Sonic Electronix via eBay[ebay.com] has Alpine MRV-M500 V-Power 500W Class-D Digital Monoblock Car Audio Amplifier + 4 Gauge Wiring Kit on sale for $169. Shipping is free.
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Sonic Electronix via eBay[ebay.com] has Alpine MRV-M500 V-Power 500W Class-D Digital Monoblock Car Audio Amplifier + 4 Gauge Wiring Kit on sale for $169. Shipping is free.
This is is a decent little amp, the included wiring kit is Copper Clad Aluminum and essentially garbage. CCA is inefficient can be brittle and can get hot, avoid. Maybe flip the wiring kit for $20.
Great little amp. Pretty sure Sonic Electronics is not an authorized dealer so this is grey market and no factory warranty. For this price I would probably roll the dice anyway
As was said, the included wiring kit is CCA. Trash. Outlawed for in-wall home use for a reason. And as a mobile electronics installer, I've seen far more than my fair share of CCA wire turned into corroded powder. Buy yourself a Knukonceptz 4AWG OFC kit for $60 and it'll last forever.
Totally agree on everyone's opinion that CCA wiring is trash. I might recommend 2-gauge wiring instead of 4 though. It's not that much more money, it's not all that much bigger, but it will carry more current in case you want to upgrade your amp later (which many people seem to do).
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Totally agree on everyone's opinion that CCA wiring is trash. I might recommend 2-gauge wiring instead of 4 though. It's not that much more money, it's not all that much bigger, but it will carry more current in case you want to upgrade your amp later (which many people seem to do).
I don't fully agree with 2 gauge suggestion. First off 2 gauge is a weird and not common wire size in 12 volt installs. Second There is pretty much no car that the average alternator output is high enough to run the current 2 gauge can carry. Majority of cars will struggle with what 4 gauge can handle 1000-1200wrms. Over this you should just hop to 0guage and upgrade your alternator and battery setup.
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CCA is completely fine for a 500 watt amp especially since its 4 gauge kit can handle double the wattage. Issues with CCA are generally from running too much current through it. I was an installer for 6 years. Wouldn't lose sleep over it at 500 watts.
If you have the extra money yes the suggestion for KnuConcepts wire is definitely worth it. Or look at skyhigh wire or the ct sounds kits are good. But otherwise the wiring included here is perfectly acceptable.
I don't fully agree with 2 gauge suggestion. First off 2 gauge is a weird and not common wire size in 12 volt installs. Second There is pretty much no car that the average alternator output is high enough to run the current 2 gauge can carry. Majority of cars will struggle with what 4 gauge can handle 1000-1200wrms. Over this you should just hop to 0guage and upgrade your alternator and battery setup.
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CCA is completely fine for a 500 watt amp especially since its 4 gauge kit can handle double the wattage. Issues with CCA are generally from running too much current through it. I was an installer for 6 years. Wouldn't lose sleep over it at 500 watts.
If you have the extra money yes the suggestion for KnuConcepts wire is definitely worth it. Or look at skyhigh wire or the ct sounds kits are good. But otherwise the wiring included here is perfectly acceptable.
I don't think 2-gauge is weird. It's readily available, and it gives you a decent amount of extra headroom above 4 gauge if you want a larger amp down the road (which many people do). With a 20-foot cable run, you probably don't want to go much above 100 amps with 4-gauge, and that might even be pushing it depending on who you ask. You can easily exceed that with modern monoblock amps.
Regarding alternator power, I guess it depends on the car. My stock alternator output is 185 amps.
Regarding acceptability of CCA wire, I don't think it should ever be used. It's brittle (and even more so in harsh automotive environments), it oxidizes/degrades more readily than OFC (particularly tinned OFC), it's it's not as flexible as OFC (potentially contributing to breakage), it can't carry anywhere near as much power as equivalently-sized copper wire, and the list goes on. Just don't use it- it's not worth the potential headache to save a few bucks in my opinion.
I don't think 2-gauge is weird. It's readily available, and it gives you a decent amount of extra headroom above 4 gauge if you want a larger amp down the road (which many people do). With a 20-foot cable run, you probably don't want to go much above 100 amps with 4-gauge, and that might even be pushing it depending on who you ask. You can easily exceed that with modern monoblock amps.
