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Amplifier Upgrade - JL Audio 300/4v3

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    Amplifier Upgrade - JL Audio 300/4v3

    I'm currently running an Avin Avant 4 headunit, Bavsound speakers, and I have a dedicated sub amp and subwoofer. This is in an HK car.

    I did a bunch of reading, and it seems like this amp will work with my Bavsound speakers? I'd need 2 of them.

    Unfortunately there's really nothing out there that's "plug and play" and low cost in your application, at least that we're aware of. Because of the configuration of our speakers (i.e. no crossover network), you'll need something that you can run as an "active" setup -- that is, each speaker needs its own channel on the amp, and the amplifier needs to be capable of running high pass filters and band pass filters, and should be relatively low power since our speakers are designed for the lower power of the factory amplifier.

    In addition, the amplifier in question needs to be stable down to 1.6 Ohms (for the midbass speakers) and shouldn't produce any additional power at lower impedances. The only amp which fits ALL of these characteristics is JL Audio's Slash series:

    4-Channel Class A/B Full-Range Amplifier, 75 W x 4 @ 1.5-4 Ω If you prefer a traditional Class A/B design taken to its highest possible level, the 300/4v3 is your amplifier, thanks to its outstanding fidelity, reliability and well-designed feature set. This classic amplifier features JL Audio's unique, and patented, Absolute Symmetry Class A/B circuit and our R.I.P.S. power supply design for full power delivery (75 W x 4) over a wide range of load impedances and vehicle voltages. This amplifier features an all-black look that is pure, sexy evil, including the powder-coated cast alloy heat sink and end caps. @ 4 Ω 75 W RMS x 4 @ 3 Ω 75 W RMS x 4 @ 2 Ω 75 W RMS x 4 @ 1.5 Ω 75 W RMS x 4 Bridged @ 8 Ω 150 W RMS x 2 Bridged @ 4 Ω 150 W RMS x 2 @ 4 Ω 75 W RMS x 4 @ 3 Ω 75 W RMS x 4 @ 2 Ω 75 W RMS x 4 @ 1.5 Ω 75 W RMS x 4 Bridged @ 8 Ω 150 W RMS x 2 Bridged @ 4 Ω 150 W RMS x 2 Frequency Response 5 Hz - 30 kHz (+0, -1dB) S/N Ratio, referred to highest rated power >108.5 dB (A-weighted, 20 Hz - 20 kHz noise bandwidth) S/N Ratio, referred to 1 W >89.5 dB (A-weighted, 20 Hz - 20 kHz noise bandwidth) Damping Factor @ 4 Ω >300 / 50 Hz THD+N @ Rated Power <0.03% @ 4 Ω per Ch. Input Voltage Range @ RCA Inputs Switchable from 200 mV - 2 V RMS (Low) to 800 mV - 8 V RMS (High) Min.Copper Power / Ground Wire Gauge 4 AWG wire Fuse Rating 40 A (AFS, AGU or MaxiFuse™) Filter Mode(s) Low-Pass or High-Pass Filter Slope(s) 12/24 dB/octave Filter Frequency Range 50 Hz - 5 kHz Detented, Calibrated Filter Freq. Potentiometers Yes Filter Defeat Function Yes Remote Level Control No Remote Level Modes N/A Channel Input Mode Switch Yes (2/4 ch.) Pass-Through Preamp Output None Source Channel Selection for PreOuts N/A Height (H) 2.36 in / 60 mm Width (W) 13.40 in / 340 mm Depth (D) 9.25 in / 235 mm Net Weight R.I.P.S. – Regulated, Intelligent Power Supply Summary:The remarkable R.I.P.S. System ensures consistent power delivery over a wide range of battery voltages and load impedances. Detailed Information:R.I.P.S. stands for "Regulated, Intelligent Power Supply" and is a central feature of JL Audio's 'Slash' and HD amplifiers. "Regulated" means that the power supply adjusts its operation so as to maintain the amplifier's rated power output and low distortion operation over a wide range of vehicle voltages (11V-14.5 V). This contrasts with conventional, "unregulated" power supplies, which allow rail voltages to sag in direct proportion to drops in the supply voltage. This can result in significant power losses when battery voltage decreases, even if those voltage dips are short in duration. This manifests itself audibly as increased distortion. With a JL Audio R.I.P.S.-equipped amplifier, the rail voltage and clean power output remain completely stable in real-world systems, resulting in superior fidelity and stability. The "Intelligent" portion of the R.I.P.S. System is a circuit that actually monitors output current to optimize the amplifier's output power over a wide range of load impedances (1.5 ohm to 4 ohm per channel). Conventional amplifiers are designed to produce optimum power at a particular impedance (2 ohms, for example). When asked to run above that impedance (say, 4 ohms), these amplifiers lose power (half their power from 2 ohms to 4 ohms). This will not happen with a JL Audio HD or 'Slash' amplifier because the R.I.P.S. System detects the actual impedance being driven and adjusts the amplifier's operation to deliver optimum output. The entire process is seamless, automatic, and results in incredible dynamics for satellite channels and consistent power output for a wide range of subwoofer configurations. It also takes into account the real impedance of the system, rather than relying on often inaccurate assumptions based on a speaker's rated impedance. The bottom line: Optimum power, at any impedance between 1.5 ohm and 4 ohm per channel, at any vehicle voltage between 11V and 14.5V. Advanced Rollback Protection Summary:JL Audio's exclusive Advanced Rollback Protection circuit monitors the amplifier's thermal condition and adjusts amplifier operation to eliminate annoying amplifier shut-down events. Detailed Information:Should a JL Audio amplifier equipped with Advanced Rollback Protection reach an unsafe operating temperature, a special circuit rolls back peak power output, without changing gain, until the amplifier cools down to a safe operating temperature. The condition is generally indicated by a red “Thermal” or “Status” LED state. On VXI amplifiers, the LED ring will flash red. Once the amplifier cools down, the circuit restores full peak power output and the indicator