Why should I get a more expensive amp over another amp?

[king alpha 0]

I need a new amp for my SI Mag. I had a Massive P1000.1 amp running it that does 880W @ 1ohm, but that amp is now powering my newly fixed Adire Brahma MKIII that Fi reconed for me and instead of getting a new amp for the Brahma, I'm thinking about getting one for the Mag.

Now here lays the Problem. I'm down to these:

Sundown SAE-1000 (1000W @ 1 ohm) - because I know Sundown is high quality.

Massive P1500.1 (1250W @ 1 ohm) - because I've never had a problem with the P1000.1 in the year I've used it.

and

Hifonics BXi1206D (1200W @ 1 ohm) - largely because it's easy on the wallet.

I won't ask which one I should get. I'm pretty sure EVERYONE's going to suggest the Sundown, so there's no point in asking. My question is why I should get the Sundown over the others. An amp being overrated or underated is not really important to me comparing these amps. Just as long as it's not Major underrating. Build quality is important, but my time with the P1000.1 shows that the Massive should have enough build quality for my abuse (which is not real abuse, compared to half the posters on this forum).

I want the Sundown, but if it saves me $100 for something else that's good enough for my aplication, I'll save the $100.

[SouthPole1989 0]

the hifonics only puts out around 900 rms before clipping. but i would go with sundown because of the build qoality and warrenty.

[theabunai 3]

For me it comes down to real watt per dollar....

and the final nail in the coffin would be customer service....

I don't think you can get personal attention "if" a problem arises from the actual owner/designer of the amplifier with the other companies... If something was wrong with the amp Jacob of sundown will help you track it down and if it is in fact a defect with the amp he replaces it immediately with no hassle at all and for me this is why i'd pay a little extra..

[almond 0]

you also need to realize there is a difference between expensive and quality. sure amp can can be more expensive than amp b=, but that doesn't always mean amp a is better than amp b. you just need to take a look around and ask questions. some amps have highe quality than others, but are in the same price range. do you mind buying used?

[JimJ 11]

I've never had much use for dollars per watt value

[king alpha 0]

While I do understand the benifits of knowing the actual owner of the company can answer questions about amp, I honestly think the more knowledgable posters on this board like Jim, Abunai and others can answer the same questions whether it's Sundown, Massive, Kicker, or Orion. While personal attention from the owner is pucking awesome, I don't think it's nessasary. And I wouldn't doubt Sundownz would try to help me out if I choose the Massive over the Sundown and I ran into problems with the Massive. But, I do understand that if the Sundown does chit on me, Sundownz is here, while if the Massive chit's on me, I'm fudgeed. But I'm hoping I don't mess up my amp whether it's the Massive or the Sundown. Customer service is hard to put a value on if you don't know if your going to use it or not, so it's hard to say if the Sundown is worth the extra $70 for customer service.

As far as dollars per watts, it's $466.66 for 1000W vs. $392.89 for 1250W (both prices include shipping). So, that leans towards the Massive having more watts per dollar. But I'm willing to give us Wattage, if the quality is a lot better for the more expensive amp.

And that brings us to quality. But like I mentioned, I already own a Massive Amp. It does what I want it to do and it never gave me problems. To me, the Massive is great quality. Does the Sundown have something the Massive amp don't that makes it better quality? This is basically what I want to know so I can make a good dicision in buying my next amp.

I actually decided a while ago to go with the Massive, but I've heard nothing but praise for the Sundown, and everyone reccomends them (well, everyone actually recommends the SAZ-1500D for a Mag, but I that ones a little bit to much). This makes me question my dicision in choosing the Massive. Now, if the Sundown was $70 less expensive, I would have probably tried out it out over another Massive. (Yeah, I'm looking at every penny. If Fi went into buisness 3 months ealier, I think I would have got Fi subs instead of a Mag and Brahma)

So, does the Sundown offer something more in quality or function then the Massive for less Watts and a higher price?

Thanks

Edited October 13, 2007 by king alpha

[slowngreen 0]

this probably aint the answer ur looking for but its basically like buying anything, you get what u pay for, like the generic cereal at the store, it might taste the same and be cheaper but it probably gets soggy faster than the real thing, or something like that. even big name brands dont always mean any thing, i had a kenwood 1800 watt mono amp running two audiobahns and it just wasn't very good, so i paid alot more and got a kicker zx1000.1 and this thing killed em, now i got it running a bl 18. a cheaper amp with higher wattage will probably heat up faster, but look cooler, have higher power rating, but not be true power, some amps say a huge rms number but if you read carefully enuff ull find out that its rating it at a huge voltage or some crazy frequency. take the advice, spend more.

[king alpha 0]

a cheaper amp with higher wattage will probably heat up faster, but look cooler, have higher power rating, but not be true power, some amps say a huge rms number but if you read carefully enuff ull find out that its rating it at a huge voltage or some crazy frequency. take the advice, spend more.

This is the answer I was actually looking for but it's not really directly comparing the Sundown and the Massive. I'm sure the Sundown will do well in every catagory you mentioned and would destroy brands like Hifonics or Sony that's cheaper and have higher power ratings, but it's hard to say if the Massive heats up faster, or not rated as true power if no one else but me tried out a Massive amp. And that's what I was hoping to find, someone that can say they had both a Sundown and Massive, and the Sundown does this or this better.

But let me quote myself:

Now, if the Sundown was $70 less expensive, I would have probably tried out it out over another Massive.

Ha, I should have emailed SSA for "best pricing" before starting this thread.

Looks like I'm getting a Sundown in the near future. (And I can be the one comparing a Sundown and a Massive)

Edited October 13, 2007 by king alpha

[aznboi3644 2]

this probably aint the answer ur looking for but its basically like buying anything, you get what u pay for, like the generic cereal at the store, it might taste the same and be cheaper but it probably gets soggy faster than the real thing, or something like that. even big name brands dont always mean any thing, i had a kenwood 1800 watt mono amp running two audiobahns and it just wasn't very good, so i paid alot more and got a kicker zx1000.1 and this thing killed em, now i got it running a bl 18. a cheaper amp with higher wattage will probably heat up faster, but look cooler, have higher power rating, but not be true power, some amps say a huge rms number but if you read carefully enuff ull find out that its rating it at a huge voltage or some crazy frequency. take the advice, spend more.

I like my cereal soggy...its good

[crunch1 0]

design also makes a difference. some companies take short cuts with components (quality or lack of components)and get satisfactory results, but sacrifice longevity. This is a question for Sundown/Massive designers to answer completely. Larger companies are not as flexible as smaller companies IMHO for customization. It all boils down to the mighty dollar. How much you put in and how much you will profit from your endeavor. If you can invest a 1,000 dollars and make 10,000 dollars making amps that are of good quality with decent priced components and patrons are very satisfied v/s investing 5,000 dollars and making 10,000 in profits using cutting edge expensive components and patrons are chiting their pants with glee. what would you do. This is where companies either make it or fail all together.

[///M5 2,833]

There is no generic correct answer to that as it may all be backwards.

Really what you want in an amp is sound design, sound construction, and high quality subcomponents.

In particular from your list I highly question the components on the lower priced units.

[///M5 2,833]

Oh, do remember that regularly when designing with sub-par components it requires you change the design which then gives you another nasty compromise.