# School me on old school Amps



## 20th220 (Nov 5, 2003)

im looking for recommendations for a CLEAN 2 or 4 channel amp with ATLEAST a strong 50w per channel. im not looking for anything new. i know there are tons of really cool amps from the early 90s and the like that are a fraction of the price of a top of the line new model and sound just as good if not better.  im a little young to know about them but when i hear people talk about old phoenix gold stuff i get all excited. school me!
i am currently running some 5-6 year old nakamichi stuff. it's crapping out on me and i want to step up
thanks in advance


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## afinley (Dec 29, 2004)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (20th220)*

just look up the seller justonemoreamp on ebay


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## 20th220 (Nov 5, 2003)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (afinley)*

cool, will do


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## j.Connor (Mar 7, 2002)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (20th220)*

I've always been a fan of PPI. I have 4 of them, 3 white art series. The Sedona amps seem nice but I don't know if thats really what you meant.


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## Non_Affiliated (Feb 12, 2002)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (20th220)*

I just scored a PPI A1200.2 today off of ebay. I am stoked, hopefully the carrier doesn't beat the **** out of it.
As for the question at hand just a few of my favorite Old School amps. Not to be confused with the newer models.
Precision power: Their Sedona, M, AM, ProMos, Art, and PC series amps are good lines. The M and AM are of the oldest lines the Sedona was their budget line. The ProMos were their cheater amps made to contend with Orions HCCA line. The ProMos and Art lines are of the most sought after on ebay of the PPI Line. The PC (Power Class) Line was of their last lineage before PPI started to head into financial complications.
Pheonix Gold's M, MS, ZX, and XS lines weree damn good lines. I am not to sure about some of the other lines, but PG was well know for their specialty amps like the Route 66, Frank-amp-stien, SOn of Frank-amp-stien. Bandit, and two theres that slip my mind. I have no Idea what PG quality seeing they are woned by Rodin.
Diamond Audios Old D7 (Esoteric) line was one of their no compromise amp lines made with high quality components and were very pricey new, but of rock solid design. As for their other lines I have not had any experience with the D1, D3, D5, D6, and D9 line of amps.
Sound stream had some great amps in the past the D & MC line, Original Reference, Original Rubicon, Original Davinci, and Original Tarantula. the reason I say original cause there were some series II Rubicon and Reference IIRC, and I believe there was a Tarantula line for a while. But I was not very up on the likes of SS. I do know that the old SoundStream stuff will run Hot, and will run extermely hot of you don't have the good solid power supplied to them.
A/D/S was another great line with there Power Plate Series PH and PQ lines, and was one of the first amp manufacture to make a 6 and 8 channel amp.
The not as well know Crunch amps were great, they were a Zed Audio Design, the old school crunch amps just have a Number not some funky PZI then a number. Example, Zed Audio built crunch amps were just listed as The Crunch 150. The CA lines and later were just a bought out company.
AutoTek was another in it's fledgling years was agood old school amp. You can tell the older Autotek amps due to the finned heat sinks. The really old ones just had a numeric model, then the later came out with the Street MAchine, and Mean Machine line. Then I think the company traded hands a few times to end being owned by Maxxsonixx.
Another same is the Old HiFonics amps the Seriess VII and VIII which were also Zed Design and build. The true old school Hifonics boasted Greek Mythic Gods and warriors like Thor, Hurcules, Colossus, Cyclops ete. etc.. and Usally a series Like VII VIII, not like to days Alpha Numeric model numbers, which tooI believe Maxxsonixx owns. 
LA SOund was also a decent brand that just went bye bye, they used to make amps with models Like THe Redondo 80, Hermosa 150, Laguna and a few others.
Hollywood Sound LAbs was also another good brand, along with the Coustic Power Logic line more of a entry level amps but not bad.
Linear Power was also one of the underdog amps they were pricey, They weren't to flashy, but they could take a beating, there biggest boast was the use of TO-3 packaged transistors as what they use in a alot of Tru Technology amps. Which can dissipate more power than the plastic cases Mosfets used today.
There are so many other brands I am sure I have missed, but I could go on and on.


