Good amps...old school vs. new school

[nismo]

Maybe I'm just a bit too out of the loop. I don't even know what to recommend for a good amp any more. I used to run MTX Blue Thunder Pro amps, and they seemed to do fairly well. I remember the PPI Power Class, PG Ti's, etc being great amps.

Looking at the new stuff, I like the '06-ish Kicker SX amps (the ones with 32 bit processing), but the problem is I don't know what's good or not any more.

The new stuff seems to be more efficient--esp. looking at class D amps, but how do the new ones really compare to the 2000-ish era?

Eric

[KU40]

I'd say it's about the same. You have your good stuff, average stuff, and junk. Most of the big brands have stayed pretty steady in their quality I think.

Efficiency has gone up a little, maybe 5%. Stuff I remember back then were about 75-80% efficient for class D's. May be just a little higher these days. Nothing has gotten too crazy.

[TalNLnky]

Are there any good "Bang for the Buck" amps anymore that don't look completely ridiculous?
I mean, I remember and still have two of the Blue US Acoustic amps.... the USX series that was designed by ZED Audio but actually made in asia wasn't too bad... and was cheap... At their peak they were on Both http://www.thezeb.com place went out of business a long time ago... sad day... and also on Crutchfield.

What happened to US Acoustics?


With that said... I have an 800F US Acoustics amp that I want to trade for something physically smaller (to fit under a seat)... the 2150, or 4065 would be perfect.. anybody got either of these amps in good working condition.. if so PM me.

[KU40]

I think Zed just went to making his own amps under his own name. Without him, US acoustics didn't have the quality. I haven't heard anything about them in a year or two. They may have crapped out.

I wish thezeb.com hadn't crapped out. that place was awesome about 6-8 years ago when I was first getting into it. They had good stuff for cheap and were super easy to deal with.

[TalNLnky]

Yeah... I bought my US Acoustics 2080 from thezeb for $93 shipped. Can't beat that price.... I know about the Zed Audio amps... think they are a bit out of my budget. I'm trying to just throw in a stereo and not pay a ton this time.

So nick.... what are some brands to look at on a budget?

[X-OvrDistortion]

Jensen is your choice Ryan.

[HawaiianBassHed]

I bought 6" aeroports from thezeb and they shipped them here for the same price they quoted me con.us price LOL... they never sold me anymore after though... or was it a pile of 4" ports... forget, think it was 8 4" ports lightning audio maybe if I'm remembering right... nice to see old users still kick it here.. ca.com and usaci have cocky kids that **** me off....

[HawaiianBassHed]

Jensen is your choice Ryan.

:lol: on your sig, I remember that scammer Jlaine wasn't it? what an azz... I hate those typa loosers.. or did he work for eD? damm I've been outta this circle for a while lol

[KU40]

Yeah... I bought my US Acoustics 2080 from thezeb for $93 shipped. Can't beat that price.... I know about the Zed Audio amps... think they are a bit out of my budget. I'm trying to just throw in a stereo and not pay a ton this time.

So nick.... what are some brands to look at on a budget?

I've been happy with my planet audio TT series amp. It is an old model though, not sure if you can still find them. You can find a bunch of refurbs of another line of theirs on ebay all the time. I'm not sure of the quality though.

Crossfire VR series is good as well.

[TalNLnky]

:lol: on your sig, I remember that scammer Jlaine wasn't it? what an azz... I hate those typa loosers.. or did he work for eD? damm I've been outta this circle for a while lol

you're thinking of the eD owner... Ben Milne