your thoughts on this amp please

how would this be for powering my 15" Kicker Comp sub?

Alpine MRP-M350  200W x 1 Car Amplifier

the price is right...

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub

Whats The Model Number of the 15" Kicker Comp?

it's a 01C154 (prolly the cheap one... hehehe)

cost 99 bucks... it'll do till my JL is repaired :D

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub

OK, Your Sub 50-250 watts RMS per coil, 100-500 watts RMS,


I wouldn't recommend the amp you asked about. The main reason is that your subs are 500watts RMS, 1000 peak. and your the amp Alpine MRP-M350 is only 350 watts RMS at 2 ohms .

I would stongly look into an amp that puts out apx 500W. You want to try and match the amps output to the RMS rating of your speakers/subs. Otherwise you'll be underpowering them and it wont sound as good (or loud) as it can.

Hope this help

hmmmm...

I must have bought the cheaper version, since it's only rated at 250 rms (and only has one coil).

I'm currently running with only 100 watts (bridged output, rear channel of my MTX amp), and I can't say it sounds bad or anything...

stepping up to 500 rms seems like a lot of juice... but that may be a good thing :)

hehehe

thanks for the reply!

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub

If you're talking about the Kicker Comp (not CompVR) then it's either a 4 or 8 ohm SVC rated 250RMS 500Peak. If you throw 500 watts to it you will destroy it in a very short period of time. What you should be looking at is what amp do you want for your JL, since that's obviously the one you will be running with based on your previous post.

If you give the model number of the JL, and how many you plan to run, we can give a better estimate for a different amp.

Believe it or not, but you probably wont get much more then 150 watts from that Alpine, so save your money. I say that because it's rated 200 x 1 @ 4ohms (which is all you can get with one 4ohm sub). But, that was based on a 14.4 volt electrical system (verified from Alpine). On a 12 volt system, you could expect any where from 100 - 150 x 1 @ 4ohms. You might actually squeeze out 175, but I doubt it.

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Squirrel
"No more Cpt. Kirk chit chat"
If its too loud, then you're too old
Donate to the12volt.com

Squirrel,

Yep, it's the cheaper Comp, 4 ohm... as for the JL, I'm not sure of the model, but I know that it's the one that only cost about 150 bucks, so it's most likely the low end of what they made 3-4 years ago.

It's been shipped out for repair, but I won't get an answer as to if it's worth it or even fixable for a few days... I basically sent it and told the guy "If you can fix it, tell me how much, if not, keep it for parts".

So, I'm kinda not counting on it...

The benefit of having a separate amp for my sub would be so I can power all four of my speakers with the MTX, instead of just the sub and rear speakers... this was suggested to me as something that would improve the sound of my system... so I kinda see it like this... Alpine, cheap, adds another 50-65 watts to the sub, and my front speakers get MTX power instead of the Sony head unit only sending 23 watts to the fronts.

There was a big improvement in the sound of my rear 6X9 speakers when they started to get some juice, and I'm hoping the same thing happens with the fronts.

I'm going shopping today... I'll look for something around 250 RMS and report back!

:D

Thanks for taking the time to respond to a newbie :)

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub

Today I shall buy either the Bazooka BAZ ELA3001 (160 bucks) or the Kenwood KEN KAC7201 (200 bucks) to power my sub.

Both seem like good amps for the buck.

Someday I WILL have a real system, but for now... well... gotta feed my 5 kids!

:D

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub

got the Kenwood

WOW

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub

I think that is an excellent amp for one medium power sub.  I had an old model Alpine (MRV-T757) and it was underrated by 132 watts RMS, so that amp could easily produce 450+

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--Adam

If I remember correctly, the MRV-T757 was one of Alpine's V12 series of amps. Yes, those amps are underrated, but they are also one of Alpine's better line of amps.

Kenwood rates on 14.4 volt as well. But I think you made a great choice. The KAC-7201 is 460 x 1 @ 4ohms mono/bridged. So at 12 volts, you should get at least 400 x 1 @ 4ohms mono/bridged. Just make sure to turn the gains down some, because at max gain you will be running at just under 100watts below your subs Peak rating.

Being a Newbie has nothing to do with it . We all started out knowing nothing at one point. And if we weren't helped when we needed it, then we wouldn't be here now! Glad to be of help.

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Squirrel
"No more Cpt. Kirk chit chat"
If its too loud, then you're too old
Donate to the12volt.com

Squirrel,

Many many thanks... and, of course, more questions :)

My sony head unit has low pass filter options of 125, 80, or OFF, and high pass filter with the same options.

Am I better to control the crossover at the head unit, or at the MTX/Kenwood amp?

Currently running both at 125, so the 4 speakers are just getting 125 and above, and the sub 125 and below (I think!).

It's nice to be able to change it in the car (not having to pop the trunk, etc), but am I missing out on anything by not using the crossover controls of the amps, etc?

Also, your thoughts on the bass boost circuit at the amp, if you have any... adds 16dB at 90Hz.

:D

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub

oops... I mean 12 dB at 90 Hz

hehe

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub

I've seen most people suggest using the crossover at the amp. 125 is good for the mids/highs. I'd say more around 80 for the sub. The best advice is take that for a starting point and then listen to it for a while. Change it a little and notice the sound difference. If you like it, keep it, if now, tweak some more! It's all mainly personal preference.

What you're "missing out" on by using the headunit is all the other crossover frequencies. Most headunits have those "preset" filters, while a lot of amps have rotary dials that allow you to adjust the crossover frequency more finely. I wouldn't suggest using both at the same time though, use either the headunit or the amp.

The bass boost makes it nice. When you want some extra thump turn it up, when you don't want it turn it down. Just listen for any distortion in the sub when you use it. If you hear distortion then turn the boost down.

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Squirrel
"No more Cpt. Kirk chit chat"
If its too loud, then you're too old
Donate to the12volt.com

Thanks my friend

:)

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub

No prob, glad to help

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Squirrel
"No more Cpt. Kirk chit chat"
If its too loud, then you're too old
Donate to the12volt.com

One thing that has stood out is that I can control the crossover freq of the front and the rear speakers independantly, as opposed to sending either 80 or 120 to all 4 speakers.

The rear 6X9's tend to take a bit more bass (mid bass) while the fronts are more comfortable filling in the highs

I'm most pleased with my setup, and must say one more time, thanks Mr. Squirrel for your tips

:D

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spikey
'94 Lincoln, Sony CDX-CA810X, Pioneer TS-A1664/TS-A6963, MTX Blue Thunder PRO50X4, Kenwood KAC-7201, JL Audio 15W4 Sub