Old School Soundstream Reference Amps good for this setup?

[Preston Meyers]

Looking to put together a very basic system for my daily driver. I was into car audio a little bit in the mid 90s but haven't been at all for years. From my previous foray I have two soundstream reference series amps. I've got one reference 200 and one reference 3.0 that I'd like to use in the following setup but I'm not sure if they are up to the job. I'll be honest that I don't have very discrimating ears and I'm not looking for anything too special but I would like to know I am powering my speakers adequately. If these amps aren't up to the job I'd gladly welcome any recommendations on reasonably priced ones that might do the job with a little room to grow.

So here is the system

HU - Sony CDX705

Front Stage - PG RSD 625

Sub JL 12W3 (almost as old as the amps!) Probably be in a simple ported enclosure.

Refernence 200 is only rated at like 50x2 @4 ohms and I know the PG's seem to like a bit more than that.

Reference 3.0 will do about 300 at the 1.5ohm load which is most likely fine for the sub.

Car is a compact 4 door hatch so don't need a ton to make it listenable. Just want to do better than the factory setup and be able to play some mp3 cd's as well.

Thanks for any input and feel free to make any recommendations at all. Like I said I'm just looking for something to make my 2hrs each day in my car more enjoyable, not looking to compete or be heard 3 blocks away.

Click to read more...

 

[310w6 10+ year member]

sounds like a good daily...i'm a fan of the reference and older amps.(thumbs up)

 

[Preston Meyers]

sounds like a good daily...i'm a fan of the reference and older amps.(thumbs up)

I am a fan of the older reference stuff as well.

23 views and not one other comment? Thought I'd at least get one or two people telling me my stuff was crap?

 

[jblayz1 10+ year member]

me loveth the old school. keep the reference amps. bridge the 200 to the RD's. if anything toss the HU. IMO, sony HU's blow. and they are ugly too. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[310w6 10+ year member]

I am a fan of the older reference stuff as well.
23 views and not one other comment? Thought I'd at least get one or two people telling me my stuff was crap?

use to be quality stuff made right out of Folsom,Ca not too far from me i still have a few old school SS amps might be parting with them (more like my whole amp collection)soonhave too many amps not in use stored very well over 10 years

 

[Preston Meyers]

me loveth the old school. keep the reference amps. bridge the 200 to the RD's. if anything toss the HU. IMO, sony HU's blow. and they are ugly too. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

Beauty certainly is in the eye of the beholder. As far as quality, I've heard a few good things about the 705+ line. Main selling point to me was 4V preouts and a separate sub out. I like that flexibility all at the headunit.

Certainly don't think Sony is great but pretty sure it will fill my needs. Welcome to offer any recommendations for a decent price but it's unlikely I'll swap it out without at least first trying it.

The 200 is only a 2 channel amp, are you recommending I bridge it to one channel and run the rd's off just the one channel. Amp would take it no problem I know and it would provide the power I needed but wouldn't I be giving up a lot of tuning capability doing it like that.

 

[Preston Meyers]

use to be quality stuff made right out of Folsom,Ca not too far from me i still have a few old school SS amps might be parting with them (more like my whole amp collection)soonhave too many amps not in use stored very well over 10 years

Let me know if you are parting any multichannels. Would like something like a 705.

Still kicking myself for not buying a davinci a few years ago at a very nice price. It was/is way more amp then I needed but it still is sick.

 

[310w6 10+ year member]

Let me know if you are parting any multichannels. Would like something like a 705.Still kicking myself for not buying a davinci a few years ago at a very nice price. It was/is way more amp then I needed but it still is sick.

i do have a REF 705s and a 405s 5ch monster's both in mint condish and a few RUBI 1002 and 502 all mint unless the price is right i'll.....//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif have other amps too!

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

keep the reference amps. bridge the 200 to the RD's.

The amp in stereo will send more than enough power to those comps to be loud enough for most sane people. Bridging a single 2 channel amp to a pair of components that are to be installed as a stereo pair is one of the dumbest suggestions I've seen in at least a week on here.

 

[Preston Meyers]

The amp in stereo will send more than enough power to those comps to be loud enough for most sane people. Bridging a single 2 channel amp to a pair of components that are to be installed as a stereo pair is one of the dumbest suggestions I've seen in at least a week on here.

HAHA ok I know I'm a novice at this stuff but it really had me scratching my head on that one.

Since I have the 200 already I am going to try it out. If I feel like it's not enough it isn't a big deal to change it out.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[valter 10+ year member]

Just be careful with High Voltage/High current switch if it will have one and you'll be fine. Set it properly and never touch it with amp powered on. You will be impressed with SQ of old school Soundstream amps.

 

[Preston Meyers]

Just be careful with High Voltage/High current switch if it will have one and you'll be fine. Set it properly and never touch it with amp powered on. You will be impressed with SQ of old school Soundstream amps.

Thanks for the warning on the switch, both amps do have the switch so I'll make sure to set it and forget it as they say.

I always liked the old Soundstream and figured that it would work well but I wanted to check in with people more knowledgeable about today's technology. Seems like everywhere I turn electronics are getting cheaper and cheaper and in many ways better and better.

Thanks for the advice guys and I'm sure I'll be back for some tuning ideas once I get everything installed.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Cheaper, yes. Better, not necessarily. Those Soundstreams that you have are excellent amps. Some of the best ever made. Quality generally much better than most amps sold today.

 

[Preston Meyers]

Cheaper, yes. Better, not necessarily.

Well I was thinking more in regards to TV's/DVD players/Cell Phones etc not as much car audio.

Pretty sure this setup will keep me happy, I'm not looking for anything that's going to be ear bleedingly loud, I just want some nice clean sound that makes my hour commute more enjoyable.

Thanks for all the advice - now to stay off ebay and avoid buying up all the old reference amps I can find. hahaha

 

[saddam]

Hi All,

Im a newbie in this forum,

Im looking for Soundstream 705s in mint condition. anyone want to sell it with reasonable price can contact me through PM or email risky.syauta@gmail.com

Cheers