1.gif to old school Phoenix Gold amps being excellent. I see Titanium Reactors on ebay every so often, and really have to fight the urge to pick it up. IMO they were good up through the Tantrum line, but went way downhill after that.



You lost me a bit here, you're making it sound as though you have to buy subs to match the ohm rating of the amp. I know you know better than that, so I'm not saying you meant it that way, it's just what it sounded like.

An amplifier is rated for a minimum stable ohm load, and you wire the components up to properly present a load which is compatible with the amplifier. So it's your job not to wire them up like an idiot, but there are many right ways to do it. If you have a 1 ohm stable quality amplifier capable of supplying the required current, you are dumb if you don't wire up your subs to present a 1 ohm load because it will draw the most current at that load and provide maximum power to the subwoofer(s). You can do that with many different configurations. More than 1 ohm load (in this example), and you're safe even though your amp won't be performing at anywhere near it's potential. Less than 1 ohm load and poof it'll go up in smoke or at the very least blow a fuse or overheat.

I say Sony's Xplod line of amplifiers suck because they underperform vs. a quality brand of the same power rating (they rate by max power) rolleyes.gif, distort far earlier (RMS is usually about 1/3 of the way to peak instead of half which is typical of a quality amp), and can generally only handle 2 ohm loads before they live up to their name. Sony is a mainstream electronics manufacturer primarily (not a compliment). Sony head units suck. They're plagued with bad SQ, low clean power output, etc. The same is true of their amps, and also their speakers, both full range and subwoofers. In the car audio game, I place Xplod on the level as Jensen. Although, in some departments that's an insult to Jensen.

Sony's 1400w GTR Series 2/1 Channel Amplifier for example...
1400w x1 max power bridged @ 4 ohms
540w x1 RMS power bridged @ 4 ohms

I's not rated as stable below 4 ohms when bridged.

Compare that to a typical decent quality 500w 2 channel amp...
1000w x1 max power bridged @ 4 ohms
500w x1 RMS power bridged @ 4 ohms

Not a bad deal since the amp is marketed as being 900w disadvantaged, however it's only 40w of usable power below the Sony amp.

Now let's compare to a good quality 500w 2 channel amp...
1000w x1 max power bridged @ 4 ohms
500w x1 RMS power bridged @ 4 ohms
2000w x1 max power bridged @ 2 ohms
1000w x1 RMS power bridged @ 2 ohms

Not bad, making almost twice the usable power despite being marketed at a 900w disadvantage.

Now let's compare to a top quality 25w mono competition amp...
50w x1 max power @ 4 ohms
25w x1 RMS power @ 4 ohms
100w x1 max power @ 2 ohms
50w x1 RMS power @ 2 ohms
200w x1 max power @ 1 ohm
100w x1 RMS power @ 1 ohm
400w x1 max power @ 0.5 ohm
200w x1 RMS power @ 0.5 ohm
800w x1 max power @ 0.25 ohm
400w x1 RMS power @ 0.25 ohm

We don't even really want to go there making a very reasonable comparison between a 25w amp and a 1400w amp. However, you will certainly be paying for every single one of those watts produced at the ultra low ohm loads.

Bottom line, their MOST EXPENSIVE current Xplod amplifier (according to Sonystyle.com) is $199. $199 amplifier = crap unless it's output is 50 watts RMS or less.

 

Then, if you look at their ZZR series you get 600W RMS with 1100Max at 2 ohm for the same price.

People pay too much attention to max. All that matters is RMS. You do not use max. Max = your amps fuses just blew.

 

The only components that I have which aren't Sony are my subs, which are crap. It all depends on the application, I suppose.

I'm not entering any competitions, but the Sony setup (6 1/2"; 6X9"; head unit and amps) is plenty loud enough to turn heads, which is all that I've found necessary. And, at a price that is significantly lower then "premium" systems, I fail to see how anyone can hate them.

Just keep in mind the direction that is chosen. Comp or personal enjoyment. If you are going comp, then you're not gonna be spending $199 on an amp.

It then just boils down to personal preference. Really, I've found that when it comes down to it, most items in a price range are very similar in quality.

If you want to match subs, go ahead.

I've had no problems with mine, but at some point I do want to replace my subs, which I got used(and abused).

 

I used to rock a pioneer component setup for the front, pioneer 6x9s in the back powered by a phoenix gold ms series amp (plexiglass cover looked cool lol) then 2 10 inch jl audio subs powered by a jl a amp
paid like 600 for the entire setup and pounded like a champ
pioneer has really gone down hill these days though
I did have a Sony amp with some cerwin vega 15s back in the day pounded like there was no tomorrow but would overheat andturn off randomly until I drilled some holes in the top cover no problems after that

 

^^^^^ definitely agree with the pioneer statement.

 

I've blown both a Sony xplod 800w amp and a 10in xplod sub, neither anywhere near max power. Lasted me about 2 years. My memphis has been running strong for 6 1/2 years. Never hot.