jl 600 vs alpine 600

[2010 Infantry Vet]

The JL 500/1 was rated the best selling amp for a reason. Im not knocking the alpine by any means, Im just not familiar with them. Never owned or seen one ran.

 

[Witch]

Same boat
Respect for JL Amps, but have no real world experience
Do some reading on them the PDX line are monsters man
Clean rich sounding amps that are arguably second to none
What has perked my interest is the Focal amps ? If the build quality is on the same lvel as therir speakers could be a brand to look at ?

 

[baum]

Its all about the quality on the inside. The quality is what produces the sound. The JL and Alpine will walk circles around the pioneer. yes they may produce the same power but to hifi guys its not about the power its about the sound quality. Same reasons why a focal or hertz amp has the same power as the JL or alpine but cost 2x as them their sq will walk circles around the JL anyday.

 

[adrianp89]

People get scared by the Pioneer because it so cheap. It is a great amp... and lets be realistic - 99% of people won't tell the difference in sound. No doubt the PDX and JL are better built but there is nothing wrong with the Pioneer. People that think Pioneer only has experience in radios, really have a small scope of what they have produced in car audio. Some of their higher end stuff is some of the most rare and sought after equipment out there (and up there in the upper echelons of being the best available).

 

[blackbetty14]

I rocked the pioneer pictured 350w rms at 4ohm pushing a 13” shallow pioneer sub in my ram for about a year and it never missed a beat. While I wouldn’t argue that it’s better than a JL I’ve also not been a fan of Apline. Bang for your buck pioneer will win every time. If I got the money burning a hole in your pocket the JL is a quality choice but I wouldn’t dissmiss the pioneer, their new class D amps are pretty good.

 

[autokraftgt]

I have never owned a Pioneer amp so I won't comment. But I have owned many JL amps (from entry to their top tier) and Alpine AMps as well.
I would have no issues running either brand and would buy with confidence...with one exception....JL's warranty department is not as smooth as Alpines.
Alpine's warranty system is effortless, where as JL can take weeks to resolve and for whatever reason, a few years back (maybe this policy has changed??) JL had me send my amp to a local JL dealer and requested that they ship the amp to them even though they were not who I purchased the amp through...I thought that was strange and added to the turn around time.
With that being said....all 3 companies have been in the game for a long time and make nice products.

 

[JinxCanada]

guys. I'm a home theater/hifi nut. I will happily pay for sound quality etc, however, when we are talking about a car audio sub....give me a break. as long as the power is there the sound quality will come from the box and the driver you are using FAR more than the amp behind it. if the THD is equal, and they pretty much all are, you are not going to notice a difference.

in fact, I would put my money where my mouth is and GUARANTEE you could not hear an audible difference from one amplifier to the next when playing the same sub in the same enclosure. I'd love to test the JL, Alpine, and Pioneer on the same subs/box with the same settings. The ONLY difference you'll notice is that the Pioneer has more headroom and will play much louder since it's delivering TWICE as much raw power to the driver.

I'm not trying to start any arguments here, and it is possible that the JL and Alpine amps are built better in some way (better caps etc) I dunno...but what I do know is that at half the price and providing twice the power the Pioneer was an EASY choice for me.

 

[autokraftgt]

guys. I'm a home theater/hifi nut. I will happily pay for sound quality etc, however, when we are talking about a car audio sub....give me a break. as long as the power is there the sound quality will come from the box and the driver you are using FAR more than the amp behind it. if the THD is equal, and they pretty much all are, you are not going to notice a difference.

in fact, I would put my money where my mouth is and GUARANTEE you could not hear an audible difference from one amplifier to the next when playing the same sub in the same enclosure. I'd love to test the JL, Alpine, and Pioneer on the same subs/box with the same settings. The ONLY difference you'll notice is that the Pioneer has more headroom and will play much louder since it's delivering TWICE as much raw power to the driver.

I'm not trying to start any arguments here, and it is possible that the JL and Alpine amps are built better in some way (better caps etc) I dunno...but what I do know is that at half the price and providing twice the power the Pioneer was an EASY choice for me.

When you double the power to a speaker, you'll receive an additional 3db output all else being equal....somewhat noticeable to most listeners

 

[JinxCanada]

When you double the power to a speaker, you'll receive an additional 3db output all else being equal....somewhat noticeable to most listeners

yes but sound quality there would be NO difference. That is my point...why pay more for less power if the sound quality, especially in a subwoofer, would be exactly the same. I would again challenge anyone to hear an audible difference in sound quality from one amp to another in a blind listening test.

 

[adrianp89]

guys. I'm a home theater/hifi nut. I will happily pay for sound quality etc, however, when we are talking about a car audio sub....give me a break. as long as the power is there the sound quality will come from the box and the driver you are using FAR more than the amp behind it. if the THD is equal, and they pretty much all are, you are not going to notice a difference.

in fact, I would put my money where my mouth is and GUARANTEE you could not hear an audible difference from one amplifier to the next when playing the same sub in the same enclosure. I'd love to test the JL, Alpine, and Pioneer on the same subs/box with the same settings. The ONLY difference you'll notice is that the Pioneer has more headroom and will play much louder since it's delivering TWICE as much raw power to the driver.

I'm not trying to start any arguments here, and it is possible that the JL and Alpine amps are built better in some way (better caps etc) I dunno...but what I do know is that at half the price and providing twice the power the Pioneer was an EASY choice for me.

It's a age-old argument. Just like fancy cables. I am in the same boat as you, but get on audiophile forum and it's like opening Pandora's box.

 

[JinxCanada]

It's a age-old argument. Just like fancy cables. I am in the same boat as you, but get on audiophile forum and it's like opening Pandora's box.

LOL look up my post on AVforums.com about how to make high end cables. It has THOUSANDS of views/posts. I've been making 6 gauge cables for years.

 

[adrianp89]

What do you need 6 gauge for in home theater?

 

[JinxCanada]

What do you need 6 gauge for in home theater?

Esthetics only quite honestly. No other reason.