Subwoofers, Speakers & Amps

My Power 500a2 is the last of the old school designs before the change over in late 2000. Its spec sheet rates it @ 720 RMSx1 watts full power @ 2 ohms. Amp was bought new in early 1999 for $1195 CAN. My Soundtream reference was made in the U.S.A. in 1996. it Is the original Reference 700sx, not 700s the 1 with the guts out the Reference 400sx transferred over in 98 to the 700s because they felt it was overbuilt. The Reference is probably in its day possibly 1 of the best 2 channel amps money could buy.

This is exactly what I got in early 99 from RF:

https://2img.net/h/i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff248/Mhall222/Car%20audio/Power500a2.jpg

This is what I got from Soundstream in 1996-97 think it was early 97.
http://diymobileaudio.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=7087

My buddy bought the same RF amp that year and his sheet read 660 RMSx1 full power @ 2 ohms, it interesting to see them vary like that in power on the exact same model, but nice to see that they were each tested.

AA is right on the early 90's as well, I had originally in my very first system 2 12" Crankensteins in a band pass running off that exact amp... the Punch 40i, I bought it used in 1993 w/o the end caps to cover everything up fancy but I was a kid back then so it didn't really matter as long as it was loud. Never did know the rating though all that was worn off when I got it. Thanx for posting its specs. Mines still works to this day to, but only when its bridged, the left positive terminal broke on it. I gave it to my lil cousin to run his little Cerwin Vega 10". Sounds pretty good for 20 year old technology. I really doubt my new stuff will last 20 years and the amps are barely even making an effort running my sytem, grossly overpowerred, but better 2 much then 2 little amps can be adjusted.

As for the Power 500a2 well it and the Punch 160a2 I bought in the same year are both going strong, thats 11 years (Sounstream Ref. 13 years) and counting used everyday even in Canadian winter. Sorry but the Chinese can't compete with that kind of durability.

I'm thinking about changing my system.
right now i have 2 10" kicker solobarics in a sealed box powered by a memphis 2ch amp. (200.2 maybe?)
it hits very clean and has tight full range bass. plenty loud for what i use it for. even at half gain.

I would like something a bit smaller (and lighter) but still have the same sound or a little more. I also want to power the other 4 speakers in my car. (infinity ref in front and alpine type s in back)

I was thinking about going with a L7 10" sub in a sealed box and powering it and the rest of my stuff with a 5 channel amp.

what amp should i go with and is 5 channels even needed?
i was thinking something like the polk pa1100.5, but its a little more than i was looking to spend. ($430 at crutchfield)

Matthew

Here's what I'd do: JL 8W7



You can find one for $250 if you look around.

Cerwin Vega Stroker

the 8W7 looks heavy. would i be saving weight in the back by switching to that over the 10" L7?

what size box is needed for that too?

It's heavy for an 8", it weighs 17 lb, one lb less than and 10" L7. Its enclosure will be smaller and lighter than an L7, too. You can use many different box volumes depending on the type of sound you want. Generally smaller = louder, larger = better. The largest box for an 8W7 will be smaller than the largest box for a 10L7, for the same sound quality.

If you're going to add weight to our cars, putting it in the rear is best, unless you are only concerned with drag racing.

AA wrote:

Good points. Also, older Fosgate amps (I'm talking Punch DSMs from the early '90s) came with a data printout that showed the actual power output of the amp you purchased. Nowadays I'm not sure if they do that any more, but those were good amps that I still run to this day. They were also very clean sounding, but huge in size for 40 watt amps.

they still do this, i got a printout with both of my p300-1's

AA wrote:

It's heavy for an 8", it weighs 17 lb, one lb less than and 10" L7. Its enclosure will be smaller and lighter than an L7, too. You can use many different box volumes depending on the type of sound you want. Generally smaller = louder, larger = better. The largest box for an 8W7 will be smaller than the largest box for a 10L7, for the same sound quality.

If you're going to add weight to our cars, putting it in the rear is best, unless you are only concerned with drag racing.

alright. 17lbs is still better than the 100lbs in the back right now. what 5 channel amp will work with the W7?

With the box you are probably looking at 50-75 lb. Any amp with 250W-400W on the subwoofer channel will work. The W7s are 3 ohm, so a 2 ohm stable amp is probably needed.

Enclosure specs: http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_subs_enclusure.php?series_id=1

And make sure you leave at least 2" of space in front of the woofer cone - I've seen these things come clear out of the box at full excursion!

Blew 1 of my Rockford HX2 8" in my Fiero because it was hitting the seat. I think their X-Max was 0.55-0.60 inches. Didin't take long to shred a sub like that. However speaker grills are for fags, so i just moved my seat ahead,LOL.

the L7 10" is about $70 less than the W7. Is the 8" W7 really worth the extra money?
i'm already probably going to spend beyond what i should on an amp so will i be disappointing with the power level of the L7?

also, i remember someone on here saying they had speakers and stuff for sale...what happen to that thread?

as for the amp, are they all about the same? i'm considering either the kicker ZX700.5 or JBL GTO 5355 and both are about $300

8W7 will basically do the same thing as the 10L7 with a smaller footprint. Think of it as a 2.5L turbo I-4 vs a 3.5L NA V-6. Plus, it's pretty cool to watch that little 8" stand up to so much power and still sound good.

with w7's ur basically paying for the brand because for $500 i would much rather buy something much cheaper and get the same if not better performance. I just dont like JL audio, i think there wayyyy overpriced but thats my opinion.

if you want to go with a killer 8", i would go with a Sundown SA-8. They just came out a couple months ago and are straight up beast's. 400w rms and could probably take about 750w rms cause they are very well built little fudgers.

http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/store/products/Sundown-Audio-SA%252d8.html


$129 with free shipping @ SSA

heres a little vid-