Why I Love Alpine Amps

[Redline]

I decided to get the full range Alpine class D digital amp that matches my monoblock Alpine class D sub amp. I really like Alpine. I know it's not Sundown, Memphis Audio, JL Audio, or other boutique brands, but the SQ is amazing, the knobs/controls all have a high quality feel/look, not dinky, they makes their power, tend to be reliable/last a long time, and consistently gets high ratings. Besides, with birth sheets like this, I'm happy:


Getting both for a good deal under $300 total is just icing on the cake.

 

[5doorsoffury]

I have installed a few pdx 4ch /mono type x systems... they are awesome is a understatement . 1000w @ 4ohm and 2ohm. To bad all there shit has been made in china for the last few years. The mrvf300 is a little low on power. That reading you show is at 2 ohms. Running 4ohm interior speakers bring that amp (at full volume mind you) to only ~50 wrms @14.4v with a eh s/n ratio for a class ab amp. I have this amp on a set of kicker qss674 components and its not enough for me.

 

[Redline]

I have installed a few pdx 4ch /mono type x systems... they are awesome is a understatement . 1000w @ 4ohm and 2ohm. To bad all there shit has been made in china for the last few years. The mrvf300 is a little low on power. That reading you show is at 2 ohms. Running 4ohm interior speakers bring that amp (at full volume mind you) to only ~50 wrms @14.4v with a eh s/n ratio for a class ab amp. I have this amp on a set of kicker qss674 components and its not enough for me.

Yeah, they do the birth sheets at 2 ohms. It's supposed to be 50 watts RMS at 4 ohms and 75 watts RMS at 2 ohms. To get 96 instead of 75 is way over the rating, LOL. It's making 20%+ more than it's rated to at 2 ohms. In actuality, my full-range speakers are probably seeing about 75 watts RMS because they're 3 ohm design. And that's plenty of power to get both crystal clear details and deafeningly loud, if I want. I set the gains to just start distorting (1% THD) at 75% of my head unit volume range with 0dB test tracks. So on most music, I can actually turn it past that point with no issues/distortion at all and lack of volume definitely isn't an issue.

513 instead of 500 on the sub amp is solid, but not nearly as pronounced of a difference. Also, the MRV-F300 S/N @ rated power is 98dB. The 81dB S/N rating is at 1 watt and is very misleading. Nobody listens at that low a volume. 98dB is exceptional for a class D full-range amp. The monoblock MRV-M500 actually has a 105dB S/N @ rated power.

 

[neganox]

CES 14.4v rated lameness. Remember when JL Audio rated all their shit for 12v? Whatever happened to Alpine's F#1 status products?

 

[5doorsoffury]

I forgot they changed over to class d a few years ago SMH. Class ab FTMFW. Very efficent but sacrafices SQ compared to ab class amps with the same amount of effort in design. That 4ch is a great amp i just love to nit pick.

They rate at 14.4 since the car is running and not bumping with the key off at 12.6v. That 1.8 extra volts gets the amp a bump with wattage.This keeps the systems with speakers that have there wattage rating close to the amps max output from popping. The shitty interfaces and phone's as media with there improper level matching compared to cd isn't helping either.

F1 is gone and the new wave of digital pdx amps have taken over. Thoes things were fun to tune with there interface and they looked sharp.

That brings me back to the days of our alpine rep showing up in a MSP. Funney enough that alpine reps car is what opened my eyes to the mazdaspeed brand and is what made me look at the MS3 when i needed a car.

 

[Redline]

CES 14.4v rated lameness. Remember when JL Audio rated all their shit for 12v? Whatever happened to Alpine's F#1 status products?

Yeah, it's nice when it's rated at a lower voltage. A fully charged battery sitting in a car that's not running generally is ~12.5 volts or so. I've found when my Genpu is idling, my voltage is ~13.8.
[doublepost=1462987586][/doublepost]

I forgot they changed over to class d a few years ago SMH. Class ab FTMFW. Very efficent but sacrafices SQ compared to ab class amps with the same amount of effort is design. That 4ch is a great amp i just love to nit pick.

They rate at 14.4 since the car is running and not bumping with the key off at 12.6v. That 1.8 extra volts gets the amp a bump with wattage and keeps the systems with speakers that have there wattage rating close to the amps max output from popping as much especially with the shitty interfaces and phones as media with there improper level matching compared to cd.

