I was looking for an amp for a friend and I think I found a good one in the new Kicker 600.1, but I have a few questions about it that hopefully you guys can help with. I was looking at the specs of it and it 600 watts RMS @ 13.8v which is good, but then I looked at the dynamic power and it said 690 watts @14.4v. Now I thought Dynamic power was always double of what the RMS power was. Is that wrong with Class D amps, or is this amp just different? Also I was wondering if anyone knew if this thing has that clipping protection like RF amps do. I mean sometimes a song might clip the amp and I don't wanna have to have him deal with it cutting out just cause it clipped on one song like those new RF amps. Thanks for the help.
Replies (19)
compvr15s on 05/7/2003 13:18:22
i have two kx600.1s and i have never had a problem with clipping the amp. these amps have never shut off or anyhting once, they dont even warm up, that built in fan must help alot. i have ran them for 5-6 hours strait with the subs pounding and ya couldnt even notice a temp difference. just make sure you have a very good ground. as for the power issure i dont know bout that. i think dynamic power is just a turn they use when you give the amp more power than they rate it at. i have never seen an amp that double its power for dynamic rating.
Swez on 05/7/2003 13:50:58
"Dynamic power" is just a buzz word (read HYPE) to confuse the not so experienced. No car electrical system stock from the factory, can deliver a constant 14.4 volts supply from the ALT. A special power supply can do that off a bench test... but not typical in any car I am aware of to date.
Besides, the difference in 600 RMS VS 700 watts RMS would barely be heard... like 0.5dB at best.
Kicker is a good amp and it will do as rated, perhaps a wee bit more. But you need to know this is only at 2 ohms loads. If you run a 4 ohm load, output is cut 50% (300 RMS) or in dB terms... -3 dB less output.
Swez
xplicitblitzboi on 05/7/2003 13:57:41
well, there is a large problem in the car audio industry with overrating of products, companies like legacy, pyramid, boss, volfenhag, and audiovox have low quality products that are too overrated, for example, the legacy 1200 watt amp says 1200 watts right on the amp, but it only has a 30 amp fuse. That is some horrible overrating. The thing with kicker is that it usually rates its products fairly accurately, so the max power rating will not be as outrageous as the other lower echilan(sp?) companies.
I would definately reccomend this amp, good choice, but i dont know about the clip protection. might have to ask someone else
xplicitblitzboi on 05/7/2003 14:03:26
DAMMIT SWEZ, LOL, THATS TWICE U REPLYED RIGHT BE4 ME
Swez on 05/7/2003 17:24:44
Hey dude.... age before beauty rules!
Besides, you write long replies to drive home the point... my answers are a bit more concise. That's the difference between 20 and 40+ year olds... hehe
LOL
Swez
xplicitblitzboi on 05/7/2003 20:52:29
concise? hahahaha, look at this one!
http://www.clubknowledge.com/cgi-bin/car_audio_faq/faq.cgi?g120
lol, thats like a freakin novel.
and about the beauty comment, now that i think of it, i AM pretty damn good lookin :) hahaha
Swez on 05/8/2003 06:53:53
Very good Blitz! hehehehe
And yes, I have been know to write very long, detailed explainations as needed... but only if the topic and readers need that detail...
That post you mentioned, I only collaborated with the original author on that topic. He wrote it and I only pasted that content from FAQ topic on another site... so, not all my words and did state same in the body of that thread too.
"and about the beauty comment, now that i think of it, i AM pretty damn good lookin :) hahaha " same here... but I take no real credit for that... was my Mother's genes that provided that.
BTW... this Sunday is Mother's Day... don't forget to buy her a card, some small gift... whatever. After all, she got us into the game of life.. the rest is up to us!
xplicitblitzboi on 05/8/2003 10:40:25
yep, my birthday is on tuesday too, so i'll be gettin her something on sunday and then she gets me something on tuesday :)
Swez on 05/8/2003 14:01:42
Happy birthday Blitz!
Swez
audionewb on 05/9/2003 12:07:00
It says I should run a 4 gauge wire to it. Does it really need a 4 gauge? I have a 600 watt amp and it only needs an 8 gauge. What would be the effects if I used an 8 gauge because that is what he has ran in his car.
Swez on 05/9/2003 12:44:45
Yes, #4 gage wire is appropriate, although #6 will work... but if you elect to add a larger amp later, have plenty of current capacity in #4 to expand if you desire.
If you run #8 here now, you're stuck as far as system growth is concerned. You'd have to pull it out and add #4 all over again. I know this as I have #8 now for my 300 watt RMS sub amp. Am planning to add a 4 channel soon and need to replace the #8 with #4. That was my blunder... not planning ahead... but I know better now.
