Jaycar Amps

[kslim]

Hey guys,

Planning on getting jaycar amp to power my sub.

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience (good or bad) with jaycars amps.

I want something that will do the job and is fairly cheap. Thats why I'm thinking of getting a jaycar amp. Any other recommendations?

cheers

kslim

[gtrGhosTDoGG11]

The 4x100 amp of which you speak is a good value for money amp(make sure you get this one and not the others).

I have had no problems with the 2 amps that I have installed for mates.

There is a really good review of them in one of the import magazines(I forget which). They produced gobs of clean power in a lab test and heaps of people have praised them.

[hippy]

i know ghostdogg is a big fan of jaycar amps LOL ... but imho i'd go try and find a quality second hand amp

[TIMMMAYYY]

I'll give Jaycar a big rap anytime.

I've done a heap of installs in mates car using Jaycar gear and its pretty good quality and none hav had any problems this far.

more so a value for money thing for me then anything else, and although i dont run em (I use alpine) They're excellent value 4 money and get raps from all the audio mags.

[SeriesIIGTST]

I have a little 2x100 (the older one which is rated more like 2x84) and it beats the s**t out of my JL 12" sub. They are relatively cheap, amply powerful which makes them a good choice for the money conscious.

[Nav2k]

for the price u pay, u get good stuff

[gtrGhosTDoGG11]

Hippy,

I talk from experience.

I think if you haven't used them, don't diss them until you do =p

I use all "quality" components in my system, Utopias splits, Rockford Fosgate amp etc.

If you can hear the difference between the two simlarily rated amps I will eat my hat.

Sure the internals of the Jaycar MAY be a little cheaper than "quality" amps, but as most of the people already have said there pretty reliable.

What is a quality branded amp anyway?

Pioneer? (laugh)

[kslim]

All good feedback so far so.... JAYCARS it is then!!

thanks guys

much appreciated.

One other thing, I was reading some specs on the jaycar amps and came across "@ 2 ohms" or "@ 4 ohms"?? Whats that all about? Can anyone explain?? (as you can see i'm still a virgin when it comes down to audio gear..)

[SeriesIIGTST]

Basically, (i am mean basic cause i'm not an electronic expert) most normal car speakers run at 4 Ohm, which is a loading which is the head unit (or amplifier) sees when driving the speakers (ie playing music). Normally, with a two channel amp, you would plug one speaker into one channel and a second into the other channel and that setup, the amp would be powering the speakers at XY Watts x 2 channels @ 4 Ohms.

2 Ohm loadings can occur in a variety of ways. You can conenct multiple drivers (speakers) to one channel - not necessarily two either or connect two or more voice coils to one channel. This changes the load placed on the amplifier. This makes the amp work harder and some older amplifiers can't handle the extra load. It's best to ask your audio place how you can best wire up the amplifier to make maximum power if you are unsure as incorrectly wiring up the amp may result in the amplifier seeing too much load and shorting out or melting something.

I'm sure others can explain it better than me but as far as a basic explanation goes, I think that's right.

[Fhrx]

Bare in mind a few issues when talking about Jaycar amps as they have been tested to output their rated power but not much more at all.

There are also numerous other issues to consider when buying a Jaycar amp too. The Jaycar crossover quality is known to be "less than average" and sometimes require the user to utilise an external one. They don't have much internal capacitance, the damping factor isn't terribly high either and their THD is disasterous when they're loaded down (although this will not bother subs too much). As far as their specs go, they meet them. But when other important factors are considered, the "more expensive" amplifiers (such as Boston and Audison) provide benefits in all of these areas.

[hippy]

a quality branded amp are sony , pioneer ..( yes pioneer make some of the best amps around), and look out for boss audio, they are awesome!!! ... 1000W for 150 bucks ... can't beat that!!! LOL ... hehehehehhe

[gtrGhosTDoGG11]

Actually,

Pioneer not long ago had amps that I wouldn't touch with a 10ft barge pole.

I'm not sure what there like now.

Sony are pretty good, my friend has a Sony 4x150w it is HUGE and performs pretty good aswell.

FYI Pioneer distribute Rockford Fosgate, I wouldn't be surprised if Pioneer bought them out.

[hippy]

yeah well i got a pioneer in my car right now .. its my cousins ... and yeah the head unit puts out more power that the amp hahaah

[Fhrx]

Sorry hippy, I have to agree with gtrGhosTDoGG11.

Pioneer and Sony make nice amplifiers but when they're compared to amps like Audison, Boston and Phase audio etc there is simply no comparison dude.

[MattyB]

my mate bought a jaycar amp. not sure of the model to power his frount and back spits, after his install (which i will add is probally the cleanest install i think could exist, i mean its insane the effort he went to) it had a rather annoying hiss. he took it back, they swapped it and the one he got did the same thing. he ended up looking arround on the net and found that this amp is known for doing this.

this bit of shit to add to the pile.

[Nav2k]

i'd go a jaycar amp over sony and pioneer.

and if ur talking about american boss audio, it shits all over anything here my friend. australian boss sux (:

[gtrGhosTDoGG11]

Hey Hippy,

I heard ya upgraded your tunes dude, care to fill us in on your rig?

[hippy]

nothing special

alpine md deck, and eq etc ..

jl xr splits

jl 12w3 sub

alpine m500

eclipse amp for front ..

[cyco]

Can't go past Jaycar in terms of bang for buck (wrt Response 4x100w amp)

:-)

[Disciple]

What u guys think of the 12" Response subby jaycar has, 250watt rms, its abit expensive but! $289, think its worth it?