i just bought this amp Alpine MRP-M350 Mono Amplifier:
200 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms 350 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms requires 8-gauge power and ground leads -- wiring and hardware not included with amplifier MOSFET power supply low-pass crossover, 50-200 Hz, 24 dB/octave 15 Hz subsonic filter variable Bass EQ bass boost (0-12 dB at 50 Hz) preamp- and speaker-level inputs blue power LED extra-large gold-plated terminals 9-3/16"W x 2-7/16"H x 9-9/16"D
do you guys think this will do, it's 200 watts rms @4ohm for my alpine 4 ohm svc type R, or should i go for something like maybe the jbl 180.2 which is 360 rms bridged.... i remember you guys telling me that a 2 channel amp does it's best work bridged and a mono amp does it's best work in 2 ohms.... oviously i can't bring the alpine down to 2 ohms so would the jbl be a better match?
thanks for the advice guys..... so i installed the alpine for now, to be really honest i don't really hear or feel that much of a difference... the kenwood i was using was only giving the type R 100w rms, this new alpine i bought is giving it 200w rms and it has a bass eq..... i think maybe i don't have all the settings right..... i have the gain 3/4 up and same with the bass eq, i also have a mtx crossover that has an output level for the lpf, i also have that 3/4 up.... is that ok or should change it???
another question, this amp says it has subsonic filter but i can't seem to find it.... every website i check the specs on says it has it but where is it on the amp?
the subsonic filter is probably jsut built in. nothing to set. frequencies below 20Hz or so are just filtered out.
as for a difference, you won't really notice much of one. remember double the power is still only a gain on average of +3dB. double the volume is +10dB, which actually requires an increase in power on the order of ten times.
example: 100 watts = 90dB 200 watts = 93dB (noticeable but not drastic) 1,000 watts = 100dB (twice the original volume)
this is why every dB makes such a big difference to SPL competitors. Sometimes half a decibel can mean a lot of work to achieve.
with the external mtx XO, you can set that LPF to full up. that's just an attenuator to reduce the level if the subs are overpowering the rest of teh system. it's not like the amplifier's gain which balances teh amp's input stage to the line voltage.
the gain, ideally, should be set to match input voltage. that'd be done using an o-scope. otherwise you just need to set it by ear and avoid distortion and clipping.
bass EQ.. that's your call. I prefer to leave those things set flat/off to avoid clipping as well. if I have any EQ changes to do, I use an external parametric or 1/3 octave unit, like alpine's 3401 or 3402, audiocontrol's EQL or EQT, or orion's DEQ30