My friend gave me his Audiobahn aw1200 sub (12 inch/700rms). Ive already got a Zenclosure for it, but still have to get an amp.What do you guys think would be a good fit for that? Working at best buy, i get amazing discounts on this stuff and from what we have ive narrowed down my choices to either the Kenwood KAC-9104d amp (900rms at 2ohm) or Alpine's MRP-M1000 (1000rms at 2ohm). I know most people prefer Alpine, but is it really that much of a difference? I just hate how bulky it is and it looks so damn plain compared to the kenwood. Im definately more interested in good sound vs. good looks but i just need to kno if it really is that much of a difference.

Also, neither sub comes with remote bass control. Is it possible to add one? if so, where do i get it? I have the kenwood dnx7100 DD and to get to the sub control screen is kind of a pain in the ***.

All the experts out there, help me out PLZ!

p.s. the sub is a dual coil so running it at 2 ohm is ok i think.

 

Well, I'm not too familiar with audiobahn but usually 700 rms means 700 rms. Don't want to pass that unless you want to burn the subf aster than normal. Look for a 700RMS amp. As far as brand, Alpine as lost quality recently so I would say Kenwood if it is between one of those for ya. I personally am not a fan of kenwood, don't know why, just am. Hope that helped.

 

interesting. i was expecting everyone to be on alpines nuuutz. Glad to hear that. I heard from several people that you wanna get an amp that has more rms than the sub so that you dont have to run the amp at full capacity. Another thnig is that for me its a difference of almost 100$ between the two. Any other opinions?

 

well if you listen to your stereo at full volume all the time, it's probably bad to go 1000 watts, but even then, it's better to have a more powerful amp because once distortion levels hit, you will hit your sub with much more than 700 watts if you're running a weak amp. You just have to be responsible with your amp. More power usually means the amp will have less distortion even when listening at lower levels, so it is generally a good idea to go high i guess.

 

Not necessarily. I've had subs rated at 1,000w and I've given them about 2,500w with no problem. I'm talking RMS as well for both specs. Some companies underrate their products.

IMHO, I wold go with Alpine. They are a better brand than Kenwood. And I'd actually recommend going with a different sub. That Audiobahn may not even handle 700w...this time, because some companies overrate their products. I'd suggest getting a different sub and make sure it would work well with the Zenclosure.

I also don't see how you can say Alpine has lost quality. I used the PDX 1.1000 on a sub that for daily driving purposes can handle 5,000w rms (TC 5200). I had this single amp hooked up and it impressed me what it did with just a mere 1,000w and I had 3 others ready to be added but never got the chance to finish the build. The amp was VERY efficient.

The Kenwood will not put out 800w either, it's just simple ohm's law. Voltage * Amperage * Efficiency = Power. The Kenwood uses two 30 amp fuses (so 60 in total). You're electrical will not see more than 14.4, and it probably will actually see something around 13 volts, if it is not undergoing constant drain. Most class D amps are about 80% efficient. Applying the equation, 14.4 * 60 * 0.8 = 691.2 watts. That is the most that amp will see. Even if the amp were 100% efficient, it would put out 864 watts (14.4 * 60 * 0.8). At say 13V - 13.5V and 80% efficiency, the amp will put out 624 - 648 watts.

The Alpine has four 25 amp fuses, thus 100A in total. At 14.4v and 80% efficiency, the amp puts out 1,152 watts. If it were 100% efficient, then it would put out 1,440w, but again it won't. At 13V - 13.5V at 80% efficiency, the amp will put out 1,040 - 1,080w.

As you can see, the Kenwood is actually overrated, while the Alpine is underrated. You are getting a significantly more amount of power with the Alpine than you are with the Kenwood, 691.2 with the Kenwood as opposed to the 1,152w with the Alpine, nearly 500w difference, which is a BIG difference.

Also, just because the sub is dual voice coil doesn't mean it will work at 2 ohms. It would have to be a dual 4 in order to wire in parallel to 2 ohms. If it is a dual 2, you can wire in series to 4 ohms or parallel at 1 ohm, thus, you won't be getting power you are achieving to get.

If you decide to stick with the sub, look into the PDX amplifiers, they are about 90% efficiency. Look into the PDX 1.600 rather than the Alpine amp you're looking at because I think it's way too much power for that sub. The 1.600 has four 20A fuses and at 90% efficiency and 14.4v it will put out about 1,036.8w. That is actually still more power than you need so the Kenwood might be a better choice, but if you plan to upgrade in the future, I'd say go with the 1.600 (or the 1.1000 which I'd recommend), and be conservative when setting your gains. When you buy a new sub, at least you'll have the power for it and won't really need to upgrade. Also, the PDX amps have regulated power supplies, meaning, at either 2 ohms or 4 ohms, the amp will put out the same power unlike unregulated power supplies where the lower in impedence you go, the more power output and less efficiency there is.

 

More power doesnt equate to less distortion if the sub can handle it. There are a lot of things to consider, such as the amps damping factory, efficiency, etc. Distortion is not bad, to a certian degree. It's clipping that should be the concern. If you are clipping the amp, you are damaging it and potentially the sub as well. It doesn't matter if the amp is rated at 1,000w, you can still clip it at lower volumes.

 

That $100 is definitely worth the 460w difference between the two.

 

Forgot to answer another one of your questions. A bass **** can be bought separately if the amp supports use of one. PAC sells them. I don't recommend them at all. A bass **** or bass booster does just that. It boosts one frequency. Think of it like this, you have frequencies on a line say from 20 Hz to 100 Hz. If it is supposed to boost 45 Hz, that point will go up on the line and bringing up the other points as well to where it looks like the line is a bell curve. You don't want to do this, because you can risk damaging your equipment, the clipping issue I talked about before. IF you decided to still use it, set your bass boost at a certain spot, set your gains and NEVER go beyond the point you set your max bass boost at, otherwise, you are risking clipping. Bass boost and ***** are unnecessary. If you have the power available, they are pointless. Plus, you can't adjust the slope when boosting the frequency, unless you had an EQ that had those capabilities.

 

holy crap. Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, im rather limited as far as amps. We only have those two at Best Buy that have enough power for the sub. If I do decide to get a different sub later on possibly with more power, should I go with the alpine then and just not turn it up too much? As far as the bass ****, I guess I can live without it. It's just not as easy but w/e. So to summarize, to use the sub at its full capacity, id be ok with the Alpine?

 

Try www.crutchfield.com

 

Most definitely fine to use the alpine. You can get the bass ****, but make sure you set it to the max before setting gains, that way you will set it up so it doesnt clip if you turn it all the way up and if you wish to reduce the bass, you will be fine.

I thought Best Buy started to carry the PDX amps, they dont?

 

I would get an older Alpine amp. I like the MRD line-up. Also with subs, audiobahn is not the greatest. Not knocking it, but I doubt it actually is 700 rms.

 

DO NOT buy kenwood amps! they suck i have one in my car and it over heats within a few minutes.......deff go with alpine!