Good budget amp for 1 pair of XM9's

Hi all,

This has been covered a few times before and im pretty sure i know what the answer will be from most of you but just checking to make sure this is still the best deal.

My Rockford amp powering my xm9's has just done its dash and now im looking for a new amp. Would love another Exile amp but probably out of my budget unfortunately and id like to go Class D to reduce the battery strain.

Was thinking a Polk d4000.4 or a Precision Power PPI P900.4.

These still the best bet?

Cheers

PPI amps get great reviews. I'm going to try one for my budget setup.

Brian has a demo harpoon for sale on their site in the clearance section get it quick!

Spends a lot of money on tower speakers and then goes cheap on the amp... Why?

Originally Posted by jtech

Spends a lot of money on tower speakers and then goes cheap on the amp... Why?

Because the Polk/PPI/NVX class D amps are really good amps...best bang for the buck out there. Why spend more when these do a great job?

A polk 4000.4 bridged or 2000.2.

Like said above

Click http://exileaudio.com/store/index.ph...rpoon-306.html

Originally Posted by rexlex01

Like said above

Click http://exileaudio.com/store/index.ph...rpoon-306.html

Over double the price of the PPI 4 channel for a discontinued demo amp that will make less power per speaker in his application.

I have a polk 5000.5 powering my two pro 80s (250 rms each) and my sub (500 rms). I also have a polk 2000.2 powering my 485 (500 rms). The system screams and e amps are low power draw and relatively inexpensive.


These are the amps the Nautique factory puts in their brand new boats. Top of the line? No, but quality, yes.

I have the PPI 900.4 on a pair of REV 10's and love it. Its really small and never over heats. I liked it so much I bought another one to power my inboats.

I got in touch with Brian at Exile Audio and have a XM15.4 on the way. Awesome guy to deal with and has looked after me even when buying little bits and pieces.

Yeah, probably a little more than I wanted to spend but im stoked with my other exile product to glad I could keep it in the family.

Next season im going to add a set of the surf speakers so should work well on a 21 foot boat.

PPI sux, they aren't even precision power their own company anymore, they sold out to dei who makes viper a long time ago, garbage now, hell dei may have already resold the brand, but regardless it is garbage, budget or no budget. I have a huge car stereo and wheel and accessory shop. Maybe one day I can work out something with WW and sale product on here to u guys. Check arc or jl jx series if u want budget. And to be honest the jl xd series amps are without a doubt best u can buy for the money. And they make most of them on a marine platform also as most of u know. And for the record I'm not a huge fan of the hd really expensive jl amps car or marine, some may like them but I feel the xd line is clean, tiny, powerful, great sounding, reliable, and a great price point. We hardly ever see a defect with them. Kicker has some budget amps too to go along with my previous recommendations.

Originally Posted by MIKEnNC

PPI sux, they aren't even precision power their own company anymore, they sold out to dei who makes viper a long time ago, garbage now, hell dei may have already resold the brand, but regardless it is garbage, budget or no budget. I have a huge car stereo and wheel and accessory shop. Maybe one day I can work out something with WW and sale product on here to u guys. Check arc or jl jx series if u want budget. And to be honest the jl xd series amps are without a doubt best u can buy for the money. And they make most of them on a marine platform also as most of u know. And for the record I'm not a huge fan of the hd really expensive jl amps car or marine, some may like them but I feel the xd line is clean, tiny, powerful, great sounding, reliable, and a great price point. We hardly ever see a defect with them. Kicker has some budget amps too to go along with my previous recommendations.

You are saying they are junk because you can't make the margins you want on them. For those actually running the NVX/Polk/PPI lineup, the people who actually own and use these amps love them.

My PPI's have been nothing but solid, loud & clear. I run 1-900.4, 1-600.2 & 1-900.5 & my stuff sounds amazing. Could careless what the stereo snobs think

Pertaining to the PPI amplifiers, I have my own opinions. I sometimes have trouble believing those who own the product because they naturally have owners goggles. They buy it because it's cheap. They read the internet reviews and drink the Kool-Aid because it fits right in with their budgetary expectations. And many are cynical and critical about any product that is more name brand and more expensive. What I do know is that a majority of the PPI owners, many who sometimes post on the wake forums, that have a 4-channel amplifier bridged to the tower have it bridged improperly and it absolutlely sounds terrible. Yet, they have been using it this way (incorrectly) forever and still rave about the performance. Obviously they have no idea what sounds good or bad. From first hand experience, this is why I have trouble trusting their judgement.

On the other hand when I hear from someone who says, "PPI sux...", that does nothing for me. I want plausible reasons why. So I distrust that opinion too until I hear valid reasons based in fact.

