to clean it up a lil.. here is the link to the old tread
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?g5712_4
now after i got the bills paid back from that tv, oh my its nice...i want to get back into the car audio but i'm not sure of what to buy. i have been looking around on ebay. i want to get a amp frist then the subs to match the amp, so i know what ohm vc's to get. im looking for a 500-1000+w rms amp in a single (mono) or 2 channel.
now my choice is go new or go old ?
i have found some nice older amps to power my sub(s) that i will be getting. like soundstream, phonix gold the old white ms amps. US amps, older orion, crossfire (cfa model), mmats. from what i also looked at i see alot of zed audio or zed made. what was/is the zed audio mean ?
i am a little afraid of getting the new stuff because i see alot of people say on ebay that this brand is now made in china, this one is from when they still made them in the US. that sort of thing, should i have to worrie about where the amps were once made and they are better now?
lets take crossfire, the older amps are great i have have my share of them and i like them, the old cfa models. now they have came out with the xp newer ones. the only thing i dislike about them is that the crossfire logo on top of the amp lights up. to make them more apeal to people. i think it just uses power and to some (i may start to compeat again) they need all the power they can get? the older cfa's had nothing like this. is it just me, or is the newer stuff just as good as the older?
Replies (9)
trunkisloud on 05/30/2008 01:44:06
i would think about what kinda sound you want...how much room it will take up...how many of what subs...and what is in the budget...i would get the subs first and then the amp to match....zed is a company that made lanzar, autotek, and other names back in the day. .when selling on ebay people often use the name zed audio to refer to a period when those brands were great..one of the things that people like about em was they underrated their power..you could get an amp for competition rated at 50wx2 and really be puttin out 400w and still run in the weaker class..sure the older amps that you mentioned are good....but considered dinosaurs now...and still expensive....you can get sufficient power with better circuitry to run the subs for less money....
ckoscin2 on 06/4/2008 13:56:18
today i went out to the local shops and i found one store had a USED kicker zx 1000.1 (1000w rms @ 2ohm) for 300. is this a good deal ? i also saw the 750's but i really dont want to pay retail prices for them.
i found at another store they had kicker L7 12's 4ohm dvc.
would this combo work even tho the 12 is only 750 rms ? if i get the pair how far can i turn up the gain. i was going to try to get a ported prefab box for it. i may make one myself down the road. i dont want to compeat, just street bump. i may go to a comp once just to see how loud i am.
thanks guys
Ash on 06/5/2008 08:05:04
Be careful when purchasing on ebay. A lot of people use the name Zed to try and sell gear that isn't Zed made. Although it may be the same brand, it also may be a later year amp that Zed didn't design. I've seen this on numerous amps that may be okay, but definitely wasn't made during that era or by Zed.
The best thing to do is some deep research on the particular gear that you are interested in if possible. Some companies still keep manuals, specs, etc on file in their archives that is free for you to see.
Ash
ckoscin2 on 06/6/2008 16:39:42
thanks ash......as you say this now i may stay away from those and stick with brands i know like zapco, crossfire, diamond and mmats. i like zapco and i hear mmats are very efficient on power, so i may go with just the eather of the two. i havent had or known anyone with kicker amps
i just found a nice modded mmats amp on ebay today so im going to ride it out and see how much it goes for. but it says in the auction that its missing the screws to the power and the ground, would this be hard to find new ones? here is the item number to the auction to see what i mean: item 250256104194
how many db's would i gain about when i would go from one 12" kicker L7 to two. i am debating (sp?) weather to go with one or two kicker L7's ?
Ash on 06/6/2008 21:51:34
Those amps are good choices in high quality with Zapco & Mmats being the top tier of that selection.
The modded amp scares me a bit. It could have been professionally done, but where's the proof? Also, if it breaks will the manufacturer be willing to work on it. Of course it's not warrantied, but they do have a right to refuse service if someone else did the mods. Perhaps you could contact them via email to see....
As far as the screws missing, that's nothing to find down at any local hardware store like Ace. Probably cost around 10-50 cents each at the most....?
The net gain from the doubling of cone area is usually 3db over a single sub which is equal to twice the power on the single if it can handle it. This can vary in use depending on the enclosure used, as ported is more efficient than sealed and adds to db's as well. If you want SPL and have the room and power then go for it.
ckoscin2 on 06/7/2008 05:48:21
i dont want it to be too loud on daily use but when i want to be LOUD i can.....if i pick up a bigger amp i was maybe thinking of going to some comps on my free time, i started to get into the comp thing but i decided to go esle where and play paintball. now i have to travel 3 hours to play so i am selling off my toys and gettign back into car audio again
i just messaged the person who is selling it, so i will go from there after he messages me back. i have heard/read somewhere that mmats did do mods but i forget what it was and what it did.
swez on 06/7/2008 06:32:07
It would be good to know the mods that were done. It could be a simple upgrade to stronger output transistors or they may have modified the power supply to an un-regulated version or both.
