Old school amp for SQ
 

Out of the Orion GX 280, Soundstream D100 II, PPI A200 art series, or Hifonics Sampson series 7, which are all pretty much from 50 x 2 to 75 x 2 amps. Which would give the cleanest sound powering a set of front mid/tweet speakers. Are there any amps made today for a price of under $500 or so that can compete with these amps in SQ?

any decent brand name amp in the rms power range will sound as good, maybe slightly different depending on processing circuitry built into the amp, but certainly as good within human hearing abilities. Those were all well built amps, and there are/were many reasons to buy them, but there's no magic inside that makes their watts better than anyone else's. All modern amps have way below detectable (by humans) distortion, noise, and frequency response. There may be a few reasons not to buy one of those today though, age being the major one, parts availability if they need repairs, and more than likely being used...you have no way of knowing how they were treated, where they were installed, how many times they overheated, were dropped, or repaired in the past, and there's no warranty. I think nostalgia is the main reason most people love the old gear, as i remember lots of problems with old equipment just as there are problems with todays. Infact, I'll bet all those "hand made" electronics back then had way higher failure rates compared to todays automated factory built products by percentage. There's no way that some 10/hr joe can be as consistent in quality as a machine that gets neither tired or lazy, or give's a rat's ass about it's pay. SO, for 500.00 today, you can get a way better amp as far as I'm concerned, and certainly much more powerful.

So would the Alpine PDX's amps be just as clean?

I have run and loved my Soundstream D100 II it is a good amp with a small form factor and understated cosmetics, the PPI Art were legends and are snazzy looking (or gay your call). The quality control point is an interesting one as I had issues with a fair number of Soundstream amps in the early days but they were wonderful amps with an uncolored presentation. The PPI came next then the HiFionics (never heard the orion). I think they are as good as current amps and vice versa.

The PDX costs more and has more power, and comes with a warranty so it isn't apples to apples is it.

Not having used any of the old school amps listed, would it be a fair comment to mention the possibility that the power ratings listed are somewhat "conservative"? Many of these brands were known for putting out significantly more power than what was usually listed on the amps.

i have personally played with those old hifonics, and i currently have pdx amps.
they are indeed nice, but the benefits of much newer technology outweigh any possible heads up those old amps have.

i'd go pdx, i don't have any complaints about them, and i have been running two out of the series for a while now.

Thanks guys, I have been out of the game for many years and have just heard some storys about the new stuff not being as clean as the older stuff. I guess if you look you can find bad things about anything no matter how good it really is.

So far i have a Eclipse 55090 head unit
an eclipse XA1000 to power my sub
a older but barly played MB quart 12
a set of MB quart QM 218.61 Q's that will be my front stage
Powering the front for now is Orion GX 240

I plan on upgrading the front to new Hybrid audio L6,L4, L1v2 powered by 100 watts of some new clean power.

I have a question on the PPI art series amps
how much power do the A300 and A600.2 make respectively? real power if you think they are underrated. What do you think would be appropriate prices for each today?

The older PPI amps were just slightly underrated. the A600.2 was rated 600Wrms 4ohm mono bridged..or 150WrmsX2. Given PPI's retentive quality control, I'd say those amps made from 152-154Wrms per channel.

Ok that confirms what I found online for the 600.2 (I would be using it 2 channel mode)
Could not find any ratings for the A300
What do you think they are worth? I have heard they are very detailed sounding amps

Depending on the condition, from as low as 50.00 bucks for ruff or not working. To as much as 400.00 for a old stock new in box. They were my fav amp back in the day. But i used my fair share of Soundstream and Adcom also.

I agree - they sound as good as anything.. :smokin:

Nice amps for sure. :thumbsup:

so would about 150 for the 600.2 be a good deal? assume in good shape.
Any one know anything about the A300?

Try to look for soundstream VGA series or TR ( old tarantula series). I run a TR500/4 damn this is a great amp!!!! :O

i have a sound stream granite at home now, anyone know the rated spec's on that?

^ The Granite line was a less expensive lineup from Soundstream IIRC. What model?

no idea I will have to check later tonight, its a small thing little less then 1 foot. It has fuses supporting that it makes a decent amount of power though.

i thought the sampson was a gen X not series 7?

anyway, the soundstream d series are very sweet, my fave to date was the d100 mk1 especially for mids and tops.

30 w per channel @ 4 ohm

50 w per channel @ 2 ohm

All the Granite's had the same rated power...60.2, 120.4 and 180.6.

Sounds like the 60.2....60 watts 2 channel.

Just sold my old 180.6 with built in xovers...nice versitle powerful little amp.

This is a 110.2 I just looked, is that a different series?

The Granite 110.2...haven't seen one since '94 or '95

55w x 2 @ 4 ohm

80w x 2 @ 2 ohm

160w x 1 @ 4 ohm bridged

:thumbsup:

So it would work for tweeters but probably be a bit lacking for my mid bass.
I still like the idea of buying those PPI art amps if anyone can confirm the power of the A300 and A600.2 for me, plan is as I understand 600.2 mb and A300 tweets (is it a two channel?)
Nick

that orion was very nice tons of power but just like all the other amps of this generation not to reliable...

Old School is hard to beat
 

I would be leary of ANY of the Jap CD mfg amps, even the PDX, as they all certainly work fine, but are not what
anyone would consider "audiophile," nor do they typically have the kind of "balls" that most guys like in their amps.

I prefer the US made ('old schoo') amps, ala PPI (pre DEI cluster). I have run a/d/s amps for years, but
recently swapped/upgraded from my PH30 (6-ch) to a new ZED Leviathan (Full-range Class D 5/6 ch), and wow,
what an upgrade, but hey, that's what doubling your HPower will typically do :thumbsup:

Good luck with your quest.

Rick

I also chose the Leviathan from ZED, its hard to beat the power/how clean it is/price it crushes any thing else i have seen. I almost bought a ARC Audio 4200 but couldn't bite the bullet and pay that much for it.

Yea, I concur on all fronts. When you figure that a high-quality full-range Class D combo system with similar power
runs over $1,500, then the Leviathan with 150 x 4 plus 600 mono, for $600, how can you beat that?

I waited till I saw the review on Audio Gear Reviews before I got mine, and now I plan to order a second one
tomorrow, before the price goes up to $700 (still a smokin' deal).

Not sure if you saw this on PAS, but I found the info pretty interesting, as the amp is without question very unique
in the market.


Cheers!

Rick

Zed
 

"Not sure if you saw this on PAS, but I found the info pretty interesting, as the amp is without question very unique
in the market."

I did not see it what does it say?
I also wanted my crossover points to be a little different and he did it no problem. i did 8k on the top end.

Links on Zed
 

It is cool the xovers can go that high, but not much info up above 5 - 6 khz.

Here is the link to PAS news, and the Leviathan review on Audio Gear Reviews. Check it out.

http://www.pasmag.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1455

http://www.audiogearreviews.com/reviews/amplifiers/review-zed-audio-leviathan.asp


Enjoy.

Rick