Amp to Run Hertz HV 165 XL Woofer

[Deutscher]

Hi,

Changed my mind about getting the SoundStream TRC6N mids and going for Hertz HV 165 XL instead.

125wrms @ 4ohm, 93.5dB sensitivity.

I'm on a budget and looking at spending upto ~$500 for the amp.

Focal Solid 4 (4ch) - 200 x 2 - $550
Hertz EP4x (4ch) - 320 x 2 - $470
Hertz EP2x (2ch) - 220 x 2 - $430

Anyone got other suggesions? or which one would be best quality?

190wrms is 1.5dB, 250wrms is 3dB headroom.

[Philthy]

Audison SRx4 - 180wrms x 2 - $500
Focal Solid 4 - 200 x 2 - $550
Steg QM 75.4x - 250 x 2 - $560 (Shopping Secure)

Would be my picks for quality.
If you are happy to pay for it, I'd look at the Focal or Steg, purely for the peace of mind that comes with the extra power.
I'm upgrading to a Steg amp for SQ myself when I finally get around to it, especially at that price

[Deutscher]

Audison SRx4 - 180wrms x 2 - $500
Focal Solid 4 - 200 x 2 - $550
Steg QM 75.4x - 250 x 2 - $560 (Shopping Secure)

Would be my picks for quality.
If you are happy to pay for it, I'd look at the Focal or Steg, purely for the peace of mind that comes with the extra power.
I'm upgrading to a Steg amp for SQ myself when I finally get around to it, especially at that price

When I spoke to Westside Audio (Cannington WA), he said he wouldn't go for a Focal and recommended the Audison instead.
How much headroom would you want?

[Philthy]

When I spoke to Westside Audio (Cannington WA), he said he wouldn't go for a Focal and recommended the Audison instead.
How much headroom would you want?

Thats what I meant by "if you are happy to pay for it". I'd be happy with the 180wrms as far as headrooom goes, but I have been known to drive my gear pretty hard, so would consider more if I had the money

[Deutscher]

Thats what I meant by "if you are happy to pay for it". I'd be happy with the 180wrms as far as headrooom goes, but I have been known to drive my gear pretty hard, so would consider more if I had the money

Lol. Whats 50 or 60 bucks. It's nothing if your paying already 500!
But from memory the guy was saying the Focal has a hissing noise or something rather?
If the Focal or Steg were much better in SQ I'd pay the extra. This gear will be with me for quite some time.

[Philthy]

Lol. Whats 50 or 60 bucks. It's nothing if your paying already 500!
But from memory the guy was saying the Focal has a hissing noise or something rather?
If the Focal or Steg were much better in SQ I'd pay the extra. This gear will be with me for quite some time.

If you can get confirmation on the Focals issue, then definately cross that off the list. First I've heard of it though.

[HCVP]

Neither of the above !!!

No seriously, get this instead, Shopping Secure - Car Audio Specialists - Ground Zero Iridium GZIA 2230HPX

Put the extra $300 back into the purchase price of your mids, and buy $500 drivers instead of $200 drivers, and you will reap far greater benifits.

[Deutscher]

Neither of the above !!!

No seriously, get this instead, Shopping Secure - Car Audio Specialists - Ground Zero Iridium GZIA 2230HPX

Put the extra $300 back into the purchase price of your mids, and buy $500 drivers instead of $200 drivers, and you will reap far greater benifits.

The amp you specified is 150wrms x 2. Not enough headroom for me. Not sure about Ground Zero either. I looked at the Option Audio OAC160 but Joe said spend the extra money.

[Deutscher]

The Steg amps are discontinued.
Ren said he'll give me the Steg QM 220.2 for $550.
I'm just not sure if buying discontinued items is a good thing for warranty issues.

[StoneX]

Could have had my Audison 200x2 for $300 or my Soundstream 400x2 for $500 the other week Talk about headroom

You're not going to hear much if any difference between amp... People will say you will but you'd need magic hearing. When buying more expensive amps, you're pretty much paying for a name, reliability, features and actual power output. Now that there is CEA ratings, pretty much all the name brands make the power they advertise.

I agree with HCVP that spending more on speakers is much more important than the amplifier.

