Alpine MRD-M605 — For Subsonic Rumbles

Alpine’s MRD-M605 is a big one for those of us who like the seismic reveberation of subs. It has impressive features that, unfortunately, are not usually written in English. Here, I’ll do my utmost to translate their tech-speak to everyday English. I guess this would help you decide if it is what you really want or need.

Major features and what they mean in everyday English…

The MRD-M605 is a V12 AccuClass-D Mono Amplifier. The class D in the amplifier classification tells you that it is a highly efficient amp. It gives high output per input. That is, it does not draw too much current in order to give this massive power. It has an efficiency of around 80% — And that’s huge. It ensures that your car lights don’t dim because your subs are kicking. The design employed by Alpine to achieve this also ensures the signal remains pure.

You can give this amp a bass boost at 45 Hz and this is adjustable in 2dB steps from 0 to 16.

It has a built-in Variable Crossover: First, this is what a crossover is…

A crossover is a device or passive circuit used in systems with separate tweeter and/or midrange speaker drivers. It blocks off certain (preselected) frequencies that a particular speaker shouldn’t handle. This ensures that each speaker deals with a particular frequency range that it is most apt to handle.

So now you can understand the figures that follow.

The MRD-M605 has a built-in low-pass crossover which is adjustable from 30 to 200Hz with 13 settings. Just understand that a low-pass crossover allows low frequencies to pass.

It has a subsonic filter: There are subsonic sounds that are not crucial to the quality production of your lows (unless you are playing music for whales or elephants). These frequencies often drain massive power without adding positively to the audio experience. This filter removes those frequencies. It is switchable from 15Hz and 30Hz. It can also be turned off if you decide you are missing some essential rumbles otherwise.

The MRD-M605 supports multi-amp installation: This means you can use two of these amps to power a DVC woofer. Any amp can do this but a digital adjustment helps you ensure that the outputs are identical.

It has a 3-Way protection circuit: This is a circuit design that protects your amp from excessive current (popularly called short circuit), excessive voltage and overheating or thermal overload. The particular reason/cause for going into this “protect” mode is also shown in the LCD display.

With this display you can also monitor the DC input and the internal temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius. It also shows audio information like EQ, gain, etc.

It has an aluminium hood that flips up to show the LCD display and control panel. This control has up and down buttons with which you can go through the menu and make adjustments on the amp. You can still see the LCD display when it is closed through a plastic window.

The The MRD-M605 has an RMS power rating (measured at 14.4V) of 400watts x 1 at 4ohms and 600watts x 1 at 2 ohms. The minimum impedance of this amp is 2 Ohms.

The only difference between the MRD-M605 and the MRD M1005 is the power rating…

RMS power rating (also measured at 14.4V) for the MRD M1005 is 700watts x 1 at 4ohms and 1000watts x 1 at 2ohms.

So if you need more power than the MRD-M605 can give, upgrade or choose the MRD M1005.