If the power supply regulator was modified, the more voltage/current = wattage the amp receives, the more power/wattage it can deliver to the back end amplifier circuits. But to take full advantage of this modification, one needs to know EXACTLY what was done in the original modification.
There are several Competition Amps out there that employ un-regulated power supplies. Some will take 14-16 volts of input power to get the most from them. However, most vehicles are limited to about 14.? volts at full output.
To get more voltage, requires a Non-OEM type ALT/Regulator. These often bypass the internal ALT regulator and use an outboard regulator for several good reasons. (These can pass 16+ volts to the amp, but that often means a dedicated ALT to power these type of amplifiers)
Franlkly, the Kicker ZX-1000.1 is a good option. This amp is strong when the power supply that feeds it is up to snuff. I have heard the older 750's and the original L7's off a AC/DC power supply. They were strong and very robust. This dealer used dedicated AC/DC power supplies to power each amp/sub combo. (Not what ew see in most vehicles)
The bass was clean, strong and very powerful when using a pair of ported L-15's. Unfortunately, the chances of repeating this gut-rattling sound/bass in most OEM systems were not possible w/o expensive electrical mods. Think it over before you dive in OK?
Swez
ckoscin2 on 06/26/2008 09:06:56
i picked up an amp the other week off ebay. its a nib rockford 25 to life punch 150. i got it home and hooked it up and everything works fine. i have it on my gf's subs that are 2 12" diamond audio m3 duel 4 ohm vc's, but sence they are my gf's i dont want to blow them up. this amp is only rated at 150 watts but the birth sheet says its 923w rms @ 2 ohm w/ all channels combined. now does this mean the same as bridged into a 4 ohm load?
i only have the gain turned about 1/4 the way up and its loud. the subs sound fine. the subs are 400w rms and so the B.S. of the amp says its more. so i want to get better subs to match the amp.
now im looking into getting some subs. i was thinking of getting 2 kicker L7's 12's but are there any others that i should look into befor i buy. i found some cheaper remanufactored(sp) L7's that have a 90 day garentee. i like to listen to everything but country, mostly rap that has alot of bass.
here is a link to the birth sheet (bs)
http://www.putfile.com/pic/8349739
oh yeah i think i got a good deal it was 200 shipped still had the shrink wrap on it when i got it ? how much did these go for new when they came out in about 05 ?
oh yeah it says its limited ed. mine is munber 7 out of 2500.
newB on 06/26/2008 09:52:52
Subs: DC lvl 2s or 3s www.dcsoundlab.com
Amps: www.db-r.com Sundown amps (refurb for budget, new if $ allows) his refurbs come with warranty and have awesome quality
-Drew
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?g5712_4
now after i got the bills paid back from that tv, oh my its nice...i want to get back into the car audio but i'm not sure of what to buy. i have been looking around on ebay. i want to get a amp frist then the subs to match the amp, so i know what ohm vc's to get. im looking for a 500-1000+w rms amp in a single (mono) or 2 channel.
now my choice is go new or go old ?
i have found some nice older amps to power my sub(s) that i will be getting. like soundstream, phonix gold the old white ms amps. US amps, older orion, crossfire (cfa model), mmats. from what i also looked at i see alot of zed audio or zed made. what was/is the zed audio mean ?
i am a little afraid of getting the new stuff because i see alot of people say on ebay that this brand is now made in china, this one is from when they still made them in the US. that sort of thing, should i have to worrie about where the amps were once made and they are better now?
lets take crossfire, the older amps are great i have have my share of them and i like them, the old cfa models. now they have came out with the xp newer ones. the only thing i dislike about them is that the crossfire logo on top of the amp lights up. to make them more apeal to people. i think it just uses power and to some (i may start to compeat again) they need all the power they can get? the older cfa's had nothing like this. is it just me, or is the newer stuff just as good as the older?
Replies (9)
trunkisloud on 05/30/2008 01:44:06
i would think about what kinda sound you want...how much room it will take up...how many of what subs...and what is in the budget...i would get the subs first and then the amp to match....zed is a company that made lanzar, autotek, and other names back in the day. .when selling on ebay people often use the name zed audio to refer to a period when those brands were great..one of the things that people like about em was they underrated their power..you could get an amp for competition rated at 50wx2 and really be puttin out 400w and still run in the weaker class..sure the older amps that you mentioned are good....but considered dinosaurs now...and still expensive....you can get sufficient power with better circuitry to run the subs for less money....
ckoscin2 on 06/4/2008 13:56:18
today i went out to the local shops and i found one store had a USED kicker zx 1000.1 (1000w rms @ 2ohm) for 300. is this a good deal ? i also saw the 750's but i really dont want to pay retail prices for them.
i found at another store they had kicker L7 12's 4ohm dvc.
would this combo work even tho the 12 is only 750 rms ? if i get the pair how far can i turn up the gain. i was going to try to get a ported prefab box for it. i may make one myself down the road. i dont want to compeat, just street bump. i may go to a comp once just to see how loud i am.
thanks guys
Ash on 06/5/2008 08:05:04
Be careful when purchasing on ebay. A lot of people use the name Zed to try and sell gear that isn't Zed made. Although it may be the same brand, it also may be a later year amp that Zed didn't design. I've seen this on numerous amps that may be okay, but definitely wasn't made during that era or by Zed.