[Deutscher]

Could have had my Audison 200x2 for $300 or my Soundstream 400x2 for $500 the other week Talk about headroom

You're not going to hear much if any difference between amp... People will say you will but you'd need magic hearing. When buying more expensive amps, you're pretty much paying for a name, reliability, features and actual power output. Now that there is CEA ratings, pretty much all the name brands make the power they advertise.

I agree with HCVP that spending more on speakers is much more important than the amplifier.

What Audison amp was that? So you recon a Option Audio OAC160 (350 x 2 bridged) would be as good as a Audison SRx4 (180 x 2)? Take away power rating. The OAC160 is highest output bridged, and least expensive.

[StoneX]

Bridging an amp reduces the quality... So it's hard to say. I don't think it would be audible.

I sold my LRx2.500... Old school LRx model. 200x2@4ohm, 660x1@4ohm.

[Deutscher]

This is ridiculous!
I am searching all the specs for the amps I'm interested in. But can't find certain info to compare each amp.

[Deutscher]

Might buy of ebay.
Alpine PDX-F6 for $550. DynamicAutoSound. 28,509 Sales - 99.5% positive feedback.
New Alpine PDX-F6 4-Ch Class-D Amp Car Sub Amplifier - eBay (item 140425323967 end time Aug-07-10 15:50:14 PDT)

Alpine PDX-F6
RMS - 300 x 2 @4ohm Bridged
S/N - 118dB
THD - 0.003% / 0.005%
Dampening Factor - >500
Fuse - 2 x 30A

[HCVP]

How come 150 x 2 isn't enough?

Your running active right? If so, then 150 rms either side would be fine, and i still stand by suggestion that you will benifit more by spending money on better speaker with cheaper amp, vs cheaper speaker better amp.

This comes from previous exp, not what the specs on paper tell, or what a shop advises you to buy.

[Deutscher]

How come 150 x 2 isn't enough?

Your running active right? If so, then 150 rms either side would be fine, and i still stand by suggestion that you will benifit more by spending money on better speaker with cheaper amp, vs cheaper speaker better amp.

This comes from previous exp, not what the specs on paper tell, or what a shop advises you to buy.

I'm just after some headroom. If I run the rated RMS of the speakers, the amp will be pushing. Rather have some headroom so amp doesn't have to work so hard etc.

[Deutscher]

What about a Hertz EP4x? quoted $470.

[Deutscher]

Focal Solid 4 (4ch) - $530
RMS - 200 x 2 Bridged 4Ohm
S/N - >100dB (A)
THD at Rated - 1%
Dampening Factor 4ohm - 100 @ 1Khz
Fuse - 25A x 2

Audison SRx4 (4ch) - $500
RMS - 180 x 2 Bridged 4Ohm
S/N - 96dB
THD at 1Khz @ 4ohm - 0.06%
Dampening Factor 1Khz @ 4ohm - 140
Fuse - 20A
CEA2006 - output 4ohm <1% THD 14.4V - 60w x 4 --- S/N: 60w:78dB

Hertz EP4X (4ch) - $470
RMS - 320 x 2 @ 4ohm bridged
S/N - 98dB
THD - 0.08% @ 1kHz @ 4ohm
Dampening Factor - 130 @ 1kHz @ 4ohm
Fuse - 3 x 30A

Hertz EP2X (2ch) - $430
RMS - 220 x 2 @ 4ohm
S/N - 100dB
THD at 1kHz - 0.05%
Dampening Factor at 1kHz - 130
Fuse - 3 x 30A

[HCVP]

I'm just after some headroom. If I run the rated RMS of the speakers, the amp will be pushing. Rather have some headroom so amp doesn't have to work so hard etc.

I thinking you've missed the mark a little.

My suggestion for the cheaper amp was to leave more money for a better set of speakers, not nessacarilly the ones you had selected.

it's obvious the amount of effort you've put into reading as much sources as you can, but i think maybe you've read too much.....Looking too much into specifications on paper, rather than considering how a component is likely to perform in the real world.

At the end of the day you want the absolute most value for your money that you can get. Sometimes you have to leave out some of the more technical details, and go back to the basics.

