Hey all...Just got my Punch 300-1 amp in today by UPS and it is a Class AB. I ordered it for it's size cause I thought I was going to be able to install the capacitor under the seat but I moved everything back to the back of the sub box. One of the other MAIN reasons for me getting it was for the input sensitivity so I could use my 5V HU with it. I figured what the heck and wanted to try it and I just installed it a couple hours ago. The amp came with a certificate rated at 431 into 2ohms. About 31 watts more than the Alpine MRP-M450 I had hooked up. The Punch pounds!!! It hits harder than my Alpine and it is more cleaner sounding. I only have the gain at half way and this is what blew me away.
So my question is this...How much of a difference is there really between a Class D and a Class AB amp? I might want to keep the Rockford and sell the Alpine but I also don't want to keep it if it is going to put a real strain on my electrical system as some suggest with a AB amp. I do have the capacitor so that should defiantly help and the Punch doesn't have any fuses on it, it operates off the fuse you have in your distr block so I'm thinking that should save some power there..no? Any suggestions? I have yet to complete my connections to my amp for my highs which I should be able to do tomorrow. If I have to then I will stick with the Class D Alpine if it'll help save my electrical system that much or try to find another Class D with the input sens range I need.
So my question is this...How much of a difference is there really between a Class D and a Class AB amp? I might want to keep the Rockford and sell the Alpine but I also don't want to keep it if it is going to put a real strain on my electrical system as some suggest with a AB amp. I do have the capacitor so that should defiantly help and the Punch doesn't have any fuses on it, it operates off the fuse you have in your distr block so I'm thinking that should save some power there..no? Any suggestions? I have yet to complete my connections to my amp for my highs which I should be able to do tomorrow. If I have to then I will stick with the Class D Alpine if it'll help save my electrical system that much or try to find another Class D with the input sens range I need.
if you have a decent battery and cables with clean connections then you should not have to worry about power draw? people have been running class A/B amps on subs for many years without issue. go with what sounds better to your ears. your altenator should be able to keep up unless you were running several amps with tiny power, grouns, and speaker wires. are you running the system with the engine off? this will drain your battery no matter what amp you use. maybe all you need is a fresh battery?
Nope..Battery is brand new and all. The thing about me and my music is I only crank it up when I'm out on the road or the highway. If I come to a stop light, I turn the volume almost all the way down...to like 8 out of 35 on the HU but when I get on the interstate or a long stretch of road without lights, I listen to it loud at 28-29 out of 35 on the volume dial. If I ever listen to my music in my car in the parking lot, it's at like 2 or 3 and the car is running so I don't run the battery down. That's just me though...I don't like to draw a lot of attention to myself at the stop lights but when I'm cruising down the road to work or so on, I crank it and enjoy my music 
I'm not cranking the system all the time that's not a concern for me...I just want to make sure like in other threads I have posted that if I'm going down the road, that everything is keeping up and it's not draining my battery or killing the alternator as I'm driving. Then there is a problem if the car dies going down the road...
I'm not cranking the system all the time that's not a concern for me...I just want to make sure like in other threads I have posted that if I'm going down the road, that everything is keeping up and it's not draining my battery or killing the alternator as I'm driving. Then there is a problem if the car dies going down the road...It does say on certificate that maximum wattage is like 1273watts...but I don't think I need to worry about that as it's only the 431 I'm using but even after looking at the wire demo thingy, my power loss from wire length and all is 360watts actual power. That demo of Perry's does work cause when I talked to a Crutchfield guy last week he said my other amp was putting out 375watts and I put in the calculations on the demo when I got home and got 375. Of course 375 will be lower now with me moving the stuff to the trunk but still. I'm actually only outputting 360 out of the Rockford.
Just went and gave that a try and no flickering or dimming what so ever even at my top volume on the radio Also used a voltage meter and it's reading 14.3 volts coming from the cap so that's a good thing, means it's doing it's job. I even turned on the heat and no flickering but just like it did before there is some dimming when I use the rear defroster but I could care less. I barely use it and if I do it's only for like 5 minutes while the car warms up before I even get in it. I don't even look out my rear view mirror as I have it turned up cause it distracts me. So that's nothing for me to worry about. Sounds good and it's actually turned 1 mark over half way on the amp which is about where my Alpine was but the bass is substantially more and clean. The real test comes after tomorrow though. After I hook the other amp up, then we will see what it does at night. I might not be able to run 2 amps at once but it might be ok as well. Won't know till later tomorrow night. Sounds dern nice right now though.
Also used a voltage meter and it's reading 14.3 volts coming from the cap so that's a good thing, means it's doing it's job. I even turned on the heat and no flickering but just like it did before there is some dimming when I use the rear defroster but I could care less. I barely use it and if I do it's only for like 5 minutes while the car warms up before I even get in it. I don't even look out my rear view mirror as I have it turned up cause it distracts me. So that's nothing for me to worry about. Sounds good and it's actually turned 1 mark over half way on the amp which is about where my Alpine was but the bass is substantially more and clean. The real test comes after tomorrow though. After I hook the other amp up, then we will see what it does at night. I might not be able to run 2 amps at once but it might be ok as well. Won't know till later tomorrow night. Sounds dern nice right now though.gain setting really has nothing to do with how much power the amp is putting out...depends on the input voltage.
if your voltage is above 12.5-8 volts with the system on and engine idling than you are fine.
