
When it comes to reliable amplification, Rockford Fosgate is one of those companies you can turn to and get taken care of. One of the more dominant trends in the affordable amp market is to cram as much power as it is technically possible into a unit that is relatively cheap.
As one might expect, this type of approach carries a whole lot of issues that are known, and some which are not so well known.
Even though Rockford Fosgate is guilty of this as well, they do have a very good line of moderately powered amps, which offer a great balance of performance for the price.
Instead of trying to push the power limits to the extreme, Rockford Fosgate delivered a unit that is set within a comfortable wattage band. Our review today is going to be focused on such model that goes by the name of Rockford Fosgate R500X1D.
- Delivers loud and clear sound
- Well designed to reduce current consumption from charging system
- Excellent bang for buck
- Pushes a lot of power to the subwoofer
- Emits less heat
- The built-in loc may be a problem
Rockford Fosgate R500X1D Review
One of the most common mistakes newbies make when it comes to automotive audio systems, is to demand outrageous amounts of power while trying to keep the cost at a bare minimum. In normal circumstances, there would be nothing wrong with wanting more for less, but amps are one type of product where this line of thinking could lead to some pretty disappointing results.
The truth is that you can move some serious air even if you don’t have a kilowatt monoblock sitting in your trunk. Any professional builder will tell you that. Rockford Fosgate R500X1D is a perfect example of just what you can do with 500 Watts.
Features of the R500X1D:
Visual inspection of the Rockford Fosgate R500X1D gives off an impression that you are dealing with a pretty well thought out the unit. The enclosure is an all black design with a relatively big Rockford Fosgate logo smacked dead in the middle of the top panel.
There are no massive heat syncs to be seen, and all of the controls are grouped together. Same goes for the connectors. As we have mentioned earlier, and as you can probably figure out from its name, this is a 500 Watt monoblock amplifier. This power rating is for 2 Ohms, although you can get 300 Watts at 4 Ohms.

The frequency response range that this model brings goes from comfortable 20Hz to 250Hz. It’s not the most flexible subwoofer driver out there, but it gets the job done. In terms of features, there’s a low pass, high pass, and all pass filter to work with.
On top of that, you also have a +18dB boost delivered by an on-board EQ. The boost is pushing additional volume at relatively flat 45Hz. Finally, there is a remote that allows you to control the EQ from the driver’s seat, and it’s a wired design.
Small Amp with Big Performance:
Being such a compact package has its perks. The installation itself is pretty easy and cable termination should come naturally to anyone who has dealt with car amps before. Once everything is plugged in and you turn this bad boy on, the quality of sound will definitely amaze you.
For this type of money, you are getting the performance that punches above its weight class. You could argue that the sound is not really audiophile grade experience, but when it comes to moving air on the cheap, Rockford Fosgate R500X1D is among the better choices on the market.
Heat is always an issue you need to look out for, no matter which amp you have. For the most part, R500X1D handles being pushed hard rather well. Rockford Fosgate went with a somewhat standard heat sync design that we are used to seeing, and it does a decent job at dissipating heat away from the amp.

Add thermal sensing technology to that, and you can rest easy knowing that your amp won’t overheat. Speaking of which, the combined protection suite is extensive and will prevent a majority of serious issues that might arise. Naturally, you don’t want to let it come to that, but it’s a nice thing to have none the less.
Rockford Does it Again:
When you put all of the specs on paper, Rockford Fosgate R500X1D isn’t all that special. Everything it offers is standard and the performance is a bit above average. What is impressive about this amp is the price.
This Rockford Fosgate model is unbelievably affordable. So much so that one would think the company is actually losing money by selling this amp.
Finding a reliable model such as this one in the price range that is barely even considered by most renowned manufacturers, is worthy of respect at the least.
We were skeptical about this particular model, but it turns out all of those rumors are true. The only thing left to do is figure out what the best transducer is for this amp, and get some cables ready for the installation.
- Delivers loud and clear sound
- Well designed to reduce current consumption from charging system
- Excellent bang for buck
- Pushes a lot of power to the subwoofer
- Emits less heat
- The built-in loc may be a problem