thats perfect , use that.

 

i use the canare 4s11....not as sexy...but very flexible and the coating comes off like butter.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

 

Well, I did it. Placed the order while most sane folk were asleep.

Q 450.4 - Image Dynamics 4-Channel 450 Watt Amplifier

SPW14T - Stinger PRO 4 Gauge Premium Power Cable
5 ft. Black 77482
15 ft. Red 77482

SPT5104 - Stinger Pro Shoc-Krome 4 Gauge Crimp Style Ring Terminals

SHT202 - Stinger HPM Series 4 to 8 Gauge Power Wire Adapter (amp supposedly has a 5 gauge connector )

SPT5213 - Stinger Shoc-Krome Series 4 Gauge Dual Foot Ground Terminal

Speaker Wire, 50ft, 16AWG Copper Enhanced Loud Oxygen Free (for in the doors)

Speaker Wire, 50ft, 14AWG Copper Enhanced Loud Oxygen Free

JL Audio XC-BCSC16-25 9-Conductor multi-speaker cable for long runs up to 4 Channels (X9331 to amp)

Hitron FH4KR (RED) 4 Gauge RED Wire, Fuse Holder, & Ring Terminal

Hitron AGU80 5-Pack of 80 Amp AGU Fuses

Wasn't sure about some of the hardware. Hope I made good choices.

 

Nice job...looks GREAT!!

Have you joined the ID USA forum yet? Not real active but there are some great guys over there...and the install galleries are cool!!!

 

looks good

Why did you order 15ft of power wire ,am I missing something?

 

you ask that question and not "why did you order 125 feet of speaker wire?

 

I overlooked that one good catch
maybe Robin is buying some extra so he can help me with my install

Its funny I always over buy on cables and I have boxes full of extra cables , and when the time comes to do my install. I will buy more cables

MiniSQ do you know who is actually making that ID amp? Most speaker comapies farm out someone else to design and make their amplifiers. I am curious about how good the amp is

I found this picture of it without it's clothes on
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...q-450-4-a.html

I was not very impressed with the internals , but that does not mean it will not be a great amp.

This is the Twister amp internals
http://ampguts.realmofexcursion.com/...60/inside1.jpg
They use high grade caps, pots and internals.

and there is
Steg
http://ampguts.realmofexcursion.com/...04/inside2.jpg

 

I know nothing about ID amps....

 

The amp will be behind the front seats. I could probably do it with 10, but I wanted some margin to work with.

This brings up a question. I could run it down the panel under the passenger door sill, or perhaps up the center console. If I run it up the door sill panel, is it OK to run the passenger door speaker wires in the same place?

Would it be better to run those speaker wires up the driver's side and across to the passenger side?

 

My other choice was Kicker XW1620 20 ft of 16 AWG X-Series Speaker Wire 09XW1620, and I figured that two of them wouldn't be enough. So, $60 for Kicker X when the $125 ft (two spools) cost $47.45 shipped. BTW, they've already shipped it.

 

Speaker wire and power wire is fine....its when you get into RCA cables is where you get into concerns. RCA and power wires like to be seperated and crossed at 90 degrees.

 

Where are you located? I see that bubblehelix is near me. Perhaps I can "help" him with his install...

Last time I did something like this, I underestimated, so...

I actually read that thread before ordering. It seemed like a bunch of guys ragging on something they have very little knowledge of. Perhaps I'm wrong about that, but I gave their comments little credibility in my decision.

Can you tell what quality "caps pots and internals" they used by looking at it?

 

The Q 450.4 looks like a nice size for the Mini. Any ideas of where you'll put it?

 

Im in Austin , a little far to travel for some install help but I figure it was worth a shot
It is smart to order more than you need we are just gving you a hard time

This is smart to take it with a grain of salt , I think this is equilient to cars if you get someone that knows cars they can usually look under the hood and give you a general idea about how good the engine is based a seeing many engines before . Its not always accurate but usually the case, so yes until you hear the amp take it with a grain of salt.

Question for you

Loooking at the three amps and not having knowledge of the intenals which amp would you pick based on the pictures?

Yes and no , I can spot the cheapest caps and can spot the extremely high end caps (Black gate , Elna cerafine etc.) so I base it off of them falling in the middle . You can usually tell a quite abot about how true the amp is to what the power on the box reads by looking at the transformer and the caps. Now about the pots yes I can spot high end pots and middle of the road. Some amps are using switches and I did not see any pots showing on the ID amp board, this why I am saying I could be wrong. I play around a little with Home Audio DIY amps so that is what I am basing this off of.

My assumtion on the ID amp is they farm it out to be made in China (or similiar place ) by the same plants that makes amps for other people. Audio companies are starting to do this more and more since is less expensive to build a amplifier there and you really don't need much to get it started , I am sure that ID still has a hand in the design of the amp as well.This is a easy way for a company to get into the amp making business when its not the normal. I could be wrong on this as well , please report back when you get it in on where it is made if you don't mind.

Do you know what size fuse the amp comes with?

 

Custom rear seat delete setup. See this post.

 

Oh nice! Well that makes it much simpler.

 

Not really, I wouldn't know whether less is more (integrated chips, rather than off-the-shelf components) or whether more is more.

Supposedly, the fuse requirement is 80 amps.

 

Well, the amp has shipped. I noticed on the invoice that the shipping weight is 3.5 lbs. This includes 20 ft. of 4 gauge power wire and some hardware.

Is the amp helium filled, or something? My home audio amp weighs 100 lbs. I thought this thing would weigh more than a lb. or two.

 

20 feet of 4 gauge weighs about 3 lbs...i'm guessing it will be coming in more than one box.

 

Maybe they are shipping one of those new light weight invisible amps

 

I think I figured it out. The amp gets free shipping. So, the 3.5 lbs. is probably just for the wire and parts.

 

Korea. Is anyone building amps in the USA?

 

McIntosh!

 

McIntosh > $1,000

 

I got an MB Quart Discus 450 amp. It's small, light, and puts out 100W x 4 at 2 Ohm - for $88.

I got it last week. It looks really nice. I may not use it, though. Changing the fronts did wonders for the sound.