i was looking to get zapco reference amps for my components and sub. i had seen the symbilink stuff and don't really know what it is. can anyone explain it a little to me please? what are the benefits for having it?? also, how much does it cost to get the symbilink balanced lines stuff? thanks in advance.
Symbilink is a balanced 16V DIN cable used to supply the amplifier, as opposed to typical differential RCAs that people used. The benefit is a drastically reduced noise floor, rejection to inducted noise from components in the car. It lessens the chance of alternator whine in a car. It's pretty much the cleanest signal you're going to get in a car.
There are so many different Symbilink processors so that you can accomodate a variety of systems. Best way to get it IMO is by using their SP4-SL Preamp, it serves as an equalizer, a system volume control, controls sub level and has a crossover for the sub, and a fader, plus it converts the incoming unbalanced signal to a Symbilink balanced output. Then you could buy the cables and run them to the amps. Not exactly sure on specific price for the cables, the SP4-SL processor is $400 or less (less online).