Wolfram or Zapco?

[Dan17ExplLtd]

Following this thread (the little bit of it that isn't about shipping) I am down to either the WA W-1500.1 or the Zapco ST-1650XM II to drive my 2 Audiofrog GB12D4s. It'll be a 1 ohm load to the amp. Thoughts? Experiences? Suggestions?

[Hillbilly SQ]

From what I've read about both amps I'd do with Wolfram. I have nothing to base this on but my gut feeling says the Wolfram is probably better built than the Zapco ST.

[Dan17ExplLtd]

I remember a dyno test that didn't go well with the ST-1350 but that amp turned out to be a refurb. Still I'll put one in the Wolfram column. I'm totally okay with saving that $80 but also totally okay with spending it if others feel the Zap is a better amp.

[blockrocker]

Zapco is a great brand in general, but I literally couldn't get one in Canada, as they no longer have a Canadian distributor. Mitek Canada is disassociating from the brand. I'm not sure if any of this is relevant but it made me a bit unsure of what is going on internally at Zapco right now. Even FX Audio in Edmonton couldn't get me one and they have as much reach as anyone in the province. I'm sure woofers.com would have sent me one, but the Mmats people took good care of me.

5.1 on the Wolfram to 4.9 on the Zapco. That particular Zapco only though. Just my 2 cents.

[jettyman]

I remember a dyno test that didn't go well with the ST-1350 but that amp turned out to be a refurb. Still I'll put one in the Wolfram column. I'm totally okay with saving that $80 but also totally okay with spending it if others feel the Zap is a better amp.

Ryan Blankenship got a brand new one and it did exactly the same thing. Blew the same fet that was repaired on the refub amp when he went to 1 ohm. So he didn't post the video on that.

[ckirocz28]

Following this thread (the little bit of it that isn't about shipping) I am down to either the WA W-1500.1 or the Zapco ST-1650XM II to drive my 2 Audiofrog GB12D4s. It'll be a 1 ohm load to the amp. Thoughts? Experiences? Suggestions?

I brought up the shipping, I couldn't help it.
If you're looking to save money, get the Wolfram.
If you want Zapco, don't buy the cheap Zapco, buy the good Zapco. Like this one:
https://www.zapco.com/z-2kd-2
I firmly believe there is an upcharge for a good name brand (advertising costs), so a not so good name brand MAY be able to provide a better quality product for the same money. Wolfram's customer support was amazing with helping to determine what Fedex had done with one of my amplifiers. As for Zapco, they were just out of my price range for the amount of power I needed, I would have gotten 2 Z-2kd-2's, 4000 watts for twice the price of 6000 watts from Wolfram. My 2 Wolfram W-3000.1's seem rock solid running at roughly half power.

[JCsAudio]

I ran a Zapco ST 850 once and quickly removed it and put back the JBL that was there before it. I vote Wolfram too. The budget St and SQ line of Zapcos is over rated and living on a reputation from the past in my opinion.

[Dan17ExplLtd]

I brought up the shipping, I couldn't help it. ... As for Zapco, they were just out of my price range for the amount of power I needed, I would have gotten 2 Z-2kd-2's, 4000 watts for twice the price of 6000 watts from Wolfram. My 2 Wolfram W-3000.1's seem rock solid running at roughly half power.

No worries about the shipping. I enjoyed the back and forth. My biggest shipping issues have been with USPS. FedEx and UPS have always been good to me.

That's a lot of power. What are the amps driving?

[ckirocz28]

No worries about the shipping. I enjoyed the back and forth. My biggest shipping issues have been with USPS. FedEx and UPS have always been good to me.

That's a lot of power. What are the amps driving?

Two CSS SDX12's (sealed) at about 1800 watts each, really less, but that's what the gains are set for with a 40 hz 0 db sine wave. That combination easily gets down into the single digit frequency range, it can replicate an earthquake or a rocket launch (the feeling, not the spl). I'm just nuts about that sort of LFE.

[Hillbilly SQ]

I ran a Zapco ST 850 once and quickly removed it and put back the JBL that was there before it. I vote Wolfram too. The budget St and SQ line of Zapcos is over rated and living on a reputation from the past in my opinion.

The ST fullrange amps do sound really good for what you pay for them. Far better than some amps I've used that cost a lot more. I do agree with some that the quality of the ST amps doesn't leave me feeling warm and fuzzy. You have to think about how at their price point they have to be cutting corners somewhere. And I think I remember Ryan talking about some fishy behavior between Aurigan (the Italian distributor) and the shipping company.