Alpine MRV-T707

Price Paid:  $250.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 MRV T707

Strengths:
Sound Quality, reliability, produces more than rated power

Weaknesses:
Paint may chip, quite bulky

Summary:
The Alpine MRV T707 is a 2 channel amp rated at 70RMSx2, 240x1RMS @12V and 100RMSx2, 340RMSx1 @14.4V. My first impressions of the amp was that it was solidly built and physically a bit bigger than I expected. I think for the size and weight of it you might expect more power than it actually produces. The heat sink is covered in black wrinkle paint which I presume is to dissapate heat, it also has an alloy insert with the V12 Logo and green led in it. Although it looks great, the paint scrapes off fairly easily so it would be best to mount it somewhere it would not face a lot of wear and tear. The power, ground, remote and speaker terminals are a gold plated screw down type which can be used for either bare wire or spade terminals. The user has the choice of either RCA or speaker level inputs depending on the type of outputs your head unit has. The amp is fused via two normal sized 20 amp fuses. All of the control knobs and switches are located at the other end of the amp which worked out great for me since I had it under my seat and I was able to adjust it from the back without disturbing any of the wiring. As well as the usual Gain control, input mode, LP/HP/off and crossover knobs there are also phase selector, subsonic filter and a bass EQ switches. All switches and knobs are recessed so they cannot be bumped or adjusted without a small screwdriver. I have owned this amp since early 2001, and I initially got it to power my Audiophile 12 inch sub. The T707 powered it with ease producing a nice clean bass without distortion although I had the gains set conservatively because the sub is only rated at 150RMS. After a four hour drive with constant playing the amp was only warm to the touch, I wish I could say this for my other V12 amps which have been known to melt the floor mats. Since buying a new sub and sub amp I have been using the T707 to run my rear Audiophile 5.25 inch components, the sound quality is brilliant and the speakers are able to be turned up very loud before any distortion is apparant; although the speakers do not like a lot of bass and I would like to test it further with a pair of 6.5's. The main gripe I have with this amp is that it is not a big step forward from the previous V12's and for half the price you could pick up an MRV 1005 which would produce a lot more power. I managed to pick mine up cheap as an ex-demo model and found the manual online so it was a pretty good deal. The amp does however have some extra features from the previous models which should be taken into account and it doesn't have the over heating problem of its predecessors. Overall it has been a great amp, doing everything I have wanted it to do with no problems whatsoever so if you're in the market for a reliable sub or component speaker amp I would definately recommend this one.

Similar Products Used:
Alpine MRV 1005

Price Paid:  $250.00 from Local Dealer

Year / Model Reviewed:
 MRV-T707

Strengths:
Smooth And Clear Bass

Weaknesses:
Peaks Low At 600W Not Quite Enough For 2 12's (Depending)

Summary:
Its A Great Amp. It hasn't let me down, although I'm not looking for competition quality.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer is my next best bet.

Price Paid:  $219.00 from Ultimate Electronics

Year / Model Reviewed:
 2001

Strengths:
ouch- my eardrums hurt, and the amp has yet to even think about distortion.

Weaknesses:
no preouts

Summary:
This amp is unbelievable, sound quality and power are amazing, the amp is extremely versatile. It pushes four infinity kappa 6.5''s effortlessly, (If you want amazing mids and highs, you might consider this setup) when playing at its loudest, you may want to think about listening from outside the car. The only potential drawback of this amp is the lack of preouts, easy drawback to get around though- either buy a head unit with plenty of preouts, or run this amp with another amp that does have preouts.

Similar Products Used:
rockford fosgate punch 160.2

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Local Alpine Dealer

Year / Model Reviewed:
 2001

Strengths:
Versatile, powerful, quality control at alpine is excellent.

Weaknesses:
Cuts out at high volume, may be my fault. Possibly not too stable at 2ohms.

Summary:
Excellent amp. Due to some idiots wiring my sub box wrong I have only managed to get it running fully in the last month. I am running twin Diamond M3s (10") at 2 ohms. The idiots wired it up to run at 8 ohms, even at this it produced enough thump to push on my vital organs. Has convinced me to go for a full alpine setup.

Similar Products Used:
Sencor A1, Caliber CA80.4

Price Paid:  $350.00 from local high end deale

Strengths:
sound quality and sustained high current delivery.

Weaknesses:
lack of pre-out. come on alpine for this money you can solder on the extra compnents needed that gives so much more system flexability. this is why it drops a star.

Summary:
sound quality and volume level is beyond reproach. used to run 2 10s, 6&1/2s and tweets via kenwood passives (which eat a lot of power) clarity, sound staging and detail levels are high, it never sounds strained and never shuts down even playing d&b for prolonged periods at high volume.

Similar Products Used:
sony equivalent and unbranded amplifiers in my younger and poorer years. they dont compare....