what you're missing. Different amps can obviously sound better to different people, which is why it's important to demo and audition separate setups to see what's the best fit for you.

It's also important to note that I have very rarely seen a Kicker amp fall victim to overheating, which is a frequent downfall of many "cheaper" amps I've worked with. Some manufacturers just straight up do not build quality products, so though you may save money up front, you're doing yourself a disservice in the long run. A good motto to go by is that any audio system is only as good as its worst component, so I've always felt its one facet of entertainment/life not to half-***.

As for 8 inch vs. 10 inch, it's really up to personal preference. You've already learned that wattage is negligible so it just depends on what type of sound you're looking for. The 8 inch will give you better performance in the 100-250 hz range, which is one of the hardest frequency ranges to attain with good quality. The 10 inch will perform best from about 60-150hz. Truthfully, if you're going to have a good set of speakers like the JL's, there's not a lot of reason to get an 8 inch sub. As long as it's tuned right, the sub should blend smoothly into the midbass of the component woofers, so I think the 10 will be your best bet.

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

It's not uncommon, just a minor annoyance for the most part. Moving on...

An 8 inch sub will not play as low as a 10, and subsequent sizes will play lower yet. Driving an 8 with 200 watts will sound decent, and a 10 with 450 will be a bit louder and lower, but not so much that you're sitting in the vehicle with absolute awe. The laws of physics apply - more cone moving = more air moving. Can't be argued. Is it worth the upgrade? Yes and no. I think you'd probably be perfectly happy with the 10" sub with the 200 watt amp.

In essence, yes. Finding an 8" sub that will take that will be far more challenging, unless it's made to be an SPL blat machine, and those will be out of your budget.

RMS is what the woofer can take continuously without a breakdown for a period of time (usually around 8 hours). Did you notice how Kicker "rates" the speaker at 450, yet if you put it in any size enclosure it goes down to 200? That's the thermal equation. 8" subs do not have a lot of area to cool, which is why the problem is less prevalent in 10" and larger. Also, since the box is soooo small for the 8", it has very little room to cool the sub in, which poses another problem. In all fairness, I'd be surprised if that little 8" sub could keep up with 200 watts on a regular basis for an extended period of time based on my experience with small box woofers.

This doesn't mean the power ratings mean nothing, but as tneig said, they aren't the only barometer by which you should measure (which is why I said that in the beginning).

And good for you for being smart enough to ask questions. No sense making the same mistakes others have made when you have resources available.

Big Mack

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

AMEN, my mang!

While I agree with you that the SQ might be (and likely is) better with the Kicker, it's hard to reference the sub for that. Given the very limited range, I doubt he (or most listeners) that are going to hear it from a trunk are going to be able to discern a difference between the distortion of the two amps. On the fronts, it's highly possible. I see where you went with it below, but wanted to clarify just a bit.

I agree - your ears are the real judge. If sounds good but measures wrong, you measure the wrong thing. (thanks, Mr. Klipsch!)

I concur.

Again, same page.

Big Mack

KingNasGS4

iTrader: (22)

okay, for the million dollar question now,


WHAT combo would you choose?
8 inch L7 with Crunch amp?
8 inch L5 with Crunch amp?
or
10 inch L5 with a Kicker amp?

I found a used diamond audio 400.1 amp on ebay for like 80 bucks... Should I use that with an L5 10 inch? and find a seperate 4 channel amp?

by the way a million dollars wont go to the person who provides the answer

tneig002

Personally, I'd go with that Diamond mono block and an L5. An L7 will offer up almost no further quality since you're not going for competition-grade pressure levels here.

Eighty dollars is a damn steal for that amp. If it stays that cheap you might as well pick one up. I'd still cop a used one at 120-130, even. If you can't get one of those, go ahead and get one of the smaller Kicker mono amps (i.e. not the 750) and you'll be perfectly fine.

