SPL or Sound Storm?

You might want to read this post from a couple of weeks ago it defiantly applies to the amps that you are looking at https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=16918&KW=good+quality+amp+&tpn=1 

That sorta helps.

I dont understand THD and that stuff, maybe if I did, I could make a better decision.

I bought a really pricey system for my other car ,and I had to finance it, it was so expensive, and I've been regreting it ever since. I WOULD have been financing it for 2 years, but I worked some crazy overtime and payed it off quick. I use it very little, and altho is does sound nice, I dont want to spend that kind of money again, especially since even if I sell it, i'll be lucky to get HALF of what I paid for it.

Now I bought an old Winter car, cause driving my other car in winter would be like asking for a tree to jump on the road and hit me, so I just want something cheaper, but still sounds decent. I even considered taking the system out of my other car, but my Beater only has a basic alarm where my Summer car has an all out alarm. Anti-jack, window/ttop sensors, glass sensors, proximity sensors, lcd 2-way remote good to 6 miles, the works.

Now that I've seen and heard what the top of the line is like, I'd rather save a few bucks and get something that sounds respectable. Whats the difference between a Ferrari and a Mustang? About $250,000 but they both get you where you're going. (One MUCH faster that the other, but when are you going to need that 250 MPH top speed? Just like when are you going to be pumping your subs FULL BLAST till you hear distortion?)

A guy I used to know from school ran a 15" off an American Legacy AMP (which, according to the ppl on this site, is crappy) and it sounded fine to me. He'd pop his trunk and play tunes at the nearby drive-in.

I'm kinda disappointed with the way ppl take your questions and tranform them into their own personal opinions. I had this crazy idea that I could get some help here. Dont get me wrong, a lot of the ppl here are very helpful, and have helped me many times in the past, but there are those that feel everyone should need to know what they think.

Anyways, back to the question at hand, if anyone has bought or heard some of the cheaper amps, please let me know how they perform.  Thanks.

THD is explained here http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/thd.htm I’m not trying to force my beliefs on you. What I am trying to do is share my experiences. I am trying to explain to you that the amps that you are looking at might not be the best choice and am suggesting a better alternative. I wish some one had done the same for me before I spent  $1000+ dollars on my first set of high wattage value amps. Yes it was loud and sounded good to me, but then I started to get into car audio and really learned what good sound was. And you don’t have to spend allot to get good sound you just need to know what equipment is worth buying and which is not. Now those are some nice subs  that you have, but if you pump a distorted signal through them it wont sound as good as if you had bought a good quality amp for the same amount of money. Not to mention you run the chance of blowing them from the large amounts of distortion you will be pushing through them. If you ask any reputable shop in the car audio industry (not just this forum) I will guarantee that they will advise against buying a poor quality amp over a decent amp. 

Alright, I understand THD now.

I didnt mean you specifically bberman1, just in general, whenever I ask a question.So since my previous knowledge of Amps and Speakers is more or less useless in deciding what a good amp is, whats a good brand you guys suggest other than JBL.Like I said before, I dont have a problem with spending a bit more on a good amp, it just means I'll have to wait a little longer to get it. What I'm more concerned about is finding one that'll suit my needs.

Each one of my subs runs 300RMS and 1200PEAK. I want to get as close to 300RMS, and maybe even a little bit higher (just turn the gains down). The key thing I've been looking for, is a 2-Channel AMP with about 250x2 RMS - 350x2RMS, so I can connect 1 sub to 1 channel. Just makes things simpler.

These are the companies I've found so far that meets these needs;Power Acoustik OV2-1600 2-Channel Gothic Series Amplifiers (1600W)  310W x 2 RMS @ 4ohmsSPL CRM16002 2-Channel Amplifier 1600 Watts Max  310W x 2 RMS @ 4ohmsLA Sound CA1200.2 1200W Max Amplifier 300W x 2 @ 4ohmsSoundStorm D1000.2 STRETCH DADDY 2 Channel Amplifier 350 Watts x 2 @ 4ohms

Well, im far from the expert here so heres my dumb opinion..lol...I dont have any experience with the ones you listed or the JBL that most people on here favor. But, from what i've found on the ones you listed, my first choice would be the Power Acoustic with the SPL 2nd. LA sound just doenst look to promising and the Soundstorm's fuse rating tells me its a baby piece of s@#t!! Couldnt find the fuse ratings for the Power or the SPL but they both have a low THD rating, lower than the JBL, but the JBL does have a proper fuse rating, so.....I would contact Power or SPL and see if you could find out more detailed specs before commiting to buying one. Dont feel bad about people telling you they are crap. They bashed US Acoustics too and i bought a 4 channel to run my mids and highs on and i love it so go figure. Its built solid and has a lower THD rating than some top of the line amps. So i say do what  you want for you.

A lot of people in this forum like US Acoustics. Comparatively their amps are inexpensive. I haven't dealt with their products myself, but Crutchfield offers a 3 year warranty on the ones they sell. You could look into the USX 800D monoblock amp. It produces 600 watts rms x 2 @ 2 ohms, to match your subs.

oops! I meant 600 watts x 1 @ 2 ohms. sorry