Are sony amps any good?

Hey I was wondering if anyone had some experience with sony xplod amps?

I'm currently looking at this one:


Sony Xplod 300W x 1 Mono Amplifier with Bass Boost and MOSFET Power Supply — XM-1600GSD
300 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms; 600 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms; 1000 watts RMS x 1 at 1 ohm; 1-ohm stable; Class D circuitry; bass boost

Since it claims its 1 ohm stable I could wire my 2 12" 4-ohm thunder 5000's and my other 2 12" 4 ohm thunder 6000's in parrell to creat a 1 ohm load and since both kinds of subs are rated for 250 rms, 250 X 4 = 1000 watts rms is right at what the amp gives at 1 ohm.

Would this be a good choice of amp for my set-up? I just dont want anything over powering or crap that shuts off all the time like my current set-up.

T.i.a

Stay away from anything Sony that doesn't have an "ES" after its name. How much are you planning on paying for that amp? The best amps for the least money right now are the JBL 1200.1 = $280+shipping (1300RMS) and the Revolution 1500 = $369 shipped (1600RMS at www.ampmanaudio.com The Revo is better because it puts out more power and has many more features then the JBL, but it costs a tad more. Both amps are stable to 1 ohm.

Heres a link to get one for $192

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1940936396

And I think I could probaly get one for cheaper with a best buy employee discount. Just wanted to make sure Sony amps aren't over-rated and can stand 1-ohm stable with kicking out every 10 seconds. Have to get a friend to price-check one with a employee discont.

Don't buy xploids...I had an xploid amp over the summer and it kept breaking. I returned it to tweeter and they gave me a kenwood (same amount of watts) in an even exchange. They said that so many people were returning the amps they were just trading them for Kenwoods. I think the model I had eventually got recalled or something like that. Also, look at how many negative feedbacks that guy has, I wouldn't buy from him.




Mark

Oh I wasn't going to by it off the internet anyways...I'll get the hook-up with employee discount. That way I can get it cheaper and go threw the entire storage for the one that puts out the most on its spec sheet. (I assume sony amps come with spec sheets like rockford fosgate's do?)

They don't call them xplode because it is a good name...

seriously, stay away from it. you can find a better deal on something more worth while. I'm sure of it.

I'd rather buy Boss or Rockwaad from my middle eastern friends at the discount mall. :barf:

They don't call them X-plode for nothing ya know. Look into a better brand like MTX or something.

I wouldn't run at 1ohm regardless of whether the amp can handle it or not. 1ohm is getting very close to a dead short. The lower the impedance the harder your amp has to work and the hotter it will get. Heat is the worst enemy of electronic equipment. The hotter it gets the shorter the life span of that amp is likely to be.

And it's not really a good idea to mix and match different subs together either.

Originally posted by LS1 RULZ
I wouldn't run at 1ohm regardless of whether the amp can handle it or not. 1ohm is getting very close to a dead short. The lower the impedance the harder your amp has to work and the hotter it will get. Heat is the worst enemy of electronic equipment. The hotter it gets the shorter the life span of that amp is likely to be.
If an amp is designed to run at 1 ohm then there is no reason not to run it at 1 ohm. PLENTY of amps run VERY cool at 1 ohm... cadence A7HC, DEI 1100d, Revolution... etc. It would be a waste to buy one of them and not to run it at the potential. Do you use that arguement when someone asks about getting a 4 ohm or 2 ohm stable amp? My class T running at 4 ohm will get just as hot as a class D at 1 ohm as long as it is pushing the same power and is around the same efficiency.

Again, no reason not to run an amp at 2 ohm if it is designed to do 2 ohm, or 1 ohm if it is designed to run at 1 ohm.

I just don't like running an amp at it's limits is all and a 1ohm load can be very taxing on the amp's outputs.

Originally posted by LS1 RULZ
I just don't like running an amp at it's limits is all and a 1ohm load can be very taxing on the amp's outputs.
In your sig it says that you are running your MTX amp at its lowest rated impedance. no difference.

I feel 1ohm is a lot more demanding than a 2ohm load is. Especially using a class D amp like I am. It runs cooler at 2ohms than my class A/B amp does running into 4ohms. I'd hate to think how hot it would get if I were running it into 2ohms.

Originally posted by LS1 RULZ
I feel 1ohm is a lot more demanding than a 2ohm load is. Especially using a class D amp like I am. It runs cooler at 2ohms than my class A/B amp does running into 4ohms. I'd hate to think how hot it would get if I were running it into 2ohms.

