Best Bass Amp!


I’m in the process of rebuilding my pair of Kinergetics SW-900 linesource subwoofers that have six 10” drivers per side. I need input on choosing the best sounding(5hz-80hz), most powerful, hardest hitting & most important cool running(most likely Class-D)monoblock bass amplifiers. I prefer ‘always on’ or ‘auto turn on’ if possible. No built-in crossover needed since I’ll be using my Pre/Pro for that. They will be used for music(40%) & home theater(60%) to mate up to my Apogee Studio Grand & Dali Megaline speakers.

I want to stay under $2500 price new/used for the pair if possible.

My choices so far are:

Bel Canto Ref-1000

Wyred 4 Sound SX-1000

PS Audio M-700

Emerald Physics 200.2SE(in mono)

I have a Coda Continuum No. 8 Stereo Class-A amplifier I will be comparing to hear the difference with the digital amps listed above.

FYI- I’ll be replacing the stock Vifa woofers in the SW-900 with Dayton Audio Reference 10” woofers(model #RSS265HF-8).

Please help me select the best from the list above or add any other amps you can think of that would be better.

Thank you!


ptheo

Showing 1 response by auxinput

Looking at the audiophile (i.e. Hypex) Class D amps, they generally max out at 1200 watts into 4 ohms (with a monoblock).  Also, stability into 2 ohms is not always clear.

If you're still looking for a big bass amp, one thought would be too look at Crown Amplifiers.  I had a Crown CTS2000 years ago.  It was their "Class I" type (which is very similar to Class D).  It did very well powering a subwoofer and was stable to 2 ohm loads.  With the current product line, they have a Crown DSI 6000, which is a stereo amp that provides 2100 watts per channel into 4 ohm, or 3000 watts per channel into 2 ohm loads.  You can select the input to use a "mono input configuration", which means you only need to use one of the XLR inputs.  Street price for this is just under $2k.  The downsides are - only XLR inputs, uses a fan cooled system which means you can hear the fan when amp is under high load, and there is no trigger auto-turn-on function (complete manual power).  Just an option.
Beyond that, the absolute best amp I have ever used for subwoofer duty is actually the Emotiva XPR-1 monoblock -- 1000 watts into 8 ohms, 1750 watts into 4 ohms.  However, it is a giant beast at 99 lbs and is also a Class AB amp, and does get quite warm when driving 4 ohm load for bass.  The thing pounds bass like a mother, however.