Decision Time: Which Amp for Rev 10's

[mzimme]

Okay, having a hard time with this. Trying to figure out what to go with to power the Rev 10s I have. The Rev's are rated at 300W RMS per, so they need power. Don't want to underpower them.

Trying to decide among the following:

JL Audio HD750/1 -- $599
750 watts RMS x 1 (1.5 - 4 ohms per channel)

I assume this amp would give me about 375 watts per speaker bridged on mono @4ohms
This amps most expensive, also carries that JL name that I trust. Lots of good feedback on this amp, and still produces the power at lower voltages. Wouldn't be able to put the marine version in my budget.


WetSounds Syn4 -- $559
400 Watts RMS x 2 @ 4 Ohms Bridged Mono

This one gets great praise as well, is a little less expensive, and IS designed for the marine environment. This is the one I'm leaning towards at this time. Also the most power output.

Wetsounds HT4 -- $449
300 Watts RMS x 2 Bridged Mono... is this at 4ohms?

Lower end of the power spectrum, but also lower end of the price. I think I'd probably eliminate this one, because at 450 bucks, might as well spend the extra 100 for an extra 100 watts per channel and Syn Series amp. Thought I'd get some opinions here.

PPI 900.4 -- $189
4 ohms: 300 watts x 2 chan.

Lowest price, lots of great reviews, still on the low end of the power output. Still considering this because buying this amp would allow me a WS420 at the same time instead of having to wait. I hear good things, and reviews are great, but don't trust the brand. It is a class D amp also, so it's efficient, just unsure about making the leap to a "low end" amp like this. Also, assuming this isn't marine components.


Also heard the ARC audio equivalent of the Syn4 is a good alternative, but again, non-marine components from my understanding.

Need to make this decision. Need help. My top choice right now is the Syn4 because of Power, marine components, and slightly lower price compared to the JL., convince me otherwise if this doesn't sound like the way to go!

Thanks for all input!

[WakeWise]

SD4 would be my recommendation. I run four Rev8's off an SD2. Love the power and the sound.

[MC25]

I'd only condsider the top two. The mhd 750/1 is a great match for 10s

[Shaun R]

I'm cheap and went with the PPI900.4.
Bridged to a sub at 4ohm and other two running the tower speakers at 4ohm. Gain turned up all the way and never once cut out. I don't have HLCDs and don't need as much power to the tower.

Believe bridged is 450watts at 4ohm and 14v and 300watts at 12v.

Also wanted to add that running this amp hard and another 300watt class D for about 6hrs one day and took my battery from 100% to 55%. Wanted to see how long it would last so ran the boat off bat1 and stereo off bat2 and didn't bother to charge the second battery until I got home. Battery was a new 114ah deep cycle.

[mzimme]

SD4 would be my recommendation. I run four Rev8's off an SD2. Love the power and the sound.

Out of the budget. 600 is more than I want to spend on an amp right now, but willing to spring on it if needed. 1100 is not happening.

[moosehead]

Amps are like boob jobs and TV's, always go with the biggest.

I kid, I kid. Sorta.

Syn4. Power + Marine Chassis. Class D is a bonus, alternatively scrounge for a used JLA Marine D.

[JRW160]

I have a syn4 on my rev10s. A friend of mine has rev10s on a ppi 900.4, and I can't tell the difference.

Are the wetsounds amps power output rated at 14.4v or 12v? If it's at 14.4v, then that amp is a lot closer to the ppi900.4 in power output. That ppi is rated at 450x2 at 14.4v.

I think your options should be either the JL or the ppi amp. I have lots of wetsounds products, and they are great, but I just think the JL is worth the extra $40 over the syn4 due to its strictly regulated power supply.

If I were you, I'd probably just get the ppi amp, and if I were unhappy with it just replace it over the winter. You can always use it on your interior speakers. I have the polk version of that amp running my inboats.

[mzimme]

I have a syn4 on my rev10s. A friend of mine has rev10s on a ppi 900.4, and I can't tell the difference.

Are the wetsounds amps power output rated at 14.4v or 12v? If it's at 14.4v, then that amp is a lot closer to the ppi900.4 in power output. That ppi is rated at 450x2 at 14.4v.

I think your options should be either the JL or the ppi amp. I have lots of wetsounds products, and they are great, but I just think the JL is worth the extra $40 over the syn4 due to its strictly regulated power supply.

If I were you, I'd probably just get the ppi amp, and if I were unhappy with it just replace it over the winter. You can always use it on your interior speakers. I have the polk version of that amp running my inboats.

I didn't realize that the PPI was at 12V. That's definitely something to consider. 450Wx2 at 14.4 would be the highest output of any of them. It seems the footprint on these are pretty small too. Looking into the PPI almost seems like a better deal. Lots of bang for the buck there.

[Shaun R]

PPI:
14volt 140x4 or 450x2 bridged, 4ohm
12volt 100x4 or 300x2 bridged, 4ohm

Noticed a lot of amps only listed one rating and that was 14v, had to really dig to find what they were capable of with the engine off.

[David Analog]

The amplifier that is rated at the most power with a 14.4V supply and at 1kHz may not be the most powerful amplifier. Your boat will not deliver 14.4 volts. 1kHz is about as narrow of a sample as you can get. Reproducing 1kHz is a walk in the park. Neither power qualifier is anywhere close to real world.
With an unregulated amplifier you will lose about 25% of the 14.4V rated power with a 12.5V supply.
You might lose another 15% of the 1kHz power across the entire audio bandwidth, particularly close to 40 Hz on the low end.
You might lose another 10% of the 14.4V & 1kHz power with all channels driven.
Some conservative brands are seriously under-rated (15% to 35%) so that amplifier is guaranteed to deliver that power in every adverse scenario. You can also accurately set the amplifier max safe gain per a voltmeter knowing that it will not clip with a 12.6 V supply as you are tuning the system.
There can be large differences in the amplifier front ends and especially the quality and accuracy of crossover filters.
The Wetsounds are the very best tower HLCD speakers. They deserve the best amplifier.

[mzimme]

And David... in your opinion, which is the best amplifier of those listed?

[ZachDaddy]

The JL HD 750/1 is the best of the amps listed IMO.

[timvan]

You can also use the JL Hd 600/4 bridged.. I had one laying around that I am using on my rev 10's .. great match

[mzimme]

You can also use the JL Hd 600/4 bridged.. I had one laying around that I am using on my rev 10's .. great match

From what I've read, while its a great amp, the 750/1 will give 25% more power for less money compared to that amp for my application.

[Shaun R]

Just another option, but PPI has a 600.2 that can be had for under 130. Bridged is 600 watts per channel, one amp per speaker. Neither would need to be run at full output to help keep things cool, and if one died on the water you can just unbridge and run both speakers off one.