In short, use #4 and you'll have room to grow later and plenty of extra current carrying ability now and later.
Swez
audionewb on 05/9/2003 19:05:44
Well unfortunately, I have already ran the 8 gauge awhile ago. I told him to go 4 but he didn't want to. Anyways, running 8 gauge to that amp will be ok, or do you think it will need the power of a 4 gauge straight to it because I think that's what it said in the online manual I looked at.
Swez on 05/10/2003 05:37:48
He might get by on #8 if he does not crank the system for long periods of time... but the power wire may get a bit warm after a time at high power draw.
Here's a wire gage VS amp power drawn breakdown. #8 gage is safely rated for 52.5 amps of current flow. #4 is 132 amps.
Have a look at this FAQ: http://pub51.ezboard.com/fcaraudioknowledgefrm7.showMessage?topicID=12.topic
Swez
audionewb on 05/12/2003 18:44:33
Well it does say only 60 Amps that it will draw(fuse size).
ttocs on 05/12/2003 19:08:47
8 awg is rated for 30 amps safely, 4 is rated for 60....
audionewb on 05/13/2003 15:46:58
I got 2 people tellign me different things.
Buickman94 on 05/13/2003 16:31:50
Those last ratings seem really conservative compared to the ones that Swez gave, from the link to Mr. Bs forum. 2 different answers from 2 people who both know what there talking about is definatly gonna confuse people. neither of you mentioned the length of wire being used when you gave the amp rating...could that be the reason you are giving differnet recommendations?
ttocs on 05/13/2003 16:56:51
hadn't seent that from swez.. I was going by what I was trained by a few years back, generally referring to the mecp manual at the time as I was going for my cert. I know that #4 and #8 can handle more then that, but for how long? know that #8 with 30 amps on it will work safely all day(IE not getting hot). It CAN take more then that for short bursts, but the more current and more time that it has, will lead to failure eventually. I would have to say to ERR on the side of caution there myself...
Swez on 05/17/2003 15:48:03
If he has #8 now, pressing the envelope if he tries to go past 40 amps of current draw. Can always add a 2nd parallel #8 to give you a net #4 gage wire to this amp.
I think ttocks learned to be very conservative on wire gage install and that's not a bad thing. The data I noted, came from the Eatel site . Even here, the gage wire recommended is on the conservative side, allowing for up to 0.5 volts (max.) drop due to length of wire needed.
In any event, #4 or 2x #8 is better than a single #8 for this sub amp.
Swez
Replies (19)
compvr15s on 05/7/2003 13:18:22
i have two kx600.1s and i have never had a problem with clipping the amp. these amps have never shut off or anyhting once, they dont even warm up, that built in fan must help alot. i have ran them for 5-6 hours strait with the subs pounding and ya couldnt even notice a temp difference. just make sure you have a very good ground. as for the power issure i dont know bout that. i think dynamic power is just a turn they use when you give the amp more power than they rate it at. i have never seen an amp that double its power for dynamic rating.
Swez on 05/7/2003 13:50:58
"Dynamic power" is just a buzz word (read HYPE) to confuse the not so experienced. No car electrical system stock from the factory, can deliver a constant 14.4 volts supply from the ALT. A special power supply can do that off a bench test... but not typical in any car I am aware of to date.
Besides, the difference in 600 RMS VS 700 watts RMS would barely be heard... like 0.5dB at best.
Kicker is a good amp and it will do as rated, perhaps a wee bit more. But you need to know this is only at 2 ohms loads. If you run a 4 ohm load, output is cut 50% (300 RMS) or in dB terms... -3 dB less output.
Swez
xplicitblitzboi on 05/7/2003 13:57:41
well, there is a large problem in the car audio industry with overrating of products, companies like legacy, pyramid, boss, volfenhag, and audiovox have low quality products that are too overrated, for example, the legacy 1200 watt amp says 1200 watts right on the amp, but it only has a 30 amp fuse. That is some horrible overrating. The thing with kicker is that it usually rates its products fairly accurately, so the max power rating will not be as outrageous as the other lower echilan(sp?) companies.
I would definately reccomend this amp, good choice, but i dont know about the clip protection. might have to ask someone else
xplicitblitzboi on 05/7/2003 14:03:26
DAMMIT SWEZ, LOL, THATS TWICE U REPLYED RIGHT BE4 ME
Swez on 05/7/2003 17:24:44
Hey dude.... age before beauty rules!
