"Old school" Gear overrated???

[miker 5,000+ posts]

very efficient muffuqqas //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

What is the deal with the smaller V12? I have the ability to get my hands on a 100m for cheap, worth while?

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-classifieds/497066-old-school-kicker-xpl-15s.html

you can still buy kicker XPLs brand new if you really want to

"Credence Speakers Product Page"

 

[infamous_e46 5,000+ posts]

Old school gear is such a clusterfuck of bs....When i had it, it was just gear...Now its "uber rare" and half the time really outdated and prob sounds worse then Sshit out now...People were having these talks back then. I just laugh when i see these "rare" equip threads and its Sshit we were saying was crap way back then.. But now it's "old school" so it must be good.
/rant

Discusssss..

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

as someone who runs a mix of late 90's, early 2000's, and a newer processor - I think your system should be a combination of what you want and what you can afford. I think speakers and processors should be recent due to advances in technology and component reliability - but amplifiers are near timeless.

i would like to run new Genesis Series III or Audison Thesis amplifiers - but i can't justify spending that much. so instead of paying $300 for a new POS amp, you can spend $300 on an "old school" amp that outperforms with lower THD and better build quality. I'm not a fan of most of the cheap outsourced stuff under $500. reliability is low, build quality is low, and sound quality is low.

people hang onto what they used when they were younger, common with musical tastes and also the gear they run. but mostly, i think it's an issue of budget. if we could all afford to spend thousands on each component, we wouldn't care about most of the "old school" equipment. sadly, we don't build $10k systems so we make ourselves feel better by holding the now affordable "old school" gear in high regard.

but each amp does sound different - so there is some personal preference in there. I personally like the sound of pre-Mitek xtant amplifiers, so i use them. it's also nice that they can be had for a fraction of the price while insurance companies give you MSRP value. i also like the sound of Audison LRx and will replace my xtant amps with them someday - but the frugal side of me will probably buy them used.

 

[nateberrier 10+ year member]

I really like some of the older amps that ive run, i can usually get them dirt cheap in trade hehe and taking the bottom plate off usually tells all. nothing under the hood and surface mount components ICK. Also A lot of made in japan amps have my heart. ill run a newer amp if it sounds good and i like the way it sounds, so i do sometimes, but I have my preferences and thats that.

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

I prefer older used stuff myself. A new amp of the same quality will cost twice as much. And most newer amps are just ugly IMO.

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

lol at caraudio we only have this fondness for old school in this genre of electronics you will never hear anyone say how there old 90s tube American made tvs are so much better than this new hi def crap or how i would love to throw out my xbox360 if i can just get my hands on a classic Nintendo,a lot of old amps were hi tech for there time but cant compare to what we have now can you even imagine a amp that could do 15k back then

 

[RFCV 10+ year member]

A lot of old amps were hi tech for their time, but can't compare to what we have now.

I very strongly disagree with this statement! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif I still faithfully run 2 RF Punch 150's from 1989, just before the HD models. They completely amaze the new generation of kids & bring it back for the old schoolers like myself that know the truth. They CAN compare & even surpass most of the new school of comparable amps in their class, especially in clean SQ.

BTW, this also goes for gunz4me2.

* Granted, I do take very good care of my audio equipment over the years, car in garage & don't play system as much as I did.. mainly competitions every now & then. Daily drive stock SUV.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

One of my friends is still running my old 1988 or 1989, pre-HD, Punch 150 and the Circa 1997 12" Solobaric that was in my 1996 Thunderbird from 1997 to 1999. IIRC the birth sheet on that amplifier showed 430 watts RMS at 4 ohms bridged, so it wasn't too shabby for being rated to produce 180 watts RMS bridged. In terms of power output, that OG Punch 150 is no match for my 25 to Life Punch 150 that will output 960 watts RMS at 4 ohms bridged.

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

My Eclipse EA3532 was made around '03. Not old school by any means, but it was made far enough back that it is still an under rated beast. Rated for 120@2 on the sub channel it was louder to the ear than my XA5000 which is an under rated 420@2 on the sub channel. Thats with everything identical. Gains, song, tuning, imp rise, everything and the EA3532 was louder.

