digs

The current amp that is pushing the subs is the Octane - R 8.0 , which I will use to push the interior speakers, components and 6x9s (all Octane R's as well). The subs are SVC @4ohm, so the lowest I can wire them is at 2ohm. I ohm stable amp is nice, but I doubt I need such a high end amp.

I don't see the diff for reg vs unreg, all the reg does is have continuous power output at diff voltages/resistance levels, so how does that in any way affect my interiors? If the subs are too loud, I can just turn down the gain on the amp, problem solved....Can you explain a bit more?

LOL. That amp would destroy my subs, they're only 250W each... I'm not looking to get into IASCA comps here, just personal enjoyment...Craziness!

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Regulated amps are power output stable at any voltage. Whether the car is idling or revving or you are blairing, a regulated amp will put out consistent power, an unregulated amp's power will fluctuate under all these conditions. Depending how good your ears are and whether you know or not what to listen for this could be very annoying when you have a regulated amp on subs and not regulated on fronts, as the front will mellow out under voltage drops, but the sub amp will still put out proper power and all your fine tuning will be a waste as the system will be going in and out of balance. It is not as noticeable if you have a regulated amp on front and unregulated on subs, but ideally I would match reg to reg or unreg to unreg. Voltage issues become more evident with bigger powered amps and if you have a high output alternator which works at reduced voltage to supply higher current. So you can see, that turning your gain on your sub amp will not solve anything. It seems you may have to run a gain control remote so you can turn down your gain while sitting at the intersection, and juice it up again when you drive Ghetto style!!!

digs

Sasha,
Thanks for the clear explanation, haha, sounds like it could get a bit annoying. I am planning to get the remote sub control thing, so that might help a bit (although, yes it is a bit ghetto...). Again, since this is a slow system build (over a few years), I'm sure my bro will be happy with the JL amp we just bought (500/1). Over time, we'll switch to full regulated as you suggested when he changes the upgrades the components, (maybe to MB Quart? Other suggestions?) and gets a very high SQ 4 channel amp to push them. I'm sure he won't be able to tell, but for the future, that's a very good tip thanks!

Personally, I'm into Home Theatre now and I know you need a good quality DAC for an amp to be worth anything (I personally own a denon amp), do car amps do the same thing or is this a totally different beast? From HT, I've learned that any speaker can produce sound, but only high end home speakers (psb/paradigm etc) will produce a flat response from 35hz-20khz, and will both image well and have a good soundstage. Is this the same thing for car audio? What makes a high end component set better over another? Just vocal reproduction or are you guys into imaging as well?

(I know this is a whole new topic, but oh well...).