Regarding alternator power, I guess it depends on the car. My stock alternator output is 185 amps.
Regarding acceptability of CCA wire, I don't think it should ever be used. It's brittle (and even more so in harsh automotive environments), it oxidizes/degrades more readily than OFC (particularly tinned OFC), it's it's not as flexible as OFC (potentially contributing to breakage), it can't carry anywhere near as much power as equivalently-sized copper wire, and the list goes on. Just don't use it- it's not worth the potential headache to save a few bucks in my opinion.
I tend to agree with your points here. Cca is definitely inferior. But Just speaking from my personal experience/ my opinion.
Cruchfield list 33 power kits zero 2 gauge. When searching google for 2 gauge amplifier install kit the top 20 add spots only offer 1 2 gauge install kit. Knukonceps offers zero 2 gauge install kits on their site. I have installed over 100 amplifiers and only used 2 gauge maybe 3 times. It's just an odd gauge when installing amplifiers. Not to say it's not available.
And many people install over what their cars can output and keep up with. This is where you see dimming lights, amps that pop and go up smoke and other issues because not having enough output from the alt or enough stored power in extra batteries. Most cars with something called a big 3 upgrade and an extra battery can run up to 1500 watts just fine. Without that 1000 watts pushes most cars charging systems to the edge.
I tend to agree with your points here. Cca is definitely inferior. But Just speaking from my personal experience/ my opinion.
Cruchfield list 33 power kits zero 2 gauge. When searching google for 2 gauge amplifier install kit the top 20 add spots only offer 1 2 gauge install kit. Knukonceps offers zero 2 gauge install kits on their site. I have installed over 100 amplifiers and only used 2 gauge maybe 3 times. It's just an odd gauge when installing amplifiers. Not to say it's not available.
And many people install over what their cars can output and keep up with. This is where you see dimming lights, amps that pop and go up smoke and other issues because not having enough output from the alt or enough stored power in extra batteries. Most cars with something called a big 3 upgrade and an extra battery can run up to 1500 watts just fine. Without that 1000 watts pushes most cars charging systems to the edge.
I see what you're saying regarding 2 gauge. I should have clarified that 2-gauge OFC wire is readily available- just not necessarily in amp kits, etc. In my opinion, good'ol OFC welding wire is a fantastic value for car audio power and ground cables. It's what I have now, and I honestly can't really picture myself paying double the price for the same/similar product just because it says KnuKonceptz on it or something. Althogh tinned OFC can be advantageous depending on the installation environment.
No arguments with your last paragraph- all great points, especially regarding the big 3!
Copper clad aluminum has higher resistance in the wire so you will get slightly more voltage drop at the amp vs copper.
This is 4guage though so the drop will be minimized unless pulling a lot of amps.
Generally speaking voltage drop in car audio affects power much more than in say a home because you are only starting with 14.4volts at best. Drop 1or 2volts and lose notable amounts of power.
Most systems running 4guage it will not matter if CCA or copper. If you are running 8 or 10 gauge and trying to draw higher power at say 50amps over a 18 foot run to the trunk you could lose 10-20 of your power with copper and 15-30 with CCD.
Even a 33% drop in power is likely not audible though as it is only about 1db or less depending on amp efficiency. It is possible that could shorter the amps lifespan though.
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Pretty sure Sonic Electronics is not an authorized dealer so this is grey market and no factory warranty.
For this price I would probably roll the dice anyway
Connected to a JL 10w6.
As was said, the included wiring kit is CCA. Trash. Outlawed for in-wall home use for a reason. And as a mobile electronics installer, I've seen far more than my fair share of CCA wire turned into corroded powder. Buy yourself a Knukonceptz 4AWG OFC kit for $60 and it'll last forever.
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I don't fully agree with 2 gauge suggestion. First off 2 gauge is a weird and not common wire size in 12 volt installs. Second There is pretty much no car that the average alternator output is high enough to run the current 2 gauge can carry. Majority of cars will struggle with what 4 gauge can handle 1000-1200wrms. Over this you should just hop to 0guage and upgrade your alternator and battery setup.
————
CCA is completely fine for a 500 watt amp especially since its 4 gauge kit can handle double the wattage. Issues with CCA are generally from running too much current through it. I was an installer for 6 years. Wouldn't lose sleep over it at 500 watts.
