Printer Friendly Forum Posts - Diamond Audio vs Eclipse Subs

I decided to trade in my Diamond MarkII 12D4 subs for a pair of Eclipse SW8122DVC subs. What a difference in sound quality, I can't believe how much better the Eclipse subs sound. What kind of wattage can the Eclipse subs take I have heard they are way under rated.

i havent heard many diamond subs. i did have the same eclipse sub your getting and it was underrated quite a bit. because of the aluminum cone, the heat is dissipated much more easily. i was putting in about 800 rms into for a little bit and it took it pretty well

Good trade! Not ever having any experience with the 8000 series subs, I couldn't say. Most of the higer-end woofers from Eclipse are VERY underrated. I am using the DA-7232 Digital amp, (which the Eclipse tech guys tell me is around 1300wpc into 4 ohms) and I have both channels dumping into a single 9122 titanium driver, rated 1500 watts... this thing never even thinks about quitting. But, if you have REAL, CLEAN power at the drivers RATED capacity, you will have no problem with them... they'll take it.

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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

I'm using a US Acoustics USX1000D amp which puts out 1250watts @ 1ohm load with 12.9volts. I'm running 14volts to the amps or there abouts so I figure it's probably closer to 1400watts RMS.

Little experience with Diamond, but i could have told you the eclipse are a sweet subwoofer.

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What will you get for Christmas, bad boy? Coal........or Visonik?? - stevdart

Wow, is everyone clueless and lost in the dark? - uthinkuknoaudio

lol you dont have to be a rocket scientist to realize that eclipse rules. i love when people make the switch. posted_image

well i know im going to get kicked for this one but i personally would take the diamond audio TDX series over the Eclipse Titaniums......but both are close competitors for the top of their game.

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Quad L Handyman services

Your just biased posted_image

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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

i would think that hard to go considering ive never owned either. haha

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Quad L Handyman services

Lizardking, I have a USacoustics mono amp, too, so I'm not cutting on it, but when you're talking Eclipse subwoofer...you should be talking higher quality amp for it. And don't bet on 1400 watts out of it because of the 14 volt input . Consider a trade-up to do that sub justice, especially considering that you are pushing an amp to its extremes at 1 ohm.

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

Consider US Amps. They make the best amplifiers in the world (Just have the money in your hand). A Cadence amp could power that without blinking an eye as well, with extreme clarity (<0.034 % THD) ... Two Cadence amps that I recommend for you would be the ZRS-9 or the ZRS-10. Check them out at www.cadencesound.com

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"I don't play games. I play Nakamichi and that for real yo" - Probably some japanese kid said this in the early 80's trying to sell stereo out of his trunk lol.

I was thinking about the Diamond 1200.1 to power those subs.. As for the power ratings of the USAcoustics amp I got that from USAcoustics. Is running those subs at a 1ohm load a bad thing?

Unless your amp is 1/2 ohm stable yeah

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"I don't play games. I play Nakamichi and that for real yo" - Probably some japanese kid said this in the early 80's trying to sell stereo out of his trunk lol.

What you mean 1/2ohm stable? I'm running two dvc 4ohm subs in parallel which is a 1ohm load right?

It's a mono amp,and running at 1 ohm is within the amp specs. It's just that the amp is not built as a "high current" amp if you were to look into it. I would not run it at 1 ohm just because it will work with that load, but rather if I wanted to go extreme output at low impedance I would spend three times as much for a different amp. However, that said,the USacoustics amp is good bang for the buck and performs well for the money spent. I would just limit the load to 2 ohms on it. And I would pair it with a subwoofer that is in it's quality range, and there are plenty in a lower class than Eclipse. I use that amp myself in a smaller version but the system is strictly budget. An Eclipse driver is deserving of a finer power source.

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

What do you think of the Diamond Audio 1200.1? This amp can ran at a 1ohm stable load with 1200watts RMS and Diamond claims that's underrated. Any other amps out there that would be a good choice?

why not just get the da7232 2ch or the da7122 single channel subwoofer amplifier from eclipse. i have the 7122 and it never ceased to amaze me. clean power and sound and its there when you need it to be.

I looked at them both but it there power ratings seemed weak and don't offer a 1ohm stable amp.

the da7232 is 1000w @ 2 ohms x 2 channels. perfect for your situation.....an awesome amp.

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Quad L Handyman services

Isn't that max power output? I think it's 850watts RMS at a 2ohm load. That's less then I'm putting to them now and the THD is higher then my USAcoustics amp. I'm just trying to justify a purchase for a different amp before I do.

The Diamond I'm looking at is 1200watts RMS @1ohm load which would be ideal for my subs as well right?