F1 is gone and the new wave of digital pdx amps have taken over. Thoes things were fun to tune with there interface and they looked sharp.

That brings me back to the days of our alpine rep showing up in a MSP. Funney enough that alpine reps car is what opened my eyes to the mazdaspeed brand and is what made me look at the MS3 when i needed a car.

While it's true that class D amps, with their pulsewidth modulation and successive lowpass/highpass filtering to bring the signal back to a sine wave, supposedly don't sound as good, I can tell you this: I used to have an Eclipse EA4000 (class AB) 75 watts RMS @ 4 ohms pushing Diamond Audio component speakers (very nice ones - ~$500/pair). Honestly, my Infinity Primuses running on this Alpine class D sound awesome to me, by comparison. The biggest difference in sound to me comes by far from the sound shaping (EQ, sound effects on the head unit, etc.) The amplifier class is virtually indiscernible to my ear. I'd probably have to hear two setups back to back to perceive any difference.

Ever hears of MMATS amps? They created class D topology back in the 90s. They are extreme audiophile-quality amps and frequently used by top competitors in SQ competitions. They're made in the USA, use top-caliber parts (all <1% variance), and are known to sound phenomenal. Check out the one in this vid:

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[doublepost=1462989063][/doublepost]Here's a MMATS sub amp video too. Very impressive stuff, especially the power it makes for its footprint:

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[JohnnyTightlips]

Another major part of car audio is how terrible the acoustics are. You will never get this perfect sound stage setup like you can with a home audio setup. That is why I never saw the point in going super crazy on all these top end brands. Get some decent speakers and a good amp and enjoy.

 

[Redline]

Another major part of car audio is how terrible the acoustics are. You will never get this perfect sound stage setup like you can with a home audio setup. That is why I never saw the point in going super crazy on all these top end brands. Get some decent speakers and a good amp and enjoy.

To me that sounds like the same kind of logic as "why even modify/tune your car at all? You'll never get it to go as fast as an airplane."

Joking aside, I don't get the very top of the top brands because of cost. But if I could afford them, I probably would. There's remarkable sound-shaping technology out there that can make your car a very good soundstage indeed.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

To me that sounds like the same kind of logic as "why even modify/tune your car at all? You'll never get it to go as fast as an airplane."

Joking aside, I don't get the very top of the top brands because of cost. But if I could afford them, I probably would. There's remarkable sound-shaping technology out there that can make your car a very good soundstage indeed.

Lol yes I know but for me the amount of money to get there is just not worth it. I get to a point where I am like F yeah this sounds great and after that I don't want to spend more money as it is diminishing returns. I read a giant post that two professional speaker builders who were trying get perfect sound in a car and they were like yeah don't even try. That was an older article and speakers have come a long way. Buuuuuut everyone has their preference and can do whatever the hell they want with their money.

 

[Redline]

Lol yes I know but for me the amount of money to get there is just not worth it. I get to a point where I am like F yeah this sounds great and after that I don't want to spend more money as it is diminishing returns. I read a giant post that two professional speaker builders who were trying get perfect sound in a car and they were like yeah don't even try. That was an older article and speakers have come a long way. Buuuuuut everyone has their preference and can do whatever the hell they want with their money.

Yeah, I hear ya. There are far too many amorphous surfaces a multiple materials inside of cars that have various sound reflecting and/or absorbing qualities. Besides that, ideal speaker placement is all-but-impossible. But it is still possible to be a mobile audiophile. Like you said, it's expensive, and in the end it'll never be like a high-end home theater setup.

 

[5doorsoffury]

Another major part of car audio is how terrible the acoustics are. You will never get this perfect sound stage setup like you can with a home audio setup. That is why I never saw the point in going super crazy on all these top end brands. Get some decent speakers and a good amp and enjoy.

Thiz zounds kinda douchey ya know like you know better ideal.

Enjoying music means improving on the sound to strive for something better that you enjoy. The 12V world is a lot diffrent from the Home Theater relm.... One persons "going crazy" is MUCH diffrent then someone elses idea of going crazy.

For example i can say i spent 10 k on 2 tower speakers and i call u a fool since you didnt build a custom foam sound canceling lined room to put them in ect...