Ok, this is a pretty straight forward question. I used to have this amp:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-9juyLK0...00&i=489AP1000

I had it connected to two 10's in a downfire box under my back seat, sending 160 watts to each sub. Not a lot of power, but not really the point. It never really sounded pure, it gave the two 10s plenty of power, but it just didn't have that sound I was looking for. A guy I know told me that it was the amp and that I should go with a better amp. So I bought this amp:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-9juyLK0...px?I=575T4002P

WOW! What a difference!! It sounds soooo much better, so clear and hard hitting at the same time. I know, the subs could take more power, but I don't want what a lot of you guys are after, I'd like to be able to hear when I'm 30.

Now my question....

Why is it better??? Sure, it cost more, but I'm guessing that a watt isn't just a watt because the Profile amp is 160x2 and the Rockford Fosgate amp is only 120x2, yet it sounds so much better!! I mean, this amp cost twice as much, gives less power, but the sound is so much better! Why????

On a side note, I had everything hooked up and adjusted correctly so it wasn't a setup issue, it just sounded like crap with the old amp.

 

well that RF amp probably is underrated and the profile amp was overrated.

plus the RF amp more clean watts and the profile has nothing to give but dirty power.

all in the quality amp. no big suprise here

 

Quality is the main reason...Profile is cheap because they use cheap, not so tight tolerance, just overall cruddy components in thier amps. Im sure RF does a lot more R&D on their equipment than Profile does, which counts for something.

 

Good god I'm an idiot.

Could you define "R&D" for me?

 

Research and Development.

 

Thanks man!

I'm still not completely caught up with all the sound system lingo.

 

Another really quick way to check from amp to amp is see if they are CEA-2006 compliant. It is a new standardized way of testing amp power. Basically, let's you compare amps using the same testing specs. Rockford amps are compliant while the Profile amps are not. This means there is really no way to know how they test and arrive at their power ratings. They can claim whatever they want but only they (or someone who has personally tested it) knows for sure. Not all companies use the CEA-2006. A lot of the top brands do not but, at least using Crutchfield, most of there better brands are compliant. Alpine, Rockford, Eclipse, MTX to name a few.

Example:

The Profile amp you listed says 160 x 2. This might be at 10% distortion while the Rockford amp is rated at 120 x 2 at 1% or less of distortion or THD. That may not be Profile's exact number but hopefully, you get the idea.

 

Well it just comes downt to the old "you get what you pay for".

While the RF probably gave you true RMS power,
The Profile gave you true WLS power. (When lightning strikes).

No, but for real. What the guys are saying is correct. The new CEA-2006 does standardize the way that companies rate/measure power.

Also the thd (total harmonic distortion). Im sure that the rf had a way lower number in this category on the spec sheet, meening cleaner power.

There is a reason why companies do bench testing as well. Just because the same model amps have the same guts, doesnt mean that they put out the same power. So, some companies actually put a birth certificate (bench test specs) in the box so you actually know what your amp tested out as.

At least your sound is better now, that is the important part. Bet you will never make that mistake again. Leave a nice review for that profile amp on crutchfield so nobody makes the same mistake.

Later,
Devildog101

 

See, that's what got me, all of the reviews at crutchfield are so positive. I guess all those people are happy with crappy sound or something, but they seemed to love it?

I'll leave a nice (not so nice) little review on it.

 

Yeah, hook it up!

 

Because they havent had much experience with anything else.
People buy something like that as their first or second setup and are in love with it because to them it kicks ***. Notice how alot of times you see them say something like "kicks way more *** than my 1000 watt Pyrimid" or something....

They either dont know any better or want to act like they know something....

 

That is so true! I get so many people here at circuit city that ramble on about nothing but garbage!

 

And to think RF amps aren't really all that great compared to some of the more audiophile brands. Yeah, you get what you pay for. Try spending $1300 on a two channel amp... then you'll hear a huge difference, too.

 

Look for amp ratings at 12v and on mono block amps 1/2 ohm stability, not always important but are 2 good signs of a well built amp. RF Power series are up to like 40% to 50% underrated especially some of their larger amps so keep that in mind if your going to buy one of them.