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WillistonAudioLabs

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Everything posted by WillistonAudioLabs

  1. Don't forget lots of hard work also...plus good timing equals success! I just hit 1,000,000 video views which was a bench mark for me. It's nothing compared to your channel, but the fact is it's a hobby and I'm having fun doing it...that's cool with me!
  2. Here's another consideration.... Value of the dollar. Back in 1991, when the Orion 2100 HCCA retailed for $1749, you could buy a brand new Honda Accord EX for how much? $16000? Comparable car today is around $25k. Here's a website I use on occasion to show people today's value of an amp's cost back in the "old school" MeasuringWorth.com There are several factors in comparing 1991 value to today, but this site estimates $1749 in 1991 relates to between $2650-4400 today! Now do your dollar per watt costs!!
  3. And it was a 100x2 or 400x1 SQ amp. The NT200 in the pic here is not mine, but a friend's. He also has the Earthquake PA-2300 now...but I've picked up a few more "monster" old school amps in the meantime. I tested the NT200 and did a few teaser videos about it as well on my YT channel.
  4. I love this thread, lots of good discussions here. I did, however, want to clarify a few things; 1) As mentioned before, the Orion 2100 HCCA and XTR-2250 "Beast" were essentially the same amp with different rail voltages. People think these are "WAY" underrated and put out more at high input voltages, but unfortunately, this is just not true. These amps have regulated power supplies and based on my tests (and Car Audio & Electronics back in 1991), the big Orion's put out around 800w RMS into a resistive load at 1% THD. Back in the early 90's, 800W was a TON of power and very few amps could claim this much power (HiFonics Colossus, Rockford Power 1000 Mosfet, etc.). I wasn't able to fully test the RF 1000 mosfet, but it got to around 600x2 bridged at 4 ohms (it's a 4ch amp) before overloading my 200A strapped power supplies! 2) The Orion Concept 97.3 special edition has some crazy ratings to handle 0.00067 ohm or something like that, but is actually an XTR-2250 in a different heat sink. Yes, the 97.3, which was rated at 0.5w/ch at 4 ohms was actually a 250x2 @4ohms amp and those who tried crazy ohm loads smoked their amp back in the day. Orion basically created this amp to make a point. At the time, US Amps had the VLX series (VLX-25, 50, 400, etc) and amps like the VLX-25 was rated at 12.5w/ch at 4 ohms and would actually do over 1000w loaded down. Since Orion created the first "real" cheater amp, the 225 HCCA, they felt they could end the cheater wars also. It got them in trouble in 1997 and this 97.3 was banned from competition use. Back in the 80's and 90's, amp manufacturers would many times underrate their amps to give them an advantage in the competition classes (based on wattage ratings at 4 ohms). 3) As technology advances, prices drop. This is good and bad. I'm always impressed nowadays to see 1000w amps go for $200 or less. I paid $275 back in 1991 for a "45 watt" Rockford Punch 45HD. The big difference is this amp was made in the USA and my purchase price helped pay for the US labor. China labor is dirt cheap, not to mention most of the amps today are assembled using fully automated processes (or mostly automated). 4) Just as the previous generation and audio purists claim Class A amplifier technology sounds best, many of us prefer Class AB as opposed to Class D. There are drawbacks (efficiency, cost, total power, etc), but those who focus on SQ can get by with 1000w or less for subs. I'm not trying to start an argument about which type of amplifier is best, b/c I believe this is a personal preference and there is no "Best" design. It just depends on what you personally prefer, and if you need 5kw to power your subs, Class D is the only way to go. Great thread, Steve and for those who like Old School amps here's a few pics you might enjoy...