 

[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

lol at caraudio we only have this fondness for old school in this genre of electronics

You havent looked at prices on vintage home tube amps from the 50's and 60's, have you?

Car audio is not unique in paying good money for well engineered older amps.

 

[RFCV 10+ year member]

In terms of power output, that OG Punch 150 is no match for my 25 to Life Punch 150 that will output 960 watts RMS at 4 ohms bridged.

My 2 together are though & I said new "comparable amps in their class", not new 'Limited Edition' of the same company, make & model. We are talking about old school here Chris

 

[brian84corvette 10+ year member]

I have feelings that go both ways.

because im 30 years old - when I see a us vxl 200 or 400 I get a boner

why ?

because of what it represents.

when I was 16 this was the mack daddy of amps - and to have one in your viechle - you practicly had to re design the interior to fit the dam thing in

but it was that serious. - my logical brain tells me that I can buy a sundown amp for cheaper - and have much more reliable amp capable of the same or more power than what the old vxl 200 would do for me - and if I did end up buying that old school powerhouse amp and I managed to smoke it up.. it would be crazy costly to repair if I could even find some one capable of doing the repair correctly. running that old school amp is riding the knife edge of what iffs and would only be done by me if I had my SHOW car finished to a point of being ready to go to the las vegas super show - then I would install the gear my heart desires - but until my car gets to that point I want to drive it and bump furiously - and I will keep my saz hooked to the subs until my car gets built up to the point of being too nice to take out of the garage exept to go win trophys at shows on the back of a trailor.... wich will probly never ever happen.

that being said - when I go to my local flea markets and pawn shops - im always on the hunt for old gear. and if I can haggle it for a good deal ill buy it right up.

ive got 8 or so old school amps right now and 2 pairs of old school subs that still beat nice.

I love the nostalga / and cost effectivness of buying good old school gear and using it in my viechles.

but

also the newest car ive ever owned is my 1990 chevy 2500 - my other viechle is a 72 plymouth - and ive had a 72 pontiac and a 66 vw bug

so it makes more sence for me to use "apropriate" old school gear in an older viechle.

putting a 1985 amp in a 2005 lexus viechle seems rather silly to me - but im strange to begin with.

 

[RFCV 10+ year member]

I found out that the old school gear was not capable of competing with modern day gear. I also found that my memory faded with time and some of those "best" amplifiers from my high school days still commanding a high price on eBay were easily outperformed by budget amplifiers of today.

That's all in your opinion & you are in the minority.

They were hand made in the USA back when there were little quality control standards.

False. How do you think the big companies got their name to be respected to this day with quality gear when they began.. by blood, sweat & tears my friend.

Then again, this is a hobby.

Can be a lifestyle to some

I'll take something more modern that has a better chance of working correctly out of the box

I personally would not want that gamble with most gear being made now overseas

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

That's all in your opinion & you are in the minority.

I have a love/hate relationship with old school gear. I still love the Orion HCCA, GX, and SX series but I've been burned with halfway working gear on eBay one too many times. I guess I am lucky because most of the Orions that still remain in my collection were from forum members on DIYMA and those worked correctly whereas the sole 250SX that I purchased on eBay needed repair.

False. How do you think the big companies got their name to be respected to this day with quality gear when they began.. by blood, sweat & tears my friend.

True. Many also made their reputations by using the best possible components from that period that they find could for a product's selling point, which is a rarity these days with overseas manufacturers. There was also an advantage to things being hand built in the USA that you don't get from mass produced overseas boards... If your assembler screwed up, you could go smack them in the back of the head and tell them to tighten up. Also, if the design engineer thought of an improvement, the changes could be immediate versus having to wait for an overseas company to implement the changes.

Can be a lifestyle to some

It was mine for a while! I guess there are worse things that I could have spent my money on.

I personally would not want that gamble with most gear being made now overseas

Most of the amplifiers that I am running these days were made here in Louisiana with the manufacturer being 30 to 45 minutes away, depending on how fast I drive. If I have any questions, all I need to do is pick up the phone. If I want to BS, all I need to do is drop on by. You can't beat that kind of service!

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