Thoughts on Sony Xplod Amps?

[Stang2Vibe]

I saw a Sony Xplod amp on special near me today and was wondering if they are any good. It was a 1000W amp and the price seemed too good to be true for it being brand new sealed in the original box. And no, it wasn't stolen, I saw it at a Pep Boys store on the shelves. Any comments are appreciated.

[ArcsVibe]

Hey Stang,I've been told to stay away from them. I was told they tend to overheat quickly and fry. I am sure the audio gurus here can tell you which brand to get. Myself, I have a slightly older Kenwood amp and love it.Good luck bro

[GT_03]

SONY CAR AUDIO==CRAP!!!!Sony makes some of the worst car audio equipment i have ever seen.

[GT_03]

Also, what do you need the amp to push??? I would not ever get a Sony. Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, MTX, Polk/MOMO, HiFonics, Phoenix Gold all are awesome amps.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

I have only 1 thing to say: Don't buy this, you'll loose you money for nothing.

[Jahntassa]

Yeah, gotta know what you wanna connect it up to before we can tell you what you need.Sony amps, especially the newer ones, are indeed crap. Their door speakers (6.5", 6x9) are also, indeed, crap. Most of their HU's are also crap, with few exceptions (See MEX1HD, CDXM710, maybe the CDXM800). Most of their newer stuff is just garbage.I happen to have two 10" Sony P5 subs, and for the cost, they're actually really good. They don't need much power, but give good, punchy sound. I have them on a 350w Lightning Audio amp, and they work well for anything, Techno, Alternative, even a little bit of neo-classical. At 300w RMS, 1100w peak with a S/N ratio of around 95db, they definitely are worth it (in that price range).I don't know if i'd agree with GT about Rockford Fosgate gear. Maybe if you found one of their amps that's at least 6 years old, or older. Sure, but their newer stuff is also garbage.My personal hitlist includes, MTX, Audiobahn, HiFonics and JL Audio. Phoenix Gold mostly depends on the amp (i've found.) and same goes for Alpine. I've only experienced mostly low-end Alpine and a couple of mid-range amps, so I can't speak for the whole lineup. Plus, I find Alpine outrageously expensive for what you get.So...leave that amp on the shelf!

[ArcsVibe]

I hate to disagree with you but.....I have a Sony HU and it rocks! Solid look and built, great features and it compliments the look of my interior IMHO.Hey to each his own

[Sub-Vibe-R]

Quote, originally posted by ArcsVibe »I hate to disagree with you but.....I have a Sony HU and it rocks! Solid look and built, great features and it compliments the look of my interior IMHO.Hey to each his own Sorry to disapoint you Sam, but wait a couple of months and your opinion on your head unit could change.....I hope for you I'm wrong, but Sony HU has tendancies to become defective after 1 year or so, just after the warranty expire.

[Jahntassa]

Quote, originally posted by ArcsVibe »I hate to disagree with you but.....I have a Sony HU and it rocks! Solid look and built, great features and it compliments the look of my interior IMHO.Hey to each his own I did say "with few exceptions". I don't think ALL Sony HU's are crap. Most of their recent lowend stuff is definitely crap. Mid/high range is still fairly okay. I had a first-gen activeblack unit that's still running, nearly 5 years later (I think five...maybe four years? Can't remember)Edit: The MP40 you have is borderline. It's last year's model, so I haven't seen any of them come back with problems yet. Kenwoods took about 1.5 years before the flip-faces started self destructing..

[ArcsVibe]

Thanks Ben I hope you are wrong too Don't most things die after the warranty expires

[Jahntassa]

Not always. I've seen very few problems with Sony units overall. (I work at Circuit City, remember..) Most of the issues i've seen are around Kenwoods and Panasonics.

