MIXXMAX

iTrader: (1)

Well, here's the deal. I posted a thread last week of my small Alpine (30x2 RMS) dying on me after about 10 years of use. It was only powering a set of Kenwood components in the front. This amp really pushed out clean power/clarity. I wanted something similar to replace it. Well, after about a week of deciding, I went with another Alpine (50x2 RMS model-T130) over the MTX-4122 and Kicker-120.2. I went with the Apline because I thought it would produce the same sound as before, and most of all, its reliability. Well, the sound is noticeably different. Even though the amp is pushing out 20 more watts than before, the sound is not as "clean" as before. I turned the gain up to about 75%, but still the sound is unclear. I was wondering if anybody had any luck with MTX amps or Kicker amps driving them at full range. How do either of them sound, or which do you prefer is the "better" amp. Just to note, too, I am very knowledgeable on car audio, so your honest opinions would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks!

nismo240sx

well, my comment to the different sounds is that the difference SHOULD be inaudible. if you put 2 similar amps (in terms of power) to a listening test, they should ALWAYS sound the same, unless 1 is improperly set...

if by chance you can hear a difference, then i suggest that you take richard clarks amp challenge, and win the 10 grand he put up.

eric

H.N.I.C.95

It is not about "power" it is about "quality". Richard Clark test is bogus to an extent he is right but he tweaks his test to exclude quality.

By the way MTX.

slickonetoo

the difference is the one you have now is a class t amp...basically same as class d but uses a tripath chip so it plays full range..the chip is changing all the time which in the end result causes more distortion..your old amp more than likely used a bi-polar design which is less efficient but has much more headroom abilities and less distortion
although, you shouldn't hear a difference, many and I mean many have so to me their is a difference if so many people are complaining about it.their are only 3 or 4 companies that use the design that I know of..just another marketing gimmick if you ask me...bandwagon starts, gets full, everyone switches and start of a new trend..I think it is so funny though, people now in competition are dumping their d's and going back to a/b...at full tilt, they draw the same power.
I say your uses a bi-polar array but it could be mosfet as well depends on the model but most of the 10 to 15 year old alpines were bi-polar
as for MTX, they make very good amps and rate theirs totally different than alpine too..although they give 14.4 ratings(mtx), they "rate" the amp at 12v very clean very nice amps.only drawback are the features like crossover...it is usually fixed and not variable so your stuck with what they think is right.can always be defeated though and use another crossover....Alpine rates their amps on a 20 to 20k scale, but it is at 14.4..cars "can" put out 14.4 but generally, it is in the ballpark of 13-13.8v which can be up to a 30% loss for amps rated on a 14.4 scale

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

I have an MTX 4122 forsale.
$85 + Shipping.
let me know.
MrGone

MIXXMAX

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all of your replies. Another funny thing happened to me today. One of my speakers took too long coming on at power up. I then knew there was some short somewhere. I knew it couldn't be the amp, for that the amp was brand new...(only a few days old). I hooked up a multi-meter to one speaker channel and it was reading about 11 ohms. I hooked up the other speaker channel and it read about 6 ohms. What is going on, I thought? I didn't even waste time on finding the short. I just rewired with all new speaker wire to each speaker and left the other speaker wires alone. Now, I have 4 ohms to each channel. But, unexpectedly, the sound is still the same as before. You would think that the sound would be somewhat shallow because of the difference in ohms. Oh well, my mind is made up, I'm going with the MTX. Thanks everyone!

MIXXMAX

iTrader: (1)

Forget about the MTX! I got a Kicker amp instead. Man, are these amps nice!! These amps are crisp and clean! What a difference in sound and clarity compared to the previous Alpine. I only got the small Kicker 120.2 driving at 30x2 into 4 ohms. It highly recommends running 2 ohms at 60x2 for even better clarity. When I replace the Kenwood components in front with better ones, I'll swap the Kenwoods in the rear and parallel all four speakers into 2 ohms. Anybody thinking about buying Kicker amps, I highly recommend it. You'll definitely hear what you have been missing. In fact, I might even replace my Alpine sub amp with a more powerful Kicker sub amp!