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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > AUDIO/VIDEO + BLUETOOTH + Electronics/Alarm/Software > New JL XD600/6 amp is out now



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      03-30-2010, 10:04 PM   #1
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New JL XD600/6 amp is out now

The new JL Audio XD600/6 amp is out now:

http://www.amazon.com/JL-Audio-XD600...0004545&sr=8-2


Can any of the audio installers on the forum who have had a chance to try these out chime in on their opinions?
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      03-31-2010, 06:27 AM   #2
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yes, incredibly small. we've got them in stock though we haven't put one in yet. the 4 channel is out as well, but the mono one has not shipped yet.
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      03-31-2010, 12:17 PM   #3
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Lee what is your take on Class ab versus Class d amps

Lee what is your take on Class ab versus Class d amps?
Is there an audible difference ?
Have you observed the FM Interference that some people talk about?
This new amp line does not have rips regulation does that even matter.
So Class D is kind of an extension of switching power supply technology.
So we get back into question of digitizing sound and recreating it as in
when people went from vinyl to cd's . Is this even a consideration?
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      03-31-2010, 01:22 PM   #4
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i think class D is good for subs, it's more efficient
but i don't think it sounds as good as a good class AB
but you can have the best of both worlds
you have can a good 4 channel amp for the front/rear speakers
and a 2 channel amp for the under seat subs
you can fit both in the OEM location in the trunk
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      03-31-2010, 02:36 PM   #5
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It would be nice to have a one amp solution in 6ch

It would be nice to have a one amp solution in 6ch
From the stand point of money for performance and simplicity
I'm not looking for huge bass.
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      03-31-2010, 03:48 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ctuna View Post
It would be nice to have a one amp solution in 6ch
From the stand point of money for performance and simplicity
I'm not looking for huge bass.
I think that this is an excellent amp solution as either the replacement of the OEM HiFi amp or to complement the 6-speaker MY2010 standard OEM system:

- it fits in the same space as the OEM amp
- it accepts the balanced or high level outputs of all the OEM HU/iDrive analog configurations directly (just get a wire to RCA cable)
- it can take 4-channel inputs and generate 6-channel outputs (no need of "Y" adapters)
- it has plenty of crossovers and adjustments to match either the OEM or aftermarket speakers
- it accept 2- and 4-ohms loads
- it has more than 3 times the output power of the OEM amp, 10 times the power of the OEM HU of MY2010
- it is JL Audio, not Piramid or Audiovox

It looks to me that this a no-brainer as direct replacement/upgrade to the OEM amp/MY2010 systems for the price. If Amazon already got it at $400 then I will give it a month to get it at $350 shipped at eBay...
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      04-01-2010, 06:52 AM   #7
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I havent used one yet, but I can speak of the HD series, which is also full range switching. there is radio interference, but frankly, who listens to the radio anyhow with ipods, satellite radio, etc? Full range switching amps can sound very good. the HD series sounds fantastic, I would challenge you to hear a difference between them and the slash series (especially in a running car). I've also used some rather high end switching amps in homes and home theaters with excellent results. In fact, in my personal theater room, I run a 7 channel switching amp from Integra (I won't go into detail, but let's just say I have some pretty high end stuff in there, and for the money invested I could be driving something red from italy instead). It was not at all inexpensive, but sounds fantastic, runs cooler than my pre/pro, and has never tripped any breakers like my old amps would (when run really hard, which I have a tendency to do). Honestly, I believe switching amps are the future for everything. Unfurtunately, there has been a price barrior previously that made them not make sense (the switching devices need to be really high speed to sound good full range, not so much for bass duty). I think that may have been overcome now with the XD's, but I'll reserve final judgement until after I get to use one. I have eclipse switching amps in my 335 right now as a cheap stop gap until I decide between XD and HD amps, and they don't sound bad at all - pretty good, just not enough power for me... but they were pretty cheap and don't have any of the weird high frequency brittleness or fakeness I used to associate with most switching amps.

one important thing to note though, power output is going to be pretty much as stated - switching amps can't do ridiculous amounts more power after going beyond their capabilities - clipping is a different animal. On an AB amp, even after you run out of steam, there is often the ability to keep playing, just while clipping the signal (which is very bad) - without cutting completely out. On every switching amp I've heard, once you clip it, really really bad things happen - as it unloads completely, either cutting out, or making the speaker pop as it's power supply unloads into it. the point is, you need to know the limits of the amp and stay within them...

efficiency is paramount though, you can realistically get 30-50% more real world power in a typical car. easier on your electrical system, less heat generation, smaller - all good things. I do wish they made a more powerful version though, that's why I haven't just jumped right into the xd's and may end up with hd's. there's also the ZED leviathan, but I haven't heard to many good things. But I love the power output from that 6 channel. It's bigger than the xd, but would still fit in a couple of hidden places in the trunk
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      04-01-2010, 10:18 AM   #8
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I just don't understand why so many people are excited about a cheap amp (the XD) from association with the HD - the best-sounding class D out there, but also the most expensive.