reverts to its normal state. The operation of Advanced Rollback Protection is inaudible in most cases, but it ensures that your music keeps on playing, even under the most demanding conditions. Absolute Symmetry Class A/B Circuitry Summary:Patented Absolute Symmetry Class A/B output stage delivers amazing fidelity with extremely low distortion over a wide range of load impedances. Detailed Information:At a time when many manufacturers are passing off crude Class B amplifiers as Class A/B designs, JL Audio engineers focused on taking the already excellent fidelity of true Class A/B designs to an even higher level. Until now, the accepted approach for building high-fidelity Class A/B amplifiers has been to utilize "Complementary" output stages, which use different types of transistors to "push" the speaker and "pull' the speaker. The problem with this approach is that true "mirror-image" transistors are impossible to create, leading to asymmetrical clipping behavior. The negative side of the waveform runs out of voltage (clips) before the positive side does. Another approach is to use the same type of transistor for both push and pull but without buffering from the load impedance. This solves the problem of asymmetrical clipping, but leads to significant increases in distortion as load impedance drops, making this design less desirable (in our opinion) than the "complementary" approach. JL Audio's Absolute Symmetry™ amplifier design solves the entire issue once and for all with a revolutionary Class A/B circuit that employs identical N-Channel MOSFET transistors for push and pull with true buffering from the load impedance. This is accomplished via a patented circuit that reverses the operation of one of the transistors in each pair to achieve absolute power symmetry and extremely low distortion over a wide range of load impedances. Some might call this sort of thing "a tad obsessive", or even "unnecessary". Our position is "If you can't make it better, why bother at all?" RealSink™ Summary:Vertical, cast alloy fins effectively dissipate heat, without resorting to noisy fan-cooling. Detailed Information:Most car audio amplifiers rely on big lumps of metal that do a good job of storing heat, but not such a great job of getting rid of it. RealSink™-equipped JL Audio amplifiers feature real cast-alloy heat sinks with vertically-oriented fins. This design is far more effective than the lump-of-metal approach, utilizing the physics of convection and radiation to more effectively exchange heat with the surrounding air. The design of these heat sinks was refined through extensive finite-element analysis, resulting in amplifiers that keep their cool under the most demanding conditions.   Differential-Balanced Inputs Summary:JL Audio’s Differential-Balanced Inputs are engineered to combat induced cable noise, which is a common problem in car and marine audio installations. This technology allows for the use of conventional RCA cables, while delivering many of the benefits of a true balanced connection and accepting a wide range of input signal levels. Detailed Information:Today’s vehicles are equipped with sophisticated electronics capable of generating noise and interference that can intrude into the audio path, ruining the listening experience. Most audio equipment uses single-ended, ground-referenced RCA jacks to receive audio signals. This means that the RCA shield is connected directly to signal ground. This is a simple, cost effective input design that works well for short runs in noise free environments. In noisier environments, this method cannot reject the common mode noise that could be on both RCA conductors (shield and center conductor). By having more than one chassis-grounded RCA shield on a device, single-ended input designs are also more susceptible to ground loops. If noise is present on both conductors while the shield is connected to ground, the input amplifier will amplify the noise relative to the grounded RCA shield. When there are multiple RCA connections or any other conductors subjected to a magnetic field, this will cause a difference in potential across the RCA loop to be amplified at the grounded RCA as noise (a classic ground loop). JL Audio’s Differential-Balanced Input circuits measure the center pin of the RCA connection relative to the RCA shield, even when the shield is not connected to ground, and even when the voltages at both conductors are moving relative to ground. Because both the center conductor and the shield see high impedance to ground at the input, a ground loop cannot be formed, as there is no current flow to induce a voltage as noise. This works equally well with differential-balanced, or unbalanced signal sources, making this input architecture compatible with all standard car and marine audio equipment, using standard, unshielded, twisted-pair RCA cables. No special cables are required, unlike the fully balanced connections used in professional audio. Another benefit of the Differential-Balanced Input design is that it easily accepts low-level and high-level signals from a variety of factory head unit outputs and amplifiers, including single ended “ground referenced” sources, as well as Balanced or Unbalanced “Bridged or BTL” sources. This eliminates the need for Line Output Converters (LOCs) in most installation scenarios. The obvious question is: “Why don’t all car audio amplifiers use Differential-Balanced Inputs?” The answer is simple: it costs more. Executing a proper differential-balanced input section requires more components and better quality components than a basic single-ended design, so you generally won’t find them on less expensive amplifiers. Download  300/4v3 Product Manual   USA Limited Warranty:  Two (2) years from the original date of purchaseWarranty Details   Find the answers to many common questions:  


