Upgrading from Shiva (1 Viewer)

[Mike-Hatheway]

Hey guys,
Just over Christmas break I built myself a 54 L sealed Shiva, using the Parts Express 250 W amp for power. I have been nothing but pleased with this sub, and it has had quite substantial output in both my dorm room, and the large open living room in my parents home. But upgraditis struck me as soon as I saw the MPC200 in this thread .Wow, 700 watts into 4 ohms, for 140 bucks?!? I knew I just had to get this amp, it really does seem to be too good of a deal to pass up. Now I probably wont even be utilizing the new sub I would build until quite some time into the future, seeing as theres no room to put the size of sub you would need to take that kind of power in a dorm room(or in my room at home). So that means I would have to wait until I get my own apartment, or house(i.e. graduate from college, move out on my own, experience the real world, etc.) to even have somewhere to house this thing. So by the time I get around to buying the drivers im going to use, will this amp even be impressive anymore? That's one concern. Another is, just how much output will I gain over my current sub(54 L sealed Shiva, 250 W amp) with say, a 194L dual PR Tempest using this amp? Will it be a big enough gain for me to justify $300 on new drivers, and $140 on a new amp? I would be much obliged if you guys could point me in the right direction here, and if you have any suggestions for different subs to build based on this amp, that would just great. I am not aversed to scooping this amp up and holding on to it for a long time, if it really is as good as I'm thinking it is. So there are my concerns in a, ehrm...nutshell. Well, I guess it is the whole damned tree, but you're guidance and input is still much appreciated

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Mike, there will be a HUGE difference between those two subs. The tempest+PRs design with the large amp will rattle your brains. I went from a Dayton 12" DVC + PR in an 85L enclosure tuned to 22hz to a ~1.2cu. ft. enclosure with the same sub and there is a large difference. The small sealed sub is great but I've missed the very low notes when watching movies. I think you'd be very pleased with the upgrade. Just my opinion though.

 

[Mike-Hatheway]

Jeffrey,
Thanks for the reply. That's what I was hoping, that the output would be so much more noticeable. And with seeing how many people I see snatching one of these up, Im thinking of just getting one and seeing what comes of it. The way I see it, if I do buy it, then I guess I'll just be forced to do something with it, right? Thanks again for the reply. Best regards.

Mike

 

[Frank Carter]

You probably aleady know, but in case you just skimmed that thread about the JBL amps, they require modifications to make them work with normal 120V AC power.

You should see a significant different in performance going from a sealed Shiva to a PR'd Tempest. The Tempest can displace about 40% more air than a Shiva for a just a tad more money.