Also 400 watts should be nothing for a stock electrical...just upgrade your big three
if your voltage is above 12.5-8 volts with the system on and engine idling than you are fine.
Also 400 watts should be nothing for a stock electrical...just upgrade your big three
aznboi3644 said:
Yepp.. this is true. And we hear goofballs that come into our shop bragging about how their amp is "only turned up a quarter of the way and it is super loud" blah, blah, blah... Hahaha, I just laugh because it takes way too long to get them to understand sometimes. They don't mention the small detail that when they turn the deck up just a hair more, its distorting. Basically they are listening to the amp pegged out all of the time because of the relation of the amp's sensitivity to the rca input voltage coming from the deck. And usually the deck's loud circuit is maxed out, the bass is turned up, the mids are all the way down, etc...
(why can't we have a lol icon here, btw?)
Icons, yeah a couple more would work. How about this:
I'll need 20 of them to properly post if I ever get this amp I am working on fixed....
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I'll need 20 of them to properly post if I ever get this amp I am working on fixed....
After working on the car from 9AM this morning till 2PM, I finally got it all hooked up. Was quite a chore and after I finished I messed around with tweeking the high amp a bit and afterwards it was well worth it. It sounds great now. I have clean highs and my lows are still pounding my head I go down the interstate now and can't read the signs cause they are bouncing up and down so much LOL The one big thing is that there is no flickering or dimming of the lights at all. Just like last night. So that's great news. I checked the voltage and both amps are getting 14.2 volts to them and the capacitor is putting out 14.2 volts. Checked the battery and battery puts out 12.6 volts with the car off and 14.4 volts with it running So all is good and everything sounds great. One thing I did notice after hooking up the Alpine MRP-F240, everything is working to perfection but the blue square light that lights up when the amp is on is flickering and very dim like it's about to go out but the amp is working perfectly. So looks like the light is about to burn out. Anyone ever seen that before? Can the light just burn out? Doesn't bother me as it's on the box behind the seats and you can't see it anyways. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has helped me out with suggestions and advice as it all seems to have payed off and I'm exstatic that it all is playing like this with no issues. You all know what you are talking about and if I hadn't upgraded my wire and done everything by the books I would have probably been in a lot of trouble right now. So thanks!!! Installation complete and I'll be happy for a long time
I go down the interstate now and can't read the signs cause they are bouncing up and down so much LOL The one big thing is that there is no flickering or dimming of the lights at all. Just like last night. So that's great news. I checked the voltage and both amps are getting 14.2 volts to them and the capacitor is putting out 14.2 volts. Checked the battery and battery puts out 12.6 volts with the car off and 14.4 volts with it running So all is good and everything sounds great. One thing I did notice after hooking up the Alpine MRP-F240, everything is working to perfection but the blue square light that lights up when the amp is on is flickering and very dim like it's about to go out but the amp is working perfectly. So looks like the light is about to burn out. Anyone ever seen that before? Can the light just burn out? Doesn't bother me as it's on the box behind the seats and you can't see it anyways. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has helped me out with suggestions and advice as it all seems to have payed off and I'm exstatic that it all is playing like this with no issues. You all know what you are talking about and if I hadn't upgraded my wire and done everything by the books I would have probably been in a lot of trouble right now. So thanks!!! Installation complete and I'll be happy for a long time Nope..Has nothing to do with the bass...Had the HU all the way down and just idling in the parking lot and it's sitting there flickering and gets so dim it's almost out and then it'll come back a little brighter. Kind of weird so I was just thinking the led was about to go out for good or something.
Tuning wise I think I have the fronts up right at halfway and the rears are a notch down from that because I had enough wire to go from the rears right to the amp while I had to go through the factory wiring for the fronts so you can tell the rears are louder so I adjusted it so it's about even stage
Tuning wise I think I have the fronts up right at halfway and the rears are a notch down from that because I had enough wire to go from the rears right to the amp while I had to go through the factory wiring for the fronts so you can tell the rears are louder so I adjusted it so it's about even stage
ppia600 said:
Yepp.. this is true. And we hear goofballs that come into our shop bragging about how their amp is "only turned up a quarter of the way and it is super loud" blah, blah, blah... Hahaha, I just laugh because it takes way too long to get them to understand sometimes. They don't mention the small detail that when they turn the deck up just a hair more, its distorting. Basically they are listening to the amp pegged out all of the time because of the relation of the amp's sensitivity to the rca input voltage coming from the deck. And usually the deck's loud circuit is maxed out, the bass is turned up, the mids are all the way down, etc...
(why can't we have a lol icon here, btw?)
yes...these are also the systems where the bass is either on mute or TURBO BLAST.
Those "goofballs" have no balanced system.
Mine...I can turn my volume up to level 56-58/62. The bass increases slowly with the highs. I've heard systems like you describe.
on volume say 8/30 the bass is minimal....then from 12 up its full blast....really sounds horrible.
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