[ric]

hi guys,

i will be buying new sets of equipment possibly by next week, concern i have as of now is really with the amps. i would like to build a daily driving SQ car but still could be used for comps. i was advised to get the slash and thinking of 2 300/4 for left and right channels "full active 3 way" of a processor and a 500/1 for the sub. total will be around 1K for the amps. comps would be the legatias 3 way or peerless raw drivers 3way and for the sub im thinking of 2pcs AE IB15 or a single W15GTiMkII in a sealed enclosure.

for the amps, would there be any other options/choices im not seeing for 1k that would really be good/better than the slash? or would the slash on that price would already be the best to get? off course, if can bring it down to something cheaper better. also is the 500/1 enough for the subs also if upgrades in the long run would be considered?

Thanks for any input guys.

 

[zGhost]

I'm not understanding the 2 300/4 for a 3 way active set up. Why not 1 300/4 for tweets and mids and say a 300/2 for the midbasses. Also food for thought something I found out after I bought a 300/4 you'll have to make sure both the front and rear channels on the 300/4 are the same ohm rating or the amp will default to the lower ohm rating due to the RIPS. I found this out when trying to hook a 2 ohm load to the rear channels and a 4 ohm to the front. The front will only see 37.5 watts RMS as the amp defaults to the lowest ohm rating it sees.

 

[Oliver]

I'm not familiar with what is available in the Phillipines

 

[ric]

its going to be 1 amp per side. ch1 for tweeters, ch2 for mids and channels 3-4 bridge for midbass. well i choose the 300/4 over the 300/2 for the the 300/4 when bridge would be stable from 3-8 ohms. more flexibility for raw drivers where as the 300/2 would only be from 1.5 -4 ohms

 

[ric]

I'm not familiar with what is available in the Phillipines

ill be getting it there for its cheaper, so options will be anything available in the US. and simply have my relatives send it to me for free shipping...

 

[usmcsoldriver]

Honestly, sounds like a good idea to me. Much better than going with something like an Alpine PDX. For the money I highly doubt you will beat it, especially if you are going to buy it online.

I would however recommend looking at what other higher end amplifier manufacturers can do for you. If i were to do it over, I'd be getting a TRU for my midbass, no doubt.
Honestly i'm happy with my Butler on the Mid/tweeter duty, and if you call them directly you may find that you can get a good deal. All in all, it will run run you around 1k for those 2 amplifiers alone. The 500/1 for the Subwoofer is an excellent choice. That is what I run.

Remember a few things however.
1. If you cannot tell the difference between amplifiers. Go with the cheapest one.
2. Amplifiers do not make power, they only convert. If your cars electrical system isnt up to par. Your throwing away money buying "high power" amplifiers.
3. Install > all
3. If #2 and or 3 are not met. # 1 will most certainly be true.

 

[zGhost]

its going to be 1 amp per side. ch1 for tweeters, ch2 for mids and channels 3-4 bridge for midbass. well i choose the 300/4 over the 300/2 for the the 300/4 when bridge would be stable from 3-8 ohms. more flexibility for raw drivers where as the 300/2 would only be from 1.5 -4 ohms

Here is were the issue I spoke above will come into consideration as I quote from my manual.


"The operation of the R.I.P.S. circuitry is entirely automatic and adjusts itself every time the amplifier is turned on according to the lowest impedance present at either front or rear channels. There are no user controls to configure.The system operates through three stages of impedance optimization, choosing the stage most appropriate to the actual impedance of the speakers connected to it.
Because the 300/4v2 utilizes a single power supply, it will set itself up based on the lowest impedance present at either the front or rear amplifier channels. For example, if you connect a 2 ohm load to each front channel and a 4 ohm load to each rear channel, the amplifier will adjust itself to deliver 75 watts x 2 to the front 2 ohm loads, but will only deliver half its optimum power (37.5 watts x 2) to the rear 4 ohm loads. If you connect a 4 ohm load to all four channels or a 2 ohm load to all four channels, the amplifier will deliver 75 watts x 4. See, we told you this amp was different"

So actually you are limited in your driver selection using J/L slash series.

 

[Calum]

I'm running a /500 on my sub, with absolutely no complaints. I'm also running a A6450for my front stage, two way active. Again zero complaints. They both make more than rated power, and sound perfect. They're big, but the power is equally brutal, with a rated 70 watts for each tweeter, 220 watts for each mid and 500 for the sub, the sound is very clean and when the desire strikes me LOUD! I didn't buy them new however and wouldn't have for the prices. I paid less than 500 CDN for the two amps. As far as I know, the only difference between the / amps and the A amps is the regulated power supply and the heat shields.

 

[Oliver]

Jl Audio 300/4 Car Amp - eBay (item 300301669973 end time Mar-24-09 10:43:07 PDT)

Jl Audio 300/4 Car Amplifier - New - eBay (item 280323961573 end time Mar-22-09 15:07:08 PDT)

used Jl Audio 500/1 Car Amp - eBay (item 130294821494 end time Mar-24-09 09:28:14 PDT)

 

[capnxtreme]

Slash series are solid performers.

