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Arc Audio XDi 1200.6 Review!

107K views 136 replies 53 participants last post by  danno14 
#1 ·
I thought I would share my thoughts on Arc Audio's new class D amps. This is a review of their 6 channel version the XDi 1200.6. I apologize now for the long winded post.

I bought this amp from Jerry (neibur3) from Hi Def Mobile Audio and once again his customer service was top notch.
In my opinion this amp is quite easy on the eyes. Very nice to look at and when holding it feels very substantial and well built.
This amp has a very simple yet sexy look to it with it's brushed charcoal aluminum look. I really enjoy it's visual design.
Not every amp in this line has the same chassis, there are different sizes but they are all relatively close in size. I believe the 1100.1 mono is the same size and the 1100.5 is only 1/2" difference in length so mounting these should be relatively easy.

Stats on the amp for power,

Channels 1-4: 150 watts rms @4ohm and 2ohm.
bridging these channels gives you 300 watts rms @ 4ohm

Channels 5&6: 150 watts rms @4ohm
300 watts rms @2ohm
bridging channels 5&6 gives you 600 watts rms at 4ohm

Pretty powerful little guy for only being 13" x 6.25" by 2" in size.

It has bandpass crossover capabilities for channels 1&2 and 5&6. channels 3&4 you can lowpass up to 5500hz.
In the box a remote bass knob is included for channels 5&6. It also comes with short rca cables with stripped wires on the other end for hooking up to a factory hu! nice touch.
There is a cosmetic trim on the top of the amp. This trim has the arc audio logo over the blue light in the middle and easily comes off by taking out 4 small hex bolts. This is a nice touch to prevent cosmetic damage. My amp is under my passenger seat. I don't want to risk scratching it so the cover comes off since it won't be seen anyway. If I mount it in the trunk in the future I can put the cover back on after it's mounted to make it look nice. Pretty cool if you ask me.

There are quite a few controls for crossover and such which makes it a flexibile amp. With 6 powerful full range channels you could easily run a 3 way front stage off one amp. Throw a mono amp in there and you have a powerful 4way system in a small small package.

After mounting it and wiring it up I turned on the power. The center light blinks a couple times before going solid and sending power to the speakers. I assume this is to avoid turn on pop?
Wire connections are solid and easy to connect. No funny angles or funny connection devices to deal with. Everything hooked up without a hitch. All the connections are on one side of the amp which is always handy. channels 5&6 controls are on the wire connection side. channels 1-4 are under the cosmetic cover. I would have liked to not have to take the cover off to get to the gain and crossover controls but since I was taking it off it wasn't a huge deal. This might be annoying to some but not a huge deal.

I have a tru technologies line driver sending the voltage to the amp and 4guage power sending the juice. midbass and tweeters are connected to channels 1-4 and my IDMAX 12 is connected to channels 5&6 bridged.

The sound!!!!!!
The first thing I noticed was that this little guy makes my sub move surprisingly well. I honestly don't feel like I am missing much going from 1200 to 600 watts on my sub. I noticed a touch of dynamic loss at high volume but it is pretty minor.
When listening to my front stage the first thing I noticed was that "it sounds different" and I still stand by that statement. I don't really know how to explain it but it does sound different than my JL Audio HD amps. If you still think all amps sound the same you have to be nuts, there was a noticeable difference. After about a week and a half of listening to this difference I can say it is a good different. The best way I can think of to describe it is "crisp." Everything has a crispness to it I was missing before. I didn't know I was missing it until I heard this amp. The vocals are more in front and stage is higher. I do feel like I lost a tad bit of depth but I could probably do some fine tuning for that.
One anomaly with this amp that I cannot figure out is the staging of my music. I haven't touched the time alignment since I fired it up and haven't felt the need to. Vocals are pretty much center without T/A. With any other amp T/A was always needed. Ive never had an amp that gave me staging this close to perfect right out of the box. The center stage wanders a little bit but not much at all. You would really have to hear it to believe it. I can't seem to figure it out. The upper end also has a different "good" sound to it. Cymbals specifically have a really nice defined and real sound to them.

The amp seems to supply plenty of power to my front stage. I would say right there with the JL HD amps that I used previously. Detail is good, frequency response to my ears appears good and the rta on my phone showed actually a hair flatter than the previous amp although gain levels play a part in this and I haven't done any detailed tuning yet. Just going off of it's performance out of the box. I ran it pretty hard for a couple hours the other day and being in the same mounting location as my JL HD amps it actually only got about half as hot as the JL amps did.

