To All Men - Small Packages Are Okay

Do you want a stereo that slams? How about a stereo that shakes everything around it? If you want either one of these, then JL Audio amps are one of the best choices to complete this hard task.

JL Audio has recently started producing amps that really put out some power. I had long been stating that JL Audio has some awesome speakers, but they need to enter the amplifier market, and not long after I stated those words, they released their newest line of amps.

I had the opportunity of installing yet another car stereo for a local stereo fanatic, and of course he chose JL Audio for the equipment, at least on the basis of bass equipment. We decided that we would use four of the 12” DVC W3 subwoofers from their awesome lineup. Since each of these speakers would hold 250 watts continuous, we decided the best amp for each speaker would be the 250/1 amp that they have just released.

After hooking up all the equipment properly, we started up the system. We decided that after the initial install, it would be a good thing to warm up the equipment. Since it was new, we performed a forty minute warm up which was just basically playing normal music from a radio station through the system at about 1/3 the volume of the system.

Forty minutes later it was time to test the beast. I placed into the cd tray a Bass cd. The cd was Bassgasm produced by Techmaster P.E.B. While the cd may be old, it still produces some extremely low frequencies, and will test just about any cd.

We began slowly, and it was a good thing. I did not realize just how much power this amp would put out. Instantly the car was loud, but that was also due to the amount of speakers we had in the car.

As the amp began to peak out, I noticed that there was very little in the way of distortion. This is a great plus when using an amplifier. If an amplifier produces a high level of distortion is can actually cause the speaker that is operating to prematurely age, and eventually give out. This is not the desired response of the amp, and we did not have that problem at all.

I suggested that he take his car to competition and see what he could do. He did, and he placed third on the local market. Not bad for a first time. I don’t do a lot of work after the initial install, so now it is up to him to make it better, but I believe this system will go the distance.

- EASE OF INSTALLATION -

Installation was a breeze, especially with the new Signal-Sensing Remote line feature. Instead of having to run a remote line all the way to where the amp is located, just plug in the RCA-Cables, and when the amp senses that there is a signal going through the line, then it starts up.

Next installing the Power and Ground wires were just as easy. All I had to do was plug in the wires and screw down the setscrews. Both the Power and the Ground wire terminals accept up to 4 Gauge wire. Perfect for high loads, but be careful of the size of the wire, compared to the distance it will travel.

The final step to running this amp was running the RCA and making sure that the speakers were hooked up. Hooking up the RCA took mere moments, as they slide into the slot, but hooking up the speakers were a little more time consuming. The speaker terminals are capable of holding up to 8 Gauge wire, but I would recommend anything lower than 12 Gauge, as that was what we were using. The speaker terminals are the same as the Power and Ground Terminals; they consist of setscrew terminals.

- SPECS -

250 Watts RMS at 1.5 – 4 Ohms (11 Volts – 14.5 Volts)
THD @ 4 Ohms: Less than 0.05%
Signal to Noise Ratio: Greater than 95 db
On-board Crossover: Fully-variable (40-200 Hz), selectable-slope LP (12 or 24 dB per octave)

R.I.P.S Technology
Great Heat Dissipation

- OVERALL -

Overall, I can’t wait to try these amps out on my own vehicle, but I believe I will wait until I can get a hold of the 1000/1 for my Kicker Solo Baric S7 15’s.

These amps will produce all the needed power you can handle, and the price isn’t near as bad as some of the larger amps that everyone spends hundreds of dollars on. Buy this amp if you are serious about making some noise.