Old School

[KickerL715 10+ year member]

RF has to be one of the best old school AMPS

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

I went back to old school and will keep it that way.

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

Any more posts?

 

[cx-7heaven 10+ year member]

This is running my 8 id8's in my truck @ 4 ohm:

Loving it. I use it, just because I love the OS PPI, and always wanted one. I have been thinking about putting a RF DSM/IX system together, maybe a power 1000 thrown in the mix.

 

[Upgrayedd 10+ year member]

I run "oldschool" amps but is mainly because I can do it for less money than an equivalent new. Adcom has not let me down. Luckily you can pick them up cheap anymore. Back in 95 my 4404 would have been over a grand, now they are less than $400 and I would put them against any 75-100x4 a/b in output and transparency. It has ran my entire car in the past and currently will just run front stage. I just picked up An older usacoustics for sub duty. Once again the price was right and I refuse to run class D.

I have stayed away from stuff like Old RF, PPI , LP, and SS for the most part because I feel for the most part they are overpriced due to collectors feeling the need for a showpiece. Ive had a few over the years but as the prices went up, I became less impressed. I still feel the Kicker ZR circa 99 and First 2-3 generations of MTX thunder and blue thunder are about the best deals out of anything. I have nothing against new amps, there are plenty of quality ones. Main reason I stay away is 1.) fear of change to an extent. I know about amps till 04ish, after that it is a mess of good and bad. The reputable companies are hardly that and there are a lot of small companies that are building quality. Hard to tell what is what though since the same board will be in 8 amps ranging from $150-$400. and 2.) there aren't as many affordable larger class a/b. My method can yeald me 800-1krms a/b for less than $200.

Not all oldschool is that great anyway. There was midline and crap then just like now. I see crossfire brought up a lot. They were pretty good amps but they were entry line and in my experience drew an excessive amout of current. USAcoustics is another. Zed was not an end all of the ultimate. USAcoustics were a mid line product that did advertised and sometimes more. I've had some usa and usx over the years. None let me down but none made me tear up either.

As far as speakers I feel that they are better than ever. There are so many small sub companies making drivers to do whatever you want so that is covered. There is more information than ever about how to make $75 in drivers from PE or madisound sound better than a $500 component set which is a segway to my next opinion.

With real processing available to the masses, active setups can be done affordably. The days of 3-4 large processors are over. Even people running pro audio gear can just rock one Behringer piece that does it all. You can even pick up head units that do it all for less than $200 used. You couldn't do that in 99.

As far as head units themselves go I do believe the 90s did see some of the best. However I feel in a non competitive environment (driving) the good of today can hold a candle to the best of then and you now can play other formats and do processing in one unit, eliminating cables, components, and noise.

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

I run "oldschool" amps but is mainly because I can do it for less money than an equivalent new. Adcom has not let me down. Luckily you can pick them up cheap anymore. Back in 95 my 4404 would have been over a grand, now they are less than $400 and I would put them against any 75-100x4 a/b in output and transparency. It has ran my entire car in the past and currently will just run front stage. I just picked up An older usacoustics for sub duty. Once again the price was right and I refuse to run class D.
I have stayed away from stuff like Old RF, PPI , LP, and SS for the most part because I feel for the most part they are overpriced due to collectors feeling the need for a showpiece. Ive had a few over the years but as the prices went up, I became less impressed. I still feel the Kicker ZR circa 99 and First 2-3 generations of MTX thunder and blue thunder are about the best deals out of anything. I have nothing against new amps, there are plenty of quality ones. Main reason I stay away is 1.) fear of change to an extent. I know about amps till 04ish, after that it is a mess of good and bad. The reputable companies are hardly that and there are a lot of small companies that are building quality. Hard to tell what is what though since the same board will be in 8 amps ranging from $150-$400. and 2.) there aren't as many affordable larger class a/b. My method can yeald me 800-1krms a/b for less than $200.

