Hifonics Haters

[cccullen 0]

I was reading some of the threads here and I noticed a lot of you really don't like Hifonics. I just bought the BXI1206D and ZXI6406. I know exactly why most of you hate them, looking at your set ups (very expensive) i can totally understand why. Noticed a lot of Sundown Audio fans here. All i have to say is that they are beautiful amps, I would love to have one but with 2 kids and the budget i'm on i just couldn't afford it yet.

I do hope my Hifonics can serve me well for the time being until i can afford better stuff. Just wondering, what do you all think of Elemental Designs amps (nine.1, nine.4 and nine.5)?

[ANeonRider 3]

I don't like them because I had a look inside of one... that became a rather heavy paperweight soon after I purchased it. Quality is a very far off dream when it comes to the Brutus series.

Live & learn.

[jdawgg22 0]

I was reading some of the threads here and I noticed a lot of you really don't like Hifonics. I just bought the BXI1206D and ZXI6406. I know exactly why most of you hate them, looking at your set ups (very expensive) i can totally understand why. Noticed a lot of Sundown Audio fans here. All i have to say is that they are beautiful amps, I would love to have one but with 2 kids and the budget i'm on i just couldn't afford it yet.

I do hope my Hifonics can serve me well for the time being until i can afford better stuff. Just wondering, what do you all think of Elemental Designs amps (nine.1, nine.4 and nine.5)?

yea i just got a bxi1600 not that long ago and it is a good and for the price, i got a 15" FiBL and it pounds

[cccullen 0]

I don't like them because I had a look inside of one... that became a rather heavy paperweight soon after I purchased it. Quality is a very far off dream when it comes to the Brutus series.

Live & learn.

Well, i read some reviews and for the price i THOUGHT it would be a decent buy. Guess i was wrong, i can't turn back now though... What amps do you suggest for people on a budget??? Next time I go to the U.S. i'm really thinking about the nine.1 and nine.4 amps by eD.

[cccullen 0]

I was reading some of the threads here and I noticed a lot of you really don't like Hifonics. I just bought the BXI1206D and ZXI6406. I know exactly why most of you hate them, looking at your set ups (very expensive) i can totally understand why. Noticed a lot of Sundown Audio fans here. All i have to say is that they are beautiful amps, I would love to have one but with 2 kids and the budget i'm on i just couldn't afford it yet.

I do hope my Hifonics can serve me well for the time being until i can afford better stuff. Just wondering, what do you all think of Elemental Designs amps (nine.1, nine.4 and nine.5)?

yea i just got a bxi1600 not that long ago and it is a good and for the price, i got a 15" FiBL and it pounds

That's what i heard from a lot of people. I'm not looking to join any competitions, I just wanted a decent amp for my 15" L5. Like i said, as of the moment there's no way i can afford stuff like sundown, zapco, mmats, sinfoni. Hopefully a year down the road i could. Just have to see.

[shizzzon 461]

good budget amps, all brand new, not expecting to suggest you to buy refurbs or used.

Lanzar's Opti line

PA's 3000w

Crunch's GP3000d-PRO

AQ's 2200w

Edited March 28, 2008 by shizzzon

[cccullen 0]

any take on eD amps?

[brent338 0]

stay away from ED, that is all...

[flakko 1]

their amps are decent. my 9.2 never did me wrong.

[dre3k78 0]

any take on eD amps?

Solid amps for the money. Underrated, but are not high end nor built with top of the line components, however i would buy one over Hifonics any day. Ive owned an Nine.1 and Nine.2. You can find a Nine.1 used for $200-250 easy....prob best bang for the buck at that price.

[patented17 21]

Good amp for the money, just from what I've heard and read. They are overrated, most of the time between 200-300 watts.

[johnecon2001 82]

Most of the newer Crunch amps put out rated power or above I was surprised to see.

[slim2fattycake 85]

I was reading some of the threads here and I noticed a lot of you really don't like Hifonics. I just bought the BXI1206D and ZXI6406. I know exactly why most of you hate them, looking at your set ups (very expensive) i can totally understand why. Noticed a lot of Sundown Audio fans here. All i have to say is that they are beautiful amps, I would love to have one but with 2 kids and the budget i'm on i just couldn't afford it yet.

I do hope my Hifonics can serve me well for the time being until i can afford better stuff. Just wondering, what do you all think of Elemental Designs amps (nine.1, nine.4 and nine.5)?

yea i just got a bxi1600 not that long ago and it is a good and for the price, i got a 15" FiBL and it pounds

i got that on my ssd right now its over-rated thats why i use it for my ssd.

[slim2fattycake 85]

any take on eD amps?

Solid amps for the money. Underrated, but are not high end nor built with top of the line components, however i would buy one over Hifonics any day. Ive owned an Nine.1 and Nine.2. You can find a Nine.1 used for $200-250 easy....prob best bang for the buck at that price.

and then we have:

[patented17:

Good amp for the money, just from what I've heard and read. They are overrated, most of the time between 200-300 watts.]

haha

but yea i like hifonics, its cheap and it works nicely havent broke on me yet, i had two, 1206d n 1606d.

Edited March 28, 2008 by phi

[cccullen 0]

where can you find an eD nine.1 amp for $250???

