Amp Effect Sound Quality?

[mcookgraphics]

Recently came across a good deal on Wet Sounds Pro 60's for my tower, replacing a couple JL Audio speakers in cans. (For sale if anyone interested) Currently have a Pyle PLMRA220 amp, Output power @ 14.4v DC, 1KHz RMS Power @ 4 Ohms 40 Watts x 2 powering them. I have the bass boost off, turned on high pass crossover set between 80hz-100hz.

Wet Sounds highly recommends I go with the HT2 amp as they are "matched" for those speakers.

Does the amp make that much difference in the quality of sound coming from the speakers? Is it worth $429 to upgrade amps? I don't mind doing it if I can hear a difference. I appreciate any opinions.

[JimN]

Recently came across a good deal on Wet Sounds Pro 60's for my tower, replacing a couple JL Audio speakers in cans. (For sale if anyone interested) Currently have a Pyle PLMRA220 amp, Output power @ 14.4v DC, 1KHz RMS Power @ 4 Ohms 40 Watts x 2 powering them. I have the bass boost off, turned on high pass crossover set between 80hz-100hz.

Wet Sounds highly recommends I go with the HT2 amp as they are "matched" for those speakers.

Does the amp make that much difference in the quality of sound coming from the speakers? Is it worth $429 to upgrade amps? I don't mind doing it if I can hear a difference. I appreciate any opinions.

Rating power at 1KHz is useless if you want full range.

That HT-2 amp will be a huge improvement. It's not only more power, it's more power at all audible frequencies. Headroom is a big requirement for any music system and when you're outside, your audio level will never seem as loud as it would inside.

[EarmarkMarine]

Quote, "Does the amp make that much difference in the quality of sound coming from the speakers? Is it worth $429 to upgrade amps? I don't mind doing it if I can hear a difference. I appreciate any opinions."
You can have a great push on the accelerator with a great big engine, but having a weak amplifier is like having a choked fuel supply.
And the worst thing you can do to an HLCD speaker is underpower it.
An unregulated amplifier rated at a 14.4 volt supply will lose 25+% of its rated power with a more realistic 12.5 volt supply.
The 1kHz rating may fall off another 10+% below 100 Hz.
So you are off by at least one third power and there is nothing to say that the amplifier meets spec to start with.
The Wetsounds Pro60s like 150 honest watts each (more than five times what the Pyle can deliver).
Many of these really cheap amplifiers apply very little bias and are far more Class B than Class AB regardless of what they state. The treble sounds strident and brittle before the amplifier is pushed.
The amplifier upgrade will be a big difference....but not just in output volume. Its a difference in warmth and dynamic range. You interpret the increase in dynamic range as increased contrast and clarity.

David

[JimN]

Many of these really cheap amplifiers apply very little bias and are far more Class B than Class AB regardless of what they state. The treble sounds strident and brittle before the amplifier is pushed.
The amplifier upgrade will be a big difference....but not just in output volume. Its a difference in warmth and dynamic range. You interpret the increase in dynamic range as increased contrast and clarity.

David

Class B is fine if it's Push-Pull and the designers care about the crossover region not having a major notch- it's more efficient and for uses where THD and IM aren't seen as the most important qualities, it's not that bad but i really hope the industry yanks their collective head out of their butt and starts using accurate/real world specs. That Pyle's output is shown as 600W, which must be the WLS rating because the spec sheet indicates that max current draw is 15A and that makes 600W virtually impossible.

Another way to describe the difference is that the more powerful amp had cajones.

[mcookgraphics]

Thanks for the great info!! Looks like I'm going to spend more money.

[swatguy]

The amp you have will not work at all for those speakers. You are completely missing their function and capabilities powering them with that Pyle amp. While matching the speakers with the amp from Wetsounds is optimal, there are some more "cost effective " solutions that will fit the bill if you want to go that route. The Wetsounds amps have some top quality features, parts, and designs without a doubt. Their customer service is absolutely awesome. If you have the cash snatch that HT2 up for those 60's and it will really wake them up. Hook the HT2 up to those 60's in place of the Pyle and you will literally be blown away.

With that said other midrange quality amps for this specific application would work just as well.
You will want a a decent 2 channel amp to push them. The amp should be rated at a minimum150watts RMS. 150- 200watts RMS would be a perfect match. Kicker, Polk, PPI, Arc Audio, and a handful of others are all quality no frills amps that will foot the bill perfectly if you looking to stay on a budget. These speakers are limited by their 6.5inch drivers and really won't show any difference in sound using a midrange quality amp vs a high end version. I am far from an expert like Jim and David here, but I don't see a necessity for class d amp. It's always nice to have the least amount of draw on you batteries as possible as well as the cleanest sound with the least waste in transfer, but for this particular application the difference between a class A/B and D series amp would be negligible. Again though all comes down to your pocketbook.


No matter the choice take the time to tune them correctly.

[mcookgraphics]

Thanks. I may explore the midrange amps as budget is always a concern. Any particular model you would suggest that matches up with specs of my speakers?

[Traxx822]

Pyle amps are just that ... a pile.

Upgrade Mcook is my 0.02

Swats right though, no matter your choice. Take the time to tune them.

[JimN]

Thanks. I may explore the midrange amps as budget is always a concern. Any particular model you would suggest that matches up with specs of my speakers?

Hard to say without knowing the budget.

If you want to see an amplifier's capabilities, understanding certain specs is necessary. Most amps will handle the frequency response, S/N (Signal to Noise) ratio, etc without much problem but, as I mentioned in another post, the power specs are useless when limited to 1KHz. That's great if you're making noise with a buzzer, but full-range music needs at least 20Hz-20KHz, as close to flat response as possible (the smallest possible +/- dB tolerance). An amp that is rated for 600W using 1KHz may only be able to output a fraction of the large number and the model you show is rated for 40Wx2 @ 4 Ohms using a 1KHz input signal. The industry has the CEA-2006 Standard for amp testing, but not all manufacturers use it because marketing departments like big numbers, rather than objective measurement results.

If you use this standard when comparing amps, you'll be able to see that some are just spouting numbers to impress. It won't tell you if the amp sounds good, but it is a more level playing field. Honestly, if you use an amp by one of the major manufacturers, you should be fine. Some companies are really marketing companies. It's nice that the Pyle is called "waterproof", but the output isn't sufficient for what you want and need. Using audio equipment outdoors is completely different from indoors- outdoors, there are no large physical boundaries for the sound to use, so power requirements are much greater. That's why 40W isn't enough. Indoors, the average listening level for a home theater capable of sounding "real" is about 5 Watts, but the system's "headroom", or available dynamic range is great because homes tend to be fairly quiet and they have walls that are close to the speakers.

[mcookgraphics]

Thanks again for the help. Broke down and ordered the Wet Sounds HT2 today.

[Traxx822]

Congrats Mcook. You will be pleased.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[swatguy]

U will love it. Wait till u hook that bad boy up. U are going to be jumping for joy.

[mcookgraphics]

The final answer to the question-amp makes a huge difference! Installed Wet Sounds HT2 today. Really brought the speakers to life over my old amp and worth every penny. Great support from Wet Sounds.