Power is power. Whether it comes from Alpine , Focal, Steg, or something you built yourself, it dosen't matter. The audible differences between amplifiers in any given price range are going to be little if any, and that's if you have the listening abilities to even tell the difference.

What will make the most difference overall is speaker selection, and to some extent the source i.e your head unit. I'm not saying i'm right, or anybody is wrong, i just don't like seeing people spending their hard earned money on something that isn't offering them the most value for their money, and can be better spent elsewhere.

But hey it's your call, if you think the above selection of amps will offer more for your money than a better set of speakers then by all means splash out, it is after all, your money.

[Deutscher]

Re. HCVP.
I've previously had the TRC6N (200wrms 91dB) in my VS Calais, they were loud, not ear deafening loud. I don't know why they weren't. I didn't tune the system but I was running Tarantula2.820 (250 x 2). With the SoundStream SST-05's (50wrms 108db) replacing the TRC6N tweeters. I had my doors dynamated inner & outer skins with MDF service holes. If you've read my other posts I own pro audio gear aswell.. I like to know I can get loud even if I don't use it always. When people say 50wrms is loud, from maths speaking, the trc should be 6dB louder. For whatever reason I didn't find the TRC's extremely loud.

I've been looking for front stage for some times now as u mentioned. Reason was because I am reading into it so much is because I did like the TRC's but I thought I'd could manage extreme loud and failed lol. So before I buy something again I'll do lots of research and save money. I'm 21 and like clubbing so I like loud music, I was going to go with TRC's again but thought the Hertz are more efficient and better SQ.

Then I look at, if I'm spending $400+ on an amp, I'd want to be able to use the amp in future with some new speakers. I look for bang for buck with good SQ. $50 here for there isn't much difference if you have the gear for 1yr.

[Deutscher]

Hertz EP2X - 2 Channel
220 x 2 @ 4ohm
$420

Hertz EP4X - 4 Channel
320 x 2 @ 4ohm Bridged
$470

[HCVP]

All i can suggest os that you listen to the Hertz first. Just because you buy a more efficient and more SQ orientated driver, does not guarantee that it will play loud and clear like you want. What they will do is be more accurate within their playing limits. Go beyond that though, and they will begin to loose any SQ attributes they may have over another driver.

The Hertz will not be louder than the Sound Stream's, i can guarantee you that. They may make better use of the available power, but in an all out volume war, the TRC's will win every time.

[Deutscher]

All i can suggest os that you listen to the Hertz first. Just because you buy a more efficient and more SQ orientated driver, does not guarantee that it will play loud and clear like you want. What they will do is be more accurate within their playing limits. Go beyond that though, and they will begin to loose any SQ attributes they may have over another driver.

The Hertz will not be louder than the Sound Stream's, i can guarantee you that. They may make better use of the available power, but in an all out volume war, the TRC's will win every time.

Unfortunately I can't listen to the Hertz because they have to order it in. I have listened to the standard HSK 165's, thought it had enough mid-bass, but tweeter wasn't that great (but not getting tweeter). The Hertz is cheaper than the TRC's and I don't need a huge amp to power them. As mentioned I like my headroom, for the TRC's I'd like 300 - then to find a nice SQ amp for that rating would be expensive. I think I'm pretty set on the Hertz now. Good price & I liked the model down. I tend to buy blind quite alot, I did with the TRC's, SST's, Hifonic Olympus 2412 sub.

[Deutscher]

I've narrowed my amps down to:

- Focal Solid 4 (4channel) 200 x 2 - $550 - Highest S/N & Lowest THD @ rated.
- Audison SRx4 (4channel) 180 x 2 - $500 - Highest Dampening Factor.
- Hertz EP4x (4channel) 320 x 2 - $470 - Best RMS per Buck.
- Hertz EP2x (2channel) 220 x 2 - $430 - Only 2ch in list.

Specs posted couple posts above. Which would you choose?
The EP2x is the only 2channel, rest are 4channel.

[Deutscher]

The Audison SRx4 has been eliminated.

Now it's between the:
Focal Soliud 4,
Hertz EP4x,
Hertz EP2x.