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

eD amps are ok I guess, but owned and run by very questionable people and that topic has been covered to death. But if I were you, I would check ebay for the Cerwin-Vega EXL1200 if you want quality 1200 watt power. Designed by the same people that did ARC and Zapco, one that is superior to eD or HiFonics. Personally, I would also like to mention the Sundown SAE-1000D if you saved up a few more dollars, small foot print and sturdy 1000+ watt amp with awesome track record. If not, contact Jason Paul of Cadence, and see about a discount price on the TXA-1000. So to sum that ramble up:

IMO quality/performance per dollar:

CV/Sundown/Cadence >> HiFonics/eD

I used to like HiFonics when Mr. Mantz built them a while back. But in recent years I have seen too many disappoint or go poof with very little strain. Their company focus changed drastically from solid quality products to heavy promotion and mid level quality at best.

[///M5 2,833]

There is actually a really simple solution, if you can't buy a brand new car that you like due to money you instantly shopped used. You should treat amps the same way. I'd personally rather have a used BMW than a brand new Tata. Hell I'd rather have a 15 year old Bm'er than that Tata. When it comes to amps the analogy holds really true. If you choose to be in the lower budget range you don't have the funds to buy new and have to buy used.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

///Sean, I have to make one adjustment, I would rather have new TATAS then used TATAS.

[creyc 1]

I'll definitely recommend the Sundown SAE-1000D if you're looking for a decent amount of solid power with a small footprint and affordable price. It's also stable down to 1-ohm, and linkable with another 1000D for future upgrades.

I've had mine going strong on my Kicker 10's, pushing them for all they're worth and the amp hardly gets warm to the touch.

Now my buddy has a Hifonics (not sure of the model) "2000 watt" amp pushing two 12" L5's, and while it slams, I'm not sure if it does rated. Bone stock electrical and hardly a headlight flicker. Ultra efficient? Maybe. Not really pushing 2kW RMS? Likely. It's not bad though, and he got a pretty sweet deal on it so he's happy.

[slim2fattycake 85]

I'll definitely recommend the Sundown SAE-1000D if you're looking for a decent amount of solid power with a small footprint and affordable price. It's also stable down to 1-ohm, and linkable with another 1000D for future upgrades.

I've had mine going strong on my Kicker 10's, pushing them for all they're worth and the amp hardly gets warm to the touch.

Now my buddy has a Hifonics (not sure of the model) "2000 watt" amp pushing two 12" L5's, and while it slams, I'm not sure if it does rated. Bone stock electrical and hardly a headlight flicker. Ultra efficient? Maybe. Not really pushing 2kW RMS? Likely. It's not bad though, and he got a pretty sweet deal on it so he's happy.

the model was prolly bxi2006-07-08 but yea 20% over-rated. if he wanted 2kW rms, then he should have gotten the bxi2606-07-08. yea i think they are actually affordable not "SSA big-pimpin" affordable. i wish i was SSA big-pimpin affordable. i AM going to upgrade to the us amps md2d just to find out how it sounds compared to the hifonics brutus on my fully loaded SSD, but also im kinda buying for my brother if he wants it for his BL.

[cccullen 0]

I think i'll just keep my Hifonics until my next trip to the States, They don't sell Sundown here and everybody loves JL here. I want to be different from everyone else. I know i'll be able to afford the Sundown amps when i go back.

Good thing about living where I do (Philippines) is that everything is WAY overpriced because of all the taxes on stuff like amps so when i decide to sell my Hifonics I can probably sell them for what i paid for them. lol

Thank you all for your input, I've heard so many great things about Sundown audio, I think I'm going to give them a shot.

Got another question for you all... What are some good subs to pair with the Sundown 1000d? I have a 15" L5 now well it's still be shipped here but I'll have it in a few weeks. I'm thinking 2 12" but i'm not sure, I may love the 15" and not want to go back to 12's anymore. Anyway, what are some good brands to look at other than you typical mainstream stuff like JL, Kicker etc...

[slim2fattycake 85]

ay i understand, im from vietnam. i say find the black market lol

[cccullen 0]

ay i understand, im from vietnam. i say find the black market lol

Funny, i tell people what I paid for my 2 Hifonics amps and my L5 and their jaw drops to the floor.

Are you happy with you Fi sub? I'm looking at Fi's, Ascendant Audio for possible sub upgrades down the road.

[JimJ 11]

There's a difference between someone who "hates" and someone who has a legitimate gripe with the product for one reason or another.

As for eD amps, I don't know if they're being built by Value Electronics anymore but if they are, you might want to watch out for replacement parts. If you want to repair some of those Avionixx or Tsunami amps you're looking at some good money to find a Tripath chip now that they're out of business...

[ronrico418 0]

I have personal experience and have noted w/ many others that the main problem with HiFonics is that they are POWER HUNGRY, meaning they need more batts and electrical upgrages than they should for their power.

Fi SSD ~ excellent high line subs prices that are stuck in the 80s. Cmon SSD18 for 239.00 shipped to your door with customization available! I payed 250 each for my 4 Rockford Fosgate Punch series subs in 1992. To be able to get a Fi SSD18 for less money and have three times the rated rms to me makes it a sub that has to be 4-5 times better ++++++++++++. Just a great deal and I don't know what can really compare to that.

Then to SUNDOWN. Well 500 rms sounds great on any Fi SSD 10 - 18 and 600 is very impressive. YOU could buy a Sundown Sae 1000 for 300? (if that) and run any 2 subs of the SSD series. If you bought a Sundown Saz1500 for 400 used you can still have a year warranty (Sundown is awesome) and run a pair of SSD very near there rated rms or easily run 3 SSDs with over 500 rms each. (Sundown is underated)

I don't know how I can't afford Sundown and Fi. Just a matter of looking for the right stuff and not having sticker shock adding up what other peoples system applications are.

Joe Rod