Not all oldschool is that great anyway. There was midline and crap then just like now. I see crossfire brought up a lot. They were pretty good amps but they were entry line and in my experience drew an excessive amout of current. USAcoustics is another. Zed was not an end all of the ultimate. USAcoustics were a mid line product that did advertised and sometimes more. I've had some usa and usx over the years. None let me down but none made me tear up either.

As far as speakers I feel that they are better than ever. There are so many small sub companies making drivers to do whatever you want so that is covered. There is more information than ever about how to make $75 in drivers from PE or madisound sound better than a $500 component set which is a segway to my next opinion.

With real processing available to the masses, active setups can be done affordably. The days of 3-4 large processors are over. Even people running pro audio gear can just rock one Behringer piece that does it all. You can even pick up head units that do it all for less than $200 used. You couldn't do that in 99.

As far as head units themselves go I do believe the 90s did see some of the best. However I feel in a non competitive environment (driving) the good of today can hold a candle to the best of then and you now can play other formats and do processing in one unit, eliminating cables, components, and noise.

Good post. I don't think that old school amplifiers are the best because I have heard many of the newer amplifiers and to me they all sound the same. However in my college days I just couldn't afford a lot of that high end stuff that people are literally selling the same dirt cheap on EBAY these days. Some of the older amps have a look and feel of quality that appeals to me. A lot of that is just me, my nostalgia and times when my buddies and I showed off each others cars and all of that. This is also the same reason why I own a mint nissan 300zx as well. As far as speakers and all of that other stuff, I believe that the stuff made today is much better than what was made 10-15 years ago whether its made in China, Korea, etc.

Looking at the PPI amp that was just posted is a good example of what I am talking about. That amp just looks like a badass looking amp, even if it is a current hog. It was made when PPI was at their absolute best, American made before Directed Electronics messed them up. It would sell in mint condition for a fraction of the price as it would have in 1998. There are soooo many old school classic amps sold on EBAY that are in mint condition that have been sitting in people's garages for years that is isn't even funny anymore. If I can find my classics that I like individually sold for dirt cheap then I will buy them.

Other than that I think there is definitely a place for new school amplifiers just not for me.

 

[RFCV 10+ year member]

As far as speakers and all of that other stuff, I believe that the stuff made today is much better than what was made 10-15 years ago whether its made in China, Korea, etc.

I would still put my 15" Cerwin Vega 'Vega' series sub which I bought in 1999 up against new subs in it's class today..def 1 badass sub, for sure! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Maybe old school CV subs compared to others from old can still hang today, mainly because they are the innovators of bass!

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

They make good stuff.

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

My v maxes are beasts.

 

[CFaist 10+ year member]

My Favorites were the first LANZAR Opti-drive's, soundstream, RF, PPI, I used em because they seemed like you got a true Power. I remember putting my old Opti150 up against a newer audiobahn that was rated at 75x2 RMS and my Lanzar just murderd it. Now as far as 1000 watts and up. the newer Class D's are great. But if I Want to run an SQ set-up I'll prollwy find my old school stuff again.

 

[05fronty 5,000+ posts]

lets see here, i used to run orion hcca's, phoenix gold m series, still have a couple of linear 652's laying around here somewhere.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

I still have a few old school pieces in my closet.....

 

[CFaist 10+ year member]

I still have a few old school pieces in my closet.....

OH MY DAM!!!! I think I need a change of pants and a bib! Don't know whether to say Nice collection or you ****! Very nice. collection man. I kick myself in the ass daily for letting all my stuff go.

 

[SqGuySoCal562 10+ year member]

i personally love all the old school amps but my favorite is any ones made by zed

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

OH MY DAM!!!! I think I need a change of pants and a bib! Don't know whether to say Nice collection or you ****! Very nice. collection man. I kick myself in the ass daily for letting all my stuff go.

Heres the other side of my closet.....