My valid reason is I run a shop and get to hear what I do sale and what I don't when customers bring in Internet purchases for my technicians to install. Has nothing to do with margins. In fact is it easy to make money selling ppi. My rep has been on me for years to pick it up. Fact of the matter is it does suck. Why? Because I have heard it and I feel it is garbage. There are plenty of other low cost BETTER options available. Ppi was the heat back in the day with the old art series amps. That was 17 years ago. They were left behind not long after as far as improving the product and innovating and redesigning. Thus why they sold their brand to dei better known as viper to consumers while they had some name left. It's just not what it used to be and ppi is just a name now. U won't hear me talking over the average wake worlder and talking to technical for the average reader to understand. It's simple it either sounds good or doesn't. Ppi doesn't, simple as that. To a person that doesn't get to experience much else maybe they like it. I am lucky enough to get to hear brands I carry and brands I don't. Sorry if I offended anyone. I'm not insulting u personally, but I feel as though the brand is not good quality or sound. If u like it and own it then I'm happy for u and happy u like ur product. Cheers

Originally Posted by DavidAnalog

What I do know is that a majority of the PPI owners, many who sometimes post on the wake forums, that have a 4-channel amplifier bridged to the tower have it bridged improperly and it absolutlely sounds terrible. Yet, they have been using it this way (incorrectly) forever and still rave about the performance. Obviously they have no idea what sounds good or bad. From first hand experience, this is why I have trouble trusting their judgement.

I totally don't have a dog in this fight but I'm curious about A MAJORITY bridging incorrectly. Are you saying:

a. that people who buy PPI amps can't read the manual;
b. that the PPI manual is wrong; or
c. that the PPI amp can't be bridged but people do it anyway?

Originally Posted by MIKEnNC

My valid reason is I run a shop and get to hear what I do sale and what I don't when customers bring in Internet purchases for my technicians to install. Has nothing to do with margins. In fact is it easy to make money selling ppi. My rep has been on me for years to pick it up. Fact of the matter is it does suck. Why? Because I have heard it and I feel it is garbage. There are plenty of other low cost BETTER options available. Ppi was the heat back in the day with the old art series amps. That was 17 years ago. They were left behind not long after as far as improving the product and innovating and redesigning. Thus why they sold their brand to dei better known as viper to consumers while they had some name left. It's just not what it used to be and ppi is just a name now. U won't hear me talking over the average wake worlder and talking to technical for the average reader to understand. It's simple it either sounds good or doesn't. Ppi doesn't, simple as that. To a person that doesn't get to experience much else maybe they like it. I am lucky enough to get to hear brands I carry and brands I don't. Sorry if I offended anyone. I'm not insulting u personally, but I feel as though the brand is not good quality or sound. If u like it and own it then I'm happy for u and happy u like ur product. Cheers

And which series of PPI amp are you basing this off of? They sell a number of different series of amp and we all are referring to one specific series.

Nitrous, when u run a custom shop as large as mine, actually two locations to be exact u see all brands and models. Stuff we sale and stuff that customers bring in. I don't write down the exact model numbers every time we do an install with them. But what I do have is many installs with several ppi amps that do not sound good to me or my installers who have been with me ranging from 10 -20 years. We have jl audio, kicker, Memphis, ken wood, pioneer, Rockford fosgate, arc audio, diamond, hertz, viper, among others. We get to hear, install, and experience tons of products on a daily basis. We work on average of 15-30 cars a day. We do high volume. Like I stated not trying to insult anyone personally but it is MY opinion that ppi is not good quality. For some that don't know better maybe it's good enough. But I know better as it is my industry that I have worked in for over 20 years. Screw all the fancy wording and technical terms, I'm not one that cares about that. Me and my customers care about three things, sound quality, reliability, and price range. To me it sounds good or doesn't simple as that. Maybe I have access to more products that average person doesn't and I have more experience with these products. My apologies if I offended anyone personally, not my Intention at all. I don't like ppi currently based on my experience. Now back in the day I loved and owned art series amps but that was a long time ago.

Originally Posted by shawndoggy

I totally don't have a dog in this fight but I'm curious about A MAJORITY bridging incorrectly. Are you saying:

a. that people who buy PPI amps can't read the manual;
b. that the PPI manual is wrong; or
c. that the PPI amp can't be bridged but people do it anyway?

Have you found the bridging instructions in the manual of the PPI Phantom 900.4?
Btw, it's actually a problem with many other brands. They built the amplifier expecting it to be bridged in the lowpass mode only. It's an issue when the importer has total disconnect with the asian build house and there is zero domestic engineering.

Everything designed, engineered, and imported by foreign countries mostly china is America's problem today. All these cheap quality goods from china is what is killing our economy, and bankrupting our people and driving our country into poverty. China is slowly draining and killing the good old USA. It's sad to think about the mess our kids will live in when we are gone one day. We now owe them so much as a country and are unable to pay that they are demanding land and natural resources as payment. They plan on owning our country one day and have been buying it up piece by piece.

