Hello from an old school car audio girl looking for help.

[stephgirl 10+ year member]

Thanks tell me more. I am looking at them on there website right now.

I have heard of PPI. They were big back in the day. Tell me more about the Black Ice amps by PPI. How do they stack up to other brands and where do they stack up in quality, Are they high line category or middle or low end. Is that PPI's best amp line or middle or low end series. And why are they discontinuing them for?

Thanks

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

i also remember the old school orion and alpine and PPI and Phoenix Gold stuff - but don't forget they were $500+ back in the 90's for a good amp.

inflation is real and to match the performance... you see where i am going?

modern amps for $200 are very low performers with high THD, susceptible to noise, and limited features.

this is why i run amps from the 90's even today (currently 1996 Alpine MRV V12 series). I recently moved from old xtant.

you've listed links to Ultimate which is the first i've seen of that label. my honest input is that i won't put a $130 MSRP amp in my car, nor would I install it in someone else's. They are just too noisy and problematic. They have to save costs somewhere to hit that price point.

RE Audio is owned by US Amps which is a solid company.

you've asked about large companies owning lots of smaller companies. sadly, the car audio giants of the 90's were mostly purchased for their namesake and reputation, then repackaged as asian made stuff with an old label. not saying the products don't work, but you truly get what you pay for.

I'm also not saying you need to spend a grand on an Audison or Genesis or McIntosh amp to sound good. But those are examples of brands that build with the same passion and attention to detail as the old school leaders, with the improvements you would expect 15 years of evolution to provide.

some companies design in the US, have an asian company make the board at the lowest cost possible, then assemble here in the states. this is the case for budget amps. a good design can prevail and a good amp can be had - but it's hit and miss. you really need a large sample base to have confidence.

something else that changed is ratings and how they are developed. used to be that amps were rated at load and low THD over long periods of time. now they can claim ratings if only one channel achieves a power level for a few seconds, and at unlistenable THD. the trick is finding an amp that rates power output at a specific THD. if THD is listed only separately (as is the case with the Ultimate amps you linked) then the very low THD listed can be at idle and the power levels claimed can be at very high THD.

this rating game has been going on for a long time, but the past 10 years or so have not been kind to the consumer. people see an amp from the 90's rated at 30W @4 ohms and 0.01% THD and wonder why it's louder and cleaner than a modern amp rated 75W @ 4 ohms but no THD - and the modern amp costs 1/3 what the old one did.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

those Ultimate amps look like the Powerbass ASA series amps. and they may even come from the same asian build shop or source the same parts.

I have used Powerbass ASA series amps in installs before, with success - and they are also very inexpensive. However, I am familiar with the designer of some of their amps and they did a pretty good job.

The Boston Acoustics GT series is a legit amp for a budget, and it also sounds decent. BA just happened to get out of car audio so their amps are available for a steal.

JL Audio still makes good products, and their price reflects it. Their G-series is cheaper all-around but acceptable.

MB Quart was bought out but has managed to churn out a few acceptable budget amps.

Polk Audio has some reasonable offerings. The PA660 will be going in my wife's car soon.

 

[stephgirl 10+ year member]

Thanks Keep Hop Alive

Yes I remember Ultimate Sound back in the 90's. They were like medium brand. They had an Corp office/warehouse near my house in City Of Industry CA. I really do think it is same company or maybe the name just got bought out. If you do your research and link over to this and then that, I found out that it is owned by Jam industries that also own Erikson Mobil Electronics. Then Erikson Mobile own names like JBl, Infiniti, Blauplunk, Dayamat, Ultimate, Renegade. So i thought that maybe Ultimate was made like maybe JBL or infinity. See link

Erikson Consumer | Divisions & Brands

That Ultimate amp looks real similar to Brax amps from Germany. But I don't think Ultimate is hand made like Brax.

So RE Audio as a solid good company. There amps and speaker are good. I said in other post that I did see that RE Audio was associated with US Amps. I saw a RE Audio amp I liked. I also said that I e-mailed the company to ask about there amp and the guy replied that, the amps and deigned and engineered here in US but made over seas.

I see what your saying with all this and how things have changed. It is so confusing these days anymore. Seams like back in old days you had more of a clear understanding. Everyone new the high line amp companies and the brands. And everyone new the junk amp brands. Then you had some medium brands. But they were very distinct categories. Now a days it is like all mixed up. Cheap amp companies now have some of the Old high line brands mixed in to there companies.

So what do you chose. Like I said in my other posts. I plan on keeping this truck many more years and want to upgrade my amps and speakers to equipment that is going to last. I don't want to get stuck with some brand and it dies in a few years. My current system is like 10yrs old and has done well. I have not had to replace a thing except for the head units. This will prob be my last system in this vehicle.

Don't forget to shoot me info on speakers brands too.

So please keep the information coming. I value all of your opinions. I have already seen things I like and things I want to say away from.

