I was wondering what would be a good 4 channel amp for my system. I am looking to spend less than $200 and want about 50w RMS per channel at 4 ohms. I will be using the amp to drive the low side of my 4 Blau 3-way interior speakers.
So far I am looking at three amps:
-JBL P80.4. Puts out 40W per channel at 4 ohms. $120 from ebay.I
-MTX Thunder564. Puts out 45W per channel at 4 ohms. $190 from ebay.
-Blaupunkt PCA450. Puts out 50W per channel at 4 ohms. $100
What does everyone think of these amps, and is there something better I have not looked into?
Replies (12)
Jebus on 01/7/2004 14:24:51
Just found this on Avionixx's site, seems like my best bet for bang/buck if it's a quality item.
-Tsunami DB4440. 75W per channel at 4 ohms. $165.
Avionixx says that they made this amp for Tsunami, and it seems to have very high-end features for an amp of this price (e.g. 0-180 variable phase switch).
BTW, all wattage figures I have given are RMS.
alanjlamore on 01/7/2004 18:44:58
I have a Sony xplod, 4 channel amp (XM 475gsx) and I'm going to sell cheap because I only have 2 speakers in my truck, and my HU puts out 50watts anyway.
The cheapest I've seen in online is $145.00.
I'll be willing to sell it for $90 plus shipping.
This amp puts out 75w RMS per channel. Here's a link I found to show it:
http://shopping.yahoo.com/p_sony-xm-475gsx_car-audio-amplifier_1990889643
You can also look on ebay, I think it shows all the specs there.
If you're interested you can email me at alanjlamore@hotmail.com.
Munchiesyumm on 01/7/2004 19:21:20
What are you planning to hook up to this amp?
I would highly suggest the JBL over any of those other amps. The JBL is an outstanding amplifer that will do wounders for you're speakers just be aware the JBL amp is under rated. What is the RMS on the speakers?
If you want to upgrade you might as well spend a little more and get what you want. You obviously are tired of the poor quality of the sony so in this instance I would not sell it and buy another knock off brand.
It's the best bang for your buck and very high quality amp. This will be night and day difference from your sony amplifer which I am happy you are getting rid of!
alanjlamore on 01/7/2004 19:32:23
Munchiesyumm when you said "You obviously are tired of the poor quality of the sony so in this instance I would not sell it and buy another knock off brand" you might have gotten the posts a little mixed up? :)
I'm the one selling the sony amp because I'm going with no amp instead to save space and overall wattage in my system, and Jebus is the one looking for an amp.
It sounded great for me with the 50w RMS speakers I have and the 90w RMS speakers I used to have.
I'm not doughting that the other amps might be of a better quality though. I just thought I'd put it out there that I'm selling it (not meant to be a SPAM post).
It's over a year old, so I don't know if Jebus is looking for something newer/better or not.
Jebus on 01/7/2004 20:17:13
Thanks for the offer, but I am looking for something new, and I've not heard anything good about Sony amps.
The RMS on my speakers is 50W. I know that JBL stuff is good, I bought a P600.1 on reccomendation from this site, and am very happy with it. I put the P80.4 on my list because of my P600.1s excellent performance.
I am considering the MTX Thunder 564 because the JBL P80.4 lacks some features I like, such as the option to use only one set of RCA inputs for all 4 speaker outputs (my HU has only one set of preouts) and an RCA level output for hooking up another amplifier (same reason as last parentheses).
I know that I could use an RCA splitter to hook up both amps and another splitter on the 4 channel amp to drive all the channels, but this seems like a signal robbing and inelegant solution.
It seems to me that plugging in my one set of RCAs to the MTX amp to drive all four channels then using the RCA level outputs it has to hook up my JBL sub amp will give me a cleaner and stronger signal to both amps. If this is not the case, please correct me, as I am a relative neophyte to car audio.
Also, since MTX rates their amps at 12.5 volts on their website, their wattage rating appear to be honest. Does anyone have an opinion about MTX amps?
I probably will not get the Blau amp, because I will not get my employee discount on it untill I go back to work there in 3 months.
alanjlamore on 01/7/2004 21:08:35
I think MTX has gotten a lot better with their amps and subs in the last year or two.
I had an MTX amp with better subs than the ones I have now, but they all got stolen from my appt. before I could hook them up. That's why I had to settle for the cheaper amps subs and front speakers.
I've heard a lot of good things about MTX now, but I know some people who still talk bad about them because I guess they weren't as good a while back.
cplkittle on 01/8/2004 21:11:35
MTX rates their amps at 12.5v to get RMS wattage, any company that does that is good in my book..