  5. Here are some more of my dream amps....luckily I've been able to acquire them Mid-90's Lanzar Opti 50c Ultra-High Current Cheater Amps: (rated at 25x2 @4 stereo and up to 800x1@ 1/2 ohm bridged) (continuous power output test/video coming up soon!!) Late 90's US Amps VLX-50 Ultra High Current Cheater Amp - (rated 25x2 @4 and up to 1000x1 @1/2 ohm bridged) (will compare soon to Lanzar 50c to see who's the cheater amp king!) Late 80's Soundstream Monster MC500 - 125 x 4 @4 or 125x2 + 250x1 or 250x2 (Steve wants this one! The heatsink fins are HUGE!!! Almost swallows the CD!) (notice the dual stereo amps and completely isolated power supply. Old school at it's finest!) See the or embedded below: And various other Monster / Cheater amps from the 80's, 90's and 2000's See the or embedded below:
  6. Rolex, I've questioned Tony before about the wirewound resistors / o'scope-TrueRMS volt meter / DD-1 method and although I don't want to speak for him, he's mentioned this is an accurate way to obtain continuous power. This is essentially what the AD-1 does, but the ability to adjust the ohm load with a simple press of a button is WAY nice! I'm ready to beta test for you guys...send an AD-1 my way!!!
  7. It never ceases to amaze me how the ratings on these old school amps are misstated. It is true Orion rated it at 250w/ch at 4 ohms and 1000w/ bridged at 4 ohms, however this amp has basically the same amp internals as the GS500, which was tested by Car Audio & Electronics back in 1991 and it did "only" around 800w bridged at 4 ohms (continuous power). I have a trio of Orion's: XTR-2250, 2100 HCCA and Concept 97.3 I'm planning on bench testing for continuous power here in the near future. I've been told by some Orion experts to not expect over 800w from any of them, no matter what they are rated. Sounds like an interesting shootout? Stay tuned...
  8. Also, here was another "mythical" amp...the Phoenix Gold MPH6300. When it first hit the Car Audio Directories in the early 90's, it listed for $13,000, a few years later rising to $99,000. Rumor has it Phoenix Gold only made one and they weren't planning on selling it. As with many old school amps, it wasn't rated to deliver huge amounts of power. This one was rated at 75w x 6, yet was 46" long and weighed 116lbs! Read more info about the amp on PhoenixPhorum
  9. My top 3 back in the day were... - early 90's HiFonics Colossus VII - Early 90's Rockford Fosgate Power 1000c Mosfet - Early 90's Orion 2100 HCCA Well, I've been lucky enough to find two of the three...
  10. I'm guessing this is where the small PBR series designs originated? BTW, which issue of CA&E had this info? I can dig it out and scan the article if somebody can tell me which one it is...
  11. Thanks guys and for those who haven't priced a THD analyzer recently, last I checked they were in the $5k range. Amazing the fact the DD-1 can perform this function in addition to assisting with gain settings. Thanks to Steve for uploading the AD-1 "Amp Dyno" video using the DD-1's technology a few months ago...this gave me the idea to use the DD-1 for my amp tests.
  12. I've been using the DD-1 along w/ wirewond resistors and a Velleman HPS50 o'scope/True RMS Volt Meter to measure amplifier output power. Up til now, I've used my results based on the wattage output just before the LED "distortion" light came on the DD-1. I'm curious as to when the DD-1 detects the 1% distortion...is it when the distortion LED light first begins to light up or when the LED reaches a solid red color? I've decided the 1% THD measurement is a good one for my amplifier output tests and want to ensure I'm understanding the tool properly. For those who haven't seen my tests, I'll embed a couple of recent videos below: Rockford Fosgate Punch PBR300x2 Output Test: MTX "Terminator" MTA 250 Old School Amp Output Test:
  13. Most of you old schooler's will probably remember this.... 1992'ish Polk Audio C4 Subwoofer: Original MSRP was around $500. Not exactly a bass head's dream sub, but nice, clean hard hitting bass in a very small enclosure. I just picked this up off CL and it is in near MINT shape. Very cool design. Specs: Driver complement - Four 6x9 drivers monted in a isobaric push pull configuration Enclosure type - 4th order bandpass Frequency response - 25 to 150 Hertz Sensitivity - 94 db @ 1 Watt @ 1 Meter Recommended amplification - 25 to 200 Watts per channel Impedance - 4 Ohm stereo, 2 or 8 Ohm mono Dimensions - 8" H x 26.25" W x 17.125 D Weight - 26 pounds Pictures: Video:
  14. I posted this one in the Rockford forum, but thought some of you here may enjoy this. Like Old School Rockford Fosgate? See the video slideshow of OldSchoolStereo's collection... On or embedded below:
