I just got an Empeg from carplayer.com, and just finished installing it. It's great so far, exactly what i've dreamed of for the past 2+ years.. my question however, is how can I identify this as a mark 2a or 2? I was told by the carplayer people it's a 2a, but I'm getting the audible pop when I turn off the car(negative spike bug) and the FAQ tells me the 2a has the diode to silence this built in.

What gives? did I get duped? *sigh*

Mk2a says Rio on the top cover above the vent.

The 2a will have Rio printed on the case, the 2 will have Empeg printed on the case.

Remember that the negative spike bug is only one common reason for the pop. Other reasons are related to bad/incorrect wiring or cheap equipment. The FAQ does mention this, too.

Hmm, I wouldn't even know where to begin. So i shouldn't bother with the diode since the 2a already has this? I've got a Kicker amp, and I bought the Empeg to replace my old Clarion head unit that finally took a dump 2 weeks ago.. I never had this problem with the Clarion. The FAQ says it could also be fuses, I guess I will check all my fuses out. Damn, it's like a needle in a haystack! Thanks for the help..

in the meantime, is this pop causing damage to my setup at all? Sounds like it could..

If you take the empeg out before cutting the ignition do you still get the pop?

FWIW I had the pop on my Mk2 for two months before correcting it. Nothing was damaged.

If you have a 2a adding a diode isn't going to make any difference. There are other things that could make it pop, like not having a permanent 12V supply, or having the permanent and switched 12V lines round the wrong way (if I remeber rightly)

If i turn off the empeg before killing the ignition, i don't hear the pop. that leads me to think it's something having to do with my installation, although i am certain i wired it correctly. i will check that out tonight as soon as i get home (and my cable modem gets installed! gah, about time)

thanks for your help