I have a SQ oriented system, currently using D'Amore amps what should I try next

SethAustin said:

Ok so here is my system:

D’Amore E400.4 - 200 x 2 @ 4 ohms - Audio Dynamics 4000 Series 6.5″ Mid Woofer – MW643

D’Amore E400.4 - 100 x 4 @ 4 ohms Audio Dynamics 3000 Series 3″ Wideband – MC33 &
4000 Series 1″ Tweeter – TW2543 together on a passive crossover.
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*The other 2 channels are for the rear door speakers so the kids don't complain about no sound in the back seat when they ride in daddy's car..

D’Amore E1000.1 - 400 x 1 @ 4 ohms running Audio Dynamics 2000 Series 12" DVC 2 ohm Sub
View attachment 373201

Audio Dynamics ADDSP68-HiFi 8 Channel DSP with everything crossed over, time aligned and EQ'd to the best of my beginner ability.

I have been thinking of upgrading Amps for better sound and have been tossing around the idea of some class A/B amps vs higher end class D amps. My concern is that the Zapco Z-150.2 II Amps I have recently acquired are HEAVY and so much bigger than I remember class A/B being back in the 90's. Maybe I have just forgotten or maybe Zapco's are just big and heavy.. Also they are NOT cheap especially compared to the US Acoustics amps.
My ideas thus far..
US Acoustics Lanna and Barbara Ann with sub on channels 5/6 bridged
Zapco Z-150.4 II and Z150.6 II amps with sub on channels 5/6 bridged
JL XD800/8v2 with channels 5/6 7/8 bridged to run 6.5 mid woofer and a JL XD1000/1v2 for the sub
Alpine RA90S 6 channel running bridged 200x2 and 500x1 and an Alpine RA60S 4 channel for everything else

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JahRah79 said:

I can't tell if your mids are fully enclosed or they are able to breathe a bit because they are not actually fully enclosed. Either way:

• If they are in fact fully enclosed, you are most likely suffocating them for airspace which dramatically increases distortion characteristics, peaky frequency response etc.
• If they are breathing a bit, you are most probably encountering some cancellation issues

My humble suggestion would be to fix this first, then retune and listen for a while. If you still have an itch then go spend some money at that point.

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oabeieo said:

that actually sounds really good…. it cancels reflections on the backside of the speaker compared to the front side..

It does not play very low, but oh my goodness it sounds good , wide and open and super deep…

I want to do it in my car very badly

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JahRah79 said:

Ok then 🤷‍♂️....if it sounds good to you then that's all that matters really.

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oabeieo said:

no it’s not all that matters

but , it does sound good…. It’s not bad and it can be an intentional part of an Install is all I was sayin

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JahRah79 said:

I can't tell if your mids are fully enclosed or they are able to breathe a bit because they are not actually fully enclosed. Either way:

• If they are in fact fully enclosed, you are most likely suffocating them for airspace which dramatically increases distortion characteristics, peaky frequency response etc.
• If they are breathing a bit, you are most probably encountering some cancellation issues

My humble suggestion would be to fix this first, then retune and listen for a while. If you still have an itch then go spend some money at that point.

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JoshM said:

I will echo, I think you should consider upgrading your dsp first. See what people in your area have experience tuning and go from there or consider a minidsp with Dirac and a mic... After that you will be better off to consider upgrading drivers and tighten up your install anywhere if it's needed. Not to further beat the herd of dead elephants around here but do you currently have any sound deadening/decoupling installed?

Once you optimize all of that, then you will notice more of a difference when you upgrade your amps. If you wanna stay class d but go high end then definitely look into biketronics. Though they are targeted towards motorcycles, a vehicle will see the same bonuses especially when dealing with a truck's limited cab space. They do have other models not on their site and will even customize them for your application if you inquire. Not to mention, they have an unheard of lifetime warranty that actually means something. Or as someone else said, check out mmats. My friend runs their hifi amps and they really are damn good!
Hth

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Donanon said:

If you decide to replace your speakers I can recommend the Stereo Integrity drivers, a few weeks ago I heard an active 3-way system with the 6.5 inch midbass, M25 and M3 and it sounded pretty damn good.

Component Speakers

stereointegrity.com

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ANS said:

When Audio Dynamics first came onto the scene they did a lot of build house clones with simply their logo attached to it. I think it caused the brand to loose a lot of trust from people on the forum. Now today, they still use build houses however are very active in the design process. The HIFI DSP is actually a great performer. Most of their amplifiers are made by S&I with reliable proven designs. While I do not prefer their speakers over the likes of Morel, they have greatly improved over the years.

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SethAustin said:

I have wondered for awhile if they are being suffocated. There is NO real airspace behind them. It was all in an effort to avoid making permanent changes to the A-pillars. It was a fun experiment and they look good and and sound good but I know the system could be better. I really need to get a mic and use REW to really get a better idea of the issues. I have mostly just tuned with the StudioSix app on my iPhone and by ear.
Thanks for the input!

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