Having bad thoughts.... lol

[altoncustomtech 773]

Okay, I REALLY didn't plan it this way but I'm thinking about taking advantage of my new found surplus of amps.

 

The reason for my dilemma is two fold.  First off I decided to buy the IA 6.4 from Ohjay to power the SLS 8's in my Jimmy when I finally get to installing them.  So I eventually plan on installing it anyway which brings me to the other side of the coin.  This weekend I ran into some issues with the SAX-125.2 running as it should.  First off I've noticed lately that the midbass is great some days and others it simply feels weaker than it should.  I was attributing that mostly to my imagination and some psycho acoustics.  Then this weekend after running the system particularly hard the SAX-125 cut out for a little bit and came back on seeming really weak.  Then it just quit playing all together.  I checked the voltage going into the amp and the remote lead and the power was good on all of them.  There were no power related issues but the power light was off like it didn't have any power.  Sunday when I drove it again the amp powered back up and it sounded weaker than it should again but played the whole time I was driving it.  Then this morning I took off in it to go to work and not only did it power back on like it should but the output, force and impact of the Mach5's was present again.

 

So, I'm thinking the amp is about toast.  Luckily for me I happen to have quite a few sitting around and a few more on the way to me.  Which got me to thinking, why not go ahead and install the IA in the truck to run the Mach5's, obviously with the gains turned WAY down.  I would have to modify the amp rack a little to accommodate the IA anyway when I got the SLS's in.  I was going to use the SAX125 to run the Fountek FR89's when that time came as well but since it seems to be failing I'll have to replace it as well.  

 

Which brings me to my first question.  I've got a pair of Boston Acoustics GT2125 amps I was originally planning on using to power the SLS's but it was going to be a major headache to build the framework I was going to have to build to mount them to my amp rack with the existing SAZ1500 and SAX125.  I could use one of them to power the Fountek's or I could use the Image Dynamics Q700.2 I picked up off eBay for a steal.  I was just wondering what anyone's opinion would be on which they would use.  Power ratings on all of them (SAX125, GT2125 and the Q700.2) are pretty much exactly the same and that's not even my concern.  I just thought I would get some input from the collective group on what they would use.

 

My other thought is that I just got these two Crescendo BC2k's from antoinez28.  I bought one specifically for a friend who otherwise couldn't have ordered it and I got the other simply because he offered the pair up for a better price than separately.  I figured I could either find a use for it or sell it in the future.  Well, all this required amp rack redo thinking made me think, would it be worthwhile to trade the SAZ1500 out for the BC2k.  I'm not thinking the extra power would be in any way useful for more output but I did think that the extra power could be good for a little overhead.  That way everything, not just the fullrangers and midbasses would be powered with some overhead.  I'm not sure if the BC2k's rated 2250 watts would even be worthwhile overhead or not.  If not then I'm not going to fuss with it, but if so that's not a great deal more work to use it.

 

So, those are my thoughts.  I hate that the SAX125 seems to be having an issue and I'll probably send it in to dB-r for repair, I think it's worth doing that.  In the meantime my intellectual thicket is driving me nuts, lol.  I'm just looking for opinions, nothing serious.

[jcarter1885 995]

The only reason i would do the ID700.2 is to match the Sundown and IA, all three being all black. Or do the 2 Boston Acoustics like planned with the ID700.2. Then save the IA for anoher install.

Yeah go ahead and install both Crescendo amps. Save the Sundown Saz-1500 till you get the 125.2 back, if you dont have plans for them then sell in a package deal. Just my .02

[nigel 148]

Run the saz1500 for sub duty, the bc2k's one per side to the sls's and bridge the ia 6.4 to the fountek's...

Edited October 14, 2014 by nigel

[altoncustomtech 773]

The only reason i would do the ID700.2 is to match the Sundown and IA, all three being all black. Or do the 2 Boston Acoustics like planned with the ID700.2. Then save the IA for anoher install.

Yeah go ahead and install both Crescendo amps. Save the Sundown Saz-1500 till you get the 125.2 back, if you dont have plans for them then sell in a package deal. Just my .02

 

The whole reason I got the IA was to simplify the installation.  There's BARELY enough room for the pair of Bostons back there and the wiring would be a PITA since they all go into the side of the amps.  I read some info and saw some measurements on the ID amp last night which has me thinking it would be ideally suited for the job.  I do like the reasoning behind swapping the 1500 for the BC2k though, keeping them a "matched set" would be nice.

 

 

Run the saz1500 for sub duty, the bc2k's one per side to the sls's and bridge the ia 6.4 to the fountek's...

. <-- as close as I could get to a sarcastic face...

 

LOL  

 

In that case I should sell the 1500 and buy an NS1, then everything would have the same grossly overrated overhead.  

[altoncustomtech 773]

Well, after doing more looking around, reading and such I think I'm going to go ahead and swap the SAZ1500 out for the BC2k and use the GT2125 for the full ranges with the IA 6.4 running the midbasses.  I came to that realization after reading the PAS review on the Q700.  The amp is rated for 175 x 2 @ 4, which is way more than needed for the full ranges, and then they measured it at 224 x 2 @ 4 with 14.4v of power.  Between the fact that it's WAY more overhead than I really need for the fullranges and I didn't realize that it's 1.25" longer than the BC2k.  Being longer doesn't really hurt anything but I'm thinking about moving the Harmony to the amp rack in the rear and the smaller GT2125 will make that a little easier and cleaner to look at, I think.

 

Anyway, that's my thoughts on it for now.  I can't wait to get the IA from Ohjay so I can begin working on the changes.  Hopefully they'll be done in time for the CAR SHOW at the first of the month.