zpa 0.5, 2xM50 how and what to use in a "normal" setup

[TheGreatBoo]

Hello all,

TheGretBoo here, new member from Sweden. A "few" years ago I was very much into Car Audio and ended up buying amongst other things two M50 amps and a ZPA 0.5. Just after buing the ZPA I basically quit the hobby altogether, and the stuff has since been sitting in my closet. Now I have a car in need of some audio (it's an old Opel Kapitän from 1960 that I'm converting from 6 to 12 Volt) and I figure I may as well use my Phoenix Gold stuff since it at least back in the day was pretty much top notch. The ZPA has never been used so it will be interesting wiring it up and seeing what happens when power is applied

I am basically wondering if and in that case how best to use my amps. I have started by re-capping one of the M50 amps. It looked like new both outside and inside (I think I have used it at most 100h...) so it felt a bit weird replacing the caps, but I guess it must be done since they must be at least 18 years old by now. Also I started with the M50 since there are fewer caps and the ZPA is brand new so if I am to make some kind of rookie mistake it is better to do it on one of the M50's.

I have a new set of Phoenix Gold 6.5" Ti component speakers I intend to use as front system, mounted in my newly home made kick-panels. For subs I will use two 8" Boston Acoustic pro 8.4LF subs (also from my closet stash of old Car Audio stuff...).

How to power this in a sensible way? One ZPA 0.5 to power everything with passive x-overs? The ZPA for woofers and M50 for front, or the other way around? I am not looking for earth shattering bass or competition SQ, just very enjoyable and natural music. Any input is welcome

[TheGreatBoo]

So, re-capped the second M50 tonight. I've put four Nichion UHW1C682MHD in each.They're smaller than the original Panasonic caps so all four can be used in an upright position. I do not think it will affect sound or power, but it looks nice and why not put it in when there is so little extra work

Unfortunately I destroyed one via this time. Luckily I managed to fix it with some copper strands. The fix can't be seen since its under the cap but I must get a better desoldering braid before I tackle the ZPA... Can't mess up like this on that one.

Still undecided on which amps to actually use though. Maybe I'll just use one of the M50's for the front system and buy a new class-D amp for the subs. Small and easy on the electrical system... But I would also like to to use the ZPA, it looks so cool

[Eric D]

Bridge one of the M50s to each side of your front speakers (one amp for the left, the other for the right). Use the ZPA for bass, or better yet, install the ZPA, but don't wire it to anything and hide a Class D bass amp somewhere. You will get a lot more power this way, and still retain the look of the ZPA. A Ti2800.1 might be a good choice for bass.

[smgreen20]

I just bought a Ti2 800.1 myself. Installing it in a few mins.