Rockford Fosgate Power bd500.1

Price & Contact: Call for pricing; 480-967-3565, www.rockfordfosgate.com
All measurements @ 14V unless otherwise specified:
Frequency Response (4-ohm IHF Load, 100 Hz Ref. crossover @ highest setting): +0 dB, -3 dB @ 240 Hz
L/R channel error max deviation 20 Hz to 20 kHz: N/A
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Below Rated Output, “A” weighted): -88.2 dB
Distortion at Rated Output @ 60 Hz: 0.24% THD+N @ 600 watts
Output Power (Resistive) (4 ohms @ 60 Hz to 1% THD+N): 439 watts @ 14 volts, 364 watts @ 12.8 volts, 215 watts @ 10.5 volts
Output Power (Resistive) (2 ohms @ 60 Hz to 1% THD+N}: 778 watts @ 14 volts, 636 watts @ 12.8 volts, 402 watts @ 10.5 volts
Output Power (Reactive) (4-ohm IHF Load @ 60 Hz to 1% THD+N): 470 watts
Output Power (Reactive) (2-ohm IHF Load @ 60 Hz to 1% THD+N}: 843 watts
Crosstalk @rated output, 20 Hz to 20 kHz: N/A
Damping Factor, 2 Ohms @ 100 Hz: 81
Voltage for Rated Output: 140mV to 3.1 volts
Idle Current Draw: 1.2 amps
Current Draw @ 1/3 Maximum Power: 23.7 amps @ 257 watts
Efficiency @ 1/3 Maximum Power : 77%
Power-Up Noise: 47.7 dB SPL
Power-Down Noise: 52.6 dB SPL

		Rockford Fosgate Power bd500.1 www.rockfordfosgate.com
		Rockford’s latest subwoofer amp offers gobs of power and a killer design.		Rockford Fosgate bd500.1 Specs Price & Contact: Call for pricing; 480-967-3565, www.rockfordfosgate.com All measurements @ 14V unless otherwise specified: Frequency Response (4-ohm IHF Load, 100 Hz Ref. crossover @ highest setting): +0 dB, -3 dB @ 240 Hz L/R channel error max deviation 20 Hz to 20 kHz: N/A Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Below Rated Output, “A” weighted): -88.2 dB Distortion at Rated Output @ 60 Hz: 0.24% THD+N @ 600 watts Output Power (Resistive) (4 ohms @ 60 Hz to 1% THD+N): 439 watts @ 14 volts, 364 watts @ 12.8 volts, 215 watts @ 10.5 volts Output Power (Resistive) (2 ohms @ 60 Hz to 1% THD+N}: 778 watts @ 14 volts, 636 watts @ 12.8 volts, 402 watts @ 10.5 volts Output Power (Reactive) (4-ohm IHF Load @ 60 Hz to 1% THD+N): 470 watts Output Power (Reactive) (2-ohm IHF Load @ 60 Hz to 1% THD+N}: 843 watts Crosstalk @rated output, 20 Hz to 20 kHz: N/A Damping Factor, 2 Ohms @ 100 Hz: 81 Voltage for Rated Output: 140mV to 3.1 volts Idle Current Draw: 1.2 amps Current Draw @ 1/3 Maximum Power: 23.7 amps @ 257 watts Efficiency @ 1/3 Maximum Power : 77% Power-Up Noise: 47.7 dB SPL Power-Down Noise: 52.6 dB SPL
		by Brian Smith

		The bd500.1 is a single channel subwoofer amplifier with power ratings of 400 watts into 4 ohms and 600 watts into 2 ohms. Features include a variable internal crossover, a defeatable subsonic filter, phase invert, pass-through RCA outputs, and a wired remote bass boost. Performance Yup, the bd500.1 is pretty much standard fare for a Rockford Fosgate amp — it beats up on its power ratings pretty bad, it seems to love driving our reactive loads, and it’s both quiet and very efficient. The power on/off noises are quite high by SQ competition standards, but I think we’ve covered that song and dance sufficiently in the past. Connections & Adjustments Connections to the bd500.1 include RCA inputs, paralleled RCA outputs, a telephone-style connector for remote bass boost, a 6-pin mini-DIN connector for bridge sync, and captive terminal blocks for all power and speaker connections. Power and ground connections accept up to 4-gauge bare wire and speaker connections accept up to 8-gauge. Adjustments include input sensitivity, subsonic filter enable (-3 dB at 20 Hz), low pass cutoff frequency (4th order, 43 Hz-241 Hz), remote bass boost (+2 dB-+23 dB at 44 Hz), and phase invert switch. Installation Our regular readers have probably noticed that I tend to do a lot of griping about heat sink design in this section of many reviews. Rockford Fosgate, for one, has the heat sink scenario figured out. Their heat sinks have been among the best in car audio ever since they went with cast aluminum and great big fins several years ago. That big cheese-grater heat sink is probably the most recognized feature in the amplifier market. It has lots of surface area to radiate heat, and the fins are arranged in a manner that puts a minimum of limitations on how you can mount the amp. Note that the fins on Rockford Fosgate amps run across the width of the amp rather than the length and that they wrap around the sides and over the top of the amp. Arranging the fins so that they are perpendicular to the longest dimension of the amp allows you to mount the amp on a short vertical surface without compromising the sink’s effectiveness. If you just remember that heat rises, and that it will rise and dissipate much better if it doesn’t run into another chunk of hot metal on its way, heat sink design and orientation becomes a relatively simple thing to understand. What’s more, Rockford Fosgate appears to have done a cosmetic update on their amps without screwing up the heat sink design. Call me a cynic, but I haven’t seen many product re-designs in car audio that were actual improvements. I’ve seen an awful lot of good heat sinks go the way of the dodo bird in favor of the marketing department’s sense of aesthetics. In this case, Rockford Fosgate had the good sense to give us more of a good thing. It’s essentially the same design with more fins, which provides even more surface area to radiate heat.