...at 400w and best of all he is willing to give it to me for $60...

Just remember what I said before... in amplifiers, you tend to get what you pay for. My suspicion, possibly quite unfounded, is that if he is willing to sell a little-used 400 watt amplifier for $60, it may not have been a very good amplifier in the first place.

What sort of amplifier you want depends on what sort of sound you want. There are two general schools here: Sound Quality and Sound Pressure Level. SQ people want the best possible reproduction of the sound; SPL people want the loudest possible sound. Both are valid outlooks, and I take no sides in the debate, other than to mention that SPL people are generally mouth-breathing knuckle-dragging lunatics with more money than good sense, while SQ people tend to be sensitive, intelligent, and would never cast aspersions on other people's taste in stereo equipment. But, I digress...

If your primary interest is heavy, thumping bass to impress the people who ride in your car, an inexpensive 400 watt amplifier (plus a couple of big subwoofers) will do the trick. If, on the other hand, you are building a stereo system that makes you wish your commute were longer and that you can listen to without pause on a 10 hour road trip, then trade off high power for high quality instead. A high quality 200 watt amplifier (one that sold for $350-$600 originally) will make you happier than a 400 watt amplifier that sold originally for $199.

Disclaimer: The above is just my NSHO, is not based on any scientific research but is just the result of my own experience and prejudices. YMMV. :-)

tanstaafl.





"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"