    You could use two of these to power the entire system.​
    I'm just going to split my RCAs out of the Avin, and plug in all 3 amps, correct?

    Is anyone running this setup?

    I like this route, because once I figure out what aftermarket speakers to go with, I can just leave the amps and they should work fine with pretty much any impedance speaker, yeah?
    2004 Dinan S3-R M3
    2023 X3M Competition

    #2
    Not running this setup. I run a Dynavin and only one 4-channel amp for the cabin to BavSound speakers w/separate mono SW amp. You're looking for a full active setup, which is why 2 amps?

    If so, I'd probably just go with one 8 channel DSP amp rather than splitting the RCA's. Like this... https://www.jlaudio.com/products/vx8...plifiers-98633

    Sure it costs more but active setups either (1) aren't cheap; or (2) sound cheap and are the most expensive headaches you'll ever buy. I would never trust any Avin to run an active setup. Even here, the JLAudio is going to spotlight all of the sonic weaknesses of your head unit. Hence, the DSP.

    But this way, it'll be the last amp you need, no matter what speakers you decide to use. I don't find myself looking for more power running 4x75w to the cabin, although I do consider moving from 2 amps to one (run a single 5/6 channel amp and bridge to the SW). The Dynavin doesn't need the DSP in my opinion.

    In any event try to minimize how much SQ you lose by splitting the cords or adding components. Every extra step in the audio path is a loss of sound quality.

    $.02

    maw

    EDIT, here's another one ... https://www.crutchfield.com/p_136982...l?cc=02&tp=115 ... but (you didn't ask me this) I can't imagine you'll ever need that much power in a Coupe. Mine is pretty obnoxious in a convertible, and top up I barely get to move the volume knob.
    Last edited by maw1124; 03-26-2024, 09:11 AM.

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      #3
      Why wouldn't you trust Avin to run an active setup?

      The advantage of the amplifier I posted is that is stable down to 1.5 ohms, and it also puts out the same wattage regardless of impedance. Also has active crossovers on the amp. I was able to find them for under $300 shipped, so we're talking $1000 less than the amp you posted.

      The JL X600 sub amp I'm running has pre-outs, so I'd only be splitting the RCA one time, I don't think it'll be a big deal.
      2004 Dinan S3-R M3
      2023 X3M Competition

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by 9kracing View Post
        Why wouldn't you trust Avin to run an active setup?

