Are SUB CLASS D only amps much better?

[WhyNot]

hi
if you have a SUB ONLY CLASS D amp on a 'normal' system, would you notice a difference if you had a Two Channel Amp that you wired [bridge I think its called] to run the sub.
I am trying to use some stuff I have right now and i have two 2-channel amps and im trying to figure a way to drive a sincle 12" eclipse sub
the 12" is a whole other issue
thanks

[dwvw]

You can have a 2 channel class D amp as well. In layman's terms a class D amp is smaller and more efficient for the same amount of power as a class A/B amp, which was the standard for car audio. SOme people believe that class D amps don't sound as good as other designs, but I believe in a moving vehicle you can't tell the difference and the extra efficiency of class D makes it worth it.

Use what you have I say.

[StereoInstaller1]

You can have a 2 channel class D amp as well. In layman's terms a class D amp is smaller and more efficient for the same amount of power as a class A/B amp, which was the standard for car audio. SOme people believe that class D amps don't sound as good as other designs, but I believe in a moving vehicle you can't tell the difference and the extra efficiency of class D makes it worth it.

Use what you have I say.

I would not agree that Class D sounds the same. Personally, when I went from an A/B amp to a Class D in my car, using the same deck, same box, same woofer, the class D was much louder, but sounded flat, not punchy and tight as the A/B did. My earballs just might be a bit more attuned than the average person, but I felt the difference was enough that anyone would hear it.

Luke

[Cabriolet]

Luke, could it also be the quality of the amp?
I know that china crap amps pretty much all the time. but there are nicer class D's but you pay through the roof for them.

[WhyNot]

I would not agree that Class D sounds the same. Personally, when I went from an A/B amp to a Class D in my car, using the same deck, same box, same woofer, the class D was much louder, but sounded flat, not punchy and tight as the A/B did. My earballs just might be a bit more attuned than the average person, but I felt the difference was enough that anyone would hear it.

Luke

im trying to avoid that "sounded flat, not punchy and tight" sound.
sort of like the difference between a sealed box and a ported box, well sort of. that is to say that some improperly designed ported boxes are one-hit-wonders.
im looking for the sub to reproduce the low frequencies in that range.
thats why im thinking a proper sealed box, a good A/B amp, and my Eclipse 12" sub.
Since the sub, Eclipse SW6123DVC , is Dual Voice Coil, it must be wired for either 2 ohms or 8 ohms.
A/B usually cant be bridge and go down to 2ohms. I think that going to 8ohms would actually make the amp work 'less' than a 2ohm and I heard it increases the sound quality SQ but at the cost of needing a bigger amp

[dwvw]

If you read what I said closely Luke, I said in a moving vehicle. I definitely noticed a difference, listening to reference material, in a stationary car, with the engine off. Once you are playing MP3s driving down a real road with wind, engine and road noise, not too many people would hear a difference.

[WhyNot]

I definitely noticed a difference, listening to reference material, in a stationary car, with the engine off..

So an A/B would have better SQ then, That was my main question.

Once you are playing MP3s driving down a real road with wind, engine and road noise, not too many people would hear a difference.

And especially since its a a convertible [with rips and tears and now a cracked back plastic window].
I have old Eclipse stuff that had [and I think still has] good SQ.
On verts [even once i get a new top] I think the need for a system that has SQ is more important because of the loses.
For what its worth, I'll wont be listening to any mp3 only cd.
Thanks

But SQ and [4] 4-1/2" speakers and sub in a vert probably dont go well together.

[StereoInstaller1]

If you read what I said closely Luke, I said in a moving vehicle. I definitely noticed a difference, listening to reference material, in a stationary car, with the engine off. Once you are playing MP3s driving down a real road with wind, engine and road noise, not too many people would hear a difference.

I did notice you said "moving", but still, I would disagree entirely, but with a caveat. I agree that the typical "car stereo shop" subwoofer with the crappy clarity typical of a "boom box" install with the woofer playing into the trunk...yeah, you ain't gonna hear a difference at all...but in my car, that was not the case.

The amps in question are the Exile XP 1200.1 vs. the Exile 600.2, using an Exile XP 12" woofer (DVC for the class D).

The difference was remarkable...but this was a truly amazing SQ car. The front stage was the Exile XTech 6.5's, bi-amped from a 600.4, in quasi-aperodic tapered quarter-wave tubes (TQWTs) and were running from 85Hz @ 24db/oct. The tweeters and the mids were dash mounted, so they were "on-axis". Certainly was not pretty, but the SQ made up for it for me.

The sub box was a dual 4" AeroPort design, with the port length almost 30" each. The level of detail such a ultra-low distortion enclosure like that can produce means any type of sound fed into the woofer was played clearly. It easily did 135db at 20Hz with just 600 watts RMS. Literally hundreds of people have heard that car and they will all tell you it was pretty damn impressive SQ.

Needless to say with a system like that, you could clearly hear a difference.

I will go one step further and say that the difference would be audible with any of the boxes I design or sell, not just the custom "uber" boxes.