Great sound, great value

I was struggling with amp choice for my Mini Cooper sound system upgrade. So many choices and nearly impossible to know how they sound like without install that amp into YOUR car to drive the speakers YOU have. So this review is based on R56 Mini Cooper with JL Audio C2-600 components and C2-690CX.

Installation of Alpine MRV-F300 was a breeze due to its well designed interface and physical size. I mounted it vertically behind side panel onto a 1/4" MDF in truck area and still able to access to all the control on the side. Owner's manual was well designed and can be easily download onto iPad to use as reference. All connectors feels solid once cables are in.

Now come to the sound. I was blown away when I first turn it on. For $200 it was clean and surprisingly warmish with great detail. No significant flaw and nothing harsh on high/mid, vocal is balanced with good stage image (I have 'sit' right in the middle between front seats), bass on another hand having been coloured, which made Bass sound massive, cello sound like bass before I had to readjust the crossover/gain for both front and back. This could be the speakers too. Since I'm using speaker level input so I set front gain to just below 9'o clock position, rear 6x9s gets minim gain. Front channel on full range and rear has low pass with crossover set to 80hz. This allows me to get well balanced full range without overwhelming bass.

I'm very happy with my choice, only thing I wish better is bass for control and less colouring, but this maybe the deal with most car amps on the market. I'm an audiophile when it comes to home stereo, this entire upgrade to my Mini Cooper sound system (speakers, amp and sound deadening) is cheaper then an interconnect cable I use on the phono preamp, but I can now listen to it for hours and enjoy.

Test CDs:
1. Diabolus in Musica . Accardo interpreta Paganini
2. Burmester Reference CD III
3. Dynaudio Accentuations Guitar Impressions
4. The Famous Sound FIM
5. In Admiration Of Music, Dali CD Vol. 1
6. Lakatos - Roby Lakatos and His Ensemble
7. Earfood, Roy Hargrove Quintet
8. Audio Reference III - The Super Extended Resolution Sound Of TBM

Nice quality!

This product made my infinity kappas come to life sound quality is impresive, i'm running 4 infinity kappas in my civic 2012 @ 2oms each volume became much better and i have the gain turn dowm.

stellar

This amp is awesome. Small, elegant, clear, and loud. This thing cranks the Infinity Kappas in my Sequoia. I love it

Great product

I have this amp running alpine type s speakers off of an alpine HU and wow, iv never heard something so clean. I tuned this amp using the smd cc1 and dd1. This really makes a difference from my old rockford prime amp. Also i have fans running to cool my amps and with the rockford, it would distort the speakers when the fans were on, now the alpine supposedly fixed that problem.

By Z on April 28, 2015 Verified purchase

Definitely a must buy for any car speakers upgrade!!

I purchased this amp to power my 2 RF p1650 for front doors. The speakers are at 55W RMS, and 110 W peak. I bridged 4 channels into two, and now I get 2 X 150 W RMS. Thats a load of power, but gain is turned down to 30% (approximately) on the amp and that powers my two RF speakers in the front... It delivers more than enough power, and It is more that I could've imagine... I suggest this to anyone who is upgrading stock speakers to aftermarket speakers.. The thing that the channels can be bridged, is amazing... i love it... I would probably buy it again if I had too.

Alpine for the win, for price and performance!

Bought this to power components in front coaxials in rear. One star for durability as I haven't had it long enough to rate that! Pro, sounds great, easy to hide, small and compact. Con, only one I have is mounting tabs/feet are plastic, would like them to be metal.

Audiophile sound

I have been into car audio since the late 80s and have always loved the sound of Alpine especially their amplifiers. I have not had a system in several years and decided to put one in my SUV. I ended up with this amp and the mono that matches with all Alpine speakers. I fancy myself an Audiophile and listen to a lot of different kinds of music. I'm currently on a Jazz kick and this amp really sounds great. Nice clarity, punch and power. I make excuses to drive whenever I can to listen to my system. It's better than my home stereo!

BEST AMP

I own 3 of these. 1 for each of my vehicles. The sound is just one of the best you could ask for. Perfect RMS match for most set ups. Wouldn't think of getting anything else.

Classic amp

Little power house to run anything you need. High pass, low pass, full and bridgeable as well.

By Duane on July 1, 2020 Verified purchase

*sigh*

I wish amplifier manufacturers wouldn't make us use a screwdriver to set the controls. Why can't they make it so you can adjust it by hand like the volume control on your radio? It would stop the gain setting etc. from getting scratched up and you could probably set it more accurately by hand. Other than that, it's a solid amp.

Powerhouse

I purchased this amp because at the time of the purchase I wasn't very clear on what amp would be the best for my new sets of speakers. I bought this since I was under the impression that Alpine was good. The car audio shop that installed it has connected the speaker wires wrong, + was inserted into - for both of my front door speakers. I was not happy for a long time, until I wanted to play with gains and crossovers where I found a wrongly connected wires. After I re-connected them properly, the 55 wrms was an absolute reincarnation! I never imagined that 55 rms can be that loud. This amp makes my front door speakers literally scream! I cranked my music for about 2 hours at the highest possible volume and the amp was stone cold! amazing! I would definitely purchase the alpine 4 channel amplifiers in future.

Compact

This is for the Alpine MRV-F300, 400W, 50W RMS @ 4 Ohms by 4 channels. Alpine is a very recognized brand so of course the sound processing is great. In the case of all audio equipment it's only as good as the quality of the signal it's receiving, that said, this amp is great so far. It's nice and compact and fit great under my passenger seat. This was part of a package deal on Sonic Electronics that came with Cerwin Vega speakers. Together, they sound great and even though it's only 50 Watt RMS per channel believe me when I say it is loud and I do not have the gain cranked up. Mind you I have an extended cab truck cabin so the space isn't huge but the sound level would be fine in most any vehicle.

By Mickey on October 28, 2022 Verified purchase

Outstanding value!!

Great power for the size. Fits perfectly user the seat and provided the much needed power my door/rear deck speakers needed. Highly recommended.

Small power house

I installed this 4 channel Alpine amp in my brother’s project car. This little thing is amazing and we both were beyond happy with the power output. This amp is powering 6.5 morels components and kicker 6x9 components flawlessly.

By Anonymous on February 19, 2019 Verified purchase

Precursor to the S series 4 channel amp

This amp is an amazing little find. For around $150 you get good clean sound and versatility. The alpine brand is a brand you can trust. This is my second alpine amp and I am impressed. I have it pushing some focal 6.5 components and 6.5 coaxial rated at 70rms. This amp pushes them with no problem. If you can find the S series version of this amp for $200 dollars, get it. If not, this amp will not disappoint. I would buy again for $150 or less.

By Dennis on May 17, 2020 Verified purchase

Nice mid and highs amp

I have this in my 1969 firebird convertible hooked up to four alpine 6.5 coaxial more than loud enough to go over my 467 stroker

By jeremy on February 28, 2023 Verified purchase

Excellent product

True to the Alpine name, this amp doesn't disappoint. Clean power and high level inputs make it a no brainer. The only thing that could use upgrading is the plastic feet to metal ones. But for the price, it really can't be beat.