It runs cool at 2 ohm because it is designed to run at 2 ohm. That doesn't mean that the Mmats that is optimized for 1/2 ohm is going to run hotter than the Mmats that is optimized for 4 ohm, it was just built with a different impedance in mind.

:rolleyes:

You guys are pathetic, most of you probably have never owned one. Sony's subwoofers give them a bad name. The Xplod amps are amazing. I have the XM-3001SXD - and let me think how many problems I've had with :think: NONE And I've been using it for about 2 years (I shouldn't have bought the warrenty for it! :mad: )

It will unleash power w/o a problem. It unloads w/o breaking a sweat. I've been through 3 sets of MTXs because they couldn't handle it, fried them to a crisp.

Stay away from anything but the "ES"? Yea sure, whatever you say. Two of my friends have Xplod amps and work great, not a problem.

Sony isn't the best brand, but IMO, it's the best bang for the buck by far. Just don't buy refurbished crap...

...until then, I'll go listen to my "sh*tty" amp :rolleyes:

Thanks ibanez6rg...I'm probaly goin to be picking one up here very shortly unless someone else knows of an amp to meet my needs:

Can be run at 2 ohm...preferibly 1 ohm
Rms power of atleast 1000
Cost under $200

If anyone knows of an amp that can deliver all this please throw me a link.

Btw...I did some searching and found some reviews on it. Seems everyone that bought it loved it except for 1 guy but if you was to read his review you'd easily understand that he probaly didn't have a clue about it.

Originally posted by ibanez6rg
[B...until then, I'll go listen to my "sh*tty" amp :rolleyes: [/B]

You said it, I didn't:alert: ;)

Well, the ONLY sony amp that I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with was their older ES series. I actually blew it up twice, both times it was repaired by sony for no charge. It was supossed to be 2 ohm stable Mono, I was running it at 2 ohms mono, and guess what, it got steaming hot and poped.. twice. I currently have it running at 4 ohm mono, and it seems fine. I may try 2 ohm stereo, but I doubt it'll sound too much different.

I'm currently running an older JBL for my surrounds at 4 ohm x 2 and 3 ohm x 2 and it doesn't even break a sweat. My Audiobahn A2200hcx I'm running both my Kickers off of at 1 ohm Mono, that amp after about 20 mins of heavy tuning (Walking away going what to everyone) is still cool to the touch, which I'm VERY suprised due to the class A/B rating. Although the 2 4" internal fans do help I imagine. :D

Would I buy another Sony amp... Probably not, due to the fact that the one I own poped twice, and I personally think they're ugly as sin.

Originally posted by ibanez6rg
It will unleash power w/o a problem. It unloads w/o breaking a sweat. I've been through 3 sets of MTXs because they couldn't handle it, fried them to a crisp.
LS1 RULZ? RThompson? Either of you wanna tell him the most likely reason his subwoofers blew? But what do we know..... we are the pathetic ones....:rolleyes:

Originally posted by firebirdude
LS1 RULZ? RThompson? Either of you wanna tell him the most likely reason his subwoofers blew? But what do we know..... we are the pathetic ones....:rolleyes:

User error is the main reason anyone fries subs. Improperly set gains, playing at tuning frequency too long, improper wiring... etc.

Hard to say what his particular problem was, but clipping from improperly set gains could be a culprit.

I am currently running my 300x2 class T on my fronts (till my new amp gets here) and my fronts are rated for 135w. Power ratings are irrelevant if you have common sense when setting the gains.

Originally posted by rthompson
Power ratings are irrelevant if you have common sense when setting the gains.
Maybe not "common sense" exactly, but just know what the gain knob actually is and what it actually does. Most do not know this. But yes, power rating are irrelevant in quality gear.

Originally posted by firebirdude
LS1 RULZ? RThompson? Either of you wanna tell him the most likely reason his subwoofers blew? But what do we know..... we are the pathetic ones....:rolleyes:

Uhhh let me think :think: Umm yea I think I know why I blew my subs up, I did it on PURPOSE! Since I have a 3 year warrenty on the subs I figured, hey lets see what this amp can really do. She works fine at 1ohm...but my subs couldn't handle the power. So I took them back and got a new set. So yea I know what I'm doing you pathetic loser :rolleyes:

Whoa! Chill out man. I'm not the one sending square waves to my subs!:p :p

My bad :D