What amp for 12" Fi Q?

[Duran 387]

Well first, the amp has a clipping light on the bass knob to warn you when it's clipping. Well when I get about 20-30ppl telling me that they are great amps w/ rated power, I'm sure some of them have set theirs up either way. Then, I look at their electrical and it is not anything overly large.

Okay guys stop the violence!

The point is AudioQue is misleading, but okay amps.

Sundown SAE-1200D has my vote aswell, or the SAZ-1000D. Either will be PLENTY for your Q.

[RobClay 20]

Lies

[ohhsosmooth 0]

Wow..

Everyone jsut chill...

No matter who you are asking what amp to run for what sub..

Everyone on this forum is going to pick Sundown hands down..

Not dissin on Sundown but this forum is all sundown..

Just search around for amps and read up on them..

If your in no hurry to buy the amp then take your time and read about them..

[NB50 206]

I apologize, I didn't means to jack beyondlogix thread. I just dont view AQ's amps in the same league of the other ones listed. 14.4V ratings & 1%, 5% THD rating arent what I look for in an amp, does that mean they are really bad no.

beyondlogix out of the amps you listed I would go with either the DLS A6 or the SAZ-1000D both will have more then enough power to get the Q moving. I would be compelled to go with the A6 for the AB design but you will need a little more electrical to support it over a similar powered class D design.

[beyondlogix 0]

Well, I didn't mean to spark a riot here! Haha. Thanks for all the suggestions. Went ahead and ordered the 12" Fi Q last night due to the free BP upgrade (thank you Fi!). To the person that suggested the DD amps, I have looked at them, and heard good things about them. There is also a shop that's local that sells them, so that's a plus.

If I go with anything over 1000W, would I want to run something bigger than 4awg? A lot of people are suggesting the SAE-1200D, would you guys recommend a 2awg for something like that? I went to a local car shop today to pick up my big 3 wiring, they wanted to charge me $65 for 4awg wire (12 ft.) plus ring terminals. I said no thanks and will be buying online. I would like to keep stock battery for the time being, so going for the big 3 upgrade first and hoping that will be enough until I can upgrade my battery to an Optima or Kinetik. I'm worried that getting a 1200W amp, running a total of 1500W to my battery would require me to go with a better battery. Does anyone have experience with this?

I appreciate all the feedback. Keep it coming.

Edited February 7, 2009 by beyondlogix

[beyondlogix 0]

I apologize, I didn't means to jack beyondlogix thread. I just dont view AQ's amps in the same league of the other ones listed. 14.4V ratings & 1%, 5% THD rating arent what I look for in an amp, does that mean they are really bad no.

beyondlogix out of the amps you listed I would go with either the DLS A6 or the SAZ-1000D both will have more then enough power to get the Q moving. I would be compelled to go with the A6 for the AB design but you will need a little more electrical to support it over a similar powered class D design.

Thanks Bromo. I read that DLS recommends at least 2awg wiring for the Ultimate A6 amp. Also, I asked DLS America what it would cost for one of these, and its looking like $625 + shipping (ouch). I would definitely want to buy from an authorized dealer, closest one to me is 500 miles so I would definitely be buying online. I've heard great things, but at that price, I think I can find something comparable that's a lot cheaper. The SAZ-1000D is right up my alley I think, but with the new suggestions of either this or the SAE-1200D, not sure which to get.

Edited February 7, 2009 by beyondlogix

[goodguy8705 0]

Here is a quote from an owner who ran some tests:

Tested the amp this morning. I have a VERY solid power supply for a single 1200d. The amp made 55.3 volts, and 11.08 amps at max power/full clip (whatever you want to call it). For the guys that haven't figured out Ohm's law, that is 612.7 watts at 5.0 ohms! I have no doubt that it would make well over 1200 watts if I had the right impedance coils to get the reactive impedance down to around 1 ohm.

BTW the swap test with the DD M1a yeilded the exact same score, as I suspected it would.

I'm going to put a little daily driving time on the amp to see if it does anything dumb like get hot, or sound like crap, but so far it looks promissing.

Here is a quote from the owner of AudioQue about the 5% rating:

5% is about the minimum level most bass heads run their amps at and is inaudiable and is considered a "soft" clipp. The actual THD @ 1470 is closer to 3% THD but I rounded up to be on the safe side.

