"Don't buy Morel because it is from Israel. Boycott them as they have killed so many Palestinians".Said the senile Mahathir.

Like Seas and Brax, it is "cap ayam".

Does it matter?

You sure using a class A amp to power a subwoofer is better than a class D???? You should do a research on the classification of amps. By the way, nobody will want to use a Class A amp to power subwoofers (even if their vehicle electrical system can support that). Another interesting point to highlight is that a true Class A for a vehicle is so expensive and limited in production. Audiophiles will use the Class A amp to power their comp. speakers.

Current Soundstream producing Class A amps? I highly doubt it. Even their legendary Human Reign series are not Class A. As for an audiophile, most will prefer 2 channel amps (mostly they are Class AB) to power their subs owing to better control/damping properties (but on the expense of efficiency). As for those looking for a louder system, a Class D amp (assuming similar power rating) will be much more efficient. Hence, the popularity of recommending a Class D for subwoofers.

Another thing to bear in mind that not all Class D amps are inferior in SQ (perhaps due to higher THD and lower damping properties). Lastly, can you really hear the difference in sub bass???? Boominess yes, but not neccesarily the overall ambience in what you are looking for from the subwoofer.

This post has been edited by robinhood: Apr 23 2009, 11:52 AM

Alpine PDX amplifiers have nice design too.

There the sifu has spoken.

Of course you can use your Soundstream amp. But it is advisable u upgrade the speakers too as the OEM speakers might not be able to take withstand the power.

The Agako Reference 4100 scores much x10 better than the Alpine PDX 4.100 in terms of sound quality. Price I think is almost the same. What it lacks is the brand name only. From what I have heard in my friend's car, the Alpine PDX sounded 'lembik' and lacked the dynamics. Tweeters sounded harsh too and noisy as well. Do some research and u may find what I said is true that the PDX amp is not really SQ orientated. But I like the design of the PDX amp.

See our bro ckmoy has spoken. He is definitely right. The PDX doesn't sound clean at all. The looks is definitely sexy but certainly not in the league of being qualified as a SQ amp. Yes, they are much more efficient than any AB class amp but one thing I don't really like the PDX is lack of control. In fact, many audiophiles even shun away from class D amps for their SW although they are more efficient.

I am using the Arc Audio XXK4150 now. Just borrowed the Agako Reference 4100 from one friend recently to test that out. After having tried a number of amps starting from Helix Esprit, Helix Competition A4 and now Arc Audio XXK4150, this Agako has made me change my mind about Koreans.

Anyway, it's your money and most importantly you must be happy with it.

This post has been edited by robinhood: Oct 27 2009, 10:43 AM

Hi ckmoy, there's the problem of resale value especially when comes to brands. The more popular the brand the higher the resale value. Sadly, this equation does not apply to the quality of the amps though. By the way, I do agree it will take hell lots of talk to convince a person to fork out RM2K to buy an "Agako" (till they get a chance to hear them out). Oldschool Rockfosgate Power series amps rocks and used to be my favourites but it was beyond my reach that time. The Agako Reference is very well matched to the R&B's particularly Mariah Carey's songs. My Arc Audio doesn't play so well with them as it sounded too warm and sterile with them. However, the Arc Audio scores much better points in the audiophile genres.

For the price of of the RF 360, you can get a very good HU. Unless you insist on the OEM integrated HU outlook of your car, then it may worth a try. The problem is OEM integrated HU has very weak pre-output, hence less than desired SQ. The RF 360 is merely a processor and boosting up the original signal may render the result unnatural.

Sifu Uncle Soong has answered.

I don't see that carcrazy has ever mentioned his shop is providing perfect service. Anyway, if the forum is going to turn into a battlefield for those in the ICE business, I think the forum will lose its credibility as a platform for exchange of ideas.

My philosophy for ICE is very simple, "The best set up will be the one that you are satisfied with. Sound quality is always 'individualized' (nobody knows it better than yourself)".

Well, brands are serves merely as a benchmark of quality. But it is not necessarily a well-known brand produced the best equipments and meets your needs. The goal post always changes from one person to the other (or as his/her experience evolves).One has to understand the manufacturer's target market and product segmentation as well. Based on my personal experience through various change of amps from Blaupunkt, JVC, Alpine, Helix, Arc Audio and Agako, I find that brands have actually created a lot of misconceptions to the market particularly the Agako amps.

The Agako Reference amps has indeed open my eyes on how wrong can those brand orientated groups are. By the way, don't forget the forum dynamics as well. The more u talk about it, the more popular it becomes (either the positive way or in the contrary)

Same thing goes to speakers, some people proclaimed Focal K2P are lousy speakers with harsh tweeters, but have they really heard of a well-tuned system yet???? ICE is not merely about brands anyway. I don't think I need to elaborate on the ingredients in the journey to audio nirvana again (since it has been comprehensively covered earlier).

Are you also one of the forummers who have direct ICE business interest?? Well, this is just what I deduced from the replies I saw from other threads. There is nothing wrong in advertising your products or services but I think you should be more open to opinions. ICE is not 1+1=2. Don't get me wrong. I am not judging you, but this is just my personal opinion.

It is unavoidable that forums are used as a platform for free publicity. Even the mycarhifi forum which proclaimed to be a 'clean' forum is tainted. Worse, one of the moderators has a direct business interest and there are efforts to quiet those who try to expose them too.

As for the newbies, they should learn and filter what ever is necessary. Do your research and homework. Make price comparison and experience various set ups before jumping to the bandwagon because ICE ain't cheap.

Lastly, ICE is only a hobby. One doesn't need to be too hard on it....relax and enjoy your music

My experience tells me that any comp speakers without the power of an external amp will produce less than satisfactory bass because the passive crossover usually saps quite a lot of power (could be in the region of 30%). If u don't intend to spend on an external amp, my opinon is that u should reserve those money for some 2 to 3 way coaxial speakers for the front stage (as they are much more easier to drive optimally).

Generally, coaxial speakers might lose out in terms of clarity or separation to a comp set, but at least you can drive them optimally using your HU internal amp power. Hence, better clarity and bass could be expected. Rear speakers is not really a neccesity unless your rear passengers insists on them. To certain extent, rear speakers could be utilized to complement the front stage bass (but most of the time, it jumbles up the music and pull the front stage unless u have the option to time aligned them). Well, that's another story then.

By the way, coaxial speakers are generally cheaper than comp set too. Look at your priorities before jumping the bandwagon. But I will still advise u to get an external amp instead of spending on some rear speakers.

Pioneer P80 (roughly RM1600) and Alpine 9887 (roughly RM1300) but my preference is still the P80 with its outstanding built quality and tuning options.

Can recommend me where to get Eclipse 7100 for less than RM1K (if that is the price for a new HU)? Heard of a system comprises the 7100 and it sounds good too. But hate the flimsy volume knob. Looks very fragile and the CD eject mechanism is not as smooth as the Pioneer.

This is called marketing strategy and is pretty normal especially something got popular after much effort has been poured in (although not necessarily product quality improvement).

Honestly, even with the Imprint set up, things may not really sound heavenly. Trust me, you'll lose hell lots of bass with the Imprint setting.