Maybe they sound alike - but why would we think so?
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      04-01-2010, 10:57 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VP Electricity View Post
I just don't understand why so many people are excited about a cheap amp (the XD) from association with the HD - the best-sounding class D out there, but also the most expensive.

Maybe they sound alike - but why would we think so?
I agree. I think people are getting excited because they are thinking its going to be an HD at a lower price but you obviously have to compromise somewhere to get the price down. JL has no incentive to make an amp perform just as good as the HDs at a lower price because that would mean nobody would buy the HDs.
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      04-01-2010, 11:57 AM   #10
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I don't think that the vast majority of the potential customers for amps are looking for the very best and most expensive, just what fits their budget and get the job done cleanly and without any noise. In that order.

And if the amp can fit in the same space as the factory amp or out of the way in the trunk then much better.

IMO, although the XD is the replacement of the G Series, what JL Audio have done with the radical reduction in footprint is to try to get some market from the PDX in price. Although in paper the HD line was supposed to be that PDX competitor the market kept the HD at almost doble the price of a comparable HD. And I don't think that anybody will be confused between what an XD can do and an HD when they are several hundred dollars apart in price.

I don't see anything wrong with this new approach and in this new amp...
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      04-01-2010, 01:01 PM   #11
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Bottom line

Will it be way better than stock without side effects
at a reasonable price? Is the FM Interference really noticeable with
the amp mounted all the way in the Trunk or rear car area.
What about the old g Series how was that?
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      04-01-2010, 04:08 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post
I don't think that the vast majority of the potential customers for amps are looking for the very best and most expensive, just what fits their budget and get the job done cleanly and without any noise. In that order.
What that has to do with my comment, I'm not clear. As a Tru Technology dealer, I'm REALLY clear that most people don't want that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post

And if the amp can fit in the same space as the factory amp or out of the way in the trunk then much better.
Ditto.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post
IMO, although the XD is the replacement of the G Series, what JL Audio have done with the radical reduction in footprint is to try to get some market from the PDX in price.
Right... I'm clear on that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post
Although in paper the HD line was supposed to be that PDX competitor the market kept the HD at almost doble the price of a comparable HD.
Technic, as a product manager, this statement is really contradictory. I would suggest that the HD was intended to break new ground for Class D, NOT to take market share from a less-expensive, and noticeably worse-sounding, competitor.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post
And I don't think that anybody will be confused between what an XD can do and an HD when they are several hundred dollars apart in price.
So why care about a JL product that's priced and sized comparably to an existing product (PDX), when you haven't heard or touched it, nor is there a compelling narrative explaining why it would be any better than PDX?

I've done a lot of research on Class D ICs, and I know some of the potential SQ improvements, and I also know that the silicon dictates an awful lot of the cost and the SQ.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post

I don't see anything wrong with this new approach and in this new amp...
If you haven't touched, heard, or installed one, how could you?

I'm not saying it's bad, and if you characterize my comments as criticism of the product, you'd be mistaken. I'm just very skeptical of any new product until it proves itself. Think PDX, Imprint H650, CleanSweep, etc. All nice products, all flawed as it turned out in ways unforeseen.

Whatever happened to guarded optimism?
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      04-02-2010, 06:08 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VP Electricity View Post
What that has to do with my comment, I'm not clear. As a Tru Technology dealer, I'm REALLY clear that most people don't want that.
If anything, I would not call a $550 MSRP amp (or $400) amp cheap. But that's me...


Quote:
Technic, as a product manager, this statement is really contradictory. I would suggest that the HD was intended to break new ground for Class D, NOT to take market share from a less-expensive, and noticeably worse-sounding, competitor.

So why care about a JL product that's priced and sized comparably to an existing product (PDX), when you haven't heard or touched it, nor is there a compelling narrative explaining why it would be any better than PDX?

I've done a lot of research on Class D ICs, and I know some of the potential SQ improvements, and I also know that the silicon dictates an awful lot of the cost and the SQ.
The reason that I mentioned market price is that, with the exception of the HD 900/5, the HD line is priced within $50-$100 MSRP of a comparable PDX. For me that's a direct competitor.

That Alpine and eBay made the PDX "affordable" at sometimes half the price while the HD prices as stayed within 60-70% of the MSRP says more about how JL Audio deals with the distribution and sales of their product line than anything else.

The XD line is comparable to the MRP line, the same way that the G Series was. Again, that Alpine and the market have made the PDX equal to this XD line and the MRP below it is something else.

Now, what I like about the XD600/6 is its size and specs as the direct replacement of the OEM amp. No, I have not heard this XD amp but I have heard the OEM amp and I have replaced the OEM amp with plenty of aftermarket amps both in E46 and in E9x just by reading the specs. And so far, anything "decent" sounds much better than the OEM amp. Thus I don't think that I need to hear this amp to bet that it will do the job for the price. But I will, for sure.

Quote:

If you haven't touched, heard, or installed one, how could you?

I'm not saying it's bad, and if you characterize my comments as criticism of the product, you'd be mistaken. I'm just very skeptical of any new product until it proves itself. Think PDX, Imprint H650, CleanSweep, etc. All nice products, all flawed as it turned out in ways unforeseen.

