Wow, I didn't know this post was here, someone should have mentioned it to me I would gladly come here and elaborate.
The reason the amplifiers on the list is because I have repaired more and more of those amplifiers for the exact same reasons. i.e. factory defects, errors in design, poor implementation of a good design etc. Has nothing to do with power numbers, sound quality, etc. And yes I agree that the more popular a particular amp is, the more it will show up in my shop. So it's hard to say it like this, "these are the worst amplifiers ever made". That's not what it's about, it's just the amplifiers that I have repaired the most, over and over for the same reasons, and nothing can really be done to save them. Here is some more detail for those of you who want an explanation. I have simply been too busy to post any more about it on the forum, we are almost caught up at dB-r with repairs since the move. Having a good helper on hand has helped things speed up tremendously around here:
Orion 2500D. Driver boards ****, they bust all the time, why I don't know, not good enough parts? Legs break off the FETs. There needs to be one more mounting screw in the board between the output inductors, this would stop the problem as the legs always break off right there, where the board flexes the most.
Memphis Audio Mojo 2000: see above, driver boards are very similar and always bust. Breaks legs off the FETs, more specifically the output FETs, and those stupid little weak current sense resistors (.04 ohm and .02 ohm) are always busting and can be a beyoch to change out.
Memphis ST-1000D: Not sure why this amp keeps coming in, it's a nice little amp, however I think people assume they are .5 ohm stable or something and keep frying them. They are very popular amps too so that may have a lot to do with their frequency of showing up here.
Planet Audios: See Memphis ST-1000D. I think people assume these are .7 or .5 ohm stable and they are not, they constantly come in with the power supply toasted. Could be from people underpowering them, stock electrical may or may not be good enough for a 2250D...
Kicker KX series: Cheap *** amp, always having input board and solder problems. Almost everyone of them I have worked on has bad solder connections on the Emitter ballast resistors and/or input board problems. Cheap korean made amp, not the best korean amp.
Amps I like:
Maxxsonics: Some of you may laugh, but the Maxxsonics amps aren't that bad. For being something made in China, which most amps made in china are POS all the way, the Hifonics line is really not that bad. Powerful, and easy to repair, they get blown up from abuse mostly, sometimes other problems.
Sundown Audio: Good solid amps, most that come in are from straight up abuse... can you say 18V strapped at .5 ohm? Yikes.. would fry any amp.. Or broken stuff inside, from shaking them to death at 160+dB... Not good for any amp. Good solid Korean made amps. I like them. Easy to repair too.
Old School Amps: the old Orions, PPI's, etc. Maybe even the old Fosgates, which I am just not really a Fosgate guy myself, but the older ones are decent. If you have an old Orion or PPI, don't sell it. I haven't worked on many of them. Some give out due to old age problems, like leaking capacitors etc, but hardly ever do they come in blown up. Especially the OLD Orions, like the HCCA250, HCCA250r, HCCA 225. Mainly those models. The red ones. The black ones that are about that age (can't remember what they called them) are good too, very similar on the inside. They have good protect circuits too.
Misc: whatever floats your boat. Being an amp repair tech, it's hard to say what I would want, because I would buy more based on repairability than anything else, because I know eventually my amp will need repair, and I would like it to be able to be repaired, good as new, for cheap $$$ and not end up a doorstop, jackstand, or closet decoration because I cannot get it repaired or couldn't afford to get it repaired.
