Are 90% Of Today's Car Amps The Same

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

What is everyone's opinion on car amps today as far as the internals and identical build with other manufacturers? With the majority of today's amps made in Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, whose amps are the same and whose are different? The majority of todays amps seem to have Zenon built circuit boards.

Sundown, RD Audio, Atomic and American Bass have the same internals.

Audioque, Hifonics, DD look very similiar on the inside.

Exonic car audio and MTX amps are built in the same buildhouse in Korea.

Arc Audio SE is designed by Robert Zeff.

Steven Mantz (ZED Audio) designs his own amps.

Rockford Fosgate has their own engineers.

Gunz4me what do you think?

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[thegreatestpenn 5,000+ posts]

same? no. Similar, yes very much so

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

My head hurts.

 

[RidnClean 5,000+ posts]

this could be a good convo or a very bad one.

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

this could be a good convo or a very bad one.

I will give you one guess....

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/beatdeadhorse5.gif.5d70132dea1eb89b73bf2fdbb6027dd6.gif

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

Same as in a name on a heatsink for a cookie cutter amp that was built by Zenon or some other overseas build house? Granted, some of those overseas amps have better components than others, but for the most part, I dub them as part of the "me too" crowd.

The Class D amps manufactured today DO make some serious power compared to the Class AB amps that were popular in my younger years. Some would argue that the manufacturing process is now "better" due to high speed placement of the components and wave soldering techniques utilized by those build houses versus the old school hand made techniques. I would argue that the manufacturing process is "better" in that moving production overseas resulted in a lower cost per unit.

Unfortunately, MANY of the currently available amplifiers in the United States are just names on a heat sink. They are designed overseas and merely marketed here (i.e. Memphis Car Audio or insert ca.com boner product of the moment here). While some may take this as a dig, I really can't fault them. How else are those companies going to compete in today's market where everyone wants the most power for the least amount of money? The majority of the worldwide consumers demanded "cheaper" power and they got exactly what they wanted... A monopoly on the build houses and cheaper, me too, cookie cutter, carbon copy, amplifiers with the same basic overall circuit board layout!

 

[Cameron_B 10+ year member]

Same as in a name on a heatsink for a cookie cutter amp that was built by Zenon or some other overseas build house? Granted, some of those overseas amps have better components than others, but for the most part, I dub them as part of the "me too" crowd.
The Class D amps manufactured today DO make some serious power compared to the Class AB amps that were popular in my younger years. Some would argue that the manufacturing process is now "better" due to high speed placement of the components and wave soldering techniques utilized by those build houses versus the old school hand made techniques. I would argue that the manufacturing process is "better" in that moving production overseas resulted in a lower cost per unit.

Unfortunately, MANY of the currently available amplifiers in the United States are just names on a heat sink. They are designed overseas and merely marketed here (i.e. Memphis Car Audio or insert ca.com boner product of the moment here). While some may take this as a dig, I really can't fault them. How else are those companies going to compete in today's market where everyone wants the most power for the least amount of money? The majority of the worldwide consumers demanded "cheaper" power and they got exactly what they wanted... A monopoly on the build houses and cheaper, me too, cookie cutter, carbon copy, amplifiers with the same basic overall circuit board layout!

Yo dawg, the is, you be tellin it like it

 

[Grinder1989 5,000+ posts]

Same as in a name on a heatsink for a cookie cutter amp that was built by Zenon or some other overseas build house? Granted, some of those overseas amps have better components than others, but for the most part, I dub them as part of the "me too" crowd.
The Class D amps manufactured today DO make some serious power compared to the Class AB amps that were popular in my younger years. Some would argue that the manufacturing process is now "better" due to high speed placement of the components and wave soldering techniques utilized by those build houses versus the old school hand made techniques. I would argue that the manufacturing process is "better" in that moving production overseas resulted in a lower cost per unit.

Unfortunately, MANY of the currently available amplifiers in the United States are just names on a heat sink. They are designed overseas and merely marketed here (i.e. Memphis Car Audio or insert ca.com boner product of the moment here). While some may take this as a dig, I really can't fault them. How else are those companies going to compete in today's market where everyone wants the most power for the least amount of money? The majority of the worldwide consumers demanded "cheaper" power and they got exactly what they wanted... A monopoly on the build houses and cheaper, me too, cookie cutter, carbon copy, amplifiers with the same basic overall circuit board layout!

Like no one has heard this speech before //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif Maybe every company should lose money to make one person happy.

 

[stuckinok 5,000+ posts]

Me personally I dont care. Then again I dont let myself get caught up in Market or forum hype. I look at Bang for the buck/ Customer Service/ Clean signal. I have a small collection of amps that span from TRU all the way down to BOSS. I have found that all that matters to me is that the amp puts out rated power and quality parts are used.

 

[AudioXtremes 10+ year member]

I wouldn't say 90%, but it's a large percent made by a handful of companies.

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

Like no one has heard this speech before //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif Maybe every company should lose money to make one person happy.

One of the things that I would be worried about if I marketed those build house amps is what would happen to my business if Zenon flooded the US Domestic Market with their generic amps and sold them for build cost plus 5 or 10%? DO NOT underestimate the greed of these build houses!

My other concern is that with so few companies designing 12 volt electronics is that we as consumers will ultimately suffer. With all these advances in technology we should be running fiber optic connections from our head units to our amplifiers for the utmost in pure signal, yet we are still running basterdized RCA cables Also, why don't we have real time equalization or active noise canceling for the ultimate in SQ while traveling down the highway at 70 MPH? Sadly, instead of going radical and developing a new and exciting revolutionary product, these build houses just keep modifying the hell out of existing designs:crap:

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

back in the 90's at least 50% of the amps were ZED made...RODEK...Hifonics.....Autotek....Lanzar.....Planet Audio....and numerous others....

 

[Grinder1989 5,000+ posts]

One of the things that I would be worried about if I marketed those build house amps is what would happen to my business if Zenon flooded the US Domestic Market with their generic amps and sold them for build cost plus 5 or 10%? DO NOT underestimate the greed of these build houses!
My other concern is that with so few companies designing 12 volt electronics is that we as consumers will ultimately suffer. With all these advances in technology we should be running fiber optic connections from our head units to our amplifiers for the utmost in pure signal, yet we are still running basterdized RCA cables Also, why don't we have real time equalization or active noise canceling for the ultimate in SQ while traveling down the highway at 70 MPH? Sadly, instead of going radical and developing a new and exciting revolutionary product, these build houses just keep modifying the hell out of existing designs:crap:

And they do that to MAKE MONEY! If they are making a ton of money on an exsisting product, then why the hell should they change it?

 

[ado 10+ year member]

Unfortunately, MANY of the currently available amplifiers in the United States are just names on a heat sink. They are designed overseas and merely marketed here (i.e. Memphis Car Audio or insert ca.com boner product of the moment here). While some may take this as a dig, I really can't fault them. How else are those companies going to compete in today's market where everyone wants the most power for the least amount of money? The majority of the worldwide consumers demanded "cheaper" power and they got exactly what they wanted... A monopoly on the build houses and cheaper, me too, cookie cutter, carbon copy, amplifiers with the same basic overall circuit board layout!

This is kind of like vehicles though. They all have a body, wheels, tires, engines, transmissions. Depending on what you buy you will get a longer or shorter life span and more or less retail value after it has been used. All amps will have the same components because they are just that, amplifiers. The quality of the components and minor design tweeks are what separates most companies.

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

And they do that to MAKE MONEY! If they are making a ton of money on an exsisting product, then why the hell should they change it?

Because eventually if the products do not last people will not buy them after a while.