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Help me choose my speaker/amp combo

Z3PR said:
I thought the talk was (1) pair in the front, and (1) pair in the rear. I try too set my fronts and rears too balance out. I like it too sound just as good in the rear as up front.
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My mistake. I misread you as saying run two pair up front.
 
chevyin said:
1.L7's are notorious for failure due to thermal issues (overheating). And seeing as that 1500watt amp is considerably higher output than the L7 is rated for (the L7 is rated for 1500watts peak, not continuous.... that amp is double what it is rated for), Im gonna be the devil's advocate here and say I seriously doubt an L7 can handle 1500watts daily for a very long period of time. Or, Id get a smaller amp, there is no reason you need 1500watts for an L7.

2.Also, Im not the huge Infinity Kappa fan that alot of people around here seem to be. The tweeters are way to bright/harsh for my liking, and I tend to like metal domes. if you just want louder, I can suggest louder front stages that wont require dual comps/dual amplification/etc.

3.Id personally just run the rear speakers off the headunit's power, as I only consider that rear-fill anyway.
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1. I can't find a Hifonics amp that is rated at 750W RMS at 2 or 4 ohms. Do you have another suggestion for a good amp?
2. If you don't like the Infinity Kappas, do you have another suggestion for near/lower price?
3. Exactly what I was planning to do. :D
Thanks for all the info!
 
TexasA&Mblazer said:
1. I can't find a Hifonics amp that is rated at 750W RMS at 2 or 4 ohms. Do you have another suggestion for a good amp?
2. If you don't like the Infinity Kappas, do you have another suggestion for near/lower price?
3. Exactly what I was planning to do. :D
Thanks for all the info!
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You can try a BX100D if you want to stick to Hifonics. It would about 100 watts, but that's alot closer to 750t than is 1500, and it probably wouldn't quite put out that much power anyway (usually a bit overrated). Otherwise just find a good 750 watt amp @ 4ohms. Most A/B style amps put out max output into a 4ohm mono load, so the choices should be pretty good.

What price are you paying for ther Kappas again? Personally I like Resonant Engineering RE series ($160 new), Adire Koda's (can be found used for a couple hundred since they are no longer available new), JL's XR series is pretty nice, etc etc. There are lots of good comp choices out there, just a matter of your budget and what type of performance you want from them.
 
TexasA&Mblazer said:
1. I can't find a Hifonics amp that is rated at 750W RMS at 2 or 4 ohms. Do you have another suggestion for a good amp?
2. If you don't like the Infinity Kappas, do you have another suggestion for near/lower price?
3. Exactly what I was planning to do. :D
Thanks for all the info!
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I've been running a older 12" L7
4762MMATS_D200hc_with_12_inch_DVC_Kicker_L7.JPG
off a 1200+ watt MMATS amp for a few years without over heating it. Remember, a amp isn't constantly putting out it's max. Also, if you don't drive around with your stereo turned up all the way everywhere you go, .... well.
 
chevyin said:
You can try a BX100D if you want to stick to Hifonics. It would about 100 watts, but that's alot closer to 750t than is 1500, and it probably wouldn't quite put out that much power anyway (usually a bit overrated). Otherwise just find a good 750 watt amp @ 4ohms. Most A/B style amps put out max output into a 4ohm mono load, so the choices should be pretty good.

What price are you paying for ther Kappas again? Personally I like Resonant Engineering RE series ($160 new), Adire Koda's (can be found used for a couple hundred since they are no longer available new), JL's XR series is pretty nice, etc etc. There are lots of good comp choices out there, just a matter of your budget and what type of performance you want from them.
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The sub he's planning on useing has (2) 2 ohm voice coils. Same as my L7. I run mine at 1 ohm and hits alot harder then at 4 ohm. I've tried both ways, and I haven't noticed any sound quality difference. Just hit harder/louder at 1 ohm. But yeah, the 1000watt Hiphonics should work just fine. For subs, I prefer the Class D amps. Don't get anywhere near as hot as the A/B amps.
 
