Legends6spd

I know this is gonna sound stoopid but what exactly is the difference in the channels. For example, I'm comparing the JL 500/1 and 300/4. I know that the output is 500 watts to 1 channel and 75 each to 4 channels or 150 to 2 channels.

But what does that really mean in terms of installation? I'm under the impression that the 1 channel is very flexible, you can just hook everything to that 1 channel and the amp will drive it up to 500 watts? Whereas with the 4 channel, you have to use 2 to drive the front and 2 to drive the back?

I'm trying to drive 10ib4 sub and front 5.25 speakers. I was recommended 300/4 but I'm wondering if 500/1 will do the work or is it overkill? I'd like to go with 500 if possible since it's more power and eventually maybe more flexible if I add monitor/dvd nav?
I'm not too sure, please have a little patience with this newB to the audio.
Thanks in advance.

TTurboPimp

iTrader: (12)

To make this a quick and basic answer, the 500/1 is NOT what your looking for. Go with the 300/4, run the two front channels to your 5 1/4's, and bridge your rear channels to the sub. Your thoughts on the 500/1 are not right. It is not made to be flexible, its made to be a high powered sub amp, which is too much power for the sub your running. I personally think that the JL stuff is a good choice though, I have two 300/2's and a 500/1 in my set up, they have been great amps so far.

Im assuming with the amount of knowledge that you have on car audio, that you will have someone install these things for you. If so, have your installation shop give you their ideas of what equipment they recommend, and how they recommend it be set up. Dont go in to this blind or you will definitely end up spending more time and cash in the long run. By the way, adding a DVD, monitor, etc., has nothing to do with what amp your running.

Do yourself a favor, get educated on this subject before you drop the kind of cash that these JL amps cost.

Good luck!

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

OK, here goes. The amps that you're comparing do not compare - they are meant for different purposes. Don't forget, 'stereo' is a 2-channel system. You can't drive left and right with 1 channel for the main speakers. The reason that 1-channel amps exist is because a) you can't localize the direction of low frequencies well, as compared to highs, and b) the low-frequency content in music is predominantly the same in the left and right channel (we can make exceptions to this, but let's accept that for now...). So you can't drive a whole system with one channel, no matter HOW much power you have. But you can drive the subwoofer. On to the details.

First the 500/1. This is what's called a 'monoblock' subwoofer amplifier. It is used to drive subwoofers ONLY. The filtering and internal electronics are geared toward low-frequency response. Again, one does not drive a whole system with this, only the "lowpassed" subwoofer channel(s).

Now the 300/4. This is, as you correctly say, a 75W RMS x 4 amp. You can drive 4 independent full-range channels with this, like one for each of 4 doors, front and rear. If you do not have rear speakers, as it sounds in your case, then you can drive the fronts with 2 of the channels, and the subwoofer with the other 2, assuming you get a dual-voice-coil (DVC) subwoofer. If you have a single-voice coil sub as in the 10IB4, then those 2 sub channels need to be "bridged" - combined in a way that the amps two output stages can together drive one subwoofer coil.

JLAudio also makes a 300/2 amp, for driving the fronts only. You would then pair the amp of your choice with it, to drive the sub only. Typically, that would be a 250/1 or 500/1. There is also a 500/5, which has 4 channels plus a sub channel, all in one amp, but the 2 rear channels are underpowered at only 25W RMS.

Be careful of overbuying the amp as compared to the speakers you'll be using. Generally, it is better to have extra power available, but pairing a monster amp with relatively incapable speakers makes no sense (or $cents) unless you really plan on a major upgrade later.

The JL 10IB4 is a single-voice-coil, 8-ohm sub with 100 watts RMS continuous power handling. A 500/1 paired with this is serious overkill, and if you overcrank it for too long of a period (not hard to do if you like music with BASS), you could easily roast the sub. If you want to stick with JL and want reasonable power at a reasonable cost, and you're not going to install rear speakers in the future, you COULD use the 300/2 paired with a 250/1. This will give you proper control of the sub's frequency response, and also allow you to combine two full range channels into one low frequency channel for driving the 10IB4 (assuming you're only using one woof). If, however, your headunit, or whatever device you're driving the amps with, has already separated out the sub feed (low freqs/mono), then you could consider using only the 300/4, driving the fronts with 2 channels and the sub with the remaining two channels in a 'bridged' configuration, yielding 150W RMS available, which is enough to drive the 10IB4 properly (and not too much).

Hopefully that clears things up for you. Thanks for being polite.

Legends6spd

thanks for the great explaination
i kinda figured things out right after i posted this thread and realized my foolishness.

i have just one other question about speakers.
i can go w/ boston pro 5.25 component 2 ways or,,, as pcmw recommended, save some $ and go with
JL XR525's.
The XR525 comes with either csi or cxi, what is the main difference and which of the 3 speakers should i go with?
It'd be cool to have JL amp/sub/speakers, but i thought bostons are much better?

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

Boston Pro's are the way to go if you're interested in better sound quality. And there's better than that if you were to spend more money.
I'm not personally a JL speaker fan whatsoever. They make some nice subs, but their component sets leave much to be desired.
I've been running Bostons in my '88 Supra since it was new.

pcmw

Legend,

CXI are coaxials where the tweeter is mounted in the center of the midrange.

CSI are separates. so that you can mount them in your factory spots.

I used to have a competition car with boston pro's and several other brands. Nothing bad about them. However, I have the JLs now and love them. Much smoother and the tweeter doesn't cut your neck off with shrillness. Not to mention half the price and they never blow out. My next step upgrade from the XRs would probably be the Focal Utopias.

MW

TTurboPimp

iTrader: (12)

I have the Boston Pro 6.5's fornt and rear running off of a pair of Jl 300/2's. The Bostons like alot of power, so dont sell yourself short with the amp. They are great speakers, BUT I will have to agree with pcmw, the tweeters are really crisp/harsh. I can barely stand it at times, it actually hurts my ears after a period of loud listening. You might also want to check out the Diamond Audio speakers. They are about the same price as the Bostons, and great speakers as well. With the Diamonds you have a choice of tweeters, one is smoother than the other, allows to tailor them to your personal preference.

Once again, Good Luck with it!