Whatever happened to guarded optimism?
I'm quite far from a "brand boy", and I think that you are the one confusing excitement -like there is some emotional attachment to an amp somewhere in this thread- with reasonable optimism.
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      04-26-2010, 12:59 PM   #14
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I finally got a chance to listen to the XD 400/4 side by side with a Kenwood XR4S, Zapco DC 360.4, and JL Slash 300/4. I can say that you could tell the difference between all of them. The XR4S was on the bottom not so much because of the sound of the amp but because its fan is damn loud.The was a slight edge to the sound which is typical of a class D amp. The XD was next. The edge was less noticeable on this amp but it was still there. Unfortunately, there is no magic that will get a class D amp to sound like a class AB amp so there was a noticeable difference between the XD and the DC 360.4 and 300/4 which are both class AB. The difference between DC 360.4 and 300/4 was much harder to distinguish. Based on just features alone, I would opt towards the Zapco because the DSP would make a huge difference when doing the final tuning if the system didn't already have a DSP.
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      04-28-2010, 09:45 PM   #15
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I have had a 400/4 in my car for about a month now and its a great amp for the sws-8's and a 10' i have in the trunk.

The biggest bonus is that it fits under the carpet where a spare would go in my 335. a nice stealth install with 0 overheating problems.

Tom
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      04-29-2010, 01:00 AM   #16
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tvurt just to be sure is that the xd ?

tvurt just to be sure is that the xd ?
any comparisions and why didn't you do the xd 6 channel amp?
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      01-12-2011, 12:29 PM   #17
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Check it out ya'll!

here it is installed in my car, (harder than I thought w/ all the crimping, soldering, shrink wrapping to make it all clean.)

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verdict? It sounds pretty good (I kept all my stock speakers), mids are a lot less aggressive now, bass is deep an low. Highs could still need some help (I put +3 on the HU for treble)

All in all, was it worth the $350 and time I spent to install it? not sure, and I wonder if I would have been better served to have spent the money on some front speakers?

I like super clean sound and was pissed when I heard static the first time I powered it on. The gain for this amp needs to be turned all the way down. (I have the subs 1/4 up for their gain).

Anyway, I'm happy to have the ability to change/modify the settings on my system to my listening preferences now, thats for sure.
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      01-12-2011, 12:37 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by allmotorh22 View Post

All in all, was it worth it? not sure, and I wonder if I would have been better served to have spent the money on some front speakers?

I like super clean sound and was pissed when I heard static the first time I powered it on. The gain for this amp needs to be turned all the way down. (I have the subs 1/4 up for their gain).

Anyway, I'm happy to have the ability to change/modify the settings on my system to my listening preferences now, thats for sure.
Yes, you are amplifying sucky speakers, and your factory woofers will blow pretty soon. They can't handle the power. In fact, that amp is putting 100W into every channel, so I figure any speaker might blow soon.

But you don't have the ability to really tune your system. You have a crossover and a gain adjustment. You don't have any more EQ than you had before. You don't have L and R output levels.

I'm afraid this experience is why I don't recommend that people amplify HiFi speakers.
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      01-12-2011, 12:53 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VP Electricity View Post
Yes, you are amplifying sucky speakers, and your factory woofers will blow pretty soon. They can't handle the power. In fact, that amp is putting 100W into every channel, so I figure any speaker might blow soon.

But you don't have the ability to really tune your system. You have a crossover and a gain adjustment. You don't have any more EQ than you had before. You don't have L and R output levels.

I'm afraid this experience is why I don't recommend that people amplify HiFi speakers.
do you recommend putting in an EQS then? I wanted to stay away from adding extra components/wieght to the car.

Yeah, I guess I'm going to have to see about blown speakers. (I made sure to set the gain way below the maximum voltage output specified for 2 ohm subs).

don't get me wrong, the car sounds better than stock, just probably not mind blowing as I'm sure it would if I threw in some Morels and sws's. (which is ok for me because i don't want to hurt my ears )
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      01-12-2011, 05:22 PM   #20
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Don't you think you need speakers next?

Don't you think you need speakers next?
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      01-12-2011, 06:21 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by allmotorh22 View Post
do you recommend putting in an EQS then?
No, not at all - I just disagree with your characterization of the system now being tunable to your preferences.

One, you really don't have much in the way of tunability, and two, fidelity is "truth", not "sensation", so you really want to tune for accuracy rather than pleasingness.

Even with all the potential of things like the MS-8 DSP section, it is still easier to buy speakers with a given electromechanical set of tendencies, than it is to make a system sound like it has good speakers when it has crappy speakers.

The same has been true of active suspension. That tech was supposed to make suspension design irrelevant - but we're not there yet, are we?

I doubt good speakers weigh THAT much more than crappy speakers.
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      01-13-2011, 01:32 AM   #22
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Just curious of how you have the amp attached

Just curious of how you have the amp attached. Did you make something out of the old amp bracket's ?
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