_Modified by Non_Affiliated at 7:55 PM 1-21-2008_


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## smokin-j (Oct 18, 2007)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (afinley)*


_Quote, originally posted by *afinley* »_just look up the seller justonemoreamp on ebay


x2.... He carries a lot of really good ol' skool amps in what appear to be great condition, I've never bought anything from him, actually I avoid checking his inventory for fear of buying something I don't need...
waaay back in the day I had a pair of Precision Power a2050's (Art series), I wish I never let them go - great amps. I can't remember if it was previously mentioned, but a few other good old amps were Denon, Adcom, Orion (hcca series http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif ), and Earthquake. There's soo many more that I can't remember right now...


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## mtltdi (Apr 10, 2003)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (smokin-j)*

I have a couple of a/d/s/ ph15's in my car. Great amp and very versatile. It's a 6x50 watt that can be bridged to 3x100 if you feel like it, and actually put out quite a bit more power than the spec indicates.


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## 20th220 (Nov 5, 2003)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Non_Affiliated)*

thanks Non_Affiliated
that list will help me out tons. i think im looking for stuff more at the top of your list. top of the line stuff from back in the day.


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## Johnny Blaze (Oct 18, 1999)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (20th220)*

I have some older kicker ZR amps that worked well for me.. very loud and fairly clean sound.. zr240 and zr1000 which I am considering selling since I just pulled them from my mk4


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## H2oWerker (Feb 21, 2005)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (20th220)*


_Quote, originally posted by *20th220* »_thanks Non_Affiliated
that list will help me out tons. i think im looking for stuff more at the top of your list. top of the line stuff from back in the day. 

The A/D/S stuff is a little farther down his list, but you should seriously consider it. That stuff is very high quality. I have a powerplate 630x that I will NEVER sell.


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## GLIJetta90 (May 2, 2002)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Non_Affiliated)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Non_Affiliated* »_
Sound stream had some great amps in the past the D & MC line, Original Reference, Original Rubicon, Original Davinci, and Original Tarantula. the reason I say original cause there were some series II Rubicon and Reference IIRC, and I believe there was a Tarantula line for a while. But I was not very up on the likes of SS. I do know that the old SoundStream stuff will run Hot, and will run extermely hot of you don't have the good solid power supplied to them.

_Modified by Non_Affiliated at 7:55 PM 1-21-2008_

X 2! I was a huge fan of the Referen ce Line. Nice, clean, mutlichannel Amps. I was my personal favorite was the 405, and the 705, not to be confused with the most recent versions of 405s and 705s.


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## Square1 (Feb 17, 2007)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (GLIJetta90)*

ORION!


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## Non_Affiliated (Feb 12, 2002)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Square1)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Square1* »_ORION!

