Choosing an amplifier

TWYNBYZ · 09-09-2011, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wicked CAS

You guys talk of Gain like a volume adjustment.

Gain is there to level match your head unit to the input of your amplifier.

JL in this instance will give you a specific Voltage adjustments to set up with their amplifiers.

As for power ratings JL HD series will give you the output they say they will. They are in fact very conservative with their ratings. So if it says 500 Watts you are getting that and more.

When they engineer their amplifiers they go through extended engineerng in US and very tight tolerances of manufacturing... Are there amps better ya I am sure... But they propably cost just as much if they were the same quality and offered apples to apples.

At the end of the day JL AUDIO like all other brands can be had for a lot less then retail, it is a fact and part of doing business in car audio today... And for a piece of mind when you buy JL AUDIO you know it is going to perform and you are not taking any chances.

BTW

I have some Older Series one Slash series used amps for a great deal if anyone is interested...

I agree with all of your points except regarding the power output of the HD900. Also while adjusting gain is essential with matching the voltage of the head unit, it does impact the overall volume of your system. So there is a relation.

Now about the HD900

The only way you'd get 500 watts is if you were to max out the source volume. Even then, with all 5 channels driven, the amp would have an issue producing that rating to the sub channel. In addition, the musicality of the amp will suffer. Lastly, the amp will become exhausted fairly quickly and go into protect mode. In the case of the HD, this means the amp will throttle back the volume until it cools down. That sucks!

Remember, I've had this amp and have experienced this issue. That's why I went with a multi-amp setup. Even my installer (who is one of the best in the country and a JL fanboi) advised that I stay away from the HD900 because of this very issue. As for the other HD amps, its good gear but just overpriced.

Again, I believe at the end of the day, having headroom is the key. If your sub can handle 500 watts, look for an amp that's rated close to 1000 watts. That way you know your getting 500 watts without straining your electrical system or the amplifier....

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