Besides, you write long replies to drive home the point... my answers are a bit more concise. That's the difference between 20 and 40+ year olds... hehe
LOL
Swez
xplicitblitzboi on 05/7/2003 20:52:29
concise? hahahaha, look at this one!
http://www.clubknowledge.com/cgi-bin/car_audio_faq/faq.cgi?g120
lol, thats like a freakin novel.
and about the beauty comment, now that i think of it, i AM pretty damn good lookin :) hahaha
Swez on 05/8/2003 06:53:53
Very good Blitz! hehehehe
And yes, I have been know to write very long, detailed explainations as needed... but only if the topic and readers need that detail...
That post you mentioned, I only collaborated with the original author on that topic. He wrote it and I only pasted that content from FAQ topic on another site... so, not all my words and did state same in the body of that thread too.
"and about the beauty comment, now that i think of it, i AM pretty damn good lookin :) hahaha " same here... but I take no real credit for that... was my Mother's genes that provided that.
BTW... this Sunday is Mother's Day... don't forget to buy her a card, some small gift... whatever. After all, she got us into the game of life.. the rest is up to us!
xplicitblitzboi on 05/8/2003 10:40:25
yep, my birthday is on tuesday too, so i'll be gettin her something on sunday and then she gets me something on tuesday :)
Swez on 05/8/2003 14:01:42
Happy birthday Blitz!
Swez
audionewb on 05/9/2003 12:07:00
It says I should run a 4 gauge wire to it. Does it really need a 4 gauge? I have a 600 watt amp and it only needs an 8 gauge. What would be the effects if I used an 8 gauge because that is what he has ran in his car.
Swez on 05/9/2003 12:44:45
Yes, #4 gage wire is appropriate, although #6 will work... but if you elect to add a larger amp later, have plenty of current capacity in #4 to expand if you desire.
If you run #8 here now, you're stuck as far as system growth is concerned. You'd have to pull it out and add #4 all over again. I know this as I have #8 now for my 300 watt RMS sub amp. Am planning to add a 4 channel soon and need to replace the #8 with #4. That was my blunder... not planning ahead... but I know better now.
In short, use #4 and you'll have room to grow later and plenty of extra current carrying ability now and later.
Swez
audionewb on 05/9/2003 19:05:44
Well unfortunately, I have already ran the 8 gauge awhile ago. I told him to go 4 but he didn't want to. Anyways, running 8 gauge to that amp will be ok, or do you think it will need the power of a 4 gauge straight to it because I think that's what it said in the online manual I looked at.
Swez on 05/10/2003 05:37:48
He might get by on #8 if he does not crank the system for long periods of time... but the power wire may get a bit warm after a time at high power draw.
Here's a wire gage VS amp power drawn breakdown. #8 gage is safely rated for 52.5 amps of current flow. #4 is 132 amps.
Have a look at this FAQ: http://pub51.ezboard.com/fcaraudioknowledgefrm7.showMessage?topicID=12.topic
Swez
audionewb on 05/12/2003 18:44:33
Well it does say only 60 Amps that it will draw(fuse size).
ttocs on 05/12/2003 19:08:47
8 awg is rated for 30 amps safely, 4 is rated for 60....
audionewb on 05/13/2003 15:46:58
I got 2 people tellign me different things.
Buickman94 on 05/13/2003 16:31:50
Those last ratings seem really conservative compared to the ones that Swez gave, from the link to Mr. Bs forum. 2 different answers from 2 people who both know what there talking about is definatly gonna confuse people. neither of you mentioned the length of wire being used when you gave the amp rating...could that be the reason you are giving differnet recommendations?
ttocs on 05/13/2003 16:56:51
hadn't seent that from swez.. I was going by what I was trained by a few years back, generally referring to the mecp manual at the time as I was going for my cert. I know that #4 and #8 can handle more then that, but for how long? know that #8 with 30 amps on it will work safely all day(IE not getting hot). It CAN take more then that for short bursts, but the more current and more time that it has, will lead to failure eventually. I would have to say to ERR on the side of caution there myself...
Swez on 05/17/2003 15:48:03
If he has #8 now, pressing the envelope if he tries to go past 40 amps of current draw. Can always add a 2nd parallel #8 to give you a net #4 gage wire to this amp.
I think ttocks learned to be very conservative on wire gage install and that's not a bad thing. The data I noted, came from the Eatel site . Even here, the gage wire recommended is on the conservative side, allowing for up to 0.5 volts (max.) drop due to length of wire needed.
In any event, #4 or 2x #8 is better than a single #8 for this sub amp.
Swez
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