Usamps tour afterthoughts and videos

[flakko 5,000+ posts]

I think you need to open your eyes to how marketing and all that works.. if thats all you picked up from the video..

indeed. B&M mass sales and small internet companies are VERY VERY different. IMO small Internet businesses/companies (like yours i believe) are dedicated to the enthusiast. the hobbyist who has a passion for the trade.

Most B&M dealers on the other hand is mainly for the sales and to make teh green //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/greedy.gif.5a53e6246569d7ab79867170f3b06629.gif

correct me if im wrong

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

I stilll want an MD3D though

 

[BloWNMind 10+ year member]

Wow, he made a long excuse for lieing about the exterminators.

 

[Canaan 10+ year member]

Anyone have any ACTUAL test #'s from the Xterminator amps???

Also, what voltage do they 'rate' them at?....16V or something?

 

[flakko 5,000+ posts]

Anyone have any ACTUAL test #'s from the Xterminator amps???
Also, what voltage do they 'rate' them at?....16V or something?

during the tour we did a test of a newly designed class D xterminator forgot if it was a 2000d or a 4000d, but ill get that vid up of the bench.

i think they pulled the numbers from a hat or something...not sure how they got the MAX ratings...probably the same way other companies do. these are the cea ratings...some may be off, but its pretty close to the cea ratings (14.4) ill see if i can get more solid confirmed numbers from dirk himself. he dont lie about this stuff.

http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/index.php?s=&showtopic=4414&view=findpost&p=114610

 

[redlinese-r 10+ year member]

makes business sense...otherwise you'd see usamps being bought by Pyramid. Remember Lanzar, PPI, Cerwin Vega? Sad. It's the uneducated/cheap buyers that promote the extinction of these good companies because inorder to survive, they have to appeal to these types of consumers...

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

i always hated sh!t like this

why dont they hook up the amps to what a car idles at, around 13.7 and scope them at that

and label a 2 channel amp that puts out 100 watts a side like this... 100.2 (100x2 at 4 ohms)

or a mono block like this 1000.1 (1000x1 at 1 ohm)

not some 4000d that only does 800 watts x 1 at 1 ohm //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

fuk the market, word of mouth... ftw... b!tches //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[flakko 5,000+ posts]

makes business sense...otherwise you'd see usamps being bought by Pyramid. Remember Lanzar, PPI, Cerwin Vega? Sad. It's the uneducated/cheap buyers that promote the extinction of these good companies because inorder to survive, they have to appeal to these types of consumers...

indeed. with dirk at the reigns of R&D this will NEVER happen to usamps.

fuk the market, word of mouth... ftw... b!tches

agreed being indie makes the owner feel like he has a special unique piece of equipment. I love it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[exige 10+ year member]

I think you need to open your eyes to how marketing and all that works.. if thats all you picked up from the video..

point is, it's US Amps....but this is not the same US Amps that we're used to. i dont care about marketing...i care about the product being put out, and the honesty to the customer...you would NEVER see JL do this. "blah blah blah JL has a bigger customer base".....doesnt matter.....it shows US is in it for the money. he basically stated he doesn't care about the customer anymore, he's happy to take advantage of them. it's one thing to overrate your amps, its another thing to, on tape, say that you don't give a $hit.

sundown would never do this, zapco wouldn't do it. i'm someone who cares about the honesty to the customer and the service that's provided to them. in my mind, this puts US on the same level as Hifonics. i understand that things have changed since US and RE came together, but dishonesty to the customer is not correct regardless of what you say. Not caring about it and blatantly saying so brings US to an even lower level in my mind.

 

[Anotherguy 10+ year member]

Its makes total since. Yes they're in it for the money, aren't most businesses? Look at if from a novice consumers point of view. You have brand A and Brand B, they haven't heard of either. They both claim 4000 watts, but one is $149.99 and the other is $999. Which do you think they are going to choose. That is the majority of the market. They are the "what can I get for cheap" people. The people (like most of us on here) that are willing to spend big money on quality equipment, are few and far between in the real world.

I never once got that he didn't give a shit about the customer, he based his actions on what is needed to stay competitive and keep his company moving up.

Just my $.02

 

[Canaan 10+ year member]

We get alot of people in the shop looking for cheap systems...some come in talking about their buddy's 2000w (Insert crap brand here) amp.

In shop, the best thing to do is actually show them what equipment can do. Not just higher line stuff, but budget setups. Hell, in our shop we have a special going right now for 2 12" subs, prebuilt ported box, and a 400wrms amp. Also, showing them the difference in peak and rms is important.

