Boss Audio amps - Which should I choose???

[stevo1210]

I'm currently re-doing my Jukebox for my living room which some of you are aware of. It's built off car audio stuff for those who aren't aware... if you want to see what it looks like, I had a thread on here about it somewhere.

Anyway, I am being offered two amps by a friend for a very cheap price of $20 and $25 respectively. Both Boss audio brand and reason for sale is they are EOL at his store and he found these at the bottom of the stockpile... if I don't take them, then he will resell it on the discount table at his shop.

Anyway... two "Boss audio" 4ch amps. Both 200W RMS (50W x 4). My power supply is a 12V 20A unit which is used for an industrial CNC controller so it's not a problem with the power here (All NCC caps!).

Boss R1004

- Frequency Response: 12 to 22000 Hz
- Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) @ RMS Output: 0.01%
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): 90 dB
- Minimum Speaker Impedance: 2 Ohms

Boss CE404

- Frequency Response: 12 to 22000 Hz
- Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) @ RMS Output: 0.05%
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): 95 dB
- Minimum Speaker Impedance: 2 Ohms

The CE404 is $25 and the latter is $20. I don't know what these numbers mean... but which one is the better one by looking at those specs?

Yes I am aware it's Boss audio, blah blah... but for $20-25 I can't say no!

[mariushm]

Re: Boss Audio amps - Which should I choose???

What?!

Both CE404 and R1004 are about 35$ new... you're drooling over a 10$ discount?

ce404: http://www.amazon.com/Boss-Audio-CE4.../dp/B004S4XM18
r1004: http://www.amazon.com/electronics/dp/B004S50ZDA

They both suck, but if you'd hold me at gunpoint, I'd go with the r1004 simply because it's heavier and has lower thd (though with crappy speakers it doesn't matter)

[stevo1210]

Re: Boss Audio amps - Which should I choose???

What?!

Both CE404 and R1004 are about 35$ new... you're drooling over a 10$ discount?

ce404: http://www.amazon.com/Boss-Audio-CE4.../dp/B004S4XM18
r1004: http://www.amazon.com/electronics/dp/B004S50ZDA

They both suck, but if you'd hold me at gunpoint, I'd go with the r1004 simply because it's heavier and has lower thd (though with crappy speakers it doesn't matter)

$35 if I was in the USA. Cheapest I could find here RRP is $75! I don't think No-Name China made amps even exist under the $50 price tag here.

Using a 4CH amp to power my Nakamichi speakers. It'll be better than the head unit powering it... that's for sure. LOL. My head unit, a JVC KD-R206 has been powering these speakers for over a year now, no problems at all... but I guess it is time for an amp...

[logic7]

Re: Boss Audio amps - Which should I choose???

I know this is an old thread, but I'm an old-school car audio salesman and installer.


Boss = garbage.

I wouldn't touch anything with the Boss name on it. We used to call their power ratings "ILS Ratings"

If Lightning Strikes.

The only good use for a Boss amp is paperweight or doorstop.

[tom66]

Re: Boss Audio amps - Which should I choose???

Into 4 ohms (minimum typical you'd find in a home audio system) you'd be lucky to see 53W peak power, if you like listening to square waves. But if you listen to sine waves, like normal humans, reduce the rating by about half. At 12V, the ratings will be even lower, so you might get 36W/ch at 1% THD.

Better solution: pick up a decent used stereo mains powered amp, you can get them for very little from most good-will/discount shops and often free on the internet as most people are throwing them out. You'll need two to get 4 channels, but they'll easily be able to do 60~150W/channel with nearly zero distortion in their operating power range. A 6 channel AVR will also work well, though some of the power ratings on those are a little more... dubious.

Remember to double perceived loudness, you need to increase power by 10x. So 3.6W is half as loud as 36W into the same speaker (ignoring speaker/wiring losses, but it's generally accurate.)

[momaka]

Re: Boss Audio amps - Which should I choose???

I don't know what these numbers mean... but which one is the better one by looking at those specs?

They are both more or less equivalent. I'd probably go with the R1004 since it has lower distortion (lower THD) as mariushm mentioned. But if you like the design of the CE404 better, then go with that. Either way, you probably won't notice much difference in the performance.

I agree with the others, you can probably get a better deal for $20-25 if you look around. But if you don't want to deal with that, then this would be an okay deal. Grab one and let it rip . If you keep the music at a reasonable volume level, you probably won't notice much (if any) distortion.