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Lets discuss some Old School ...
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<blockquote data-quote="thylantyr" data-source="post: 1553850" data-attributes="member: 560358"><p><strong>Old School </strong></p><p></p><p>How far back are you going ? If you go way back {1983-1991}, then this is my opinion</p><p></p><p>using the 5 star rating, 5 star being best.</p><p></p><p>Linear Power;</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 3 star {not the prettiest amp due to heatsink design}</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 1 star {subpar PCB design, point to point wiring on 1 layer pcb}</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 3 star {pretty good for the money}</p><p></p><p>Misc - Great functional heatsink design, robust output stage, weak power supply</p><p></p><p>that failed often.</p><p></p><p>Soundstream;</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 3 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 3 star {Not amp repair friendly}</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 2 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; Class A over-hyped.</p><p></p><p>Rockford Fosgate;</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 5 star {Pretty amps}</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 2 star {too expensive per watt}</p><p></p><p>Misc; Over-hyped.</p><p></p><p>Precision Power;</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 4 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; Good bang for buck, Cosmetics vary, some are ugly.</p><p></p><p>Orion;</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 4 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; Good bang for buck. Cosmetics vary, some are ugly.</p><p></p><p>Zapco; {Model 150/200 only}</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 2 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 2 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; Very expensive low powered amplifier, but performance is excellent for</p><p></p><p>said watts. Seperated amp/PS chassis was a bad idea. Despite it's drawbacks,</p><p></p><p>it still outperformed the competition in it's time for it's power class.</p><p></p><p>Zapco; {Model Z220}</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 2.5 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; Model 200 amplifier in it's own single chassis, yay! Finally they got it</p><p></p><p>right!. But, not the most powerful amp compared to the competition, but</p><p></p><p>a solid amplifier overal. Zapco is still behind the competion by using a bipolar</p><p></p><p>power supply as competition was using mosfet.</p><p></p><p>Hifonics series V</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 2 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 2 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 2 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; IIRC, ambitious design to offer high power but it was a mess of an</p><p></p><p>amplifier. I called it 'sloppy bass power'.</p><p></p><p>Hifonics series VI</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 2 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 4 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; IIRC, new design.</p><p></p><p>Hifonics series VII</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 4 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; My favorite. Best dollar per wattage ratio, highest power per real-estate,</p><p></p><p>looks better than series VI or series VIII.</p><p></p><p>Hifonics series VIII</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 3 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; IIRC, same as series VII, different look.</p><p></p><p>Hifonics Gen X only {not Gen XI or beyond}</p><p></p><p>Cosmetics - 2 star</p><p></p><p>Build quality - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Price/Performance - 5 star</p><p></p><p>Misc; IIRC, no vari-power power supply like previous series, instead,</p><p></p><p>more real estate is used to dissipate heat and give it a lower impedance rating.</p><p></p><p>Very robust, probably the beefiest old school amp in it's time for the money spent.</p><p></p><p>Even today, it's a monster of a design.</p><p></p><p>I used Zapco model 200's in the day, may of them to split the load. Worked great</p><p></p><p>in bridged mode, but you needed alot of them. Later, I started to really like Hifonics</p><p></p><p>series VII and Gen X. Zed Audio wins the old school war if you ask me if you analyze all variables.</p><p></p><p>I used to do amplifier repair so guess what happened? I never got a Hifonics or Zapco for repair,</p><p></p><p>only Rockford Fosgate, Soundstream, PPI, Orion, Alphasonik {junk}, flea market amps.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="thylantyr, post: 1553850, member: 560358"] [B]Old School [/B] How far back are you going ? If you go way back {1983-1991}, then this is my opinion using the 5 star rating, 5 star being best. Linear Power; Cosmetics - 3 star {not the prettiest amp due to heatsink design} Build quality - 1 star {subpar PCB design, point to point wiring on 1 layer pcb} Price/Performance - 3 star {pretty good for the money} Misc - Great functional heatsink design, robust output stage, weak power supply that failed often. Soundstream; Cosmetics - 3 star Build quality - 3 star {Not amp repair friendly} Price/Performance - 2 star Misc; Class A over-hyped. Rockford Fosgate; Cosmetics - 5 star {Pretty amps} Build quality - 5 star Price/Performance - 2 star {too expensive per watt} Misc; Over-hyped. Precision Power; Cosmetics - 5 star Build quality - 5 star Price/Performance - 4 star Misc; Good bang for buck, Cosmetics vary, some are ugly. Orion; Cosmetics - 5 star Build quality - 5 star Price/Performance - 4 star Misc; Good bang for buck. Cosmetics vary, some are ugly. Zapco; {Model 150/200 only} Cosmetics - 2 star Build quality - 5 star Price/Performance - 2 star Misc; Very expensive low powered amplifier, but performance is excellent for said watts. Seperated amp/PS chassis was a bad idea. Despite it's drawbacks, it still outperformed the competition in it's time for it's power class. Zapco; {Model Z220} Cosmetics - 5 star Build quality - 5 star Price/Performance - 2.5 star Misc; Model 200 amplifier in it's own single chassis, yay! Finally they got it right!. But, not the most powerful amp compared to the competition, but a solid amplifier overal. Zapco is still behind the competion by using a bipolar power supply as competition was using mosfet. Hifonics series V Cosmetics - 2 star Build quality - 2 star Price/Performance - 2 star Misc; IIRC, ambitious design to offer high power but it was a mess of an amplifier. I called it 'sloppy bass power'. Hifonics series VI Cosmetics - 2 star Build quality - 4 star Price/Performance - 5 star Misc; IIRC, new design. Hifonics series VII Cosmetics - 4 star Build quality - 5 star Price/Performance - 5 star Misc; My favorite. Best dollar per wattage ratio, highest power per real-estate, looks better than series VI or series VIII. Hifonics series VIII Cosmetics - 3 star Build quality - 5 star Price/Performance - 5 star Misc; IIRC, same as series VII, different look. Hifonics Gen X only {not Gen XI or beyond} Cosmetics - 2 star Build quality - 5 star Price/Performance - 5 star Misc; IIRC, no vari-power power supply like previous series, instead, more real estate is used to dissipate heat and give it a lower impedance rating. Very robust, probably the beefiest old school amp in it's time for the money spent. Even today, it's a monster of a design. I used Zapco model 200's in the day, may of them to split the load. Worked great in bridged mode, but you needed alot of them. Later, I started to really like Hifonics series VII and Gen X. Zed Audio wins the old school war if you ask me if you analyze all variables. I used to do amplifier repair so guess what happened? I never got a Hifonics or Zapco for repair, only Rockford Fosgate, Soundstream, PPI, Orion, Alphasonik {junk}, flea market amps. [/QUOTE]
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