kin0kin

For $250, you can get the JL 12W3 which sounds incredible even when only powered @ 300w.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

That extra distortion will be measurable on a digital meter only, chances are of you're using a good brand name amp, your ears won't be able to tell the difference. Actually, I did not want to spoil his escapades into amp searches, but I have yet to hear a worse amp than Audison Srx just about on every level. it will not blow anyone's mind in a good way.

As for Fosgate, that's all I hear monotonously, but this amp will blow that Srx out of the water power and quality wise. Srx are just garbage. Lrx sound really really good only above 80hz, anything below is disaster, unless you listen to the system with low volume. Have not heard the Vrx, so cant comment. I cant think of a better brand new 5-channel amp for the money it is selling on Ebay. Too bad exchange rate is not what it used to be a while ago. If I were to use a multi-channel amp, I would run either Tru Technology Billet Six, or Audison Vrx Six, or 2009 upcoming Tru Technology C7-SS, and bridge away without sacrifice. Now thats ***** and quality. You could get the first two for an amazing price at Number1Sound at fraction of the retail, but it will still be way more than our friend's budget. Srx - please!!! Fosgate Power > Srx - anytime!!!

And as fr running mids and tweets on the 4 channels, chances are its not gonna work well in his set-up unless he uses a processor. No matter how much he plays with the gains on that amp, the sound will not be balanced still. You can place tweets gains to 0, but you cant jack up the gains high enough on mids to get them to match, that is real distortion right there.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

I should probably mention, that sound difference between a $500 amp and $2000 amp with same power is usually very minimal, and an average listener will not differentiate between the two. You really have to be an experienced listener, and know what to listen for. The sound quality difference the extra power makes is however very noticeable. And even if the added distortion of bridging does play into the equation, chances of which are very slim, it may sound as if the mids actually came to life, and some people prefer that sound. It does not sound like clipping, it sounds as if speakers have more "punch". Similar ideology goes for subs. For most part, this type of bridging on front speakers is frowned upon by self proclaimed audiophiles, who are often too when it comes to setting up a new system due to their extensive knowledge. Even a better than average listener wont hear the difference simply, cause he/she does not know any better about the details, as mostly that type of knowledge will have more of a psychological impact than anything else.

TragicMagic

That's only going to add distortion to the bass/subwoofer, no? I can't see how bridging the rear channels is going to affect the quality of sound the front speakers on the front channels are going to produce.

I have one guy telling me the Audison will blow my mind, and another who claims there's nothing less impressive than this amp.

Well, we just got home from EHR. The SRx3 is listed at $850. The salesman said he could sell it at $700. I haven't been able to find a combination of, or single, amplifier that can produce the power this one can for the subwoofer.

I was impressed with how this amp worked with a pair of CSK 165.3, and a 12" subwoofer. The setup they have is an OEM Delco head-unit, a pair of CSK's, a pair of "stock rear speakers", a 12" sub, and the SRx3. If her setup sounded as good as this one did, she'd be more than satisfied. All we're doing is adding a higher grade speaker to the front stage.

I guess I should have asked the question for a quasi-SQ setup. We're not die hard. I just wanted to know if anything under 200W was really worth using.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

$700 for an Srx3? What a rip!!! You could get the current version Lrx 5.1 for like a grand easy, and it is night and day difference. Pure crap with pure bliss. And the 5.1 is perfect for the active set-up SQmonster was suggesting.

As far as distortion is concerned, it works on the same basics, whether its front speakers or subs. It is the slight diff in amp voltage output on two bridged channels that is responsible for the offset. The cheaper the quality of an amp, the higher the chances of more voltage separation.

I still say get the most power you can for the money, even if it takes all kinds of bridging, but still go with a reputable brand.

BTW, I was referring to previous version of Srx, as I have not tried the new ones yet. They may be made better, or worse. The new Lrx is noticeably better than the old one though.

TragicMagic

I quoted SQMonster, but missed that he said "into 2 channels" - obviously a subwoofer wouldn't be in that equation.

I understand that operating an amp at 2 ohms can result in a degradation of quality, compared to 4 ohms. Would we be able to hear the difference? Would the "punch" gained at 2 ohms be worth it? I don't know.

I do know that the HSK165's sound awesome, with 60W from an EP4. Will they sound the same with 65W from an SRx3. Probably close enough not to matter.

I need to find out who, and where, the retailers are that carry the Audison equipment. I'd love to see how low I can get this unit for.

I was thinking that a JL Audio 10W3v3, 2 ohm, would react nicely to the 380W from the Audison amp.

We were also looking at a Hertz 10" ES250. Didn't hear one in action though.

TragicMagic

How about this amp?

Hifonics ZXi 8408 4 x 100-Watts RMS @ 4-Ohms, 2 x 440-Watts RMS @ 4-Ohms

Can I assume that it'll operate 100W x 2 @ 4 ohm and 440W x 1 @ 4 ohm (bridged)?

Numerically speaking, this amp looks wonderful. But I've never heard one in action. Don't know how much build quality there is, let alone its ability to produce a decent sound through decent speakers...

If I could find one of these for $600 I'd elect for this one, purely based on numbers.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Come on, man! Read carefully, there was no talks about impedance, which is a diff issue alltogether. Voltage variations is what causes the distortion in this case. Sub or front speakers - bridging is all the same. Bridging does not change impedance. Not in a sense pertinent to the issue at hand. I guess you could say, bridging changes the way amp sees your speakers. Your speakers dictate what your amp sees. Impedance changes affect damping, which is speaker control, and you will not have an issue here. blablabla I do not want to get into it further and risk a chance of misinterpretation, cause I may not have explained it well, cause it happens too often, and I dont want to argue with people, who think they know everything. Too many of them on here. And this would be something you havnt asked for.

George at Number1Sound in Toronto has Audison, and probably has the best prices on new stuff.

In your case a diff between 2 or 4 ohms is probably negligible, as long as you run your amp with proper impedance for full potential, and have headroom, you're golden. To me, Srx3 cosmetically looks the best from all your options, but technically is the weakest link, but if you liked what you heard, then by all means try to get the unit from whoever has the best price. I just want to see more power, thats all really.

I would rather see you get a single 12". Box size is just a bit bigger, power requirements can stay the same, and the 12" will be more efficient, so you will get much better bass performance from the same amp.

TragicMagic

So where do these voltage variations take place? I'm guessing here, but I think the issue stems from using two channels... something about the circuitry not responding identically between the two, so when you use half of two channels (to make one), its not as accurate as it would be if you were using both from one channel. And, like you said, a higher quality amp will have less variation between the channels.

Am I getting warmer? lol I did read, I thought you guys were referring to the resistance and how that affected things...

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Yes, you're getting very warm Just read the thread more carefully again, so it all sinks in, so then you can make an educated decision.

tip: Get more power, I cant stress this enough. When all things are taken into consideration, and the hook-up is proper, power will be the biggest factor in deciding between an ok set-up and really nice. SQ only gets better with more power, until you reach the point of deminishing returns that is, which to me is around over 200wrms a side for the passive front stage. All I am saying that if you bridge the 4 channels into 2, thus getitng more power to your speakers, the sound difference will blow you away, but if you run tiny power without bridging an amp, and think you will get better sound through less distortion, you will be sadly disappointed. Distortion in this case is so minimal, that it is not audible, and there will only be a difference in numbers on paper. You cant expect to tell the diff between 0.005 and 0.5, you must have superhuman ears then.