        The advantage of the amplifier I posted is that is stable down to 1.5 ohms, and it also puts out the same wattage regardless of impedance. Also has active crossovers on the amp. I was able to find them for under $300 shipped, so we're talking $1000 less than the amp you posted.

        The JL X600 sub amp I'm running has pre-outs, so I'd only be splitting the RCA one time, I don't think it'll be a big deal.
        Go for it, let us know how it works out.

        A grand is a grand, buys a lot of speakers. What do you have in mind for speakers?

        Spend some of the savings on sound deadening unless you like the engine noise in the cabin. It's kind of like room treatments for your home setup -- some do it, some can't see why.

        maw

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by maw1124 View Post
          What do you have in mind for speakers?
          Well that's what lead to all this. I was looking to replace my bavsound speakers, but there doesn't seem to be a ton that fits our cars and looks factory. I had my eye on the Focal PS 165 F3E, but some people have confirmed it doesn't fit.

          So, I decided to run some real, clean power to the bavsounds, and see what I think first. It's possible they are satisfactory once I get a real amp to them. The problem is I have the HK bavsound system, and some of those speakers are 3 ohms.

          So, I like these JL slash amps, in that it doesn't matter if it's 1.5 or 4 ohms, the amp puts out 75 watts. So, if and when I do decide to replace the bavsound speakers, it should be a basic swap, and the amp won't care that I changed impedance.

          2004 Dinan S3-R M3
          2023 X3M Competition

          Comment


            #6
            Yeah, you've thought that through well.

            I haven't found anything yet, but I haven't looked either. Mine was an HK system as well, but Convertible not Coupe, so handle mid-tweets. 85x4, clean from Dynavin into BavSound through my Hertz amp with the mono Rockford running the BavSound SW has been fine enough that I haven't bothered. But I'm not running active either. Can't see why I need that. The handle mid-tweets are singing along nicely so why disturb them? I certainly don't want to be on the hunt for some 2" mid to stick in there.

            My first Dynavin (D99, circa 2009 maybe) wasn't clean, and I found that out as soon as I put an amp on it (Hertz 85x4). Running through the factory HK equalization gimmickry, it was just fine though not powerful enough. But as soon as I put it on a clean amp all hell broke loose -- noise, distortion and shrill sound that no one could get rid of. It was unlivable. Dynavin N7 Pro fixed that. Bechtel gave me a great discount on it because he knew the D99 was never gonna work for the direction I was going, and he was probably tired of me complaining to him and throwing money at it. He was also at the time convincing the Dynavin folks they wanted an audio device with connectivity not a connectivity device with sh*t audio.

            EDIT... here I'll note that Avin has not one single audio spec listed for their devices.

            The problem as I see it is you really only have two choices in this car (or any of these factory systems for that matter, and I've upgraded all mine but one, which goes under the knife next). A "blended" system where any old chinesium head unit running through the factory amplification gimmickry sounds "good enough" but only so. This works for 80% of the people out there I would guess, maybe 90%. Or a purist set up that takes care of the audio signal path beginning to end, with quality components throughout, etc. Once you put a quality aftermarket amplifier in the chain, you've chosen the second option whether you know it or not. And for that second option, NOTHING is more important than the source. Amplified sh*t sound is still sh*t sound. Based on my experience, I'm skeptical the Avin units are up to that challenge. I might be wrong, but I am skeptical. I think this is only going to be made worse by running full active -- more channels to chase sh*t sound.

            So since you've chosen the second option, take care of the signal from the beginning, and that probably means a better head unit. Yes, I said better, not different (an audio first device). I'd also suggest sound deadening, and don't worry about the speakers until you have to. There are more options now than there were. Eventually someone will make something better that fits. The people who I have seen make full active work, given the impedance limitations and speaker placement tradeoffs inherent with these factory setups, have done so using the JLAudio DSP amps, and pretty much any speaker that fits. Maybe you've found a better way -- a grand is a grand.

            My $.02 thinking anyway. People think this is about amp + speakers, but it's really about source + amp.

            maw

            EDIT... this guy found some speakers that worked without too much surgery for the cabin... https://youtu.be/Eh-PR9M4gxk?si=FNFVFomLuhArW9r_ Notice he also changed the source.
            Last edited by maw1124; 03-26-2024, 08:08 PM.

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