If you have the extra money yes the suggestion for KnuConcepts wire is definitely worth it. Or look at skyhigh wire or the ct sounds kits are good. But otherwise the wiring included here is perfectly acceptable.
————
CCA is completely fine for a 500 watt amp especially since its 4 gauge kit can handle double the wattage. Issues with CCA are generally from running too much current through it. I was an installer for 6 years. Wouldn't lose sleep over it at 500 watts.
If you have the extra money yes the suggestion for KnuConcepts wire is definitely worth it. Or look at skyhigh wire or the ct sounds kits are good. But otherwise the wiring included here is perfectly acceptable.
I don't think 2-gauge is weird. It's readily available, and it gives you a decent amount of extra headroom above 4 gauge if you want a larger amp down the road (which many people do). With a 20-foot cable run, you probably don't want to go much above 100 amps with 4-gauge, and that might even be pushing it depending on who you ask. You can easily exceed that with modern monoblock amps.
Regarding alternator power, I guess it depends on the car. My stock alternator output is 185 amps.
Regarding acceptability of CCA wire, I don't think it should ever be used. It's brittle (and even more so in harsh automotive environments), it oxidizes/degrades more readily than OFC (particularly tinned OFC), it's it's not as flexible as OFC (potentially contributing to breakage), it can't carry anywhere near as much power as equivalently-sized copper wire, and the list goes on. Just don't use it- it's not worth the potential headache to save a few bucks in my opinion.
Wire size calculators: https://www.diymobileau
Regarding alternator power, I guess it depends on the car. My stock alternator output is 185 amps.
Regarding acceptability of CCA wire, I don't think it should ever be used. It's brittle (and even more so in harsh automotive environments), it oxidizes/degrades more readily than OFC (particularly tinned OFC), it's it's not as flexible as OFC (potentially contributing to breakage), it can't carry anywhere near as much power as equivalently-sized copper wire, and the list goes on. Just don't use it- it's not worth the potential headache to save a few bucks in my opinion.
Wire size calculators: https://www.diymobileau
I tend to agree with your points here. Cca is definitely inferior. But Just speaking from my personal experience/ my opinion.
Cruchfield list 33 power kits zero 2 gauge. When searching google for 2 gauge amplifier install kit the top 20 add spots only offer 1 2 gauge install kit. Knukonceps offers zero 2 gauge install kits on their site. I have installed over 100 amplifiers and only used 2 gauge maybe 3 times. It's just an odd gauge when installing amplifiers. Not to say it's not available.
And many people install over what their cars can output and keep up with. This is where you see dimming lights, amps that pop and go up smoke and other issues because not having enough output from the alt or enough stored power in extra batteries. Most cars with something called a big 3 upgrade and an extra battery can run up to 1500 watts just fine. Without that 1000 watts pushes most cars charging systems to the edge.
Cruchfield list 33 power kits zero 2 gauge. When searching google for 2 gauge amplifier install kit the top 20 add spots only offer 1 2 gauge install kit. Knukonceps offers zero 2 gauge install kits on their site. I have installed over 100 amplifiers and only used 2 gauge maybe 3 times. It's just an odd gauge when installing amplifiers. Not to say it's not available.
And many people install over what their cars can output and keep up with. This is where you see dimming lights, amps that pop and go up smoke and other issues because not having enough output from the alt or enough stored power in extra batteries. Most cars with something called a big 3 upgrade and an extra battery can run up to 1500 watts just fine. Without that 1000 watts pushes most cars charging systems to the edge.
No arguments with your last paragraph- all great points, especially regarding the big 3!
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This is 4guage though so the drop will be minimized unless pulling a lot of amps.
Generally speaking voltage drop in car audio affects power much more than in say a home because you are only starting with 14.4volts at best. Drop 1or 2volts and lose notable amounts of power.
Most systems running 4guage it will not matter if CCA or copper. If you are running 8 or 10 gauge and trying to draw higher power at say 50amps over a 18 foot run to the trunk you could lose 10-20 of your power with copper and 15-30 with CCD.
Even a 33% drop in power is likely not audible though as it is only about 1db or less depending on amp efficiency. It is possible that could shorter the amps lifespan though.