  15. Cool man, thanks. I have a pile of stuff I want to test, too bad I have a day job!

  16. Here are some I posted a while back... RF Punch 150HD vs. Phoenix Gold MS-275 Overview RF Punch 150HD vs. PG MS-275 - RMS Power Output Test
  17. I recently put up a few vids about the Old School (1985-1993) Rockford Fosgate Power 650 Mosfet...Check them out! Rockford Fosgate Power 650 Mosfet "Teaser" (0:34) Rockford Fosgate Power 650 Mosfet Overview (5:35) See the Power 650 Mosfet's In Action (Wayne Harris' 1985 "Terminator" Hearse)(10:57) Also, see a 30" EV Sub!!! (This is dBDrag's video, not mine)
  18. Excellent article and great continued press for an excellent tool! Great job w/ the design, implementation and marketing of this product. I've been extremely pleased with my DD-1 and hats off to D'Amore Engineering for pulling off an easy to use, well designed and durable gain setting/amp distortion detecting tool. I'll stop embellishing now, but it is WELL deserved!!
  19. Yes, the SounDigital SD250.2D and Rockford PBR series are some serious mini amps! I guess my point of doing these videos is to show you get what you pay for. Sure, we know the difference, but there are many people out there who don't...
  20. Have you noticed the "500 WATT" mini amps on eBay? In most cases, these mini amps are under $20 US shipped. So, how can they make such a small amp so inexpensive and so powerful? Well, first of all, don't always believe output power specs unless more details are provided. For example, the Kinter MA-150 has a big, silk-screened "500 Watts" on the heatsink. One might think since someone took the time to put such a rating on an amp, there would be some truth to it, right? Well, not necessarily...The MA-150 doesn't mention any RMS wattage output rating, so one is to assume the 500 watts is legit. Well, my friends, don't fool yourself! This $15 amp is NO 500 Watt amp. In fact, the most power I could squeeze out of it (with distortion galore) was about 30 watts. This was 30 Watts combining BOTH channels! Watch the video to see the full measurements. I used my SMD DD-1 and Velleman HPS50 to measure everything from unloaded Voltage output to resistive loads from 8 ohms down to 2 ohms. I bought several of these "mini" amps off eBay and plan on testing them in upcoming videos. I'm just hoping to inform those who may not understand why one "500 Watt" amp can be $15 and another can be $250. POWA TO THE PEOPLE!! See the video below: See my playlist of the other amps from the -BigDWiz
  21. Great deal, I have no regrets buying my DD-1 a few weeks ago. I'll be using it for MANY of my upcoming videos for testing old school amp output power. The DD-1 can be used for much more than setting gains...Great deal for those of you who don't have one. Don't miss out on this superb deal!!
  22. I call the review "A New School Tool for Old School Amp Testing" "Now, I must be honest. The unit's ability to match gains is a great feature, but I've had this ability with my Velleman HPS50 portable o'scope for a while. A recent video on Steve's channel about the upcoming AD-1 "amp dyno" got the wheels spinning in my old school head. This DD-1 can be used for more than just matching gains...it can be used to assist in amplifier output testing! This feature in a sub $200 device is unheard of. A bench version of a THD analyzer can cost MANY thousands of dollars. I've been watching eBay for a year or more hoping to find a deal on one of these THD analyzers so I could verify distortion during my amplifier tests. After seeing the AD-1 demo, I was convinced to buy the DD-1 to use as a tool in my RMS output tests. The DD-1 has proved to be an invaluable tool and will ensure accuracy in my amplifier tests. I have MANY old school amps I plan on testing in the upcoming months. The DD-1 will ensure < 1% distortion in my results which is great. As I mentioned above, not only do many manufacturers rate amps by "Max" output, they also sometimes use distortion numbers up to 10% for their ratings. I think it's important to keep the distortion less than 1%, which should be inaudible for most people." Also, see a couple of video's I've made thus far using the DD-1:
  23. Won't be long before you'll be like Mickey D's....1 billion served! Great job and this is proof positive hard work = success!!
  24. I also have a video up showing v1 of this project. I like v2 much better, but you have to start somewhere!!
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