zapco 1000.4 amp pushing 8 speakers?

I'm thinking about pulling the 2 amps that come stock in the new mastercrafts, and replacing them with a Zapco 1000.4, and a JL 300.4 amps! Will the zapco amp be ok pushing 8 speakers at 2 ohms? It says the amp is rated at 250w per channel at 2 ohms, which will give me 125 watts to each of the jl speakers(4 tower and 4 interior)!

The JL amp will be pushing the stock sub and 2 of the interior speakers! Which will be 75w, to 2 jl components and 150w to the stock sub!

I will also be adding my JL 1000/1 amp and another sub! (any suggestions for the sub)I have a JL 12 W6v2, but I was eather going to by another JL w6,or sell the W6 and by one 12w7!

another ? would be how is the Memphis MCA5004, compared to the Zapco 1000.4? Are Memphis amps any good?

Memphis is decent, but you've got it down pretty well...just make sure your 8 speakers are all 4-ohm and can handle 125w, that's a hefty load for lesser quality speakers (if you have em).

That 1000/1 is too much for one w6v2, but will CRANK 2 of em, or the 1 w7. A 500/1 is perfect for 1 w6v2 (i had it pushing 2 of them with no problem except in my ears).

Oh, and whether you add a w6 or replace both with a w7, get rid of the stocker either way, it'll drag you down and just suck power.

What other 4 channel amps would be worth taking a look at? Kicker? Rockford? PPI? or should I just stick with zapco?

I can say that the older PPI stuff is good, but I would stay with the zapco if you can afford it.

my .02

Stick with Zapco, but if you want to deviate the PPI amps are also a excellent choice.

The Memphis MCA5004 is a great amp also. It will hold it's own next to the Zapco.May even out perform it. You are not going to go wrong with either of the two.

When I used to work at the stereo shop I loved putting together nice systems with less expensive gear that outplayed most Zapco systems...

Zapco is nice stuff but not a great value on a $/watt even when you consider the quality. The JL amps that my friends are using seem to be no better than anything midrange, I am not impressed with them.

ryan,

a lot depends on what you are looking to do...i dont think this is good setup because of the lack of volume control and you are missing out on the symbilink...the tower speakers and cabin speakers should each have their own amp so they can be controlled via symbilink...

i have found the zapco gear very good...i run their refernce gear via a balanced deck and it is pretty good imo...btw, balanced is a very big deal..

there are better sounding amps out there but you are looking at lot more money(sinfoni, audison, tru, etccc)... but the zapco reference is rock steady reliable, and spec'ed very, very conseratively, and sound great(not to mention they are a robert zeff design...if someone has to say something againest zeff, then they are waaayyy off..he is "the man" when it comes to mobile audio amp's....he has been THE mobile audio guru the last 20 plus years and is regarded as the best of the the best in the world...if someone has to say something againest his designs then something is really really wrong in the setup or a persons hearing (he started zapco and is now at arc..)

in fact we did a little amp shot out at my house when we compared car amps to a home amp...and the only amp that could hold it's own againest a muse 150 mono block amp was the zapco... the other car amps simply didnt have the current capabilty nor the dynamic range (btw, i wont memtion the rest of the amps so i dont offend owners...)

i am not saying zapco is the end all be all of car amps...there are a lot of very good amps imo like arc, ppi water cooled art series, harmon kardon 260 (dont be fooled by the 60 rms per channel - this is one of the most powerful best solid state car amps i heard to date)..arc xxk series...mmatts sq450, and if you dont mind used, i have gotten some very good deals on zapco from the local dealer and on ebay....not to mention they hold their value very well unlike lesser brands

btw, the real beauty of zapco (no other manufacture has this) is the built in line drivers and symbilink connection/controller..

keep in mind,
-you get what you pay for
-usa made gear is still some of the best in the world..
- there is nothing really new that ACTUALLY works when it comes to toplogy( i am referring to full range)... only zapco c2k series has a working class t amps and sounds pretty good.
-this is 1/3 gear, 1/3 setup, and 1/3 tuning....

good luck !!!!

mike


good luck,

mike

(Message edited by clubmyke on February 15, 2007)

I used to work in a stereo shop that worked on everything so I heard alot. Nothing beats a Zapco amp that is installed/tuned right. That said alot of stuff will sound good if done right.

oops typo above..

1/3 gear, 1/3 install, 1/3 tuning

Care to explain why Symbilink cables are so expensive? As you can tell I'm not anti-Zapco.

Do the Symbilink cables come with the 1000.4 amp, or are they something i have to get?

i dont think symbilink cables are expensive at all... all it is a firewire cable...

decent quality interconnects are much more expensive (start at $90 a meter)....

you want to run symbilink with the built in line driver to adjust the gain.. this is much needed if you are using a low output deck like the clarions...


(Message edited by clubmyke on February 16, 2007)

btw, the amp should come with one of these..if not they are pretty cheap..

Mike,

Where would be the best place to buy a zapco amp? I was looking at www.woofersetc.com! The only thing with them is there not an authorized dealer!

As an Authorized Zapco dealer I can tell you that all the Ref. series come with the in-Line SymbiLink transmitter shown by clubmyke above.
The Symbilink cables are inexpensive IMO. Consider a common RCA cable or one of quality that the Symbilink cable replaces and you will see you actually get more cabability for the $.

ryan,

i would check with your local zapco dealer...zapco is discontinuing the refernce series for the dc referece series...so they are getting trade in and selling new references at 10% above cost...

btw, i got some really good deals ebay (1100/1 for $270 shipped & 500/1 for $170 shipped)...if you do buy used make sure the serial numbers are intact..

btw, check with duane (above)...

I'd just like to say that although we are increasing steadily the percentage of the digital units vs the non digital Reference series, choosing one over the other can be made simpler by considering the following:
If you're happy with the quality of tuning my system while on the trailer, the Digital is a great way to go.
If I want to tune my system for the Rider, or on the go, you need to be OK with bringing your laptop aboard to do that tuning. You will also need communication with the rider from the boat while underway. (This is what I like because I'm about getting the best from my tower as a rider).
My partner Todd has a complete Digital system in his boat and can be tuned very very tightly.
My system is still using the non digital Ref amps but I installed the digital EQ (DSP6 SL)that gives me esentially the same control.....very very nice piece for your non digital system. I'm all about control over your system and this piece gives it to you in a very user friendly intuitive interface right from your laptop.

duane makes a really good point...i like the zapco a lot and i am not familiar with the digital reference series (my eclipse 8053 has pretty sophisicated eq'ing, crossover, and phase control) and i can see where that is very useful...

getting back to the original thread.... i think 2 zapco 750's would do the job....one for the tower and the other for the interior speakers...

hope that helps..

mike

What about the old school HiFonics series 7/8 and the 'real' Rockford Fosgate Power 1000's.

Damn, I'm so old school.

LOL