I have been interested in an alpine v12 mrv-1507 (1500 watts!!!)for a long time but they are just so expensive. I ran across a store selling discount audio and they had pretty decent prices on some amps. They had Visonik and Mobile authority. They said they only carry those high end brands but alpine has always been at the top of my list. What should I do save up and get the alpine amp or go with one of their amps. I heard of Visonik but not about the performance. Thanx for help/sugestions

 

I have two Alpine amps pushing my system. One for the subs, the other for the Kenwood components in the front. Very reliable amps...I bought them brand new almost 10 years ago and they still POUND!

 

Alpine MRV-F400 is the best amp... or for a sub use MTX4100D its a mono amp but for a sub its kicks 360w RMS to it

 

I have a Visonik 500/2 amp. It's awesome, especially for the price i paid which was like $160. You can't really beat that. I was running my brother's jl audio 15 w3 and if i would turn it up to like 10 on my head unit (goes to 35) and turned the amp up everyone around me would start looking at my car because it was so loud. I say, if you don't have the money at the moment get the visonik but if you have the money get the alpine.

 

In my experience more people are disturbed by distorted sound or explicit lyrics than by loud undistorted sound. Another attention getter is a car that shakes and rattles everytime the music is turned up. A lot of small or new stores claim they only have the best equipment. The truth is that they only have equipment that their distributors will supply to them. There are some small, unheard of, high end companies. But they don't sell high power, high reliability, high sound quality equipment for $160 dollars. I have been extremely happy with everything Alpine that I have owned over the past 12 years. But in the high power amp market there are at least a few that can match the quality at lower prices.

 

this amp actually has excelent sound quality, it will also pound if you want it to. I think the sq of these amps are pretty comparable to alpine and others, now how it will pound compared to those it is a little less. For the money, Visonik is good.

 

As long as you get a reliable amp with good power output you'll be set. Just ask Richard Clark and his $10,000 bet.

 

Try a Rockford Fosgate or an Alpine Amp. I can't think of any other ones right now though.

 

I just got the JL 300/4 for my HU, and 500/1 for my Sub.. It's hits hard like a ****

 

jl amps are reeeaall nice. have you seen their new 1000?

 

No matter what you're told, Arc Audio and Zapco are the cleanest sounding, most dynamic amplifiers, ever designed to deliver true power.

Open "Mobile Stereo" magazine.

 

i think i just lost a little bit of trust in visonik. i found that they are made by the same company that makes ma audio and also mobile authority. not that they are bad or anything just that the technology would be the same as the two. company is anaba

 

You are right about Zapco amps. I would like to add Phoenix Gold to the list. PG's sometimes have a tough time with midrange frequencies if they don't get enough power, but overall its a tough reliable amp with plenty of reserve to power anything. They are very versatile amps as well. If you put them up against the Alpine V12s, they blow them away. PPI is another good one, but can get rather large in size in high power applications due to their separated power supplies.

 

kicker...get a ZR if you can....just got my second 240 off ebay on Monday for 150

 

JBL bp1200.1 (assuming you want a Class D mono block)
about $275 with shipping on ebay

 

How's those custom mods coming along?

 

I've seen Mr. Clark make statements about amps that indicate that the power output is all that matters. And I've heard smaller amps that can sound more dynamic and open than large amps. So I am saying that my ears can tell a difference. The dynamics of a loudspeaker present a complex load for an amplifier. How it deals with the complexity results in differences in the details of music. A great sub in a great enclosure can sound average or worse if the amp isn't up to the task.

 

I agree jmax, but only to a certain extent (did I spell that right? I've been seeing xtant too much lately). If you choose a handful of quality companies and compare an amp from each of them with the same output, there shouldn't be TOO much of a difference (if anything at all audible). Now when you hook up say.... an eclipse aluminum with a professionally done box mapped out by winisd... to say... something like Lanzar, it'll sound like crap. Most of this is due to bad R and D or whatever and the manufacturer and engineers don't take the time to eliminate as much noise as possible.

 

custom mods?