Fried the 17 year old 500 watt @4 Ohm Bob Carver Sunfire Amp in my ARS500 sub. Checked the 15" driver with my shop Sub amp and it's fine and enclosure is still pristine. I shopped for reasonably priced ($250-$350) replacement Sub plate amps but it seems from long term reviews their all pretty much junk. Looks like I can get a decent 1000 Watt @2 Ohm (500 Watt @ 4 Ohm) auto Sub Amp and 750 watt CPS for around $250 combined with decent low THD. Anyone go this route? Quite a few youtube vids on this hack.

I know, go be poor somewhere else.

You aren't factoring in the amperage draw from even a very efficient class D car amp will be enormous.  In the video below, the amp pulled 50 amps of power to produce 517 watts of power to the speaker.  While that isn't constant, the power supply will had to do that and sometimes repeatedly depending on what you are listening to.  If it can't pull that amperage, the voltage will drop.  When that happens, the amp will either shut down or release the magic smoke.




disconnect the plate amp and leave it (or remove it and fill the hole with a piece of plywood) and use an external amp like the Crown XLS 1002.  They are good amps.  I use the older model to push my left/center/right speakers.

My mains are La Scala's. I only used the last powered subs output at around 25% just to accurately accent the very lowest frequencies. I am still shopping for a minimum of 50 Amp power supply. I really am attracted to the 5-10 year warranty on the better PSU's. I'm using the Gallo sub out of my shop right now so I have plenty of time to shop. If I had the typical cheesy satellite system with the tiny speakers that totally relied on the sub for the entire mid and low frequencies then I would be screwed. That's not the case, I have lots of options.

Thanks!

External amp or https://www.parts-express.com/itemcategory/Subwoofer-Plate-Amplifiers?order=pricelevel12:asc&keywords=plate%20amp

I looked at their plate amps first because I've had good luck over the years with their drivers for both my outdoor 5.1 systems. Wasn't really impressed with the reviews on any of the suitable 500Watt @ 4 Ohm amps. It's still up in the air but the easiest route would be to just snag one of their cheapo plate amps like this https://www.parts-express.com/Yung-SD500-500W-Class-D-Subwoofer-Amp-Module-No-Boost-301-512 and roll the dice and be done with it. The PSU/car sub route is looking like more of a PITA than I originally conceptualized.

Thanks!

The headache and losses involved with a 12v power supply and car amp overshadow the possibility of cheap wattage.  Does your area have an ok craigslist for pro-audio?  Can you find a cheap rackmount power amp from a failed restaurant or some out of work DJ?

Just gonna order one of these subs https://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M and use the plate amp out of it with my box/driver, should work good.

I know, go be cheap somewhere else.

Actually, it will not work as well as you expected.  Bic has added EQ and limiters into that amp to make it sound a specific way and keep the average user from breaking the driver.

Why didn't you use an amp from PE?  https://www.parts-express.com/search?keywords=plate%20amp

I'm catching up and saw that my question had been answered.

What about the reviews did not impress you?  Those BASH amps have been used for years by dozens of companies like Klipsch.  They produce rated power and will last for years if you don't do something stupid with them.

The BIC I have coming IS a BASH amp. I will test it as is when it comes Fri. and then try just the amp portion driving the old 15" and see what it does. I now plan on splitting the LFE from my receiver with a RCA "Y" and run the Gallo with whatever works best and run two subs. Really hoping the BIC and Gallo combined do the job, the old ARA500 has a huge footprint that I can use for other things. I found I don't really miss the Gallo in my shop with the horrible acoustics of a bare concrete floor and metal roof. The Klipsh KG4's and BIC center out there seem to be sufficient.

Thanks Robert for your recommendations.

Done and done. Actually pleasantly surprised by the performance of this little rinky dink $224 sub. Perfect as is, has a nice low punch at 50% power that works great with the twelves in my mains. Gallo sub goes back to the shop and some lucky kid's getting a free 18lb 15" with a ported enclosure for his vehicle system.