new Alpine amps?

Does anyone know why their new amps (the MRD-M1005 and the MRD-M605) are so inexpensive compared to the last models (MRD-M1001 and MRD-M501). The MRD-M1005 is almost half the price of last years model. Is Alpine going down hill like some other companys or have they just found some way to manufacture their amps cheaper?

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I have spoke with the alpine dealers here and they say that the amps are cheaper that there is no change in the company, same specs go into the amps but I have not purchased any of the latest alpine products since I bought lots of their alpine typ x subs and I didnot like the sound of the sub. takes lots of power and a punch 3 will put it to shame, my alpine dealing days are over.

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just to let you know the new subs suck really bad i had a  friend that told me he had the subs for about 2 weeks and they have blown already he has 4 alpine subs 2 old one and the 2 new ones same amp and same set up on each one the 2 new one have blown the old ones are rocking still but new ones are no good

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When i first saw the new amps i almost suddenly lost  half my respect for alpine.  Needless to say, im saving up for an Eclipse deck, Adire subs, and a boat load more of non alpine stuff except the speakers.

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2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.

Maybe it is a move to price them in a Best Buy friendly way. The look says that to me.

Alpine are you going to change your name then?  I must say I dont think Im a real big fan of the new look.  How much is the Besy Buy on those (pre markup)

Naw im not gona change my name, cuz im still going to have alpine speakers and most likely the new 4 channel amp thats replaceing the MRV-F540 with the F#1 status technologies.  Thats the only amp that got better.  I may even stick with the 2004 MRD amps, there the sexyest amps iv seen to date.

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2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.

Man, the Type X is a failure. Plain and simple. Its a decent driver but doesnt compare to the other subs it was supposed to target. The idea was for it to be a W7 killer, and it failed at that. The only reason why someone would choose the alpine is if they couldnt afford the JL, and this is comming from a guy that despises JL. But the W7 just cleans the floor with that type X. I havent played around with the higher end RF this year so I dont know how they stack up. The 9500 is still a strong alternative to the W7 and, again still wipes the floor with the type X. And lets not forget about the personal favorite of this forum, the Adire Brahma, which again eclipses the Type X for preformance. Oh ya and there is the eclipse drivers to choose from that can put a hurtin on that failed abortion called the Alpine type X. So there ya go, 4 better alternatives to the type X. And the sales figures I have seen dont reflect your comment about how it has put a hurting on the likes of JL and Rockford. RF's decrease in sales has been directly proportional to MTX's rise in sales, and dont kid yourself, that company is rising fast once again. And as for JL, the are living comfortably in their little niche of the market that they have always resided in. I think what you are seeing from this years alpine is a direct reflection of their deal with best buy and their vast increase in production that is nessasary to stock a chain store like best buy. Quality must be sacrificed for quanity, plain and simple.

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

Oh by the way, it sounded great too.  The increase in sales has absolutely nothing to do with BB, they haven't even gone into BB yet.  Do you see product there, I don't.  Oh, yeah, Alpine was in Circuit City, which was another 600 store chain.  So production is not ramped up to the extent that you may think.  Oh and also, I don't see where the quality is suffering considering that that sub is virtually indestructable. But hey, thats just my opinoin right?

I have yet to hear a sub that can hit the 50hz and down so dam hard as the type-x, but one problem is that the surround is so dam stiff at the beginning that people jump to conclusions that thats how the sub will always sound.  It does get better and better once that surround softens up.

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2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.

Well, smartass, it is your opinion and you are completly entitled to that. I have heard the type X, and I stand by my previous statements. Infact I had the distinct advantage of going to a store that carried the type X, the W7 and the 9500. When those subs came out I went there and we did a few invehicle comparisions using the one salesmans car. Same amp to all 3 subs and all three subs were put in what their manufactures considered optimum size enclosures and the type X fell on its face. I mean sh*t man, the first one we used blew. Of course its a distinct possibility that it was simply a manufactures defect but it doesnt reflect very good when the first sub outta the initial shipment was crap. I understand that manufacturing errors occur but in the first shipment the store got 2 outta 5 of the 12's were defective, and being that alpine had already pushed the street date back on the driver initially I would have thought the quality control was a little better. As for sq, I was not the only one in that store that thought it got its ass whipped by the other two drivers. The 9500 is not known as being an SQ driver, but it sounded a hell of a lot better then that friggin abomination from alpine. The JL also whipped the sh*t outta that type X. Wasnt as loud as the 9500 but sounded better than both drivers. Honestly had I known that you owned one of these subs I woulda never got into this because trying to convince someone who owns this driver that it is not the saving grace is usless cause the owner has their mind set already. You made comments about how you knew that this sub took a bite outta JL's W7 sales. I would be interested if you actually had some numbers to back that up with or not. And on to your last claim about hitting 148 using a MRDM501 and then hitting 150 once you re set your processor or whatever the hell it was,  I know thats bullsh*t. You are not gonna hit that with that kinda power and that sub, not unless you are using a bullsh*t mic. If its a term lab mic and you gained two db by adjusting you processor, whatever the hell that was, and am hitting 150 in general with that sub I'll eat that damn type X, just suggest the wine to go with it. Alpines numbers are gonna have to go up signifigantly to supply best buy over circut city because best buy, per year, moves more head units than circut city. Also dont forget that if alpine wants in for the long haul then it was a smart move by them to jump ship to best buy because they are still opening more stores every year while continuing to maintaining or relocating there old stores. Circuit City, while they did open new stores last year actually closed more stores than they opened. All this sh*t I am telling you isnt hard to find. Most of these companies are publicly traded on the open stock market, which means all the financial infromation is provided to the public. If you think I am full of sh*t then do a little foot work and find something legit to argue with me about, cause so far you are smoke and mirrors

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

BTW to the Original Alpine Guy, I will admit that all the type X subs I heard have been when they are new and mabye they do indeed need to lossen up before they are gonna preform better. I just havent had the oppurtunity to hear one that has been "aged to prefection" :)

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

If you had read my post I said nothing about Alpines sales increasing with best buy. I was going back to the origin of this thread and saying that they are going a cheaper route in production to increase the unit output to supply best buy.

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

I do agree that the type-x didn't crack up to what it was advertised as, hence the reason why im not getting it.  For the same money im getting a Brahma.  So im totally not biased.  Even tho i have owned a type-x for 2 weeks.

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2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.