Sporting expanses of brushed aluminum and chrome, Profile's California Series CA800 2-channel amplif
Sporting expanses of brushed aluminum and chrome, Profile's California Series CA800 2-channel amplifier definitely looks expensive. So, you may not believe your eyes when you check the price! Once again, Profile has come through with an amp that gives you more power for your dollar this monster checks in at 600 watts RMS x 1 in bridged mode!
200 watts RMS x 2 at 4 ohms
300 watts RMS x 2 at 2 ohms
600 watts RMS x 1 bridged output at 4 ohms
4-ohm stable in bridged mode
stereo or bridged mono output
Tri-way capable
requires 4-gauge power and ground leads wiring and hardware not included with amplifier
accepts up to 6-gauge speaker wire
variable 40-500 Hz low-pass and high-pass crossovers, 12 dB/octave
Summary: Got this amp at a bit of a discount because I had purchased a kenwood reciever a week ago. It came with a 3 year warrenty instead of 1 year because I purchased it from Crutchfield. After getting the amp hooked up and running, I must say I was very impressed. That's why I'm writing this review so soon. Before my purchase I dug out my old Car Sterro Review and Car Audio and Electronics Magazines from years past. I remembered seeing Profile amps reviewed.
To be more precise, the CA&E review (SPL 100) was from May 1996 and won first in the two channel category beating Kicker and Hifonics, the CSR was from Sept 1999 (JAM 600.4) was just a review by the reputable Ken C. Pohlmann. To quote Ken: "As with other Profile equipment, the emphasis is on value, and the aim is to provide good performance at a low price. The J600.4 is a damn good power amplifier and its price makes it a fantastic deal. Just when you thought the big boys have sewn up the amp market, it's good to seea newcomer pop up with a great product that really delivers bang for the buck." In his lab tests, the Profile met or exceeded the manufacturers RMS ratings. I have older mags with ads going back to the early nineties so I figured if they've been around that long and getting stellar reviews then they're doing something right.
I have the amp on 2 dual voice coil Kicker 12's wired to produce a measured 3.8 ohms. I have the amp bridged mono to power the subs. This the the first real power I've put on these subs and I can't tell you how impressed I am.
In the past I have owned a Kenwood KAC-923 MTX Road Thunder 2300, 4320, and 2160 as well as Various amps by Rockford Fosgate, Pioneer, and US Amps. The MTX 2300 being the most powerful, measured at 840watts rms with 14.4V. I must say this amp is probably indistinguishable listening wise from that amp. The CA800 is rated at 600 watts RMS and Im not sure if thats at 14.4 or 12V. But you have to double the power to get a 3db increase in sound. As you can imagine The Profile is mighty brutal and the price is really peanuts compared to Rockford, MTX, and other brands.
I am going to save up enough money to buy a four channel for midbass, midrange, and tweeters before they decide to ditch the brushed aluminum in favor or something else. The californias used to be white. The californias in brushed aluminum look great.
If this amp holds up, it will be well worth the price paid, and actually worth twice as much at minumum. The only reason I'm not giving this amp 5 stars on the overall rating, is because I dont know how long it'll last or what kind of service you get from the manufacturer. MTX fixed my old 2300 for 65.00 once when it wasnt covered under warrenty. They simply put a new board in it. In fact I bought the 4320 used and it didnt work at all for 30 dollars simply because I knew I could send it off and get it fixed like new for next to nothing.
Strengths: MEGAWATTS without spending MEGABUCKS! The brushed aluminum looks good in my opinion. Built in high and low pass filters and 12db bass boost @ 40hz(most amps do this nowadays though). The power and speaker terminals are gold with the allen set screws. I forgot what you call that, but I like em much better than amps with phillips screw spade connectors. Did I mention this thing has more power than George Foreman's "Gerital" Punch?
Weaknesses: The filter slopes seem to be really low, like 6db/octave. I read in one of the reviews that it varies depending on the crossover frequency. We'll see, if it holds up or not.
Similar Products Used: MTX Road Thunder 2300, 2160, 4320. Kenwood KAC 923, Us AMPS (forgot the model). and My friend let me hook up his Kicker in my car once, (cant remember the model number but it was the biggest one when they came out with the greyish amps with the removable modules something like 1000 watts @ 2 ohms). RF 2300x. Can't think of any more.
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Summary: Got this amp at a bit of a discount because I had purchased a kenwood reciever a week ago. It came with a 3 year warrenty instead of 1 year because I purchased it from Crutchfield. After getting the amp hooked up and running, I must say I was very impressed. That's why I'm writing this review so soon. Before my purchase I dug out my old Car Sterro Review and Car Audio and Electronics Magazines from years past. I remembered seeing Profile amps reviewed.
