A friend of mine gave me 2 free amps. They're both pretty old, but not too old. The first one is a BRAND new in the box MTX Thunder152. Usually MTX is synonymous with junk in my head but this guy is from 2000 and made in America. I want to take it apart in the worst way to inspect the board and components but I'd have to break the factory seal and it just doesn't seem right to do to a brand spankin new amp. Anyway it's ratings are as follows (from the MTX archive:
Thunder 152 Amplifier RMS Power measured at 12.5 Volts DC:
37.5 Watts x 2 into a 4 Ohm load with less than 0.05% Thd+N
75 Watts x 2 into a 2 Ohm load with less than 0.1% Thd+N
150 Watts bridged into a 4 Ohm load with less than 0.1% Thd+N
Dynamic Power (IHF-202 Standard) measured at 14.4 Volts DC
90 Watts x 2 into a 4 Ohm load
165 Watts x 2 into a 2 Ohm load
325 Watts bridged into a 4 Ohm load
Signal to Noise Ratio: 110dB A-Weighted
Damping Factor: >200
The other is an awesome Precision Power PC2600 Power Class. This thing looks SHARP. It's so shiny after 5 minutes of mothers polish that I can't even do it justice with pictures. Anyway, it's apparently way underrated and a beast; at least that's what reviews everywhere said. Here are the factory specs:
150W RMS x 2 @ 4 Ω per channel
300W RMS x 2 @ 2 Ω per channel
600W RMS x 1 @ 4 Ω bridged
THD .02%
So this post is getting long, but since neither of these amps are class D circuitry and have pretty good THD numbers, I'm thinking I should use one to power my Rainbow SAC 265.25 components I have lying around. I know somewhere Dustin is rolling over because I bought these from him at least a year ago and haven't done anything with them. Anyway, these components say they can handle about 100w RMS a piece at 4ohm and 150max. So it seems like the MTX isn't enough power(though I know that it would play them and they would sound just fine and plenty loud) and the PP PC2600 is too much. I have a feeling that bad boy puts out more like 200w rms a channel if not more at 14v. Every single review says they push 2 or 3 12's with it so I'm a little worried that I'd fry those nice components. So, what does everyone think?
"In Oldskool we trust"
I threw 100 watts RMS at my Rainbows daily. They still sounded great when I sold them.
If you're worried it's always best to play it safe and put power to them you know they can handle. Of course all speakers can be pushed a bit as long as the amp is tuned right...they just may not last long. As for MTX the amp I had for my sub was fantastic. It was a MTX Thunder 4501. I know they were great amps back in the day so I bet yours is pretty well built.
nice score on the amps,
off topic but i like the sig 2
TheSundownFire wrote:I threw 100 watts RMS at my Rainbows daily. They still sounded great when I sold them.
But will they handle 200...I wish I had something that could toss out about 100 rather than 60 or 200. I just want to get the most out of them since they'll be my only speakers for the moment.
Luke C wrote:If you're worried it's always best to play it safe and put power to them you know they can handle. Of course all speakers can be pushed a bit as long as the amp is tuned right...they just may not last long. As for MTX the amp I had for my sub was fantastic. It was a MTX Thunder 4501. I know they were great amps back in the day so I bet yours is pretty well built.
Good to know. I think you're right, I really wanted to used that beautiful precision audio amp
I just think it'll be too much.
tim adams wrote:nice score on the amps,
off topic but i like the sig 2
Thank you sir, Ninja made it.
"In Oldskool we trust"
It's always better to have more power available than to try and get more volume than a smaller amp can safely provide. I do have to ask HOW you scored that PPI for free... Very nice amp for the money when they sold those things.
Hook it up to those components, do some rough tuning with a DMM to get the power in roughly the range the components call for, and fine tune by ear. Just because it CAN put out 150+ watts per channel, doesn't mean it needs to. That gain knob isn't an on/off switch.
(tabs) wrote:z yaaaa wrote:its not much fun trying to argue with a wall.
oh, trust us, we know
JLAudioCavalier wrote:It's always better to have more power available than to try and get more volume than a smaller amp can safely provide. I do have to ask HOW you scored that PPI for free... Very nice amp for the money when they sold those things.
Hook it up to those components, do some rough tuning with a DMM to get the power in roughly the range the components call for, and fine tune by ear. Just because it CAN put out 150+ watts per channel, doesn't mean it needs to. That gain knob isn't an on/off switch.
The same way everyone gets a good deal. My buddy is getting divorced and is trying to unload as much stuff as possible. He gave these to me since he's pretty much aged out but made me promise I'd put them to good use. I also plan to take him to a local strip joint on me in the near future.
Back on topic I suppose you're right I could play with the gain to get it right. I'll need to buy a damn multi meter though because I still haven't purchased one. I really want to use the PPI over the MTX just because of it's overall awesomeness. The other problem I have is that it's missing the proprietary speaker terminal block that plugs into the side of the amp. I emailed PP but I doubt they'll help me out. I think I can find some connectors to make it work but I'd really rather have the right stuff. Dustin if you're still shipping out 6.5" MDF rings shoot me a PM. I don't have the time or the tools to make any up here and frankly I just don't want to deal with it. Going to grab some second skin and seal everything up real nice during install too. Still undecided on tweeter location.
"In Oldskool we trust"
I agree. use the bigger amp. I have ran into 0 issues these last few years "overpowering" speakers with amplifiers because I set the gains right.
I have a older setup but it still hits like crazy.
I'm running a Rockford P8002 2400 watt amp, paired with two Rockford P3D412 speakers.
They love being fed 400 watt RMS all day long.
Bobby Higgins wrote:I have a older setup but it still hits like crazy.
I'm running a Rockford P8002 2400 watt amp, paired with two Rockford P3D412 speakers.
They love being fed 400 watt RMS all day long.
There's definitely something to be said for old school stuff. So many good brands back in the day that got swallowed up by chinese junk manufacturers. MTX, Lanzar Opti Drive, etc. I can't wait to finally hear these rainbows scream. Considering head unit options right now. There's a
Clarion that I'm really liking.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, March 22, 2013 12:13 PM
"In Oldskool we trust"
I agree with using a bigger amp, just set the gain lower and turn it up slowly. Set it where you think it sounds good and not too much for the speakers.
2000 Cavalier Z24 5spd - Intake, Dynomax muffler, Hawk Pads, Powerslot rotors, Sportlines/Koni reds, Neon Coil, MSD 8.5 Wires
2005 Mazda 3 GS Auto- Wifes car
2006 Cobalt SS/SC - Intake, 2.5" Exhaust, GMPP Brakes, Solid Mounts, Ported S/C - Sold
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Look into the Kenwood Excelon head units. The Excelons are still Japan made, not China made like the base Kenwood models and they're very nice quality/features for the money. You'll be hard pressed to find any of the every day head unit brands with the same features and reliability of an Excelon unit in each respective price point. This is coming from an old school Alpine fanboy too
(tabs) wrote:z yaaaa wrote:its not much fun trying to argue with a wall.
oh, trust us, we know
I've heard good things about those Kenwood units. Haven't looked in a long time but always HATED their two knob controls. Just looked and see that they'be gone to a more conventional one knob design, ill probably go with one of them. Always looking at RCA voltage too, these are 4v which is doable.
"In Oldskool we trust"
