Amp: Hifonics BX605 Help

[WhiteRabbit]

Is the Hifonics BX605 a good amp? I'm actually using one right now at 600W x 1 OHM to power my subwoofer and it seems to like to overheat sometimes...

Is it better to use an amp that is 600W x 4 OHM? Would a higher OHM rating alleviate overheating?

[cam2Xrunner]

Hifonics is made by the same company that makes Crunch. Maxxsonics. They used to be really good in the old school when they were made by Zed Audio.

That being said, it's not a horrible amp, it's ok if it does it's job.

Did you properly set the gains? Most of the time when people are sending their amp into thermal pretection it is because the gain is turned up too high.

Turn the gain down, then turn your headunit to 75% volume. Set the bass boost on the headunit and amp to 0. Use a bass track, if you need dowlnoads, you can get them from www.realmofexcursion.com Now when playing some bass frequencies turn the gain up til you start to hear distortion. Then turn it down a little bit.

For more indepth info on gain controls, read here http://www.bcae1.com/gaincon2.htm


And to answer your ? about adjusting the subsonic filter, I honestly am not experienced with ported enclosures, or subsonic filters.

Do a search on some car audio forums, and you'll probably find the info you're looking for.

[cam2Xrunner]

Originally Posted by whiterabbit

Is it better to use an amp that is 600W x 4 OHM? Would a higher OHM rating alleviate overheating?

Not neccesarly, depends on the amp. A class AB amp bridged at 4 ohms can get plenty hot too.

Now if you have an amp that is stable to 1 ohm, and you have it wired to 4 ohms, then it will stay much cooler, than if it were wired to lower ohms(that is if the gains are both properly set) You won't be getting all the power that the amp is capable of though.

[WhiteRabbit]

my HU has 2.5V preouts. so i set the gain around 3V, is that cool?

also what's the downside of using bass boost? on the amp or HU?

[cam2Xrunner]

I'd probably turn it down just a little bit, since you are overheating it. But those amps have also been known to overheat when driven down to 1 ohm.

downside to using bass boost is added distortion. But if you can't hear it, it's all good , just don't be using the bass boost too much especially if you are clipping the amp in the first place.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by cam2Xrunner

But those amps have also been known to overheat when driven down to 1 ohm.

The amp I have? or amps in general at 1 ohm?

What amp is good for 600W that doesnt overheat, or doesnt overheat as much anyways?

[cam2Xrunner]

That amp in particular. But it's most likely the gain setting making it overheat.

If I was in the market for a new amp, I'd seriously consider this amp.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-TuN0xd6...0&I=049RAA2400

Bridged at 4 ohms, it will do 800 watts rms, so you could turn it down quite a bit and you shouldn't have to worry about overheating problems at all. And that's class AB power too

Marv's got the same exact amp for sale BNIB for 225 shipped if you wanted to get it a little bit cheaper.

[NisAznMonk]

HiFonics's current Brutus line is known for overheating at 1ohm. The 1500 is a prime example. Most users can't go any lower than 2ohm without it going into thermal protection.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by NisAznMonk

HiFonics's current Brutus line is known for overheating at 1ohm. The 1500 is a prime example. Most users can't go any lower than 2ohm without it going into thermal protection.

what amp doesnt overheat at 1 ohm pushing 1500W?

[WhiteRabbit]

what about a diamond amp 600W bridged at 4 ohms?

[cam2Xrunner]

^That's a good choice.

[WhiteRabbit]

is it best that i if i get a different amp that it has a subsonic filter for my ported box?

or would it help if i used a headunit with 4V preouts instead of my 2.5V now. Then i could turn the gain to about 5V on the Hifonics amp and prevent overheating.

[cam2Xrunner]

If you are using a ported box, it's a good idea to have an amp with a subsonic filter.
A different headunit is not going to solve any amp overheating problems. And by having a higher voltage going into the amp compared to what you have now is not going to change anything but where you set the gain.

The gain is to be matched with whatever voltage your headunit is sending. I would turn down the gain, and go from there. If you still have overheating problems, then it's probably the amp at fault and it may be time to upgrade.

[WhiteRabbit]

May I have some amplifier recommendations that have:

- a remote (optional, but id like one)
- subsonic filter
- ~600W x 1 4ohm
- $200-$300
- bass boost
- one that doesn't overheat!

Thanks.

[NisAznMonk]

A MTX1501D or a JBL 1200.1 sounds like it would work well for you. They usually go for about $250 shipped on Ebay.