Phoenix Gold M50 Amp

Escy · Post by **Escy** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:15 am

Hi guy's, i'm a car audio novice. A year back I bought a 2nd hand sub and amp from my local ad paper. The amp is the M50, the sub is a 12" Kicker Solo Baric (somthing like that, a square one). I only used it for a while and it sounded good enough to me.

I recently changed car and wanted to put it in my new one, i've been reading around and it seems like the M50 isn't really up to the job of running a big sub. Am I best off looking to sell the amp on and buy something else to get the best out of the sub?

The M50's seem well regarded and look like the hold their money quite well. Would I be able to sell it on and get something thats not as good quality but more suited to run a sub for the money a M50 would fetch? Any recomendations on an amp?

Cheers, Tom.

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:26 am

If by "more suited" to run a sub you mean more power, then sure you could sell the M50 and get likely enough coin to buy a decent Class-D amplifier for sub duty that puts out more power. You will however sacrifice SQ, which may or may not be an issue if it's just for sub duty.

If you want a decent sub amp for not a lot of money, the PG RSd 300.1 or 600.1 would probably be a good match. Alternatively you could get a PG Ryval series for even a bit less.

Post by **ttocs** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 3:40 pm

welcome to the forum and the hobby! That amp is all wrong, you would be better off getting rid of it and getting something better. I'll give you $20 for the M50 and you can go find a nice class D amp.

waynehead · Post by **waynehead** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 5:48 pm

ttocs wrote:welcome to the forum and the hobby! That amp is all wrong, you would be better off getting rid of it and getting something better. I'll give you $20 for the M50 and you can go find a nice class D amp.

Dick... For real tho look around the forum see what m50's in similar shape to yours have went for and put for sale on the forum. I am sure someone here will give it a good home. Be aware tho, that you are getting rid of a great amp that isnt as easy to come by.

oldskoolmseriesfan · Post by **oldskoolmseriesfan** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 6:33 pm

ttocs wrote:welcome to the forum and the hobby! That amp is all wrong, you would be better off getting rid of it and getting something better. I'll give you $20 for the M50 and you can go find a nice class D amp.

Dude, your harsh, only $20, dont be a goof.Lets help the guy out instead. Thats a good amp and you know it.Dont be greedy.

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 6:50 pm

I paid $275CAD just a few months back for an M50 and an M25 package deal. I thought that was a pretty good deal since the amps were in great shape, so take that however you'd like.

andy600rr · Post by **andy600rr** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:06 pm

It really depends on the sub that you are using.

I've done many a system with an M50 running sub duty and its more than enough providing that your enclousure is properly designed, and the woofer isn't some hugely inefficent SPL monster.

Depending on your plan for your new install, maybe consider changing subs instead of changing the amp??

Dcon anyone???

Also, it will be dependant upon what you want to do with your install. Are you building a nice clean system for daily driving, or hoping to build a ground pounding SPL beast??

For a daily system, an M50 could easily be enough for sub duty providing you match it with the right woofer.

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:10 pm

andy600rr wrote:It really depends on the sub that you are using.

I've done many a system with an M50 running sub duty and its more than enough providing that your enclousure is properly designed, and the woofer isn't some hugely inefficent SPL monster.

Depending on your plan for your new install, maybe consider changing subs instead of changing the amp??

Dcon anyone???

The voice of reason!

The M50 is a nice amp that can put out enough super clean watts for most SQ installs. I've said it before but I'll reiterate the point that having a flat response does not require way more power on your subs than your front stage. RTA'ing my truck twice now has made this rather obvious for me.

That said, if you want pumpin' bass, not just SQ bass, then the M50 may not be enough for you. An RSd sub in the right box would be great on that M50 for a modest daily driver system.

oldskoolmseriesfan · Post by **oldskoolmseriesfan** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:46 pm

andy600rr wrote:It really depends on the sub that you are using.

I've done many a system with an M50 running sub duty and its more than enough providing that your enclousure is properly designed, and the woofer isn't some hugely inefficent SPL monster.

Depending on your plan for your new install, maybe consider changing subs instead of changing the amp??

Dcon anyone???

Also, it will be dependant upon what you want to do with your install. Are you building a nice clean system for daily driving, or hoping to build a ground pounding SPL beast??

For a daily system, an M50 could easily be enough for sub duty providing you match it with the right woofer.

M50+Dcon=

I ran an M50 to two 12inch Kicker XPL's, which are very efficient subs and was hitting the mid 130's db wise and wow was it clean. With the proper match, an efficient sub or subs, such as the SSA Dcon you should come up with a great compromise in both SPL and SQ. Thats my .02 cents worth

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:01 pm

keep your M50-look for another amp, or another sub-just my 2 cents

bretti_kivi · Post by **bretti_kivi** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:26 pm

he probably doesn't know what a Dcon is, coming from this side of the pond.

Dcon: SSA Dcon. Googling should reveal all.

Bret

oldskoolmseriesfan · Post by **oldskoolmseriesfan** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:43 pm

http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/
check it out Escy, Denim on this phorum will have all the info on it.Look under members and check him out and he will have all the info for ya.