They test each amplifier at 14.4v and you get a certificate of authentic max power for each sub at that voltage. Sounds like they are going out of their way to prove themselves, and why not when you have the goods to back it up.
www.mtxaudio.com
good website, alot of useful information, and a very helpful 'education' section.
Munchiesyumm on 01/8/2004 21:09:42
Oh sorry alanjlamore, I .. I am known for reading things wrong. I am colorblind and often times messes when I am reading with a dark shade background it gets confusing if the letters are not really big!
sorry.. lol really messed up that for you!
Yea... but sony amps are not that great. You're right they do work and they are pretty cheap but It's not giving out the RMS rating, I would not recommend one. You may like your speakers better with out the amp.
Once again sorry I am working on reading through things twice so this doesn't happen.
MTX amplifers are great amps! One of the very few TRUE RATED amplifers that will work very well, you will be happy with it. It has many great features like the one you noted!
good luck!
alanjlamore on 01/8/2004 21:22:03
lol, not a problem about "messing up" the sale of the amp :D ;)
I did some asking around about MTX amps at work (I work with a lot of electricians and computer techs who get into car audio), and most of them like MTX amps.
Jebus on 01/9/2004 22:14:28
Well, I'm gald to see that you've heard good things about Mtx amps. Within the next couple of days, I'll get one off of ebay. Thanks.
fitz1465 on 01/10/2004 00:03:39
jebus, you can never go wrong with a kicker or mtx amp.....i have installed many of both.......the only thing i like about the kicker amps better are the controls being much easier to work with. for 5-10 $ more you can usually get a similar model of kicker comparable to the mtx power wise....besides, kicker rates at 13.8v rms which is what most people are likely to get while a vehicle is running, not the dynamic power at 14.4v that MTX rates on....again, both are still good amps so buy either
compvr15s on 01/10/2004 07:54:00
id be careful with mtx amps. i used to have a 4 chanel thunder 304. it would overheat in less than a half hour. had good 4awg power and ground, i dont know what was wrong with it, it really brought my speakers to life for the 25 or 30 minutes that it ran though. im thinkin about a kicker 4 channel to accomidate my two kicker kx600.1s i think the amps look awesome with the grill on them, there are comparable amps for cheaper though. good luck not tryin to steer you away from mtx maybe i just had a bad amp but just lettin you know my experience.
So far I am looking at three amps:
-JBL P80.4. Puts out 40W per channel at 4 ohms. $120 from ebay.I
-MTX Thunder564. Puts out 45W per channel at 4 ohms. $190 from ebay.
-Blaupunkt PCA450. Puts out 50W per channel at 4 ohms. $100
What does everyone think of these amps, and is there something better I have not looked into?
Replies (12)
Jebus on 01/7/2004 14:24:51
Just found this on Avionixx's site, seems like my best bet for bang/buck if it's a quality item.
-Tsunami DB4440. 75W per channel at 4 ohms. $165.
Avionixx says that they made this amp for Tsunami, and it seems to have very high-end features for an amp of this price (e.g. 0-180 variable phase switch).
BTW, all wattage figures I have given are RMS.
alanjlamore on 01/7/2004 18:44:58
I have a Sony xplod, 4 channel amp (XM 475gsx) and I'm going to sell cheap because I only have 2 speakers in my truck, and my HU puts out 50watts anyway.
The cheapest I've seen in online is $145.00.
I'll be willing to sell it for $90 plus shipping.
This amp puts out 75w RMS per channel. Here's a link I found to show it:
http://shopping.yahoo.com/p_sony-xm-475gsx_car-audio-amplifier_1990889643
You can also look on ebay, I think it shows all the specs there.
If you're interested you can email me at alanjlamore@hotmail.com.
Munchiesyumm on 01/7/2004 19:21:20
What are you planning to hook up to this amp?
I would highly suggest the JBL over any of those other amps. The JBL is an outstanding amplifer that will do wounders for you're speakers just be aware the JBL amp is under rated. What is the RMS on the speakers?
If you want to upgrade you might as well spend a little more and get what you want. You obviously are tired of the poor quality of the sony so in this instance I would not sell it and buy another knock off brand.
It's the best bang for your buck and very high quality amp. This will be night and day difference from your sony amplifer which I am happy you are getting rid of!
alanjlamore on 01/7/2004 19:32:23
Munchiesyumm when you said "You obviously are tired of the poor quality of the sony so in this instance I would not sell it and buy another knock off brand" you might have gotten the posts a little mixed up? :)
I'm the one selling the sony amp because I'm going with no amp instead to save space and overall wattage in my system, and Jebus is the one looking for an amp.