Z3PR said:
The sub he's planning on useing has (2) 2 ohm voice coils. Same as my L7. I run mine at 1 ohm and hits alot harder then at 4 ohm. I've tried both ways, and I haven't noticed any sound quality difference. Just hit harder/louder at 1 ohm. But yeah, the 1000watt Hiphonics should work just fine. For subs, I prefer the Class D amps. Don't get anywhere near as hot as the A/B amps.
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When you wired up your sub at 4ohms it was receiving approximately 1/4 the power it was when hooked up at 1ohm, which would explain the results you describe.

Generally speaking speaker manufacturers rate their drivers' RMS figures for a continuous play session, with music. If you buy a 750watt sub and 750watt amp for example, you do not need to run a 50hz test tone at full power (ie: no transients) before you need to fear blowing a coil. You can overpower a coil even using a smaller amp, if you clip it. In other words, a "750 watt" amplifier and a "750 watt" subwoofer should match up quite well (assuming one of the two products is not overrated). If the sub would handle 1500 watts daily, with music, Kicker would not have rated it at half that power.

You can squeak by using a grossly overpowered amplifier by turning gains way down, being very careful with the volume knob, etc etc... but who enjoys that stuff? And, if you choke down the amp so it doesn't output its full potential, why bother paying the money for watts that wont ever be used? Headroom only goes so far, especially in car audio, and doubly especially with subwoofers. 9 times out of 10 a guy is better off matching up components that are rated closely together and run the system as its intended, rather than buying grossly overpowered equipment and then attempting to keep it in check by adjusting everything down.
 
chevyin said:
When you wired up your sub at 4ohms it was receiving approximately 1/4 the power it was when hooked up at 1ohm, which would explain the results you describe.

Generally speaking speaker manufacturers rate their drivers' RMS figures for a continuous play session, with music. If you buy a 750watt sub and 750watt amp for example, you do not need to run a 50hz test tone at full power (ie: no transients) before you need to fear blowing a coil. You can overpower a coil even using a smaller amp, if you clip it. In other words, a "750 watt" amplifier and a "750 watt" subwoofer should match up quite well (assuming one of the two products is not overrated). If the sub would handle 1500 watts daily, with music, Kicker would not have rated it at half that power.

You can squeak by using a grossly overpowered amplifier by turning gains way down, being very careful with the volume knob, etc etc... but who enjoys that stuff? And, if you choke down the amp so it doesn't output its full potential, why bother paying the money for watts that wont ever be used? Headroom only goes so far, especially in car audio, and doubly especially with subwoofers. 9 times out of 10 a guy is better off matching up components that are rated closely together and run the system as its intended, rather than buying grossly overpowered equipment and then attempting to keep it in check by adjusting everything down.
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Well, I'm one of those people who like too plan ahead for future upgrades.
 
Z3PR said:
Well, I'm one of those people who like too plan ahead for future upgrades.
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If you mean in terms of amplifier power, that's certainly fine, so long as the amp doesn't overpower your current setup.
 
chevyin said:
If you mean in terms of amplifier power, that's certainly fine, so long as the amp doesn't overpower your current setup.
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Turning the gain on the amp down and the setting for the sub on the headunit down works for me. I know not all headunits have settings for subwoofer level, but it is nice if yours does. I think HIFONICS is a good choice. Pretty reliable power for not outragous $$$. I'm a Ebay shopper, and you can get a new in box (NIB) HIFONICS class D 1200 watt amp for under $200.00 normally with the Buy it Now. I've seen them occationally have a Buy it Now price of under $100.00 . How does the HIFONICS compare to MMATS ??? Couldn't honestly tell you. But if I had too replace my MMATS D200hc, I'd take a long hard look at HIFONICS BRUTUS line of amps. hifonics/amps_brutus
 
The Brutus series of amps are overrated (do not produce what they advertise), but not greatly so. And evenb considering they are less wattage than they advertise, I agree they are still a great deal. I looked hard at them before deciding on PG Tantrum 1200.1's instead.
 