As already mentioned, though, because of the R.I.P.S. you probably don't want to bridge only 2 channels of a 300/4, unless perhaps it's into an 8ohm Znom driver.

 

[zGhost]

Yes don't take me wrong I absolutely love my Slash Amps. I feel they sometimes get a bad wrap due to the so called "overpriced JL audio" bag. But I like the fact these amps make the same power using variable voltage inputs (as in a real life,car driving down the road, light sometimes on/off ,air conditioning etc) The crossover sections are top notch (I know invalid as your going active, just noting). Just the 300/4 RIPS is quirky with the impedance loads on the channels and 1 power supply issue. I would definitely find out the correct impedance loads for the front and bridged rear to get the best output. My guess would be 4 ohm tweets, 4 ohm mid and 8 ohm present at the rear bridged. But don't take me to the bank on that as I never ran as your attempting. I'm sure JL would answer that Q for you. As for other options there are many high quality amps look around here for many examples. Heck due to the issue I spoke of above with my car I shelved my 300/4 replaced it with a 300/2 and bought a PC250 for the rear. I like the sound of that PPI to . Listen, look, Buy what you like.

 

[zGhost]

its going to be 1 amp per side. ch1 for tweeters, ch2 for mids and channels 3-4 bridge for midbass. well i choose the 300/4 over the 300/2 for the the 300/4 when bridge would be stable from 3-8 ohms. more flexibility for raw drivers where as the 300/2 would only be from 1.5 -4 ohms

This way you will have no control over the levels between the tweets and mids. Hope you have a perfectly match spl level pair of mids and tweets. I think 3 way active is best approached with a 3 amp setup 1 for the tweets 1 for the mids and 1 for the midbasses. That allows you gain setting for each set of speakers. Your idea is using the right and left channels for tweets and mids allows no speaker volume leveling via the amp gains.

 

[usmcsoldriver]

This way you will have no control over the levels between the tweets and mids. Hope you have a perfectly match spl level pair of mids and tweets. I think 3 way active is best approached with a 3 amp setup 1 for the tweets 1 for the mids and 1 for the midbasses. That allows you gain setting for each set of speakers. Your idea is using the right and left channels for tweets and mids allows no speaker volume leveling via the amp gains.

BAM great point

I run a 3 way. I dont feel the need to have my Mids/Tweets on separate amps personally, i keep them on the crossover and use a single amplifier.

 

[DS-21]

I used and liked the 300/4 for quite a while. (Switched because upstream gear changed, and I could get away with a physically smaller, more powerful amp.) Unless you need those amps' crossover flexibility for your active arrangement, I would suggest cheaper amps. Jello's own diffusion line amps look pretty good. And there are others.

But bottom line is, except for processing features amps just don't matter much. They have a simple job, and any competently-designed one of adequate power will do fine as long as it's not broken.

 

[markland556]

Well I really wasnt aware of the R.I.P.S feature on the JL amps.. Seems like quite a limitation.. I would rather refer to it as B.L.O.W.S... haha
Well i guess ill keep my mind on those Zapco amps instead...

 

[ric]

Yes don't take me wrong I absolutely love my Slash Amps. I feel they sometimes get a bad wrap due to the so called "overpriced JL audio" bag. But I like the fact these amps make the same power using variable voltage inputs (as in a real life,car driving down the road, light sometimes on/off ,air conditioning etc) The crossover sections are top notch (I know invalid as your going active, just noting). Just the 300/4 RIPS is quirky with the impedance loads on the channels and 1 power supply issue. I would definitely find out the correct impedance loads for the front and bridged rear to get the best output. My guess would be 4 ohm tweets, 4 ohm mid and 8 ohm present at the rear bridged. But don't take me to the bank on that as I never ran as your attempting. I'm sure JL would answer that Q for you. As for other options there are many high quality amps look around here for many examples. Heck due to the issue I spoke of above with my car I shelved my 300/4 replaced it with a 300/2 and bought a PC250 for the rear. I like the sound of that PPI to . Listen, look, Buy what you like.

what you advise is really what i had in mind. 4ohm for tweeters and mid while an 8ohm for the midbass. well as far as checking madisound and reading reviews here, most suggested a midbass from madisound which is 8ohm, since alot of the items were 8 ohms...

 

[ric]

This way you will have no control over the levels between the tweets and mids. Hope you have a perfectly match spl level pair of mids and tweets. I think 3 way active is best approached with a 3 amp setup 1 for the tweets 1 for the mids and 1 for the midbasses. That allows you gain setting for each set of speakers. Your idea is using the right and left channels for tweets and mids allows no speaker volume leveling via the amp gains.

gain controls would be from the processor/xover isn't it?

 

[ric]

so whats the WORD? is the said plan good? or change the amps to something else? again 1k for all...

 

[ric]

sorry for the "off topic" here...

as far as the said subs in my first post, would the AE IB15 be a better choice over a single W15GTiMkII on a sealed box?

 

[ric]

BTW: has any body had the privilege of using the slash and the Arc audio KS? also thinking about it? just not to sure though for it will be over my budget already not unless i letgo of the subs and use the additional funds for the amp?