If you actually take time to talk to customer and show them you care about getting them the right equipment for their budget...you wont just make one sale, but they will tell friends. Be honest, let word spread. Also, w/ underground brands...let their performance speak for itself.

 

[Canaan 10+ year member]

Oh...and not to rant...

But when you look at dealer pricing on USamps and some other CEA2006 rated amps...you can get TRUE RATED POWER amps for the same cost if not less than the XT's.

Then, you can pass those savings on to your consumers.

They will have a superior amp and the same or less of a hit to their wallet!

Sure...non-knowing consumers will bite on a "4000w" amp, but any decent shop SHOULD inform their customers. If you work at a shop and do not...I would be ashamed.

I get tired of people coming in talking about this and that place told them its ok to run 3000w+ on stock electrical.

Alot of people will believe the first thing the first shop they go to tells them.

It is the shops/companies like this that are hurting the 12V industry as a whole.

You would be amazed how many people I seen w/ fried Earthquake amps. (as well as other brands that rate like this) //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

I feel sorry for the customers that have this happen to them. Hell, I used to be one...as were most of you at one time.

 

[flakko 5,000+ posts]

We get alot of people in the shop looking for cheap systems...some come in talking about their buddy's 2000w (Insert crap brand here) amp.
In shop, the best thing to do is actually show them what equipment can do. Not just higher line stuff, but budget setups. Hell, in our shop we have a special going right now for 2 12" subs, prebuilt ported box, and a 400wrms amp. Also, showing them the difference in peak and rms is important.

If you actually take time to talk to customer and show them you care about getting them the right equipment for their budget...you wont just make one sale, but they will tell friends. Be honest, let word spread. Also, w/ underground brands...let their performance speak for itself.

not a lot of stores do that with thier customers. your store is a rare case that actually shows people the truth and i commend you for that. More stores need to follow your example. If more stores tell the truth, more people will become educated, then the "MAX" bs ratings won't be needed, only then will the companies will that trend and the Underground internet brands will have a chance against the heavy hitters.

unfortunately the market isnt like that. Because of the internet and ebay and such, a lot of stores are struggling to stay in the black. therefore they need to make a sale at every chance they get. And this is EXACTLY why usamps did what they did, to make the quick sales to someone who just wants some simple bump in thier trunk, which unfortunately makes up most of the market.

as for underground brands, i like to bring up RE and thier attempt to go dealer network. Didn't work too well because pretty much the ONLY following they had was on the internet which makes up like less than 10% of the total market. Now take a look at what usamps did with RE. Drop the internet and go straight B&M, sales have increased immensely, and they are moving a crapload of product.

 

[bose301s 5,000+ posts]

JR is the VP of usamps. I too am kinda disappointed in the direction they took with the xterminator line. however, if they want to go mainstream, where to be honest most of the money is, they have to do what they do.
also like JR said, they are just going with the market trend for the low end. but in a business sense, it makes sense. usamps is still a fairly underground brand name, and when trying to sell for example Xt2000D with its true CEA ratings vs a kenwood 2000w MAX amp, its tough because the average customer doesnt know who the heck usamps is, and would prefer to go with the kenwood because the kenwood does 2000w and the 2000d does like 800. that's my take on it from an objective POV.

And it's douche baggery IMO, rating an 800 watt amp at more than double what it puts out is flat out lying. Maybe they should take advice from a respectable company, Sundown has entry level amps as well, the SAE series, yet they are still under rated, the SAE-1000D by more than 100 watts. Its the sign of a company who has no ethics, similar to ED.

 

[sundownz Pro Seller]

It is very difficult to compete with accurate ratings... I don't plan to change, but I hear it all the time.

My B&M dealers will sometimes comment that "brand x" 100x2 amp costs less than my SAX-100.2 -- but the SAX-100.2 does it's power at 12.8 volts (less, even).

Then... cheap companies will write "800 watts" on their amp that does 100 x 2 @ 14.4 volts -- so they think it does twice what the SAX-100.2 does bridged. When, in reality, it probably does 2/3 or less in real life in an actual car.

It's tough to convince many customers... and even many shop owners of this. Simply due to the way the market it. I'm a small company I don't have to grow 100% sales every year to stay in business... I can afford to rate my stuff the way I want it. I plan to stay that way too as long as I can pay the bills //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif If I can't pay the bills and sell an honest product I'll move to a different industry rather than going the route of lying to customers.

I understand why US Amps did what they did... doesn't mean I like it or agree with it. But, the guy is right... customers will often buy the big number with cheap price regardless of what they are told by their dealer.