TRUST ME!!! The Eclipse amps are way underrated, as well.. I use the DA7232 at 4 ohms per channel, both channels run to a single 9122 (stereo - it ain't bridgeable), and that thing is AMAZING!!! The drivers you have will load each channel to 2 ohms, and you will have a conservatively rated 850 watts to each driver. That'll split yer HEAD, man! posted_image

According to Eclipse, that amp really makes closer to around 1300 watts per channel into 4 ohms. Yes, more power than you need, granted, but as long as you adjust your gains correctly, it'll be safe... If you use the Diamond, which as you say is 1200 watts, you will be running only 600 watts to each driver, and your distortion will be higher with a lower damping factor, due to the 1 ohm load. Use the Eclipse DA7232, run it at 2 ohms per channel, and keep the gains at a safe level (meaning PROPERLY ADJUSTED!). This'll give you LOTS of real, continuous power, better damping (control), PLENTY of output, and you will still have headroom to spare. I PROMISE, you will be happy with that setup!

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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

I agree with this 100%. Don't buy an amp based on a spec, especially one like THD and 1 ohm. The lower your impedence drops, the less the ability of the amp to control the motion of the driver (wet fart bass anyone?) and the more current is drawn from the electrical system. As far as the THD spec goes, your subs will produce waaaaaaaaay, did I mention waaaaaaaay more distortion than any amplifier will compared to a THD spec. Throw this one out the window, from the top floor preferably. The Eclipse DA7232 is a dual mono amp. It is a symetrical design that in part was designed by B&O. (a nice high end home manufacturer). While the "specs" say 2 x 850w rms, as was pointed out, this is totally underrated.

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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

haemphyst wrote:

TRUST ME!!! The Eclipse amps are way underrated, as well.. I use the DA7232 at 4 ohms per channel, both channels run to a single 9122 (stereo - it ain't bridgeable), and that thing is AMAZING!!! The drivers you have will load each channel to 2 ohms, and you will have a conservatively rated 850 watts to each driver. That'll split yer HEAD, man! According to Eclipse, that amp really makes closer to around 1300 watts per channel into 4 ohms. Yes, more power than you need, granted, but as long as you adjust your gains correctly, it'll be safe... If you use the Diamond, which as you say is 1200 watts, you will be running only 600 watts to each driver, and your distortion will be higher with a lower damping factor, due to the 1 ohm load. Use the Eclipse DA7232, run it at 2 ohms per channel, and keep the gains at a safe level (meaning PROPERLY ADJUSTED!). This'll give you LOTS of real, continuous power, better damping (control), PLENTY of output, and you will still have headroom to spare. I PROMISE, you will be happy with that setup!

yep, why would you think theyd make their pro series subs (omg!) if they didnt have anything that would be able to even power them. i love my eclipse products posted_image

Your welcome

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"I don't play games. I play Nakamichi and that for real yo" - Probably some japanese kid said this in the early 80's trying to sell stereo out of his trunk lol.

Another question is if I have a amp putting out 1400watts RMS to 1ohm load and I have two DVC subs wired in parallel then it's acutally only putting 700 watts RMS to each sub?

yep...

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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

So recap things, I would be better off going with a amp that's two channel class D amp like the Eclipse and not going with a amp that put's out like the Diamond 1200.1 even though the Diamond is supposed to be way underrated. By running my sub in a 1ohm load puts a lot of stress on a amp. Sorry for all the questions just trying to learn. Another thing is my USAcoustics 1000D amp says it can run 1250watts RMS @ 1ohm load with only 12volts. Now USAcoustics is telling me with 14volts I'm seeing close to around 1400watts RMS. When I run my USAcoustics amp with my Eclipse subs the amp don't even get warm like it's even working hard and this thing pounds hard. I just want to make sure before I fork out the money I will be gaining. USAcoustics say's they are not in to looks but performance and this is why their amps like mine sell for only $450.

Thanks guys!

Looking over my spec sheet on my amp I'm able to run this thing of both speaker ouputs in a 2 ohm load. It has two sets of speaker ouputs and the brochure says I can hook up two subs to each one with a 2ohm load. Would I be better off doing this? Also the amp says it's 700watts RMS @ 2ohm load with 12volts.

Those two sets of terminals are parallelled inside the amp, so you will still be running one ohm... They just do that for convenience of connection. I guess I was under the impression you still NEEDED the amp. If you have one that works for you, and you are happy with the performance, by all means, keep it man! You don't need to spend any more cash...

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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

I just want to make sure I have a amp that is going to do those subs justice and I'm putting good clean power to them.

im just going to take a second to drool over the titanium pro I saw a few hours ago getting unloaded at usaci world finals...tomorrow the fun begins

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