New to Subs, Amp for Alpine!

 

New member
Username: Bmage29

IA USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-06
I have a Alpine SWR-1242D that I bought 3 month used. I also bought, from the same person, his Hifonics Brutus BXI1205 1200 Watt Super D-Class Mono Amp that he had had since X-mas.

Recently the amp just started smokeing for no apparent reason, and an electronic store said it would cost about $80 to fix. They also said that Hifonics has a history of easily blowing the transmitters or something allong that line.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend some Quality amps that are under or at $300. I checked one at Alpine and it was $400. The one store reccomended a Total Molile Audio (TMA) T5001 and is selling it for only $200. Also they say the TMAs are very durable.

Is the TMA any good? NEED ADVICE and RECOMMENDATIONS.
 

Gold Member
Username: Dustin3

Tigard, Or U.S.

Post Number: 1094
Registered: Oct-05
hifonics are very good amps. its just that they overrate their power a lil bit. I guarentee that u had ur gain too high or somthin like that. the amp overheats because of the gain being to high and then eventually starts smoking. nothing was wrong with that amp, u just fryed it.

are you looking for amps that put out 1200 watts @ 1 ohm?

look into:

kicker kx1200.1
re12.1
hifonics 1505d

MB Quart RAA1000

Orion HCCA-D2400

there are lots - i wouldnt look into TMA.
 

New member
Username: Bmage29

IA USA

Post Number: 2
Registered: May-06
OK, so the gain is too high. How do I fix that and what is GAIN? As I said, I am new and basically only know about the RMS, size and shape differences, the Db's, and power each sub can withstand.

The Sub I have has an RMS of 500W and a peak of 1500W.

I am glad that the amp was blown by myself instead of faulty manufacturing and I think I might just get it repaired. Also does the type of wiring affect weither it will fry or not?

I do have a few questions though:

EX. Will wire ment for bigger amps fry smaller amps?

Also what is the deal with ohms?

Lastly, what is the deal with Single 4 ohm and Dual 4 ohm.

Sidenote: When I had my amp inspeacted, none of the fuses (Near battery or amp) were blown.

2nd Sidenote: I don't know what I really what I want for the amp to put out, I just want the big "BOOM" without damaging my sub or amp. Also I listen to mostly rock, and some Rap.
 

Gold Member
Username: Dustin3

Tigard, Or U.S.

Post Number: 1097
Registered: Oct-05
basically ur gain is on the amp and people think its a volume knob. its not. when you turn the gain or (level input- as it might say on ur amp) the subs get "louder" as some people will say and will essentially give you more bass. this however will sacrifice how much u can turn ur HU (head unit) up in volume. so your sacrificing somethin. When setting the gain, you want it to match the output voltage of ur HU. An easier way for some people would be to turn all the knobs off on ur amp, then turn ur HU up until you start to hear ur speaker distort a lil. than turn it down a knotch to when it not distorting. than turn ur gain or level input up until ur subs distort, than turn it own a knotch. that how you can set it correctly.

No, wire will not affect the amps output unless it not the right AWG (gage) and it wont sufficiently run power through ur system.

ohms: a very big question to most newbs
read www.bcae1.com and read a couple of other things like sub wiring and amp stuff. this will help you gain a lil knowledge about this.

"single" refers to how many voice coils the sub has, and "dual" refers to twice as many as the single which means more wiring options.

yes. the type of wiring does have an effect on how the amp functions. i.e, frying. If you give your amp an ohm load that it cannot handle because of the subs specs, it will over work the amp and will eventually fry.

since you have 2 500 watt subs = 1000 watt amp

WHAT KIND OF SUBS DO YOU HAVE AND WHAT IS THE CONFIGURATION (EX: SINGLE 2 OHM, DUAL 2 OHM, SINGLE 4 OHM, DUAL 4 OHM...)??

for wiring option go to www.the12volt.com and go to woofer wiring on the left. play around with that for a little while.
 

New member
Username: Riceburner3

Post Number: 2
Registered: May-06
hey iv got a 2006 alpine head unit with the ipod int. and all, all alpine type-s speakers (2 6.5s, 2 6x9s, and 1 12"), an alpine v-power 360w max 50x4rms amp running the midrange, and a bazooka 500w max 300wrms amp for the sub, all wired with monster and JL.

hopefully somebody can help me out with this because i usually know a decent amount about this stuff but im stumped...

my 6.5" speakers are rated to 45w rms the way i have them wired. the amp puts out 50w but obviously i turn the gain down so it doesnt get that much. i recently installed my head unit and thats when i noticed MUCH more clipping at high volumes(wasnt there before). i tried high-pass filters (bass blocker), but they didnt seem to do anything. i turned the gain down more but they still distort at high volumes.

there are two more things that i think it may be and i was wondering if i anybody could give me advice? i think that either i blew the speaker (even though the 6x9s also occasionally distort), or that the head unit (putting out 2v instead of 4v to the amps) is not giving the amp enough signal and the amp is actually distorting it. could this be happening? and if so could i wire it from the HU to the amp with speaker wire instead of rcas and fix it?
 