It sounded great for me with the 50w RMS speakers I have and the 90w RMS speakers I used to have.
I'm not doughting that the other amps might be of a better quality though. I just thought I'd put it out there that I'm selling it (not meant to be a SPAM post).
It's over a year old, so I don't know if Jebus is looking for something newer/better or not.
Jebus on 01/7/2004 20:17:13
Thanks for the offer, but I am looking for something new, and I've not heard anything good about Sony amps.
The RMS on my speakers is 50W. I know that JBL stuff is good, I bought a P600.1 on reccomendation from this site, and am very happy with it. I put the P80.4 on my list because of my P600.1s excellent performance.
I am considering the MTX Thunder 564 because the JBL P80.4 lacks some features I like, such as the option to use only one set of RCA inputs for all 4 speaker outputs (my HU has only one set of preouts) and an RCA level output for hooking up another amplifier (same reason as last parentheses).
I know that I could use an RCA splitter to hook up both amps and another splitter on the 4 channel amp to drive all the channels, but this seems like a signal robbing and inelegant solution.
It seems to me that plugging in my one set of RCAs to the MTX amp to drive all four channels then using the RCA level outputs it has to hook up my JBL sub amp will give me a cleaner and stronger signal to both amps. If this is not the case, please correct me, as I am a relative neophyte to car audio.
Also, since MTX rates their amps at 12.5 volts on their website, their wattage rating appear to be honest. Does anyone have an opinion about MTX amps?
I probably will not get the Blau amp, because I will not get my employee discount on it untill I go back to work there in 3 months.
alanjlamore on 01/7/2004 21:08:35
I think MTX has gotten a lot better with their amps and subs in the last year or two.
I had an MTX amp with better subs than the ones I have now, but they all got stolen from my appt. before I could hook them up. That's why I had to settle for the cheaper amps subs and front speakers.
I've heard a lot of good things about MTX now, but I know some people who still talk bad about them because I guess they weren't as good a while back.
cplkittle on 01/8/2004 21:11:35
MTX rates their amps at 12.5v to get RMS wattage, any company that does that is good in my book..
They test each amplifier at 14.4v and you get a certificate of authentic max power for each sub at that voltage. Sounds like they are going out of their way to prove themselves, and why not when you have the goods to back it up.
www.mtxaudio.com
good website, alot of useful information, and a very helpful 'education' section.
Munchiesyumm on 01/8/2004 21:09:42
Oh sorry alanjlamore, I .. I am known for reading things wrong. I am colorblind and often times messes when I am reading with a dark shade background it gets confusing if the letters are not really big!
sorry.. lol really messed up that for you!
Yea... but sony amps are not that great. You're right they do work and they are pretty cheap but It's not giving out the RMS rating, I would not recommend one. You may like your speakers better with out the amp.
Once again sorry I am working on reading through things twice so this doesn't happen.
MTX amplifers are great amps! One of the very few TRUE RATED amplifers that will work very well, you will be happy with it. It has many great features like the one you noted!
good luck!
alanjlamore on 01/8/2004 21:22:03
lol, not a problem about "messing up" the sale of the amp :D ;)
I did some asking around about MTX amps at work (I work with a lot of electricians and computer techs who get into car audio), and most of them like MTX amps.
Jebus on 01/9/2004 22:14:28
Well, I'm gald to see that you've heard good things about Mtx amps. Within the next couple of days, I'll get one off of ebay. Thanks.
fitz1465 on 01/10/2004 00:03:39
jebus, you can never go wrong with a kicker or mtx amp.....i have installed many of both.......the only thing i like about the kicker amps better are the controls being much easier to work with. for 5-10 $ more you can usually get a similar model of kicker comparable to the mtx power wise....besides, kicker rates at 13.8v rms which is what most people are likely to get while a vehicle is running, not the dynamic power at 14.4v that MTX rates on....again, both are still good amps so buy either
compvr15s on 01/10/2004 07:54:00
id be careful with mtx amps. i used to have a 4 chanel thunder 304. it would overheat in less than a half hour. had good 4awg power and ground, i dont know what was wrong with it, it really brought my speakers to life for the 25 or 30 minutes that it ran though. im thinkin about a kicker 4 channel to accomidate my two kicker kx600.1s i think the amps look awesome with the grill on them, there are comparable amps for cheaper though. good luck not tryin to steer you away from mtx maybe i just had a bad amp but just lettin you know my experience.
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