the idea of running a tube amp in a car... vibration/shock would be an issue, heat would be an issue. in some newer cars weight would be an issue... also i dont think you would know the difference.
even some of the class D amps from JL audio and the like are sounding every bit as good as a class A/B from days gone by. also the quality of most instillations in cars limits how 'good' you could ever make it sound. id feel safe betting 1000.00 that if you kept all else the same, you could not tell the difference from a tube amp to a modern higher end class d or a/b in an auto while driving down the road, maybe even sitting still...
there is something to be said about having a place to blast music. i live in a condo and i have a 7.4.2 atmos surround system with floor standing 200W speakers (8/3/.5" cabinets). it can knock things off the walls if i turned it up but its mostly for movies. the car is where you can blast it, like your at a concert. not the greatest of hearing either from working in audio, used to do contracting/construction/and before that i was armor in the army - lots of loud explosions/munitions going off.
most of hte people i see at my work however just want to one up the next guy. they want to be heard down the block as a sort of status symbol.
even some of the class D amps from JL audio and the like are sounding every bit as good as a class A/B from days gone by. also the quality of most instillations in cars limits how 'good' you could ever make it sound. id feel safe betting 1000.00 that if you kept all else the same, you could not tell the difference from a tube amp to a modern higher end class d or a/b in an auto while driving down the road, maybe even sitting still...
there is something to be said about having a place to blast music. i live in a condo and i have a 7.4.2 atmos surround system with floor standing 200W speakers (8/3/.5" cabinets). it can knock things off the walls if i turned it up but its mostly for movies. the car is where you can blast it, like your at a concert. not the greatest of hearing either from working in audio, used to do contracting/construction/and before that i was armor in the army - lots of loud explosions/munitions going off.
most of hte people i see at my work however just want to one up the next guy. they want to be heard down the block as a sort of status symbol.
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NCC74656, if I spent more time in a car and did not have nice place at home for listening, I would do it again.
I used 1625s instead of the EL34s just because they had 12 volt filaments and could be bought for $4.50a pop on sale. Really no concern about vibration. The 807 or 1625 saw a whole lot of use as a final transmitter in WW2 planes. Never had a problem.
If I knew I was going to bi-amp on a new build, I am fairly sure I could keep the weight down quite a bit.
I used 1625s instead of the EL34s just because they had 12 volt filaments and could be bought for $4.50a pop on sale. Really no concern about vibration. The 807 or 1625 saw a whole lot of use as a final transmitter in WW2 planes. Never had a problem.
If I knew I was going to bi-amp on a new build, I am fairly sure I could keep the weight down quite a bit.
An impressive "beast", your Dodge RAM. Here I would need 4 ordinary parking spaces for your car - two in the width and two in the length. And, the guy owing the local petrol station would send me an expensive Christmas-card every year; that is only for particular customers.
Actually, the Lada Niva (old model) is very popular here for mountain driving. Light-footed and compact.
I suggest we let the moderator move this thread to the Car Audio section. It is very interesting for us Europeans to hear about your car audio-pimping tradition in the US but it goes beyond class D techniques.
I enjoy watching US and UK programs on remake/pimping of oldtimers and particular vehicles. In the UK, the "kit-car" concept allows for home-made vehicles on the road and I am sure the US is tolerant as well. For continental Europe, the legislation is very strict and the influence of the car-manufacturers lobby strong.
Actually, the Lada Niva (old model) is very popular here for mountain driving. Light-footed and compact.
I suggest we let the moderator move this thread to the Car Audio section. It is very interesting for us Europeans to hear about your car audio-pimping tradition in the US but it goes beyond class D techniques.
I enjoy watching US and UK programs on remake/pimping of oldtimers and particular vehicles. In the UK, the "kit-car" concept allows for home-made vehicles on the road and I am sure the US is tolerant as well. For continental Europe, the legislation is very strict and the influence of the car-manufacturers lobby strong.
