what is the best sub amp.


i have used a krell kst 100 strapped mono for years running a jbl pro 4719 sub with two 18s in it. i have been very happy with this amp until i watched pearl harbor. the kst started to loose it's control over the sub. i found a crown macro reference and put it on the sub. the crown killed the little krell, and never lost control at all. my main question is would i be better of with this crown or getting a larger krell? thanks alot for everyones thoughts.
128x128kirk930

Showing 2 responses by sean

A friend of mine who has had a LOT of different amps and a LOT of different multi-driver subwoofer arrays thinks that the Eagle's produce the best bass out of all that he's had. Maybe not the most powerful in terms of sheer grunt, but the tightest and most tuneful. He also likes the bigger Aragon's, at least for bottom end.

Nothing i've had or heard can touch the big Perreaux's for bottom end oomph and slam. I will stress that this comment applies to some of their models more than others. I've run BIG, BIG amps rated for more than twice their power at the same impedance and the Perreaux's still win that specific category. If you are strictly looking for bottom end thunder, the big Perreaux's ( models rated for at least 300+ wpc @ 8 ) will deliver.

As to the Bryston's, my experience with them is with their older models. I had a 4B ( 250 wpc @ 8 / 400 wpc @ 4 ) and i was not impressed. It did not do well into low impedances and i was constantly driving the amp into clipping. The amp was running quite well, as it was completely gone through by Dennis at Bryston USA. Phenomenal people to work with that truly do stand behind their products.

One more thing to add about amps and bass response. Amps that make use of "old school" iron core transformers will typically produce better quality bass than an identical amp using a toroidal transformer. Toroidals are simply cheaper to produce and less expensive to ship ( less weight ). Besides that, they tend to look "hi-tech". From talking to more than a few, most "honest" engineers will support this point of view for more than a few technical reasons. Sean
>
Gekko, you're assuming just a bit too much. There are guys with sub systems that make your four 18's per side look feeble. That is not to say that eight 18's is anything to laugh at : ) Sean
>