Customer Reviews

Alpine PDX-5 - Amplifier - 4-channel plus Mono-power

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I felt compelled to write a review after owning and playing with this amp for a month.I read alot of reviews before buying and they were mostly positive with a few sub power complaints.I've been a car audio fan for more years than I like to mention,and tend to stick with JL,Boston,old Kicker or MB Quart speakers and Alpine or old Blaupunkt amps.

First off, if you want power to blow away your buddies with a bass competition,will be bummed by not not being able to listen to body panel flex outside or blow dry your hair,look for something else.

The front and rear sections of the amp are more than enough for most anyone, but the sub section has it's limitations. It came with a factory output sheet of 94x4 and 400x1 RMS. Nothing needs to be said about the 94x4 as it is quite good all the way around. The sub section is 400W RMS but really hits more like 200W RMS. I replaced an old Blaupunkt 5ch rated at 50x4 and 150 RMS. The Alpine 4ch section is twice the juice of my old amp as rated, but the sub output is not much more powerful.

I have spent much time making numerous adjustments and have come to the conclusion that the sub section on the Alpine amp is ok, but not for a kickdrum slam worshiper. I have a Peerless XXLS 10 in a sealed box.It is 2ohms and rated at 175W RMS. It sounds very good and accurate, yet seems to run out of steam. I swapped it with a $250 JL 10 and it made no real difference.This is in a standard cab full size truck.This amp does well and is accurate for subs rated at similar wattage, but dont expect it to throttle your 1000 watt RMS competition sub. For efficient enclosures/ported boxes I feel it would likely be much better than my setup being a sealed box design takes a bit more juice to ramp up.

**listening to a rap or what I will call "hanging bass" cd the sub appeared louder and cleaner. I listen mostly to hard rock though and like a hard kickdrum hit. My matched sub and sealed box volume was chosen for the purpose.It is rated at 175W RMS so pushing to capacity yet not overdriving is not a problem.I am happy with the performance of the amp in this system because I had realistic expectations,though I was hoping to be surprised.

For sealed designs It appears it should be ok for most.Overall I do like the amp and the headroom I now have for the other channels. The adjustability/versatility of this unit is well done in a small all-in-one solution that won't have your alternator crying for mercy. Was it worth spending $350 over what I already had? Yes for the size and power efficiency,yes for the 4ch headroom,a wash for sound quality (the old Blau is quite good) and a marginal yes for the sub output. I am not trashing this amp. It is a very good 5ch solution that performs well with an ample,yet not powerhouse sub section.

I have this small size amp hooked to my Infinity Kappa 63.7i in my front doors, Infinity Reference 9613i in the rear and Infinity Kappa 120.3se sub woofer , they are loud, clear and detailed
If you don't want to upgrade your alternator or you don't have enough size in you can, but still want a loud clean system then this is the amp for you
It's really as it's called THE FANTASTIC 5

If you're already sold on this amp and just looking for a cheerleader to give you positive reinforcement before you spend the money, go ahead and click the "Not helpful" button and move on to the next review. If you're interested in sound quality, read on.

Take a look at Alpine's website and check the specs on this amp. You'll see the signal-to-noise ratio is 76 dBA. Compare that to other amps in this range and you should see numbers in the low to mid 90s. For example, the Alpine PDX-F4 (same list price, different configuration) has a 95 dBA s/n ratio. If you're not technically minded, what this number means is that you will hear a lot of noise coming from this amp. And I mean a lot. It's not just barely noticeable noise, it's a distracting amount. I made the mistake of purchasing this amp without looking at the specs carefully. My mistake.

This amp save you from having to install another amp for sub woofer, unless you really want a powerful bass. For me, it's good enough. The amp is small enough to install under the passenger seat. The unit I received was defective because one channel is not working. AudioSource was quick in responding to my email and resent a good one right away. This prove that shopping at Amazon give me confidence. Others take too long to response or never care.

This amp is excellent! I have two pair of Focal Access 165 A1 and a Focal 25 A1 subwoofer connected to it. The HU is a Pioneer P800PRS. I can hear every detail in any kind of music. All the instruments played nicely. There are no overlaps. The drums plays as never, the guitars are really real and the metals, they do their own show. And those details, they appear if I hearing the music at a really low volume or if it really loud and without any distortion.
Everything is stunning! The best amp I ever had (until now).

This a great amp for an awesome price. The unit is extremely small for putting out so much power. It comes with a certification sheet from the factory. Mine shows 112w x 4 and 412w x 1. The terminals on the unit are great. You dont need any little ring terminals or anything.

Cant reccomend this unit enough

I just recieved this amp and it took all of about 20 minutes to hook it into my system. I bought this unit to replace my Directed 2600 5 channel amp,which was suppose to be the best for the money around, I say Naih Naih This baby kicks that amps butt hands down. I have a full Alpine system in my 2000 dodge 4by except of course for the pwr amp.Which at the time in order to have Alpine would have cost an arm and a leg litteraly. Looking at the size of these amps, you get an unsure feeling of their ability. But today It was proven to me Alpine rules. This amp far surpasses anything Directed can put out. It has incredible rms. power it peaks so clean and clear I can't even turn it up over 75%. It doesn't clip , it runs cold and produces the best sound i have head in car audio ever before. I have been an audio engineer for the last 40 years, and I'm here to tell ya this baby kills. I have allways been an avid Alpime customer and from this day on I allways will be. No doubts any more. Also hats off to Pacific Stereo for a great price. As allways they beat out every one else by 60%. It's allways a pleasure to do business with honest, true sound officiato's.

The instructions were very simple and clear. The sound quality produced from the amp is great. Even with the installation being in a 1986 F150 the sound quality is very good without ajusting the gains. I had an Alpine system in a Mustang and was very pleased so I wanted to use the same brand in my truck. I will always use Alpine.

This small amp does it all! it's pushin two sets of infinity separates and two 8" jbls.The factory radio never sounded that great in my 09' Tacoma!

I am using this AMP to run my entire system. This amp works great. It is compact but powerful. I was running a Fosgate amp before and I have to say the sound quality completely changed for the better when I went with this Alpine amp.