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is car-audio market alive yet? )) I've worked 9 years as a head designer in chinese ODM with kicker/rockford/JL/blau/audison etc. The most serious approach to the sound quality had JL, but regarding that industry, in general, I got no really good opinion. IMHO, car-audio market so small and cheap, and the same time brads/distributors so greedy that I see no chance to find really high-class audio devices there at all.
the market is dominated by cheap china or some times korean amps. the high end amps are super expensive and the marketing around them just does not hold up against the cheapo amp brands.
we more often than not install the entry level name brand or the super cheap china brands. it is exceedingly rare that we ever install the likes of audison, focal, mosconi... and so on
my truck gets about 22mpg high way and 18 mpg city, its about equal to most cars out here actually
we more often than not install the entry level name brand or the super cheap china brands. it is exceedingly rare that we ever install the likes of audison, focal, mosconi... and so on
my truck gets about 22mpg high way and 18 mpg city, its about equal to most cars out here actually
I believe, you guys will be surprised how cheap BOMs for caraudio amps. My 500W mono model with "anyload" ability (4/2/1/.5 ohm loads 250/500/500/250W output 1% THD+N). $13 PCBA (i.e. electronics only)! $16 for the same but with BT low energy IOS/Android DSP control with a minimum phase FIR filter (2.9Hz resolution, range 20:500Hz, 5mS total latency) for "room compensation"(see attached). Another example, I've designed the wireless Volume controller $5 BOM with balanced inputs to avoid "engine noise" problem and balanced 10VRMS outputs(it is the line driver actually with "remote" output and DC turn On detector), single knob could control up to 4 "receiver" boards with individual clipping state indication. However, OEMs think it is too expensive for car audio market )) BTW, OEMs continuously try to cheat about money i.e. want to get new models for free, that's an obvious sign that the market is deathly cold. Certainly, this market is dead to me, I won't spend my time for that anymore 
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i get that, im talking about similar amps. as an example: kicker has a 400W mono block for about 300 bucks. its average in size, nothing special in power delivery, a basic amp in the market. here you have an amp that is physically 1/5th (or less), from components it would appear to be far less expensive than 300 USD (no?) and delivers more or equal power.
so why spend the extra money and size on another amp when the one you have presented does all the same things?
so why spend the extra money and size on another amp when the one you have presented does all the same things?
NCC74656, which one kicker is 5 times bigger? For instance, I made for them PX500.1 it was a comparably sized amp, you just see the PCBA itself without heatsink. BTW, kicker always reduces power for pretty much the same amps but released as different models, so 600/500/400w monos or 1500/1600/1800 or 800/1000/1200 are same things essentially.
This really isn't a class d amp question, but is still something that a lot of people who don't have much exposure to electronics manufacturing are curious about.
Cheap/inexpensive amps are made of inexpensive components, with very low cost labor, at high quantities, and typically have minimal design time and little testing. They also usually don't include various types of circuit protection that are required by non-consumer electronics. You definitely pay more for higher quality components (or ones that have traceability or various qualifications), skilled/quality circuit assembly, experienced design, and product testing. Having said that, there is no doubt that the quality of many consumer electronics products coming from China is very good for the overall price.
On the other end of your question, the amplifier output power specification (hopefully not quoted at 10% THD...) by itself is meaningless without considering the amplifier's other specifications, the specifications of the load it's driving, and the room (or cabin) that the speaker is in. The very basic relationship between sensitivity and power shows that 8W into a 91dB @ 1W/1m speaker will give you the same output as 64W into a 82dB @ 1W/1m speaker. Unfortunately, car audio has been driven by the marketing world where inflated power specifications are hyped up the most.
Ultimately, if you're happy with what you hear from your lower cost amp then just enjoy the music. Most amps often sound better when you work harder to earn the money that you spend on them
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In the shop, it will be difficult. THD measurements are not trivial and require quite some gear. And, as the THD goes up rapidly with output power, you need to do the test with high power dummy loads. If you use a speaker and your ears, it can be difficult because the ultra power amplifiers give an output up to 250Hz only and the higher harmonics you hear depend a lot on the sub-woofer you use.
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