Sonus amplifiers

[Doc M]

Good day Sir jhnkvn,

I'm a newbie in terms of audio set up and I would like to solicit from you some insights/suggestions on my proposed upgrade.

I own a montero 2013 and I'm planning to replace the stock door speakers with a pair of Focal PS 165FX. I already installed an amplifier ( V12 NV 805-4200 ) along with a Pioneer subwoofer with enclosure ( TS-WX303 ) in my ride. One of the reputable car audio installers that I happen to talk to told me that it is best to connect my Focal component speakers to the HU rather than to connect it to the v12 amplifier due to the fact that the amplifier is just generic and often noisy. He suggested to change my amplifier instead with a good class AB amplifier to go with my speakers if I wanted to hook them to an amplifier. He even suggested a Focal amplifier for uniformity.

In your opinion, will it pose a problem to the performance of the speaker if I'll insist on using them? The problem here is that the price of the focal amplifier is pretty much the same as the price of the speakers that I plan to be installed. Do you have any suggestions/recommendations as to what other amplifier brands that are equally good in terms of power handling i.e accurate wattage ratings etc. that can suit my needs even for further upgrades in the future that is less than 18K?

I intend to keep my stock HU, sir, do you have any idea how many pre outs does it have?

Your opinion regarding this matter is greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

[jhnkvn]

Good day Sir jhnkvn,

I'm a newbie in terms of audio set up and I would like to solicit from you some insights/suggestions on my proposed upgrade.

I own a montero 2013 and I'm planning to replace the stock door speakers with a pair of Focal PS 165FX. I already installed an amplifier ( V12 NV 805-4200 ) along with a Pioneer subwoofer with enclosure ( TS-WX303 ) in my ride. One of the reputable car audio installers that I happen to talk to told me that it is best to connect my Focal component speakers to the HU rather than to connect it to the v12 amplifier due to the fact that the amplifier is just generic and often noisy. He suggested to change my amplifier instead with a good class AB amplifier to go with my speakers if I wanted to hook them to an amplifier. He even suggested a Focal amplifier for uniformity.

In your opinion, will it pose a problem to the performance of the speaker if I'll insist on using them? The problem here is that the price of the focal amplifier is pretty much the same as the price of the speakers that I plan to be installed. Do you have any suggestions/recommendations as to what other amplifier brands that are equally good in terms of power handling i.e accurate wattage ratings etc. that can suit my needs even for further upgrades in the future that is less than 18K?

I intend to keep my stock HU, sir, do you have any idea how many pre outs does it have?

Your opinion regarding this matter is greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

Is it better to connect the Focal speakers to the head unit?
This depends. Depends on how fussy you are with noise. The solution for this is to simply turn the gain knobs of the amplifier all the way down since it reduces noise. However, it is true that there's a lot of defective V12 units around because of no quality control for "fakes" (they're bootleg naman talaga of the Alpine V12 series) and some defective units will have bad noise floor levels, etc.

But between a good bootleg V12 and a head unit? I'll still go for the V12. I listen quite loudly, you see.


He suggested to change my amplifier instead with a good class AB amplifier to go with my speakers if I wanted to hook them to an amplifier. He even suggested a Focal amplifier for uniformity.
What amplifier topology shouldn't matter nowadays. You can choose with A/B but I'll recommend people to go pick Class D due to their efficiency. For the more affordable crowd, I'll still recommend Class A/B amplifiers over D because Class A/B amplifiers have been around in the market longer. This means they're more mature and getting a bad circuitry design should be rare.


Do you need a Focal amplifier?
Nah. Unless you like the uniformity of one-brand. Some people debate that amplifiers sound different to one another. This is true.. but my stand is that it is insignificant in a car environment.


Will it pose a problem to the performance of the speaker if I'll insist on using them?
Yes it will. I'm not a fan of bootleg amplifiers per se. So I'll recommend you do switch in this case to something throwing true rated wattage ratings. Think of it like building a PC and I'm shunning you away from those generic 600W power supplies only outputting 300W of power.

To keep costs low in bootleg amplifiers, there's always compromise. Inside an amplifier, this often means reduced noise filtration, smaller capacitor values, etc. However, I will not suggest you jump over to an expensive amplifier agad. Nowadays I see an increased installation of Gladen System 75.4 amplifiers -- the reason is that you get a brand name (Mosconi-AudioSystem) and a pretty low price to boot (it sells around Php9,000).

If you can pony up the 16,000php the Sonus sells for, I'll go for the Sonus. It's power supply stage is very well constructed. But if you want to settle for the Gladen 75.4, I won't rebuke you on your decision.

As for the Montero's pre-outs...
No idea. It's either 2 or 3 and I believe it's on the three. You can search the forums.. there's an answer na somewhere dyan.

[Doc M]

Thank you very much Sir jhnkvn for the very thorough explanation on my queries. By the way, I'm contemplating on getting the sonus ecstatic amplifier which has the same rms rating as the enigma class. If I may ask Sir, is the performance of this amplifier the same as the enigma? because I've read that this amplifier retails for 9,500K. I'm also planning to put a headrest monitor of my ride. Do I need to change the stock speaker on my rear doors too? Once again Sir jhnkvn, many thanks for taking time to answer all my noob questions. You are very helpful to us newbies.

[jhnkvn]

Thank you very much Sir jhnkvn for the very thorough explanation on my queries. By the way, I'm contemplating on getting the sonus ecstatic amplifier which has the same rms rating as the enigma class. If I may ask Sir, is the performance of this amplifier the same as the enigma? because I've read that this amplifier retails for 9,500K. I'm also planning to put a headrest monitor of my ride. Do I need to change the stock speaker on my rear doors too? Once again Sir jhnkvn, many thanks for taking time to answer all my noob questions. You are very helpful to us newbies.

Amplifier performance is hard to quantify kasi. Every manufacturer rates their amplifiers in a different way that's why I don't even bother looking at the other data at all unless CEA certified sila.

The Sonus Ecstatic retails at sub-10,000php and outputs 100W x 4 at 4ohms. On why it throws up a lot of power -- it's because it uses Class D amplifier topologies. These are way more efficient than their more mature Class A/B but also comes with their own drawbacks.

Like I said in my previous post,

For the more affordable crowd, I'll still recommend Class A/B amplifiers over D because Class A/B amplifiers have been around in the market longer.

But since Sonus is being distributed by giants of our local car audio industry, I doubt they would have designed and contracted it poorly. So what's better between the two? Do a coin toss or just pick one that you like more. Audiosystem has brand gravitas with it and I'll go with it in this case since 75W versus 100W isn't a lot really.

Do you need to change your rear speakers?
Only if you want to upgrade them. I'm not particularly fond of rear-upgrades since I usually drive my car.