retrodrive

Introducing Monitor 1. Developed by Nicola Engineering (Robert Zeff, Zapco engineer) so the quality of sound and build are great. Monitor 1 has just gone out of business so you can buy them CHEAP! I bought 2 when I was broke just because the deals won't last. Once those amps are sold...they are no longer available.

Here is the place you can get them for a great price:
http://www.infinitecaraudio.com/cgi-...talogno=MK2120
http://www.infinitecaraudio.com/cgi-...atalogno=MK470

They used to have a price tag of $500 / $600 and they are now sold for $175. Highly recommended...top quality stuff.

P.S. Since the company is out of business, the products do not have any factory warrantee.

Merry Christmas

Overclocker

Pete, always hookin’ us up with the best deals in Hi-Fi. Thanks man.

Overclocker

Hey Pete,

I showed my local car audio nut those amps and he said the specs look good, but he had never heard of them. He suggested I check out either the Eclipse EA3422 or PA5532. How would these compare? I'm not competing or anything like that, I just want good clean sound for my SC.

TIA

retrodrive

To tell you the thruth, I never got a chance to play with Eclipse amps. I know that their headunits are top dogs for SQ buit I am not sure about amps. In reality you get what you pay for with amps unless they get discontinued or a company goes out of business.

Overclocker

So I’m guessing since the Monitors used to list at $500-600 and the Eclipses list at $299-399, the Monitors should be better?

One last question for ya. I’m interested in the Eclipse AVN2454 for a head unit. Any advantage in having all the parts by the same manufacture?

Thanks again!

retrodrive

Monitor 1 / Zapco / ARC Audio are all designed by the same people and they are some of the best...if not best car amplifier engineers in the industry. Eclipse...I don't know...I don't expect any really good parts in them at those kinds of prices.

The only major advantage of using same manufacturer gear is if it has some kind of system (Ai.Net for Alpines) that connects all gear together. I am not sure if Eclipse has that at all. Not using that kind of system is no big deal though.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

Overclocker, Eclipse is great for headunits, but there are better amps out there. I'd take a Robert Zeff-designed amp any day of the week over an Eclipse, no contest. At the end of the day, it matters most how the amp sounds, not what the specs look like. Even if the specs were identical, I'd still take the Zeff amp. I doubt that anyone would be able to find a better deal at this price.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

Just took a look at the specs - THD is a bit high (surprisingly).

jboy

The supplier listed in the base note has sold out of the 4 channel (what I wanted) and has 1 or 2 of the 2 channel units.

jerry

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Are the SoundStream amps any good? They have these on closeout too and the specs look better. I'm looking for a 4 or 5 ch amps and these prices look promising. Here is the 5-ch version:

http://www.infinitecaraudio.com/cgi-...alogno=VGA8005

and the 4:

http://www.infinitecaraudio.com/cgi-...alogno=VGA5004

How would these compare to the Monitor 1s? I know the cost is a little more but do you get more for your $?

Overclocker

I found one “review” of this amp in google.

http://www.4gtuners.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1203

They say 2 things that concern me. The 1st being “…input sensitivity is low so try to avoid high preout units like an Eclipse 8v-16v.” The 2nd being “there is no problem to use passive crossover if you're only going to have one amplifier in your system. If you plan to have more, then you will definitely need an electronic crossover.”

What does any of this mean to me?

I'd also like to know which people would choose between the Monitor 1 and the SoundStream Neo mentions?

retrodrive

First should not be a problem. My friend is using an Eclipse HU with Monitor 1's and has no problems at all. Second quote does not make any sense to me at all.

Here is the deal with amps. There are several massive amplifier manufacturers on the market and ones are better then others. The fact that Nicola Engineering is one of the very best in the industry is not arguable; so whatever comes from those guys is going to be good, no matter what name you slap on them. You also need to remember that a lot of companies that subcontract low quality manufacturers lie on their spec sheets (pyramid, bose, US Acoustics etc.). Amps that come with a birth sheets can't always be trusted either since you never know the conditions under which amps were tested.
Monitor 1 is designed by Robert Zeff and that is like a quality stamp on any such product. I can be sure that it meets the specs that are published since they are very realistic for an amp of such grade.

P.S. Soundstream is just another average company aimed at your average uneducated consumer these days. I would not advise it due to a lot of reliability problems.

Overclocker

Pete,

Thanks so much for answering all my questions. I always learn something new with your posts. I have a few last question for you and it’s brought about by the first post on that 4gtuners forum. He said the Monitor 1’s don’t have a built in cross over. Is that true or not?

The last question would be about my own setup. Say I have the Eclipse AVN2454 and I’ve got aftermarket speakers in my SC, that’s it. I want to run the fronts, the rears, and a sub. Excluding the wiring and such, what would I need to complete this equation with Monitor Amp(s)? I.e. I think I would need both the 4 channel to run the main cabin speakers and the 2 channel bridged down to mono to run the sub. But would I need any other hardware like an e.q., etc.?

Thanks again,
Wolff

Neo

iTrader: (3)

I'd be interested in info on this too as this is somewhat my setup. I am keeping the rear speakers and sub OEM for now. The sub will get upgraded but no plans for the rear for now. I have the same Nav HU.

Would the dual Monitor 1 setup that Overclocker suggested be good, or is a single Arc Audio 5-ch amp be better (or same or worse)? I've also been told that the RCA output of the AVN2454 is a little weak and can be better, possibly with the use of a line-level boost via a stand-alone unit or an EQ. Any truth in this?

retrodrive

Monitor-1's do not have any built in EQ's. You would need some kind of external EQ if you want to run those amps with stock speakers. If you are buying an aftermarket component set, they include passive crossovers that would take care of the missing active x-overs on Monitor-1. You could also buy passive x-overs at places like www.partsexpress.com to run our stock speakers from Monitor 1 amps but I would just get 2 component sets; one for the front and one for the back.

If you are going with 2 component sets, you can either use 1 four channel Monitor-1 amp and drive each mid and a tweeter from one channel; or you can have 2 four channel amps and bridge each one to two channels. This will give each tweeter and mid a lot more power and it will give you the headroom so your do not get any distortion due to lack of power. I suggest using some separate, single channel amp for your subwoofer. Monitor-1's don't have the amperage (power) for such use.

Funny little fact. I opened up the second box with a four channel Monitor-1 and found a birth sheet from ARC Audio 4050. I need to give a call to Demetrious (ARC owner) and find out what?s up.