Ya know I totally forgot to put up info on thoughs. The old school lines to come across, ad the SX, GX, GS, GTX, and HCCA Not the R or G4 line, have no idea what the guts and dependability of the R and G4's are like. Also can't forget about the Concept 97 Line up The 
97.1 was a 2 x 50W + 2 x 25W @ 4 ohms
2 x 100W + 2 x 50W @ 2 ohms
2 x 200W + 2 x 100W @ 1 ohm
2 x 200W @ ½ ohm (only channels 3 & 4)
1 x 200W + 1 x 100W @ 4 ohms bridged
1 x 400W + 1 x 200W @ 2 ohms bridged
1 x 400W @ 1 ohm bridged (only channels 3 & 4)
The 97.2 was 3
0 band digital equalizer
separate left/right adjustments 
Digital and analog inputs and outputs 
C-lock anti-jitter circuit
Balanced high-frequency switching power supply
The 97.3 was Orions step to defeat the whole power classifications with compititions it was ther verniable 1 Watt amp.
Stereo
2 x 0.5W @ 4 ohms
2 x 1W @ 2 ohms
2 x 2W @ 1 ohms
2 x 4W @ 0.5 ohms
2 x 8W @ 0.25 ohms
2 x 16W @ 0.125 ohms
2 x 32W @ 0.0625 ohms
2 x 64W @ 0.03125 ohms
2 x 128W @ 0.015625 ohms
2 x 256W @ 0.0078125 ohms
2 x 512W @ 0.00390625 ohms
Bridged
1 x 2W @ 4 ohms
1 x 4W @ 2 ohms
1 x 7W @ 1 ohms
1 x 16W @ 0.5 ohms
1 x 32W @ 0.25 ohms
1 x 64W @ 0.125 ohms
1 x 128W @ 0.0625 ohms
1 x 256W @ 0.03125 ohms
1 x 512W @ 0.015625 ohms
1 x 1024W @ 0.0078125 ohms 
This infor was pulled froma ebay sale on the concept line as I don't have the info on these, but have seen them in person, and the amps are just as bad looking in person as the GS line wheich were Gold plated amps.
Then there was the Hott Set-up Was another good line which I beleive was either built by RF or Halfer. but I dodn't see much obf them back in the day except the demo van.
And how could I have forgotten, Rockford Fosgates of the past the Punch 30, 45, 75, 150, and the Power 300, 650, and 1000. The ix and DSM line were a good run also.
If I should have left something out or I am off on a spec. please feel free to post a correction. Seeing that most of this I am running off of memory, and or what I have come across on e-bay. But most I learned and remembered about from back when I was heavily into car audio back in the late 80's to early 90's.
Once the massive Buy outs of the mid to late 90's I had my PPI A204.2 and my A600 which I still have, and have added to the collection a PPI A404 and just recently a A1200.2. So with those first two amps I haven't bought any amps to replace them other the latter for up-grading.


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## SB_Beetle (Oct 11, 2003)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (20th220)*


_Quote, originally posted by *20th220* »_thanks Non_Affiliated
that list will help me out tons. i think im looking for stuff more at the top of your list. top of the line stuff from back in the day. 

A/D/S though down the list is going to be your best friend as long as it/they haven't been left out in the open. If you can find a PQ10 (or 2) they put out a conservative 35 wpc x 4 and are configurable to 2/3/4 channel. They are 2 Ohm stable. Ebay has them every now and then. New the amp cost $500-$600. You should be able to find them around $150.


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## Non_Affiliated (Feb 12, 2002)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (SB_Beetle)*

Just to let some know that the amps listed were not listed in any particular order, so while I have listed them whats at the top is not necessarily the best and those at the bottom are not necessarily the worst.
Alot of old school amps Top dollar models and budget amps were built pretty well seeing that the construction, components and designs were all relativly solid back then.


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## Square1 (Feb 17, 2007)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Non_Affiliated)*

I ran a Orion 2150SX and a 250Sx back in the day and I loved them. I replaced them with a pair of HCCA225's for a short time. I replaced them with a XTR2250 (The Beast) and a XTR275. Except for the plugs on them and the retarded internal crossover I loved them. I ran all off them with a Audio Control 24XS crossover. Perfect set up. 
After my Orion phase I went to Soundstream and my vehicle's electrical system loved me for it.








Right now I'm still stuck on the made in the USA MTX Thunder amps from around 2000. The all black ones with the chromed crest in the middle, they work extremely well. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## johnandbek (Jan 9, 2006)

I used to have A/D/S in my jetta and absolutely loved it - to the point that I yanked everythin out when I sold the car and have used it in the next 3 cars I bought. Super clean amps that were under rated.
I had a soundstream and PPI setup for a while also - very nice stuff as well.


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## JCJetta (Jun 14, 2002)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Square1)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Square1* »_
Right now I'm still stuck on the made in the USA MTX Thunder amps from around 2000. The all black ones with the chromed crest in the middle, they work extremely well. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 

Me too - just wanted to hear everyone else's opinion on those.
My final days at Circuit City in 2000, that's what we sold. Personally I'm running a 500D but stepping down to a 250D for my sub for the sole purpose of their small footprint. As much as I love big amps, I seriously have a problem with this Surfboard deals that take up an insane amount of space. 
My first "good" amp that I never should have parted with was a PPI PC250 that I paid over $300 for brand new, at age 18. That hurt the pocketbook considerably!