Here is another quote from a different owner:

When I initially tested out the AQ 1200D amp on Friday, I was not expecting it to be that good. It measured up very well against my RF T1500-1BD. The bass was there and the interesting thing with Audioque is that the amp was really solid in build. The performance was equally impressive. Even more impressive was the simplicity of the gains. There was a low pass eq, 1 gain, subsonic filter and a switch for the master/servant option. No bass boost. This amp was something straight out of old school in looks, design and build. I cannot get past the looks of my RF T1500-1BD and the placement of the gain settings. What started out as a test is going to be a case of me sampling my AQ 1200D for a while.

Source

As far as performance for the money, I still recommend the AudioQue.

Edited February 7, 2009 by goodguy

[beyondlogix 0]

Here is a quote from an owner who ran some tests:

Tested the amp this morning. I have a VERY solid power supply for a single 1200d. The amp made 55.3 volts, and 11.08 amps at max power/full clip (whatever you want to call it). For the guys that haven't figured out Ohm's law, that is 612.7 watts at 5.0 ohms! I have no doubt that it would make well over 1200 watts if I had the right impedance coils to get the reactive impedance down to around 1 ohm.

BTW the swap test with the DD M1a yeilded the exact same score, as I suspected it would.

I'm going to put a little daily driving time on the amp to see if it does anything dumb like get hot, or sound like crap, but so far it looks promissing.

Here is a quote from the owner of AudioQue about the 5% rating:

5% is about the minimum level most bass heads run their amps at and is inaudiable and is considered a "soft" clipp. The actual THD @ 1470 is closer to 3% THD but I rounded up to be on the safe side.

Here is another quote from a different owner:

When I initially tested out the AQ 1200D amp on Friday, I was not expecting it to be that good. It measured up very well against my RF T1500-1BD. The bass was there and the interesting thing with Audioque is that the amp was really solid in build. The performance was equally impressive. Even more impressive was the simplicity of the gains. There was a low pass eq, 1 gain, subsonic filter and a switch for the master/servant option. No bass boost. This amp was something straight out of old school in looks, design and build. I cannot get past the looks of my RF T1500-1BD and the placement of the gain settings. What started out as a test is going to be a case of me sampling my AQ 1200D for a while.

Source

As far as performance for the money, I still recommend the AudioQue.

Thanks for the additional info goodguy. I am still undecided on the amp, but giving some consideration to the AudioQue. Trying to find more information about it, but folks on this forum seem pretty set on the Sundown Audio equipment. Also, the SAZ-1000D is currently $355 shipped, just $100 more than the AudioQue. Still doing research though, I will update on what I end up deciding on.

[beyondlogix 0]

Decided on the wiring setup for whatever amp I choose. This should get me the results I'm looking for. The large amount of cable (yes I know it's a lot), is going to be to run the the mono amp, and also do the big 3 upgrade in my engine. There's also a few extra ring terminals, just in case I mess up. This is my first build by the way. Any requests for a build log (don't worry mods, I'll put it in the right place)?

[goodguy8705 0]

What is your alternator rated at?

[beyondlogix 0]

What is your alternator rated at?

No idea. It's stock. 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5S. Looked around online for a sec but couldn't find an exact rating. Is that going to matter with just 1500W max?

[goodguy8705 0]

My stock alternator maxes at 105 amps so 1500w rms would severely strain my electrical system. Upgrading the big 3 only helps if the wiring is limiting what your alternator can put out.

[beyondlogix 0]

The large amount of cable (yes I know it's a lot), is going to be to run the the mono amp, and also do the big 3 upgrade in my engine.

Thanks goodguy, but already doing the big 3. I've been planning on doing that.

[beyondlogix 0]

My stock alternator maxes at 105 amps so 1500w rms would severely strain my electrical system. Upgrading the big 3 only helps if the wiring is limiting what your alternator can put out.

Are you saying I should go for bigger wire for the big 3? As a rule of thumb, I've always been told to match power and grounding, and since I'm not going bigger than 4awg for the power, I shouldn't go bigger than that for the grounding right?

[goodguy8705 0]

I'm putting a 225 amp alternator into my car and I'm using 0 gauge for my big 3 upgrade. Bigger is always better especially if you ever plan to change your system at a later date.

For you, I would recommend 2 gauge for the big 3 but it's up to you. I don't know anything about your stock alternator.

Ground should always be the the same size or bigger than the power wire.

Edited February 8, 2009 by goodguy