Gold Member
Username: Dustin3

Tigard, Or U.S.

Post Number: 1102
Registered: Oct-05
make ur own thread^
 

New member
Username: Bmage29

IA USA

Post Number: 3
Registered: May-06
Thanks for the info above, but I have a few corrections to make.

1. I only have one sub, Alpine SWR-1242D, for spects see site below:
http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/product.php?model=SWR-1242D&lang=en&tab=F

2. When I mentioned dual vs. single coils, I ment on sound quality and sound effect. Sorry, I wasn't very specific.

Also, My wiring is 4 gage for reference, is this OK? I was about to get 8 gage, but the salespeople said it was too weak or something.

As for my Ohm setting, I honestly couldn't tell you at the moment. I got the wires and everything installed at the store, and havn't even thought about it.

Thanks for the information about the gain and how to fix the problem. I think I caused the amp to blow because I had a friend tinker with the amp setting and, as you said, he turned the level imput to the max.

Thanks for all the info again, hopefully most of these problems won't happen again.

I will try to find out my configuration for Ohms.
 

Bronze Member
Username: _jay_

Post Number: 99
Registered: Mar-06
if you have the 1242D, then it would be 4ohms, that would be if you had two subwoofers, then you can make into a 1ohm load, otherwise you would be running at 4ohms, making you get less power out of your amp, you would be better off with two subwoofers..
 

Gold Member
Username: Dustin3

Tigard, Or U.S.

Post Number: 1104
Registered: Oct-05
since you have 1 Dual voice coil 4 ohm sub, ur best bet is to wire to 2 ohms. so find an amp that puts out 500-600 watts at 2 ohms
 

New member
Username: Bmage29

IA USA

Post Number: 8
Registered: May-06
Can you recommend a good company or type of amp that provides that sort of wattage?

I am not sure if I can get my amp repaired, I took it to a local store and said it would cost $20 for an evaluation. I don't really want to pay $20 bucks to tell me it'll cost more to repair or that it's unrepairable.

LASTLY, Is Brutus overrated? There is allot of controversy, I guess.
 

Gold Member
Username: Dustin3

Tigard, Or U.S.

Post Number: 1109
Registered: Oct-05
overrated in what way? watts? or just as a company? watts - yes, company - not really. they have always been a great budget amp for people who dont want to spends lots of money

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=14759

bridge it at 2 ohms...
 

Gold Member
Username: Dustin3

Tigard, Or U.S.

Post Number: 1110
Registered: Oct-05
^^ i mean, just wire to 2 ohm
 

New member
Username: Sgpickup

WA USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-06
i have a 2 channel/mono california profile amp and 2 12" alpine type-e subs. the subs are 4 ohms each and the amp can only be wired, in mono mode, at a 4 ohm minimum. how do i wire my subs to the amp at 4 ohms. i do not want to wire them at 8 ohms. should i just wire each sub up to a channel output instead of the mono? can someone help me?
 

Bronze Member
Username: Bmage29

IA USA

Post Number: 14
Registered: May-06
Quoting bassman3

"make ur own thread^"
 

Bronze Member
Username: Bmage29

IA USA

Post Number: 16
Registered: May-06
Will this amp work? It seems very similar to my brutus, but I don't know the picky details of what to look for.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_4096.html

It's only $200, I am kind of limited to $300 at the current time.
 

Gold Member
Username: Dustin3

Tigard, Or U.S.

Post Number: 1122
Registered: Oct-05
yes^. the specs on that would match ur subs perfectly because it is a lil overrated so ur sub will get 550 or maybe more watts. I say go for it, but u can keep lookin around though.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Bmage29

IA USA

Post Number: 22
Registered: May-06
Finally, I found my amp. I feel like an idiot now, I kept typing BXi1205D, why? Don't know!

Anyways, does anyone know what the RMS of the Alpine amp posted above is at 2 ohms? it is a SWR-1242D ( ONE SUB)
http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/product.php?model=SWR-1242D&lang=en&tab=F

My amp:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_3533.html#specs

Lastly, thanks for the help everyone. I got my amp checked and it will only cost about $50 to repair. Apparently some wire shorted out near the transistor or something. I saw my amp while they were fixing and it was only knowticable by a small brownish spot.

Stupid Wire!!! (I HATE YOU WIRE)

Thanks again. If you could just answer my last question, that would be appreciated!

Here it is again!

Does anyone know the RMS of a SWR-1242D Alpine Sub is at 2 ohms? or is it still 500W.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Bmage29

IA USA

Post Number: 23
Registered: May-06
Before I log off, from the similar question.

WIlL 800-900W at 2 ohm be too much power(too damageing to the sub) for the sub?

I DO NOT WANT TO DAMAGE THE SUB FOR AT LEAST 4 YRS. (Don't ask about the 4 yrs)
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