Also read my other posts about what system I currently have and use that as a reference on what the set up is. Please don't forget to let me now on speaker also. I have got some good posts on amps but not much comment on speakers.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

i build systems for people at any budget. but when budget is low, we start looking at used speakers and used amps. you can save 30% off retail buying used, and then the $200 budget pulls in $600 gear that is of good quality.

I run Hertz Mille component speakers and a Mille sub, and the old school Alpine amps with a new Alpine headunit.

You've had some fair recommendations from Neo-Styles above. There are several $200 speakers that can perform well if properly installed. my opinion of "properly installed" may be different than yours. the build logs in my sig illustrate what i mean.

I like Alpine. I like their SPX Pro series or the older SPX-177R series. Their PDX amps are also decent but I don't like the MRP series. They will be around a long time.

I like Hertz. I like their High-Energy series if you can get a good deal. The Hertz amps can be had used for a fair price.

I like Boston Acoustics. Their speakers and amps are decent.

I like JBL. They have some nice product offerings as listed previously.

I like JL Audio. The C5 series is good. Their amps are good.

if what i've "liked" is out of your budget at retail, consider used.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

That Ultimate amp looks real similar to Brax amps from Germany. But I don't think Ultimate is hand made like Brax.

likely Brax, Ultimate, and Powerbass all source the same amp heatsinks from someone in Asia. but it's what's inside that counts.

the Brax is $5,000.

the Ultimate and Powerbass is $140.

i suspect there is ZERO similarity other than cosmetic. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[stephgirl 10+ year member]

I new cost factor was way different but I know some companies will share technology and some parts. I just thought that maybe the Ultimate was like a younger brother or so to Brax and made more affordable but still a good amp.

Well I just can't decide, there are so many brands and I am just scared to get something and it craps out in a years or 2.

Look at this RE amp this store has for sale on E-Bay It is a very good price but, is it to good to be true. see link if RE is associated with US Amps, the price is too good to pass up PLEASE HELP

Re Audio DTX7504 DTX 750 4 320W RMS DTX Series Class AB 4 Channel Amplifier Amp 611892991934 | eBay

They have 2 left.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

The re amps are pretty much junk now. I wouldn't bother. The ppi amps are ok for a budget amp. But still low to middle end at best

 

[stephgirl 10+ year member]

The re amps are pretty much junk now. I wouldn't bother. The ppi amps are ok for a budget amp. But still low to middle end at best

Ok, what about there top of line USX line. I just watched a review video on youtube (see link)about the

RE Audio US X4250 It said the amps was designed buy same old school guy Dirt Ekert that designed the US Amps



They said PPI was ok but middle level to low at best. I don't want that. How about middle to high. That sound better That's probavbly were I am at middle to maybe high but, not Brax or Zed high

I have been looking at different stuff since i started last weekend and I am confused PLEASE HELP

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Arc audio xdi. The new line Robert Zeff designed would be a good start the ppi power class only re nothing anymore

 

[treesive 10+ year member]

Thanks Jeff for the link to car audio list.
Is that list up to date, current. I did see some in the good section that maybe be what I'm after. I will have to look at some of the different brands in both the good and the highest quality sections and price them out. See what they cost and what I can spend. I may find a brand in the good section that is priced right but there may also be a Highest quality brand amp or so that may not be to much more in cost and, I would chose to pay a few extra $ for the better parts

Did anyone yet read my last post about the Companies and how they own different brand names. Did anyone look at my links to the Ultimate and the Brax amps and give me some feed back.

Let me ask you all this question. Put yourself in my shoes, A daily driver that you want to update the sound system and you did not want to spend a fortune. What brands would you look into? I'm not talking full out blown expensive stuff. Just a basic driver that you wanted to have nice clean sound for the best price possible. You guys understand my ? So shoot me some names and give me some advise and I will start researching and pricing them out so i can make a educated decision and find what is best for me overall.

Thanks

If buying new I would look at JBL, PPI, Alpine, and Phoenix gold for amps although PG is probably out of a budget price range. For headunit, Pioneer, Alpine, Clarion, etc really depends on what you are looking for. For subs I would look at jbl, lanzar opti, tc epic, ssa dcon, alpine type r, with many many more all depending on budget and wants sound wise. For speakers I would look at jbl, alpine, etc but these are very listener specific such as I hate harsh tweeters so I never liked infinity but their speakers are nice to many people.

Used you can get some better products all over the board but you take the chance on issues or abuse. There are many good sellers on the forums you just have to pick and choose and lay down a baseline of what you really like from a listening standpoint to start separating brands.

 

[stephgirl 10+ year member]

What about a Zapco ST-4X 60w x 4 for my speakers Some one is selling it for $169 new

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

What about a Zapco ST-4X 60w x 4 for my speakers Some one is selling it for $169 new

Not a bad price for zapco if in decent shape would prolly be fine as far as speakers. Look at cdt. Hertz and tantric for starters

 

[stephgirl 10+ year member]

OH Nooooooooooooooo don't tell me Zapco is crap too. They were a great old school company made great stuff

 

[stephgirl 10+ year member]

I need to know about Sounstrem. I see a lot on internet for sale and decent prices. What is good in that line and what is bad

Help AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhh