kicker amps?

How do the zx amps compare to wetsounds alpine ect?I find you can get comprable power from the zx 850x4 as the syn 6 at half the price.What if any drawback with the kicker.

I have the Kicker ZX700.5 & the ZX650.4 and am more than happy with them. They're '07 models and i've had zero issues, loads of power and they've never overheated, even when it's over 100 degrees.

I used the ZX amps in my last boat, and they're kind of weak compared to the Wet Sounds amps. They're current hogs too.

The 850.4 is not comparable to the syn6, it's got 2 less channels.

Most people will say that they're great amps, and they are, I just don't think they compare with WS, not to mention they're not marine grade. That doesn't matter in most cases though.

Maybe the case John but they're also alot less cash than Wetsounds too, and for the money they work very well.

power vs price looks like kicker wins on the power rating? This is my question most clean power at good price.

While it may be my opinion and after having had Rockford & Orion amps in the past, i think they do a pretty decent job of it.

Kicker are descent amps, but way more current draw than the WS/PDX/JL HD/ etc. Battery time is important in the marine environment.

You could buy some extra batteries for the price difference. I've used kickers in the past and they've always worked great. They come very underrated as well.

That was my thought,all are good amps but i could buy 2 kicker 850x4 for the price of 1 syn 6 dont get me wrong i love wetsounds have pro 80s thay rock.The amps are just a little pricey for me when kicker could get the job done.

I've had a kicker 850.4 before and the birth sheet said 1080 watts. Now that's underrated.

Yea, if you don't want to get a 2nd job, kicker fits the bill. Esp when I know some of this could potentially get stolen, I don't want to spend a small fortune.

^^^^Hahaha. Todd do you set it up for "easy removal" as well. To funny.

Wakemaker, how many Pro80's, and what else, are you trying to power with 2 zx850.4?

nu bu- I don't have the amps set up for easy removal, but I recognize it will only take a screwdriver and a minute to take them.

The only thing I have set up for easy removal is my boardshorts.

^^^^^^Hahaha good one...

i have had good luck with kicker stuff. no complaints

I don't own any kicker products nor do I plan on buying some. However I do respect their place in the industry and I am excited to see how their HLCD's do in the marketplace.

Please take this analogy below with a grain of salt and know that I am not bashing kicker.

IMO, purchasing kicker amps is like buying a TV that only does 720p. Yes, you still get a good picture, the price will be super cheap, and it more tha gets the job done. There are a lot of people in this market.

Getting an Alpine PDX, JL HD, or WS is like buying the newer technology 1080p with an optimal refresh rate. Yes you are going to pay significantly more for the top of the line technology but at the end of the day it's a tv.

It comes down to personal prefrence and what you value. Both play music but one technology is much more efficient in a limited reserve power applicate like a boat.

TIGEMIKE 2 pro 80s and 1 pro 485 is what i need to power.

Murphy I didn't take it the wrong way so don't take this wrong either, if you've never used them then how would you know this? Just asking.

I keep hearing how they are electrically inefficient. For the record while I don't have HLCD components I do run the ZX700.5 (979w rated), a ZX650.4 (677w rated), 6 Polk MoMo cabins, a 10" Polk MoMo DVC sub and four JBL 6x9's on the tower. The JBL's can be heard cleanly at 80'. Also a Xantrex 1000 watt inverter when needed all off of 1 Interstate deep cycle, 1 Interstate starting batt and a 75 amp alt to charge monitored by a Blue Seas Systems ACR. It runs constantly when were out, granted not at full volume but it's never drained the batt either and we park and float alot. Sounds pretty efficient or at minimum efficient enough to me.

You need a pretty powerful amp to power the Wetsound speakers. I have to Kicker amps pushing Polk Audio and MBquart speakers and it sounds awesome. A good friend of mine has the pro80's on his with a Cadence 1200 amp. I was told by several people, that that amp is not enough power for it. I was told to use am Alpine PDX or JL amp. Personally, I do not like the way the Wetsound speakers sound. And also to make it sound nice, you need to spend lots of cash on power. I know there are people out there that are willing to shell that type of cash for their system. I am very happy with the Kicker amps and speakers. It sounds great at 70' back and nice clear sound all the way around. just my $.02

I've always been very happy with Kicker amps as well as the other Kicker products. I get the quality/effeciency arguments for sure, but when it comes down to it, value goes a long way.
A lot of it comes down to this, are you a guy that buys a good quality tv that only does 720p because it gets the job done and unless they are side by side with a 1080p you would never know the difference?
Or are you the guy that has to have the best quality 1080p tv because you know its the best and you are willing to spent the money no matter what?
I don't have a problem with either but I tend to be more of the frugal best bang for the buck kind of guy.
BTW I bought a nice 50" plasma w/ 720p.

same here i bought a panasonic projector for my media room 720p at 92" looks awsome. 720 in my livingroom too.

Most people can't tell the difference between 720P and 1080P anyways, well accept in their wallets.

nu bu, very true. Oh yeah, i'm cheap true.

buy the kicker amp . wet sounds are way over priced kind of like jl auto. kicker is a good solid company , thats been around for a long time . I would use fosgate , kicker or hifonics over most others. if you are worried about current pull , most hifonics amps are rated at 12 volts and they do pretty close to rated power or above.

I'll leave you with this.

I have 3 arc audio ks amps in my boat, these are the amps that WS used to design their SYN line. They are very similar.

I did not want to pay full price for the Arc Audio amps which would have cost $1,230 from woofers etc (no warranty) plus shipping. So, I did some research and found a very reputable arc audio dealer that sold "b" stock amps that are new but had to be sent back to the factory for repair/cosmetic issue. So basically I got some amps that have a new warranty and have been looked over by the factory twice and potentially repaired. I have been running the amps for about a year and have had no issues at all.

I paid $700 shipped for all 3 amps. I figured it out on my own, so can you.

btw, my tv is 720p

Murhpy that's a killer deal and ARC's are great amps but it would depend on B stock availability. Kickers are still a good deal for the money. Especially if you get a killer deal on them and they are out there.

I agree with you on Kicker and I hope that people don't think I am bashing them. Well priced amp that has been consistent tnrough the ups & downs, merges and bankruptices of the car audio industry

You are right on availabilty, I was lucky as the dealer had a lot on hand. Majority of the amps are "b' stock b/c they got a scratch or nick on the amp.

I have owned both. I have no problems with either.
My preference are the WS.
-They are easier to get sounding good
-WS put out the volume I expected it to for the power rating whereas with the Kicker I sort of expected more
-WS are marine grade (probably not a huge deal really??)
- I thought WS sounded a little cleaner, but to be fair WS is in a boat and Kicker were in a van.
-WS are more pleasing to my aesthetic preferences

I would totally buy Kicker again in the right circumstance. If $ was an object, I'd buy Kicker. $ no object, I'd buy WS.

Never thought you were bashing Murphy. Unless it's a show vehicle who cares about a scratch or nick, don't really see them anyway. I'da bought 'em in a heart beat too.

After very serious consideration I've decided my favorite amplifier is the one we're presently putting in a customer's boat.

David
Earmark Marine

So what is it dave?

nubu,

Similar to my favorite boat is the one we're presently installing a system in.

David
Earmark Marine

Gotcha.

My favorite cars are always the ones I sell

My kicker amp came with a boat that was two years old. Now the amp is four years old. The amp worked OK for a while then one channel was scratchy. We thought that the speakers were bad. After plenty of testing we found that the speakers are good, the amp is bad.

At the end of this season I pulled the amp and disassembled it. There was a fair amount of calcification on the amp. The calcium build up was black at the speaker connections. I believe that calcium was holding water and shorting out the output. I’ve cleaned the amp and I’ve reflowed the solder connections. I haven’t been able to retest yet. I don’t have 4 Ohm speakers in the house and my boat is still in the shop.

This amp was not made for marine applications. It would have been more robust if the circuit card had a “conformal coating” to protect the circuit and electronics. The solder on the board was globed on, very thick. Electronics guys have a saying, the bigger the glob the better the job. This is really a way to rib someone else’s poor solder work. A good solder job doesn’t use too much solder. A good solder joint has a meniscus. It allows for inspection of the soldering. My Kicker amp has way too much solder – poor workmanship. Too be fair though it is hard to solder some of the large parts like the power, and speaker screw terminals.

A good amp for a marine application would be conformably coated.

Bigshow,

To be fair, i'd say that your 4 year old Kicker amp is not one of their 2 marine amps. For those that do not know, Kicker released a 4 chnl and 5 chnl Marine amp for the 07 lineup, and for 2010, a new 2 chnl marine amp is on it's way.

So, by Bigshow's definition, Kicker makes a good marine amp: "Furthering KICKER’s reputation for electronics dependability, MX Amplifiers protect your audio system’s power from moisture and humidity with a gasket-sealed cover for the top-mounted controls and gasket-sealed endcaps. Rubber caps cover the RCA inputs, silicone boots shield all fuses, and the circuit board has been sprayed with a special corrosion-deterring, conformal coating. MX Amps also incorporate a new style of fortified power inputs and speaker outputs designed to meet or exceed U.S. Coast Guard and American Boat and Yacht Council’s standards for wired connections."