The best thing to do is some deep research on the particular gear that you are interested in if possible. Some companies still keep manuals, specs, etc on file in their archives that is free for you to see.
Ash
ckoscin2 on 06/6/2008 16:39:42
thanks ash......as you say this now i may stay away from those and stick with brands i know like zapco, crossfire, diamond and mmats. i like zapco and i hear mmats are very efficient on power, so i may go with just the eather of the two. i havent had or known anyone with kicker amps
i just found a nice modded mmats amp on ebay today so im going to ride it out and see how much it goes for. but it says in the auction that its missing the screws to the power and the ground, would this be hard to find new ones? here is the item number to the auction to see what i mean: item 250256104194
how many db's would i gain about when i would go from one 12" kicker L7 to two. i am debating (sp?) weather to go with one or two kicker L7's ?
Ash on 06/6/2008 21:51:34
Those amps are good choices in high quality with Zapco & Mmats being the top tier of that selection.
The modded amp scares me a bit. It could have been professionally done, but where's the proof? Also, if it breaks will the manufacturer be willing to work on it. Of course it's not warrantied, but they do have a right to refuse service if someone else did the mods. Perhaps you could contact them via email to see....
As far as the screws missing, that's nothing to find down at any local hardware store like Ace. Probably cost around 10-50 cents each at the most....?
The net gain from the doubling of cone area is usually 3db over a single sub which is equal to twice the power on the single if it can handle it. This can vary in use depending on the enclosure used, as ported is more efficient than sealed and adds to db's as well. If you want SPL and have the room and power then go for it.
ckoscin2 on 06/7/2008 05:48:21
i dont want it to be too loud on daily use but when i want to be LOUD i can.....if i pick up a bigger amp i was maybe thinking of going to some comps on my free time, i started to get into the comp thing but i decided to go esle where and play paintball. now i have to travel 3 hours to play so i am selling off my toys and gettign back into car audio again
i just messaged the person who is selling it, so i will go from there after he messages me back. i have heard/read somewhere that mmats did do mods but i forget what it was and what it did.
swez on 06/7/2008 06:32:07
It would be good to know the mods that were done. It could be a simple upgrade to stronger output transistors or they may have modified the power supply to an un-regulated version or both.
If the power supply regulator was modified, the more voltage/current = wattage the amp receives, the more power/wattage it can deliver to the back end amplifier circuits. But to take full advantage of this modification, one needs to know EXACTLY what was done in the original modification.
There are several Competition Amps out there that employ un-regulated power supplies. Some will take 14-16 volts of input power to get the most from them. However, most vehicles are limited to about 14.? volts at full output.
To get more voltage, requires a Non-OEM type ALT/Regulator. These often bypass the internal ALT regulator and use an outboard regulator for several good reasons. (These can pass 16+ volts to the amp, but that often means a dedicated ALT to power these type of amplifiers)
Franlkly, the Kicker ZX-1000.1 is a good option. This amp is strong when the power supply that feeds it is up to snuff. I have heard the older 750's and the original L7's off a AC/DC power supply. They were strong and very robust. This dealer used dedicated AC/DC power supplies to power each amp/sub combo. (Not what ew see in most vehicles)
The bass was clean, strong and very powerful when using a pair of ported L-15's. Unfortunately, the chances of repeating this gut-rattling sound/bass in most OEM systems were not possible w/o expensive electrical mods. Think it over before you dive in OK?
Swez
ckoscin2 on 06/26/2008 09:06:56
i picked up an amp the other week off ebay. its a nib rockford 25 to life punch 150. i got it home and hooked it up and everything works fine. i have it on my gf's subs that are 2 12" diamond audio m3 duel 4 ohm vc's, but sence they are my gf's i dont want to blow them up. this amp is only rated at 150 watts but the birth sheet says its 923w rms @ 2 ohm w/ all channels combined. now does this mean the same as bridged into a 4 ohm load?
i only have the gain turned about 1/4 the way up and its loud. the subs sound fine. the subs are 400w rms and so the B.S. of the amp says its more. so i want to get better subs to match the amp.
now im looking into getting some subs. i was thinking of getting 2 kicker L7's 12's but are there any others that i should look into befor i buy. i found some cheaper remanufactored(sp) L7's that have a 90 day garentee. i like to listen to everything but country, mostly rap that has alot of bass.
here is a link to the birth sheet (bs)
http://www.putfile.com/pic/8349739
oh yeah i think i got a good deal it was 200 shipped still had the shrink wrap on it when i got it ? how much did these go for new when they came out in about 05 ?
oh yeah it says its limited ed. mine is munber 7 out of 2500.
newB on 06/26/2008 09:52:52
Subs: DC lvl 2s or 3s www.dcsoundlab.com
Amps: www.db-r.com Sundown amps (refurb for budget, new if $ allows) his refurbs come with warranty and have awesome quality
-Drew
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