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What amp should I get


Drummer

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I just bought 2 new 12" kenwood KFC-W3012 series subs and my kicker zx300.1 amp is struggling to keep up with one. I've looked around for an amp but none are around the exact specifications as the subs. The subs are 1200 watt peak and 400 rms @4ohms. If anyone can find a decent amp let me know, as i know a little about this stuff but just enough.

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  • 4 months later...
Stay with kicker b far best amps iv owned! long lasting and can take a beating

 

Kicker amps, while decent, are not some of the best out there (they aren't anything compared to Sundown amps for example), and are often overpriced due to the name. That's perhaps my biggest dislike about them; that you could get better for the price and their sound quality is not on par with other companies. They do however have great build quality and they do seem to last. I consider them a midrange brand with a mid-high end price.

 

Get something that's CEA certified for starters. If you want to save some cash, get them used. I would highly recommend heading over to dyima.com as they often have excellent audiophile grade amps for sale for very good prices.

 

Consider that Kenwood isn't the best of brands and while I don't say that to put down your system, I say that to point out that the subs themselves are likely way overrated and likely cannot handle 400W continuous but closer to 250W RMS. I've had a couple Kenwood subs in the past and I've blown them repeatedly by giving them their rated power.

 

That being said, the reason why that amp is inadequate for one or both of those subs is because of the impedance. You're using the wrong configuration for that amp. One sub at 4ohms will run that amp at 150W RMS, which is about half what you should be giving them, and the same applies with two subs.

 

I would find a CEA certified amp that is capable of producing 500W-600W @ 2 ohms. The Alpine MRP-M500 is a good choice.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-M500-MRP-M500-Amplifier-1-channel/dp/B0013TQ6FK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1297458971&sr=1-1

Edited by xtremerevolution
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Kicker amps, while decent, are not some of the best out there (they aren't anything compared to Sundown amps for example), and are often overpriced due to the name. That's perhaps my biggest dislike about them; that you could get better for the price and their sound quality is not on par with other companies. They do however have great build quality and they do seem to last. I consider them a midrange brand with a mid-high end price.

 

Get something that's CEA certified for starters. If you want to save some cash, get them used. I would highly recommend heading over to dyima.com as they often have excellent audiophile grade amps for sale for very good prices.

 

Consider that Kenwood isn't the best of brands and while I don't say that to put down your system, I say that to point out that the subs themselves are likely way overrated and likely cannot handle 400W continuous but closer to 250W RMS. I've had a couple Kenwood subs in the past and I've blown them repeatedly by giving them their rated power.

 

That being said, the reason why that amp is inadequate for one or both of those subs is because of the impedance. You're using the wrong configuration for that amp. One sub at 4ohms will run that amp at 150W RMS, which is about half what you should be giving them, and the same applies with two subs.

 

I would find a CEA certified amp that is capable of producing 500W-600W @ 2 ohms. The Alpine MRP-M500 is a good choice.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-M500-MRP-M500-Amplifier-1-channel/dp/B0013TQ6FK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1297458971&sr=1-1

 

 

 

you must be confusing kicker with kenwood. kicker IS a good brand and not flea market stuff. that amp is cea certified 2006.

 

 

not sure why you would claim that one at 4 ohms would be the same as two. When wired in series, subwoofers will increase in impedance, while wiring in parallel lowers impedance. that is a monoblock amp by the way running those in parallel will net probably 450 watts.

 

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