But yeah, definitely get a separate 4-channel altogether. I'm not a big fan of 5-channels; most of them are overpriced and they overheat way too easily for me to recommend them without feeling guilty. Just don't skimp on a 4-channel amp because a good percentage of your audio quality comes from that one source. Putting a good set of speakers such as JL's on a less-than-stellar amp is going to create more problems than it's worth and completely negate the solid performance characteristics of the speakers.

Bippu147

iTrader: (9)

Personally I don't think that any sqaure sub and SQ belong in the same sentence.
That aside;

Given the current choices I would go with the Diamond and an L5

Diamond amps are decent quality, I've clamped a few of them and the output is always greater than the rated power.

KingNasGS4

iTrader: (22)

Okay the diamond audio sounds like its what I'm going to aim for, now, what 4 channel amps do you guys suggest?
I found a kicker 350.4 amp, which has the perfect specs for my components
but is it something you all suggest? is there better that I should know about? (well atleast when it comes to 4 channel amps)

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

Link? If it's a bit older Kicker, I'd go with it. If it's some of the newer stuff, I'm kinda iffy on it.

Big Mack

KingNasGS4

iTrader: (22)

Its one of the newer types, its a used one though...

It puts out 60wRMS x 4 @ 4ohms (JL speakers ive got are rated 60w RMS @4 Ohms) So I think it should match.... Right?

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

RMS matching can be a good thing - provided it's clean power. Do you have a link? Model number?

Big Mack

KingNasGS4

iTrader: (22)

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_c...php?comp_id=68

That is the link for the rear full range the front components are basically the same with the exception of the tweeters being separate model number is Xr525-Csi

and like I've said, the kicker amp is a ZX350.4

tneig002

That ZX 4-channel is decent, but there are better options out there. Like I said, you want to try to find the cleanest amplifier possible without overpowering the speakers (and of course staying within your budget). In the price range of the ZX amp, there are the lower end JL amps, used Diamond ones (there's a D3 that I think is rated just about 75 watts a channel), used Rockford amps (which are generally severely underrated on power but cleaner than you'd think) and Boston Acoustics (which I almost hesitate to recommend because I hate the company, but they make clean products). If I had a preference based on your speakers, I'd try to find a JL unit that you can swing budget-wise; I know they have a unit that's about 60 watts per channel which should be perfect. In theory, the amps and speakers should have been designed concurrently so it's going to be a better match than most other combinations.

KingNasGS4

iTrader: (22)

Thanks I'm going to look into the JL amp, but previously I only found them on ebay brand new and you know those go for a grip...
here are the specs on it
JL 300/4
Specifications:

* Rated Power (stereo): 75W RMS x 4 @ 1.5 ohm-4 ohm (11V-14.5V)
* Rated Power (bridged): 150W RMS x 2 @ 3 ohm-8 ohm (11V-14.5V)
* THD at Rated Power: <0.03% @ 4 ohm
* S/N Ratio*: >108.5 dB below rated power
* Frequency Response: 5 Hz-30 KHz (+0, -1dB)
* Damping Factor: >200 @ 4 ohm per ch./50 Hz
* Input Range: switchable from 200mV-2V RMS to 800mV-8V RMS
Dimensions: 13.4"L x 9.25"W x 2.36"H


would the 75w RMSx4 be too much?

BTW I just pulled the trigger on the Diamond Audio 400.1 used and no bass ****. Got it reduced to 73 Bucks now I've gotta get a ****

Also, there is a rockford punch 300x4 making 40w RMS @ 4 ohms that I found.
I know rockford underrates their amps like crazy, but do you think that it is suitable for the JL audios?

thus far the only amp that I found that matches perfectly is that kicker RMS wise.

Bippu147

iTrader: (9)

those JL's are going to be quiet, 89db efficiency with 60w handling...... that really sucks!

89db - 1w
92db - 2w
95db - 4w
98db - 8w
101db - 16w
104db - 32w
107db - 64w

Of course the efficiency also changes with the enclosure, but that being said usually when any reputable speakers manufacturer tests sensitivity they will place the driver in the recommended enclosure before rating it at 1W/1M

Bippu147

iTrader: (9)

what's your budget for a FULL system?