Need help chosing a 4 channel amp
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=51728
Printed Date: July 23, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Topic: Need help chosing a 4 channel amp
Posted By: eric_the_great1
Subject: Need help chosing a 4 channel amp
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 12:42 AM
Hi, I am looking to buy a 4 channel amp for about $400. It will be powering my 6 1/2 type-r components up front and my 3 way Kappa 6X9's in the rear. I am using an Alpine 9831 deck in a 02 Dodge Neon. I have an old Rockford Punch 60x2 (the black ones) powering 1 Punch series 3 10" sub. I have been looking at PPI, Alpine, Phoenix Gold and Rockford. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks guys.
Replies:
Posted By: ty
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 2:11 AM
Well out of the four amps you listed I can tell you things that I have heard many installers from this site say about two of them. I too was looking for a four channel amp for front and rear. Anyway, I heard to not go with anything new from PPI, heard they are crap. Phoenix Gold I also heard the new stuff is crap, especially the xenon series because is made overseas. But I also heard conflicting advise about these amplifiers. If I were you I would do some searches on the amps you are curious about and go with the one that has less negative remarks and more positive ones. I went with a Cadence amp, I heard great things about Cadence, and not one bad thing. And the customer service representatives are cool.
Posted By: kfr01
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 2:34 AM
The list I'd look at for a mains amp.
(in no particular order, and surely missing some)
Audison, Zapco, Xtant, Eclipse, Diamond, Memphis
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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder
Posted By: hightek
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 2:34 AM
cadence is awesome, they're pricey though.
on a similar line of questions, what do you all think of the Soundstream Van Gogh series?
Posted By: ty
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 2:44 AM
Soundstream was mixed advice as well, DYohn, one of the moderators suggests not to go with soundstream because their amps are being manufactured overseas.
Posted By: eric_the_great1
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 3:08 AM
So are rockfords not good for highs? What about Alpines?
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 5:20 PM
Are Rockford amps good for anything, besides keeping your boat from drifting while fishing? (No flames, please... just an opinion) That being said, no, they are NOT good for highs. Alpine is marginally better, but on the OTHER end of the SQ scale - i.e. VERY shrill sounding amps. Don't care for 'em...
Eclipse, Zapco, Eclipse, Audison, and Eclipse would be my choices, in that order. Oh, and look at Eclipse, too... 
If you can find some old-school Nakamichi amps, buy 'em! GREAT quality amps, and excellent SQ to boot! ------------- 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."
Posted By: dwarren
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 5:41 PM
arc audio is high on my list
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Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 5:58 PM
Eclipse PA5422, Audison, Eclipse EA3422, Concept CA604, Crossfire VR404 and VR 804 and that is all that makes my short list. ------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: racer427
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 6:51 PM
Well, in reference to Cadence amps, I am using a slightly older model Q400 Bi-amping my compnents and I love it. It is Crystal clean and delivers pleanty of power to the speakers considering that I am running 4 6.5" Midbass's and 4 1" tweeters up front. I am thinking about purchasing a Cadence 2 channel to drive the rear speakers (if I decide to run them). I have heard and read many reviews on the new Cadence amps. Not one review that I have read puts them down at all. Other amps that I would consider are JL, PPI and MTX. I just installed an MTX Thunder 684 4 channel in my buddies blazer hooked to a set of Type R components and alpine 6x9's in the rear and it sounded amazingly good. Chris ------------- Alpine CDA-9833 HU
Diamond Audio M661 Components
MTX Thunder T6.6 Components:rear fill:
Cadence Q400 4 Channel Mains + rears
Thunder 801D Subs
MTX 1004 10's
Dual 4g wire to rear
4g grounds
Posted By: Poormanq45
Date Posted: March 11, 2005 at 9:39 PM
I suggest a Nakamichi Pa-2004 amp.
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