To be more precise, the CA&E review (SPL 100) was from May 1996 and won first in the two channel category beating Kicker and Hifonics, the CSR was from Sept 1999 (JAM 600.4) was just a review by the reputable Ken C. Pohlmann. To quote Ken: "As with other Profile equipment, the emphasis is on value, and the aim is to provide good performance at a low price. The J600.4 is a damn good power amplifier and its price makes it a fantastic deal. Just when you thought the big boys have sewn up the amp market, it's good to seea newcomer pop up with a great product that really delivers bang for the buck." In his lab tests, the Profile met or exceeded the manufacturers RMS ratings. I have older mags with ads going back to the early nineties so I figured if they've been around that long and getting stellar reviews then they're doing something right.
I have the amp on 2 dual voice coil Kicker 12's wired to produce a measured 3.8 ohms. I have the amp bridged mono to power the subs. This the the first real power I've put on these subs and I can't tell you how impressed I am.
In the past I have owned a Kenwood KAC-923 MTX Road Thunder 2300, 4320, and 2160 as well as Various amps by Rockford Fosgate, Pioneer, and US Amps. The MTX 2300 being the most powerful, measured at 840watts rms with 14.4V. I must say this amp is probably indistinguishable listening wise from that amp. The CA800 is rated at 600 watts RMS and Im not sure if thats at 14.4 or 12V. But you have to double the power to get a 3db increase in sound. As you can imagine The Profile is mighty brutal and the price is really peanuts compared to Rockford, MTX, and other brands.
I am going to save up enough money to buy a four channel for midbass, midrange, and tweeters before they decide to ditch the brushed aluminum in favor or something else. The californias used to be white. The californias in brushed aluminum look great.
If this amp holds up, it will be well worth the price paid, and actually worth twice as much at minumum. The only reason I'm not giving this amp 5 stars on the overall rating, is because I dont know how long it'll last or what kind of service you get from the manufacturer. MTX fixed my old 2300 for 65.00 once when it wasnt covered under warrenty. They simply put a new board in it. In fact I bought the 4320 used and it didnt work at all for 30 dollars simply because I knew I could send it off and get it fixed like new for next to nothing.
Strengths: MEGAWATTS without spending MEGABUCKS! The brushed aluminum looks good in my opinion. Built in high and low pass filters and 12db bass boost @ 40hz(most amps do this nowadays though). The power and speaker terminals are gold with the allen set screws. I forgot what you call that, but I like em much better than amps with phillips screw spade connectors. Did I mention this thing has more power than George Foreman's "Gerital" Punch?
Weaknesses: The filter slopes seem to be really low, like 6db/octave. I read in one of the reviews that it varies depending on the crossover frequency. We'll see, if it holds up or not.
Similar Products Used: MTX Road Thunder 2300, 2160, 4320. Kenwood KAC 923, Us AMPS (forgot the model). and My friend let me hook up his Kicker in my car once, (cant remember the model number but it was the biggest one when they came out with the greyish amps with the removable modules something like 1000 watts @ 2 ohms). RF 2300x. Can't think of any more.
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Rating Reviewed by: hushdc4(Unregistered User)
Review Date September 3, 2003
Overall Rating 2 of 5
Value Rating 3 of 5
Used product for 1 to 3 months
Review 3 of 4
Price Paid:
$102.00
from eBay
Year / Model Reviewed: CA800
Summary: Good amp for running a pair of 6"x9"'s.
Im now using this amp to power my 12" alpine type r at 8 ohms, cant bridge it down to 2 ohms. It pushes real nice though but yea the bad thing is you cant wire it down to 2 ohms.
Strengths: Good power.
Weaknesses: cant wire the amp down to 2 ohms.
Similar Products Used: Kicker,Fosgate,JL audio
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Rating Reviewed by: groethe(Unregistered User)
Review Date August 6, 2003
Overall Rating 2 of 5
Value Rating 3 of 5
Used product for Less than 1 month
Review 4 of 4
Price Paid:
$150.00
from Ebay
Year / Model Reviewed: 2003 CA800
Summary: The amplifier would be much more effective if it were 2 ohm stable. I have 2 12" subs at 4 ohm, and I can't bridge them to fully use the amp.
Strengths: Power
Weaknesses: Stability at less than 2 ohm. Tells me that it can't take too much of a load.
Similar Products Used: I've used Rockford Fosgate amps in the past and have always felt safe because I know they can handle 2 ohm (and even less-although not recommended).
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