New guy looking for advice

[esappy]

Hello everyone first time poster here. My name is Eric and I have been a Phoenix Gold fan for a long time like a lot of you here (like since 1992 when my buddy got a M25). I have owned a few different products over the years (ZX-350 & ZX-450 and XMAX 10's) and still have a couple items (PLD-1, Bass Cube missing remote, and a Cyclone). I have been watching craigslist for "irresistable" deals and yesterday I picked up an Octane R 10" svc in a box for $20 and so far the only 'issue' it has is a small mark on the driver which looks like someone got too close with a sharpie marker. I haven't yet verified the LED works because i need to find a connector that will work with the speaker terminal cup (going to check radioshack later). Otherwise the sub sounds great so far being run from a Kenwood KAC-7205 bridged.

So here is what I could really use some advice with. I really want to get back to using PG amplification in both the wifes and my vehicles and get rid of the Kenwoods. I am a huge fan of the ZX series and TI series amps and am very interested in the newer SD and Ti2 amps and have found the following deals on craigslist:

Ti 500.4 and Ti600.2 for $225 ea. I've only seen the posted pics and from those the amps appear to have just a few scratches from use but no rust visible or any other apparent issues. Is this a reasonable price assuming they are fully functional or is that a waste of time?

Also found is an SD 1300.5 being sold with an Arc Audio Flatline 12" sub in box for $350. I cant tell much from the pics but they appear to be in good shape. Again, assuming its fully functional is this a reasonable price?

Either way I go these amps are going to be used and not just collected for display. I know my wife would prefer I set her Chevy Traverse up first since I already have a decent setup in my 06 Impala SS. If I do hers first, I am leaning towards going Class D for the small size and lesser heat output. My brother and I are also working on routing some ventilation from the rear AC unit to the space where the amp(s) will be located so the heat problem my get solved shortly. My wife is not a bass head at all but she does appreciate good quality bass to enhance music. I am planning on using the Octane 10 for now and possibly using the SI BM MKIV in the future. The Traverse is the people hauler and grocery getter so going low profile is the best option for her vehicle and the SI is very intriguing not to mention the mounting depth is just about right for the space.

So what do you all think? Sorry if that was a bit long winded but I wanted to give you all an idea of what I am looking for and what I will be putting the gear into and I am looking forward to your advice. More questions will be asked. Thank you for your help.

[dvnt88]

Welcome to the Phorum sir ...Glad to see another PG Phanatic on the site. If your looking for TI, TI2 or Xenon gear ...I have a thread in the buy and sell section for a few TI goodies all in new / mint condition. I also have a Xenon X600.1 and a TI2800.4 and TI21500.1 that I'm not using, so if interested just pm me and will take it from there. The deals or ads you mentioned on CL don't sound too bad, but for those prices (besides the Octane sub)they should be in damn near mint condition even though the TI line is known to scratch / rust very easily.
Plenty of cool and well versed PG people on the site, so enjoy and hope ya get the answers and or find what you're looking for in the wife's and your ride.

[Wrennagade]

Can't go wrong with buying from Dvnt here bro, he has an excellent rep & kick ass gear (both in condition & function). Don't risk CL on amps you may have to have repaired, unless they're a steal. The Phorum is home to a lot of great people who know their shit on everything PG. Lotsof luck to ya, and welcome!!

[NOT 2 OLD YET]

I agree with Wrennagade! You can find deals on CL but do you know or trust them! I recently bought a mint MPS2500 Off CL by the time I got it, it was very damaged in shipping! Due to the fact that it was squeezed in to a box the same size as the amp with no padding! If you buy from guys here you will get what you paid for and get it in One piece! This Phourum has a great bunch of guys to deal with! Best of luck with your build!

[Francious70]

Welcome to the phorum. I hope you find the family of enthusiasts here informative and fun to speak with.

[esappy]

Thanks everyone for the welcome. Sorry I haven't responded back very quickly but I had a family emergency out of town to attend to. My step father tried breaking his back while at work and kinda freaked us all out so I went to help out since I happen to be in a position that I could. He is ok and luckily 'only' fractured a vertebrae and should fully heal in time.

Dvnt88 I appreciate the advice and the heads up on your gear. I checked out the thread and am very impressed. It also sounds like you have a great reputation around here. I will have to wait and see what the final damages were done during this trip but I just may be sending business your way if you still have what I am looking for when finances are back in order. I have to agree with everyone that it is a crapshoot when getting stuff off CL, but I always ask to test everything before I buy and I still believe that there are plenty of honest people out there even if that sounds kinda naive.

The Octane R 10" I picked up is working very well so far and I believe was worth more than the $20 I paid for it. I am always looking for a good deal (who isn't ) but I have been out of the car audio game for awhile and have just started getting back into it over the last year or so, so I am not up to speed on what modern 'good' equipment is or what is a great price in the used market. Though I will say that I am very happy with my Focal front stage and my Memphis subs. I have a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X995 head unit and a Kenwood KAC-9104D amp on the subs. The Focals are currently being run off the deck and that really needs to change soon. The amp on the subs isn't too bad (especially for what I paid for it) and gets the job done but I would like something with a little more control over the subs. But first I need to take care of the wifes car. She is currently using my other Kenwood amp that I was going to use for my front stage with the Octane sub. The big problem there is that to keep everything out of sight as much as possible I have the amp under the trap door in the rear of the Traverse and due to the fact that it is a Class 'AB' amp, it gets freaking hot in there and I have heard the amp kick in the thermal protection. I am currently working on modifying the rear AC unit to provide cold air in the space but I have some tweaking to do to get more air flow. But I am thinking I need a newer Class 'D' amp like an SD600.1 to take over duties.

Thanks again for the welcome and the advice.

Eric

[dvnt88]

Anytime bro and sorry to hear about the family emergency . Hit me up when your ready and can send ya a list of stuff I still have available at that time.