Okay, here's the story:

I was running a pair of 2ohm components off two channels (not bridged) of a Rockford 240.4. The system sounded pretty good with 60w going to them, but there was room for more power and the amp was a bit old, so I decided to "upgrade" the power with a JBL Power Series 80.2. Good theory, right?

So I get the amp, hook it up, and try it out. Let me tell ya: I'm not alone in saying that it didn't sound as good. In fact, the speakers sounded noticably underpowered which caused them to distort at higher volumes regardless as to how I set the gains. Seriously disappointing. Anyway, the purpose of this post isn't to bash JBL (although people may want to take note that 60 "Rockford watts" beat 80 "JBL watts" hands down lol).

I'm now going back to some more reliable brands, namely Kicker and Rockford Fosgate. However, I've never owned a Kicker amp and I was hoping people could give me some feedback/opinions on how they match up against each other. I'm looking at both brands' 4 channel, 300W amps (so 75W per ch). The speakers that they're powering are 2 pairs of Soundstream SPL60 components with a power rating of 60W RMS (but they seem to "want" more). The only other thing I'm worried about is whether I should go with more power; maybe 100W per ch.

So yeah, the poll's more for fun, but any and all written responses would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Kicker is Awesome! I would put them over RF ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. A KX300.2 would be PLENTY for that comp. set. Any Kicker amp thats *rated* at 60+x2 will be plenty, their ratings are way lower than actual.

BTW, I would only consider JBL Powervalve amps for subs, and nothing less than the 1200.1 (which puts out 1300-1400rms).

 

I've sold and owned both brands. Both are bullet-proof powerhouses. I like the kicker stuff better myself, but not enough to preach that Kicker is the one that you should buy. You'll be happy with either.

 

Well, I think I'm pretty much going with Kicker at this point if for no other reason than the fact that I find their amps a bit more asthetically pleasing than the Rockford ones. But there is another reason too...

So far I have only been exploring Rockford's 300.4 and BD500.1 vs Kicker's KX300.4 and KX400.1. I only just noticed (I'm not as familiar with Kicker) Kicker's KX700.5 which is apparently both of those two amps rolled into one at a cheaper price. I'm just wondering if there is any compromise/sacrifice (other than losing the independent sub pre-out) that was made in this model compared to the two seperate amps. If not, I'm probably going in this direction for the price and the convenience.

 

The 700.5 is a five channel, with a built in class D side for the sub, remote gain, fan cooling, etc.

you'll get 75x4 (more actually) and 400+ watts mono on the sub.

need help with Kicker stuff, just holler!

 

IMO, from experience, RF amps, Kicker subs.

The only thing I don't like about RF is they've entered the "cheap amp" craze. I know they have to go where the market is in order to sell stuff, but I'll give you an example.

My RF amp is a Punch 100DSM that I bought ~1990. It cost me ~$400. My friend bought "the same amp" (so he says), newer model, last year for $120. Well I can tell you that his amp puts out NO WHERE NEAR the same amount of power as mine.

Maybe they just really under rated their amps back then? I dunno, but IMO, the old RF amps are the kick ***!!!!! :rockon:

AJ

 

YES. The man who designed them now has his own company (so I've been told), Lunar and those amps don't play around either!

 

Damn!!!!! According to this article...... well see for yourself how much the 25Wx2 is.

Better be a good amp.

AJ

 

Oh yeah, they are pricey!

I will prob go with them whenever I change amps...they fit the best for what I want to do.

3 L40x2's one per set of spkrs (midbass, mid and tweet) and then 2 L25x2's. One for each coil of a Brahma.

Oh yeah I can get them lower than retail (hopefully).

 

That's because Rockford changed their naming convention. Your old Punch 100 was rated at 50x2. His Punch 100 is rated at about 20 watts if I recall. The modern equivalent to your amp is a Punch 360a2, which sells for around $350, maybe a couple bucks less. The 360a2 is actually more powerful than your punch 100 (90x2 at 4 ohms), and costs around the same. The 360a2 is "rated" at 360x1 in a bridged 4 ohm configuration, but most birth certificates put it at nearly 500 watts.

 

I totally wasn't thinking... here I am asking about Kicker stuff and I forgot to consult our resident Kicker specialist. Thanks Polecat.

I'm pretty thrilled about the idea of a useful 5-channel amp. So many of the ones out there are fairly entry level stuff that cheap-out on the sub power. This one really seems to address that.

The only question I have is whether there are any large benefits that would make buying the KX300.4/KX400.1 combo better than the KX700.5 package.

Anyways, I appreciate all the feedback guys. I really wanted to be 100% sure this time after the JBL incident, and I have a much better feeling this time around. I'll let you all know how it works out!!

 

That sounds about right. My owners manual says @ 14.4 volts is 420 watts x 1 into 4 ohms.

AJ

 

Well I'm a diehard

Rockford guy.

You can't go wrong with them. Built like a rock.
I have no problems with them....

 

by using a seperate sub amp, you will be easier to 'tune' the system. The 700.5 as well as the 550.3 are for the simplicity, and cost factored installs.

 

I couldnt be happier with my rockford 360a2. Also the birth certificate says 541 watts!

 

I would go kicker but both are good brands. JBL is budget in my opinion and If you can afford kicker or rockford skip JBL and leave it for the wallmart fanatics

 

Y'know, a month ago I would have questionned that. I had heard so many people preaching the benefits of JBL amps again and again, talking about how they're the most underrated amp that you can find for the price.

While that may be true (they can be significantly cheaper), I was under the impression that they wouldn't be sacrificing any power in return. But instead of the underrated power that I was anticipating, I'm almost certain that the damn thing was fairly overrated. And that's usually a feature reserved for wallmart amps.

Still, that's not to say they're "bad". I was underwhelmed, but I'd still take them over a great deal of other brands/amps. The best explanation that I can come up with is that JBL skirts the line seperating the junk from the decent stuff.

 

Is that a miniskirt, t-length, or full length?

AJ

 

lol Definately full-length..... that amp didn't even show any ankle....

 

all i have to say is go to a shop where you can listen to set of fosgate 12s on a fosgate amp../.....DAMN THEY THUMP ...
when i was listening felt like my ears where turning inside out ...

 

A friend of mine has a custom box w/ 2 15" Kicker solo-baric drivers in it. Just for 'kicks' (no pun intended) we hooked it up and put it in my back seat... I still have a lump on my forehead from where it hit the windshield when we cranked it up. Those things are beyond all comprehension! Amazing bass! Although, that box adds about 100 extra pounds to the weight of the car...