[Stang2Vibe]

Oh sorry, I forgot to include some specifics. I just wanted a powerful amp to drive 2 subs. I have a pair of Kicker Comp 12's that were the special edition for their 25th anniversary a few years ago. They have chromed baffles on the back and the 25th anniv. logo on the center cone in the front as well as on the magnet in the back. They're some of the nicest looking subs that I have yet to see. They were also very rare from what I understood when I bought them. The Kicker liscenced dealer that I bought them from told me that a few sound shops in the area were calling him and asking him to sell them to them for more than list price and he wouldn't do it (I think if Kicker would have found out that he sold them at a markup to another dealer he would have gotten in big trouble). I was also informed that there were only 6 of these particlar subs that were shipped to dealers in all of PA and no more were ever shipped here as their production was limited. I have 2 of them. I have the factory boxes for them (have the 25th anniv. logo on them too), and I have opened them up to look at them, but they have never been played. They just look too nice to just let them sit, but they told me not to even try to hook up anything less then a 600-700 watt amp to them because it would probably damage them. I never got the money together to buy a decent amp for them because the amps were so expensive. The only amp I currently have is a 275 watt Kenwood amp that always worked well but its now about 8 years old. It hasn't been used for about 4 years now though. If I upgrade the speakers in the doors, then I might use that amp to drive them.I read some online reviews about this Sony amp and the results were mixed, but almost all of them mentioned about it overheating. Since basically all of you have said that this amp is not very good, I think I'll pass on it as I don't want to ruin my nice subs. I would like to know what would be a good amp to use for this but doesn't cost like $1000+. Thanks to you all for your advice and for probably saving me from a disaster.

[Jahntassa]

Oh yeah, that Sony would self destruct on a pair of Kicker Comp12's.. Especially on a "Pair".You'd really want something like a JL 500/1. I'd say a 1000/1, but a friend has one in his Civic, he has two 1-farad caps, and a rebuilt alternator putting out 16volts and 200 amps..and his car still has a fit everytime he turns it up..

[kostby]

Hmmmm.Sony names their stuff 'X-plod', and people are surprised when it blows up after a year!Just my .02

[Stang2Vibe]

bump???

[Jahntassa]

We still need to find out the true RMS value of those subs. See if you still have the boxes, or the info sheets that should've come with them. It should give you a peak, and an RMS. We need to know that RMS to properly match up with an amp..

[Stang2Vibe]

I do have all that info but it is with the speakers at my mom's house. I'll be out there later today for my sister's birthday party so I'll have to dig them out and get the info.

[drummerdude]

I would recommend finding the amp you want an going to ebay and readup on the seller your looking to buy from. I got my MTX 81000D (1000x1 @ 2ohms) and i've got my 2 12" MTX 8000's hooked up to them and i'm running at 2 ohm and my God can you blow some ear drums... I got all of my audio stuff off of ebay (I even got my box for $25 shipped).Except for the head unit and cd changer which i Got off of crutchfield (WARANTY!!).Just wondering, but has anyone else attempted to install their cd changer in the glove box? I did it to mine and i must say that i impressed myself. I'll post pics sometime.

[pissedoffgokart]

I would definately think of something else. Like drummer said, try to find a class "d" mono amp or a tube amp for those subs, you will thank yourself.

[Fialchar]

Personal opinion based off of experiences of myself and others: Nearly all Sony speakers, tweeters, subs, and amps are poorly built and give out in a short time. A few of the HU's are nice, such as ArcVibe's HU, the HU I have installed, and some of their higher up ($800+) HU's. If you want a strong, dependable amp, I'd take a look at the Alpine V12's.

[03VibeGT6Spd]

The ford focus "sony xplod edition" there stereo's sucked.I have a old sony camcorder thats 13 years old that works great.everything below was bought in 2001! My Sony home stereo died after about 1 year & 2 months.My $499.00 Sony DVD player died after about 2 years.My over priced Sony VCR Died after about 2 years and a few months.My Sony Tv was replaced after the 1st week, that one was replaced about 6 months later, this one was sent in 2 twice for repair, and not fixed. every other month, It has PMS and turns green and shuts down.It does this randomly for about a week, Sometimes it will only stay on for 10 seconds and at other times 10 mins. It has the very best picture when it works though. "ALL MY SONY REMOTES STILL WORK THOUGH" yippe!My Sony playstation2 died after 1-1/2 years.SONY products SUCK and I will never buy another one.To be honest, I wouldn't buy a sony product if it was 90% off!