So to sum it up, this amp has a really nice detailed sound to it with plenty of power and dynamics.
It never sounds harsh and to me has a unique sound to it that I have never heard before. Vocals are out in front, cymbals sound real and have really good presence, height is great and like I said before it has an awesome "crispness" to it. It's a small small sexy amp that doesn't seem to get hot and packs a punch. You really can't go wrong with it.

Pics include cosmetic cover on and off. I apologize for the crappy pics. I scratched the lens on my phone so every pic now has a fuzzness to it.
 

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#3 ·
Nice review, I will be doing one on these in a 2014 pathfinder stealth build. They retail for $779.00
 
#4 ·
Update. This amp is pretty dang impressive. I did some level matching yesterday. The center stage isn't quite as centered as it was now but still solidly above my dash with the majority of vocals in the center 1/3 of the dash.

Power and efficiency still seem great! I can't wait to get another.
 
#7 ·
Sure thing! I have been very impressed with this amp. I'm loving it more every day.
 
#12 ·
Thanks, here is the spec for each amp

JL Audio 600/4 4ch 150w x 4 @ 1.5 - 4 ohms $ 799.95

Height (H) 1.93 in / 49 mm
Width (W) 10.74 in / 273 mm
Depth (D) 8.29 in / 211 mm

JL Audio 900/5 5ch 100w x 4 @4ohms 75w x 4 @ 2ohms. 5ch 500w @ 1 - 4ohms mono. $999.95

Height (H) 1.93 in / 49 mm
Width (W) 10.74 in / 273 mm
Depth (D) 8.29 in / 211 mm


Arc Audio XDi v2 1200.6 6ch amp ch (1-4) 150w x 4 @ 4 or 2 ohms.
Ch 5-6 150w x 2 @4 ohms 300w x2 @ 2ohms. bridged 1 ch 600w @ 4 ohms. $779.00
Dimensions 13.0"(L) x 6.268"(W) x 2.162"(H)

The Arc Audio amp that comparable in size would be the Arc Audio XDi v2
600.4 4ch amp 150w x 4 @ 4ohm or 2ohms
Dimensions: 9.020"(L) x 6.268"(W) x 2.162(H)

In size and price the Arc amp is smaller, cheaper and the shear flexibility on system setup for active.( XDi 600.4) $479.00 and (XDi 1200.6) $779.00
 
#13 ·
also soon will be out for sale is Arc Audio XDi 1100.5 which is their 5ch amp which has 150w x4 @ 4 or 2 ohms and 500w @ 2 ohms on ch 5. Has the same power as JL Audio 900/5 on the 5ch, but 50wpc more on the other 4 channels. $679.00
 
#14 ·
The only issue with the 1100.5 is that it's channel 5 (sub channel) is only 275watts @ 4ohms. significantly less than JL's @ 4ohms. Doesn't really affect me since instead I will be purchasing the 1200.6 which has the power I want on the sub channel at 4ohms but just in case anyone else is looking at the 1100.5 it's something to be aware of.
 
#17 ·
I dont know either but most amps you see that can bridge two channels its mostly double of the single channel while this is quadruple at the same 4ohm.

Just figured it could have been a typo and they meant 600@2ohm since its 300x2@2ohm.

then again maybe this amp is making way more than 150 per channel.
 
#19 ·
2ohms per channel = 4ohms bridged 600watts. Im sure this amp will be at least around 700wrms. Arc always under rate their amps.
 
#20 ·
Ok cool, looks like this is the amp for me as I wanted to try 2 8" woofers and if that didnt work....one 10"-12" enclosure. This means the amp doesnt have to move.

I mostly stick with main stream brands as they are easier to attain so hopefully this works out for me. Now I just gotta see how much room I have to work with compared to my hd600/4.
 
#22 · (Edited)
With channels 1-4 being 150w at either 4ohm or 2ohm I am assuming that it stands to reason that it will do the same 300x2 at both 8ohms bridged and 4 ohms bridged?

If this is correct then 2 of these would be perfect for my system. It would net me up to 300w per midrange and per midbass and my 15 could see up to 1200w. NICE!


Edit: the manual confirms it
 
#23 · (Edited)
hmmmmmm, put a dsp on it, and run full active, THEN you can truly see what the amp can do....

prev. deleted, but If I sell mine, I will POST it UP... again, get in depth with the amp to see its true potential, you would be pleasantly surprised..
 

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#31 ·
Well, I am not a master tuner by any means. The slope is important for limiting frequencies at different rates and phase control. I prefer 12db slope on everything except my sub low pass. Maybe somebody with more technical knowledge can answer that.
 
#37 ·
cool, are you running the tweets off the rear ch and the mids off the front ch? are you active with the amp only? I guess if your using a DSP then it doesn't matter what ch on the amp.
 
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