Post by **ttocs** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:41 am

oldskoolmseriesfan wrote:
ttocs wrote:welcome to the forum and the hobby! That amp is all wrong, you would be better off getting rid of it and getting something better. I'll give you $20 for the M50 and you can go find a nice class D amp.
Dude, your harsh, only $20, dont be a goof.Lets help the guy out instead. Thats a good amp and you know it.Dont be greedy.

See I was joking fellas, unlike the guy tryin to get $200 plus shipping from me for the DD-5 he paid $150 for last year. I knew he wouldn't let it go for $20 and I wouldn't let him make a mistake like that.

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:49 am

ttocs wrote:
oldskoolmseriesfan wrote:
ttocs wrote:welcome to the forum and the hobby! That amp is all wrong, you would be better off getting rid of it and getting something better. I'll give you $20 for the M50 and you can go find a nice class D amp.
Dude, your harsh, only $20, dont be a goof.Lets help the guy out instead. Thats a good amp and you know it.Dont be greedy.
See I was joking fellas, unlike the guy tryin to get $200 plus shipping from me for the DD-5 he paid $150 for last year. I knew he wouldn't let it go for $20 and I wouldn't let him make a mistake like that.

I knew you were kidding

Escy · Post by **Escy** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 9:59 am

My sub is a Kicker Solobaric S12L5, it looks like this one below.

Do you think the M50 is man enough for it? To me it sounds fine, just didn't want to risk under powering the sub.

oldskoolmseriesfan · Post by **oldskoolmseriesfan** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:10 am

ttocs wrote:
oldskoolmseriesfan wrote:
ttocs wrote:welcome to the forum and the hobby! That amp is all wrong, you would be better off getting rid of it and getting something better. I'll give you $20 for the M50 and you can go find a nice class D amp.
Dude, your harsh, only $20, dont be a goof.Lets help the guy out instead. Thats a good amp and you know it.Dont be greedy.
See I was joking fellas, unlike the guy tryin to get $200 plus shipping from me for the DD-5 he paid $150 for last year. I knew he wouldn't let it go for $20 and I wouldn't let him make a mistake like that.

my bad, sorry meng

andy600rr · Post by **andy600rr** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:55 pm

OK, I need a little bit more info.

Is your Kicker a dual 4 ohm or dual 2 ohm voice coil??

ie. S12L54 or S12L52?? And how are the coils wired?

Also, how big is your enclosure and are you running sealed or ported. What type of music do you listen to?

Sorry for the 20 questions, but this info should enable us to help you out

Escy · Post by **Escy** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 4:10 pm

I'll remove the sub tomorrow and check what it is exactly. It's in a sealed box, just like the one in the picture.

I mainly listen to Hip-Hop, Drum and Bass, Dance music and Indie. So quite a mix really. Hip-hop mainly though.

I'm soo clueless about it all, is 4 ohm better than 2 ohm? Also, what do you mean about how are the coils wired?

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 4:25 pm

they wiring method will determine the final load the amp will see, wether the sub is svc 4 or 8 ohm, or dvc, 4ohm or 8 ohm, im not that familiar with kicker square subs, so you probably should pull it from the box-on the back of the magnet it should say what type,ohm load it is, then from there others can help with the exact wiring of it-

andy600rr · Post by **andy600rr** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 4:36 pm

The manual for your sub is here.....

http://www.kicker.uk.com/pdf/techManual ... alV2_0.pdf

Have a look at page 17 of this manual and hopefully the wiring configuration should become clear. Worst case scenario, take a photo of the back of your woofer and post it here.

dBincognito · Post by **dBincognito** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 4:42 pm

Escy · Post by **Escy** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:36 am

Just opened it up and checked it, mine is the 2ohm sub. I am a newbie and i'm not so sure what is the best way to have it wired 1 ohm or 4 ohm.

Post by **kg1961** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:51 am

you need 4ohm for sure!!!

Escy · Post by **Escy** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:45 am

So the amp does 1 x 245W @ 4 ohms bridge (14.4V)

The sub has a 600w power handling. Do you think they match up okay?

I wouldn't mind finding an M100 amp, not many for sale though.

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:19 am

Hook it up for the amp BRIDGED to see the 4ohm load; you can under power the sub, which is better than overpowering it, and blowing it-try it this way, and if you like it leave it alone, and if not, get a 2channel600watt amp, or any amp that makes fullpower at 4ohm load bridged; imho, running 1ohm would cause any amp to get too hot, even if its rated to do that-yeah you could run it 1ohm on the M50 in stereo, but really the results should be the same as 4ohm bridged-this is all just my opinion, if i were trying to use the equipment you are using; i hooked up only 600wats rms to my pg rsdc subs once, and didnt sound bad at all, but i do run 1400watts to them now, as they can handle that much power-( i think you should keep the M50, they just dont make those anymore, and one day u may be very glad you held on to it-good luck

Phoenix Gold M50 Amp

Phoenix Gold M50 Amp

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