Originally Posted by MIKEnNC

Nitrous, when u run a custom shop as large as mine, actually two locations to be exact u see all brands and models. Stuff we sale and stuff that customers bring in. I don't write down the exact model numbers every time we do an install with them. But what I do have is many installs with several ppi amps that do not sound good to me or my installers who have been with me ranging from 10 -20 years. We have jl audio, kicker, Memphis, ken wood, pioneer, Rockford fosgate, arc audio, diamond, hertz, viper, among others. We get to hear, install, and experience tons of products on a daily basis. We work on average of 15-30 cars a day. We do high volume. Like I stated not trying to insult anyone personally but it is MY opinion that ppi is not good quality. For some that don't know better maybe it's good enough. But I know better as it is my industry that I have worked in for over 20 years. Screw all the fancy wording and technical terms, I'm not one that cares about that. Me and my customers care about three things, sound quality, reliability, and price range. To me it sounds good or doesn't simple as that. Maybe I have access to more products that average person doesn't and I have more experience with these products. My apologies if I offended anyone personally, not my Intention at all. I don't like ppi currently based on my experience. Now back in the day I loved and owned art series amps but that was a long time ago.

What do you think about the Polk Class D amps?

Originally Posted by MIKEnNC

Everything designed, engineered, and imported by foreign countries mostly china is America's problem today. All these cheap quality goods from china is what is killing our economy, and bankrupting our people and driving our country into poverty. China is slowly draining and killing the good old USA. It's sad to think about the mess our kids will live in when we are gone one day. We now owe them so much as a country and are unable to pay that they are demanding land and natural resources as payment. They plan on owning our country one day and have been buying it up piece by piece.

you guys sell a lot of american made audio products at your shop then, Mike?

Originally Posted by shawndoggy

you guys sell a lot of american made audio products at your shop then, Mike?

We already know the answer to that.
However, you will struggle to find many remaining companies with domestic engineering.
JL Audio employs the original owner of PPI and Xtant, the original PPI and Xtant head electronic engineer, engineers from the original Phoenix Gold and Rockford Fosgate. Yes, domestic engineered products cost more but these are vastly superior products with proprietary concepts.
Wetsounds uses Robert Zeff (original owner of Zapco) and his facility, Nikola Engineering, a domestic company.
Certainly Audison is a leader in electronics with Italian engineers.
Name one other mainstream mobile electronics company that designs anything in this country. Most everyone else is sharing existing platforms with a few tweaks and a different chassis/logo and they're taking whatever China or South Korea ships them with little to no actual knowledge of the product. It's in error to even call most of the ME brands 'manufacturers' because they own nothing but a brand and are simple importers & marketers & sales organizations. They build nothing. They design nothing. They just pick and choose from a variety of chassis and end cap layouts sent via email.

^ agreed. And nitrous I stated my opinion, if u r trying to facilitate an argument I'm just not n the mood today. Never intended to insult anyone but as far as product that I do have experience with I have no problems stating how I feel about it. Honestly for whatever reason we don't see much if any Polk branded merchandise come thru the store. And I agree with davids statement above. Only Polk I have first hand experience with is what came n my nautique I used to own which sounded horrible. That was a poor excuse for a system nautique installed in the boat I owned. My first mod was my system, in which I loaded with jl. People at the lake would go crazy over that system and several boaters at ramp or on lake stated it was the loudest and cleanest they ever heard.

Oh I know David. It's just funny to hear someone make an incoherent rambling anti-china, anti-imports, shipping-the-jobs-overseas argument when he's the guy who is profiting from those imports.

Does junk come from China? Of course. Do some of the best consumer electronics in the world also come from China? Yep, no doubt they do too.

back to the PPI amp, though... are you saying that the 900.4 is only supposed to be bridged low-pass?

Mike,
When you were told that your JLs sound the "best", did you inform the awestruck folks at the docks that the stereo components are made in South Korea/China and it is killing our country......and our children's future?

Like David said at least it's engineered here in the u.s. Also jl has a factory here that employs many Americans and makes several products here in the states. Is a lot of made in Asia? Yes, unfortunately. But as David said they are at least truly engineering their product here. China and American companies importing everything from there is destroying our country. As well as Internet shopping and Walmart. Our American small businesses are rapidly becoming extinct. I try my best to buy American and local small business when possible. I hate the position our country is in. And yes our children's future is a deep concern of mine and no joking matter. Hell my shops future is a deep concern of mine. Every year I see more and more Internet purchases and people bringing in cheap quality goods, b stock and returns without even knowing it, stuff not matched properly with impedance and continuous wattage, and sometimes trans-shipped upper end product I sale sold unauthorized on line. Sometimes the dealers just don't care and are just selling stuff at or below cost trying to stay afloat. Sometimes serial numbers are removed. It is a really serious problem and is scary for me to see the business declining annually. In a perfect world small business would thrive in our local economies and our jobs and industry would come back home. Our politicians would reward companies that put Americans to work and build factories here. Tax incentives and other programs would encourage us to employ our own rather than making china rich. I worry all the time what my kids and theirs will be up against. It is truly scary. They aren't just gonna be able to go out and into business for themselves. Career choices seem to be more and more limited all the time. Hopefully u agree how serious of a problem this is rather than wanting to have a petty argument with me on wakeworld

And shawn and wake dirt, Automotive industry parts and accessories is all I know. I can't not sale the product or my shop goes out of business too. It sux and I can't stand it. Seems as though nothing is made here anymore hardly. Just sad.