chevyin said:
The Brutus series of amps are overrated (do not produce what they advertise), but not greatly so. And evenb considering they are less wattage than they advertise, I agree they are still a great deal. I looked hard at them before deciding on PG Tantrum 1200.1's instead.
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I hear ya, but consittering the Brutus series 1200 watt amp still does over 1000 watts, it's not a major issue. I've heard that they (Hifonics) have corrected the over rateing issue. The the 2006 amps do what they're rated for. But that may just be a rumor. Anywho, for the deals you can get on Hifonics, it's hard too pass on them. I'd go with the BXi 1206D for the 12" L7 subwoofer and the ZXi 4406 4 channel amp for the Infinity Kappa's. Pheonix Gold is good stuff too, but alittle more coin. I'm running a entry level PG 4 channel amp myself. At the time price was one of my main concerns. I was looking at MMATS, TREO, Hifonics, Pheonix Gold, US Amps, and Zapco. I needed a 4 channel amp that was 2 ohm stable and roughly 100 watts per channel. I got the best deal with the PG at the time.
 
Here is something thats been buggging me the last week. I want to put my sub (12" Kicker L7) in the rear quarter panel of my blazer, but how would I do it? Sealed or ported? MDF, fiberglass, how would it work? Anyone in here done this before? Any ideas?
 
Z3PR said:
Ported will be louder, but will require a much larger box.
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Anyone have any idea if putting the sub in the rear quarter is even possible with a ported or sealed box? Or am I smoking crack? Update on the stuff I'm buying:

Sub: Kicker '06 L7 Dual 2 ohm 12" (RMS 750W) or 15" (RMS 1000W)
Amp: Hifonics BXi1206D (RMS 900W at 2 ohms) or BXi1606D (RMS 1100W at 2 ohms)

HU: Pioneer DEH-P5800MP (MOSFET 50WX4 powering tweeters)
Pioneer CD-IB100 (iPod interface adapter)

Front Speakers: Infinity Kappa 50.7cs Component System 5.25" and 1" Tweeter (RMS 85W at 2 ohms)
Rear Speakers: Infinity Kappa 462.7cfp Rear Plates 4"X6" (RMS 60W at 2 ohms)
Amp: Hifonics ZXi3406 RMS 75WX4 at 2 ohms (Amp is powering rear plates and 5.25" speakers)

I played around with this HU and I LOVED it. :D I also listened to everything in the list except the amps...but I trust you guys on that one! I can't wait to start buying stuff! :D :doah::haha:
 
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TexasA&Mblazer said:
Anyone have any idea if putting the sub in the rear quarter is even possible with a ported or sealed box? Or am I smoking crack? Update on the stuff I'm buying:

Sub: Kicker '06 L7 12" 1500W Dual 2 ohm
Amp: Hifonics BX1206D 1200W (RMS 900W at 2 ohm)

HU: Pioneer DEH-P5800MP (MOSFET 50WX4 powering rear plates) :bow:
Pioneer CD-IB100 (iPod interface adapter)
Rear Speakers: Infinity Kappa 462.7cfp Rear Plates 4"X6" 180W (RMS 60W at 2 ohms)

Front Speakers: Infinity Kappa 50.7cs 5.25" Component System (RMS 85W at 2 ohms)
Amp: Hifonics ZX4400 RMS 110WX4 at 2 ohms (I will be turning down the amp)

I played around with this HU and I LOVED it. :D I also listened to everything in the list except the amps...but I trust you guys on that one! I can't wait to start buying stuff! :D :doah::haha:
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I'm sure a side panal box can be built, but it probley won't be flush like the stock side panel. It'll probley stick out alittle bit. I recomend swinging by a couple of car stereo shops and seeing what they recomend and what they would charge you.
 
Well, I've been looking around for subs and I'm starting to consider more and more the JL Audio 12" W7. Anyone have experience with these? Think they're worth the money?
 
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