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## Square1 (Feb 17, 2007)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (JCJetta)*

Hey that's funny. I've had a 500D for years and pounded the crap out of it and it still works great. I ran three 12's in my truck with it and it made huge power especially for such a small unit. Currently I got it ready to go in my Jetta accompanied by a T102 that I purchased at the same time. 
I got a 6500D and a 4144 (both from China) in my GTI with the D powering one 12. Still excellent power and the used prices are not very high on MTX products. They don't have the appeal or name of the big guys (Orion, Hifonics, etc.).
The Orion XTR2250 was the hardest object I ever had to mount in a vehicle and still retain a reasonable amount of trunk space without marking up the amp everytime you used the trunk. It was huge.


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## JCJetta (Jun 14, 2002)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Square1)*

Bumping this back up - I want to hear some more from you Veterans out there.
Also - I'm missing some screw post terminals from my old school MTX amps. Where abouts do you think I'd find some replacements? Any ideas?


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## VWsEatRice (Jan 13, 2004)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (JCJetta)*

i still have a working soundstream mc300 
75 watts x 4
my roommate has a mc500(broken) hanging on the wall in the shop
i also have a couple of rockford fosgate punch 40's
i wish i had some OG punch 45,75 or 150
the shiit to have would be a rockford fosgate power 1000 http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## smokin-j (Oct 18, 2007)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (VWsEatRice)*


_Quote, originally posted by *VWsEatRice* »_
i wish i had some OG punch 45,75 or 150
the shiit to have would be a rockford fosgate power 1000 http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 

once in a while a good one will pop up on ebay, I purchased a few punch 45's, I still have one i'm thinking of mounting in my garage.


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## Square1 (Feb 17, 2007)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (JCJetta)*


_Quote, originally posted by *JCJetta* »_Bumping this back up - I want to hear some more from you Veterans out there.
Also - I'm missing some screw post terminals from my old school MTX amps. Where abouts do you think I'd find some replacements? Any ideas? 

You could probably replace them with a regular button head screw assuming the pitch is correct. If you give me a couple days I could find out the length and the pitch for you.
What happened to all the Punch 45's? I never had one myself but I installed a few for buddies. They were absolutely everywhere at one time, everyone had atleast one and there were allways some in the classifieds. I wouldn't mind picking up a pair.


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## oopseyesharted (Mar 2, 2005)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Square1)*

I was a big fan of soundstream and even further back a compay called proton back in the late 80's and early 90's. Amazing stuff!!!!!!


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## JCJetta (Jun 14, 2002)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Square1)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Square1* »_
You could probably replace them with a regular button head screw assuming the pitch is correct. If you give me a couple days I could find out the length and the pitch for you.


That's what I'm thinking, but yeah it's a real fine pitch. Could you please find out? That'd be great, thanks! I have nothing but time with this project. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Natas (Nov 5, 2003)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (JCJetta)*

I'm a big fan the old US Amps. I've been using mine for about 10 years with zero problems. I also agree with the other amps listed in this thread. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## BlownGinster (Jun 23, 2002)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Natas)*

Xtant
When I put together the system for my mk3......I went all vintage except the head unit
Xtant 3300x 60x2 +160x1
MB Quart QM 3-way component system made for the VW GOLF
Boston Acoustic Pro 12.4 2ohm
Audio Control EQT
Exellent SQ, Plenty of bump when you want it, and Doesn't take up the whole hatch,


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## oopseyesharted (Mar 2, 2005)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (BlownGinster)*

those BA 12.4 subs are the shiz. I had 2 in my old gti in high school. I forgot all about them. Ebay here i come!!!!


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## VWsEatRice (Jan 13, 2004)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Natas)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Natas* »_I'm a big fan the old US Amps. I've been using mine for about 10 years with zero problems. I also agree with the other amps listed in this thread. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 

i remember those amps
pretty much anything built in the heyday of car audio in the USA(amplifiers) were top notch
Zapco is another one that comes to mind


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## super2 (Jan 9, 2008)

*Re: School me on old school Amps (Non_Affiliated)*

Yeah. the ppi art series are bomb. but don't touch the newer ppi products. they've been bought out for a while now and their stuff sucks now.


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