lightning audio any good?
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Lightning Audio is another one of those cheap, I'm going to put the peak rating on all the stuff so they sell better type of companies. Most of their stuff isn't too great and very low quality stuff. I heard some of their subs in a friends car and all that came out was loose, horrible sounding, thump. Subs are supposed to thump don't get me wrong but this didn't produce much sound - just bad sounding thump and it kind of took over the car - you couldn't hear much of anything in terms of audio. Maybe it was his amp settigns and his enclosure but it sounded horrible - I would not reccomend Lightning Audio or any little package Best Buy has up for sale.
www.8thgencivics.com
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Texas
Rep Power: 0 They used to be pretty good back in the day. As soon as Best buy and these retail chains started to carry them their quality went down the drain! Started to mass produce and not take their time anymore...
hmmmmmmm.
inflated peak power ratings are part of the game now because of uneducated consumers forcing companies to do that. with stores staffing cashiers instead of salesmen....customers have to buy off what they see. if you dont know jack and you see a 1000 watt 4 channel vs a 100 watt 4 channel for the same price....youre getting the bigger one. and hey its even a name brand (sony) Alpine does it to..their specs say something like 100x4 EAIJ @ 14.4V. i used to sell them. rms power is half that.
rockford amps are made on the same assembly line as the power 1000 and power 650s from back in the day. when i worked there, the 801S still had the same output stage as the 800a2 that was sooooo good back in the day, all fets are still military grade. every amp still gets tested to exceed the power that is advertised, they have at least a two year warranty on the electronics, tech support is good IMO ( i may be biased though) and they are all still made in the USA. the RF amps are the loudest in the world in spl (scott owens in the pioneer truck, loudest in the world last year, alan and bobby riley, jaime de la paz, ect ect) , they also are in one of the top 3 SQ cars along with the RF subs (wilson adcock...look it up)
as far as lighting audio.......i personally tested the lighting audio bolt 350.1 against the RF 300.1 and the JL 250.1 and heres what i found the LA put out more power than both with a lower THD, with less current comsumption, never overheated (well not after 60 minutes) the RF did in 48 mins and the JL in 38. the LA amp did all this for $100 less than the RF and $150 less than the JL. it also offers an over the counter exchange warranty so if somthing goes wrong..you get a new, at the store, that day...no sending it and waiting...
now on the bad side...the bolt stuff at best buy is ugly and im not impressed with the subs...but then again im not really impressed with any sub you can get two for $99 (everybody has them folks, even your beloved alpine that everybody jacks off over)
the Strike stuff is good but im not into the stagared power of the 4 channels and the storm stuff is top notch. check out the modular subs with neo or ceramic magnets, quad or dual voice coils, and aluminum or honeycomb cones. also check the record in extreme 1-2 using X1.2000.1d's. if you get a chance listen to the storm components that beat the MB Quart Q series in a blind listening test from 10 out of 15 employees when i was there. also see the storm amps with 24db per octave xovers, fully adjustable, dual power supplys, 4 ga power and ground, subsonic filters and fully adjustable phase control.
post some of the stuff that you guys all love and im sure LA will match up spec for spec, with a better warranty, for less money and probly put out more real world power.
i havent ever bashed an amp manufacturer on this board ( i take that back...i went thru 4 infinity amps in 5 months) and i dont understand where all the hostility comes from for my former employer. if you say you went thru 3 of them and you had bad customer service then post that, if you dont like the way it looks or sounds then post that but having a moderator with say "worst amp ever" when the model number isnt even posted is just ignorant. especially when the mod that needs to stay in the lighting forum with the sweet LEDs and neon rope.
EDIT: and a sweet analog voltmeter. im sure it gets you tons of info...hmmm..i can tell the voltage is between 12 and 14..sweeeet. glad i put this in..
TALK TO ME PEOPLE!!!
inflated peak power ratings are part of the game now because of uneducated consumers forcing companies to do that. with stores staffing cashiers instead of salesmen....customers have to buy off what they see. if you dont know jack and you see a 1000 watt 4 channel vs a 100 watt 4 channel for the same price....youre getting the bigger one. and hey its even a name brand (sony) Alpine does it to..their specs say something like 100x4 EAIJ @ 14.4V. i used to sell them. rms power is half that.
rockford amps are made on the same assembly line as the power 1000 and power 650s from back in the day. when i worked there, the 801S still had the same output stage as the 800a2 that was sooooo good back in the day, all fets are still military grade. every amp still gets tested to exceed the power that is advertised, they have at least a two year warranty on the electronics, tech support is good IMO ( i may be biased though) and they are all still made in the USA. the RF amps are the loudest in the world in spl (scott owens in the pioneer truck, loudest in the world last year, alan and bobby riley, jaime de la paz, ect ect) , they also are in one of the top 3 SQ cars along with the RF subs (wilson adcock...look it up)
as far as lighting audio.......i personally tested the lighting audio bolt 350.1 against the RF 300.1 and the JL 250.1 and heres what i found the LA put out more power than both with a lower THD, with less current comsumption, never overheated (well not after 60 minutes) the RF did in 48 mins and the JL in 38. the LA amp did all this for $100 less than the RF and $150 less than the JL. it also offers an over the counter exchange warranty so if somthing goes wrong..you get a new, at the store, that day...no sending it and waiting...
now on the bad side...the bolt stuff at best buy is ugly and im not impressed with the subs...but then again im not really impressed with any sub you can get two for $99 (everybody has them folks, even your beloved alpine that everybody jacks off over)
the Strike stuff is good but im not into the stagared power of the 4 channels and the storm stuff is top notch. check out the modular subs with neo or ceramic magnets, quad or dual voice coils, and aluminum or honeycomb cones. also check the record in extreme 1-2 using X1.2000.1d's. if you get a chance listen to the storm components that beat the MB Quart Q series in a blind listening test from 10 out of 15 employees when i was there. also see the storm amps with 24db per octave xovers, fully adjustable, dual power supplys, 4 ga power and ground, subsonic filters and fully adjustable phase control.
post some of the stuff that you guys all love and im sure LA will match up spec for spec, with a better warranty, for less money and probly put out more real world power.
i havent ever bashed an amp manufacturer on this board ( i take that back...i went thru 4 infinity amps in 5 months) and i dont understand where all the hostility comes from for my former employer. if you say you went thru 3 of them and you had bad customer service then post that, if you dont like the way it looks or sounds then post that but having a moderator with say "worst amp ever" when the model number isnt even posted is just ignorant. especially when the mod that needs to stay in the lighting forum with the sweet LEDs and neon rope.
EDIT: and a sweet analog voltmeter. im sure it gets you tons of info...hmmm..i can tell the voltage is between 12 and 14..sweeeet. glad i put this in..
TALK TO ME PEOPLE!!!
Last edited by alex053; Sep 13, 2004 at 07:09 PM.
The LA Clipper
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Yeah, I am tired of all the bashing without facts that I have seen lately. You can't compare the LA stuff that they sell at best buy with top of the line stuff from other companies...the Bestbuy stuff caters to a particular type of consumer, and it just so happens that LA has identified that market to sell their lower tier product too...ain't nothing wrong with that in my opinion. 
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