1993 Phoenix Gold MPS-2500 - Who's Cheating? [4K]

[@izrael2321]

I was 11 years old in 1991 and looked through car audio books as a child I always fell in luv with Phoenix gold amps ,every magazine you picked up in the 90's they always had nice spreads u fold out and the whole amp line displayed with the current demo vehicle ,,god it brings back memories.... I love what your doing car audio and pro audio was my hobby in the 90's I'm about ready to get into it when I get my new house soon..

[@wal]

Awesome!

[@jeffreylittle8405]

Me too! 1980! And I fell in love with pg back then. I collect then now. I actually have a custom dual 2500 with a tenth anniversary plexi.

[@Siryn]

I miss the old Phoenix Gold stuff! I used to run a few of their amps and some original MB Quart components. The old school stuff is so much better sounding and built than the new stuff by far.

[@Toid]

I remember when Phoenix Gold was the stuff

[@wal]

Yessir! They were hard to find in my area and sold at list price. I always wanted one, but they were too $$ for me

[@DibeezyTheGifted]

Me too. Rolling thunder in Las Vegas swore by them back in 1995

[@michaelhollon5332]

When....? Just kidding. Always wanted a Phoenix Gold amp but the only one I could afford was a burnt one.

[@joshholden8561]

They still are Phoenix Gold remained top tier amps and they had some really good high end subs also.

[@tinytrax1978]

Big D I’m posting this from the hospital we welcomed our premee baby girl Wednesday eve and this was her first KZbin video she ever seen keep up the good work she and I loved it !

[@wal]

That’s awesome! Congrats on the baby girl 👧

[@joeyholthusen6495]

Old school punch 200 is still one of my favorite ones.

[@rigogarcia2479]

I have a punch 200 and 4080

[@timmturner]

Zed built circa 1994 Crunch 250 is a better amp, I wish BigD could get one to bench. I sold mine to my brother who has it hanging on his wall after he ran it for a few years, I bought it from a friend who had it pushing 4 15" Savard Rap back in '94. What a system it was. Don't get me wrong, I am a Fosgate super fan.

[@jonathanpinders.r.5627]

My first amp ever POWER CRAZY

[@1-Six-dee]

I use to have a Rockford 800a4 and I would run subs off it (Idk any better) kept that amp for years then it got stole at a car lot paid 40$ for the amp from. A head I miss that amp but had four 12's running off it had no idea what ohms even meant at the time

[@smtyson1650]

I still love the mtx 2300,2150,4160,4300 etc

[@jp-tq4pr]

less than 30 seconds into this video and I'm seeing some of my old equipment. brings back so many memories

[@fwddodge22]

BigD- The reason your seeing the low numbers is that amp is hurt, i can tell by the power output and the way it went into protect at 1 ohm. I used to install these new back in the day and one of these would slam all day long into a half ohm as long as you run the phoenix gold fan shroud with it. Although it wont make much difference to try it since this amp has a fault, the Phoenix amps from back in the day require a very high input signal to get the most out of the amp. you need a minimum of a 12 volt input level for all MPS, MS, ZX, TI and ZPA series amps. There is a reason phoenix made the the PLD-1. This information comes directly from Larry Frederick's famous tech seminars i attended back in 1996 - he was emphatic about this. that and upgrading your alternator, extra battery is just another load. Oh that amp is not one of the original MPS amps that came out in 1993- its one of the re-release amps that Phoenix released around 1998. The original amps did not have machined power and speaker terminals, they just had standard screw terminals

[@wal]

Thanks for the info. My response regarding voltage input - I’ve tested the MS-275, 2125 and 2250 using the same 4V Alpine head unit and they all did rated plus some. As for the design, this is an original MPS-2500, they did modify the input/output terminals on some (same with MS series). I am getting in another MPS-2500 to test so we can see if it’s “just this amp” or the norm for this series. I’m betting it is, hoping I’m wrong. My experience with the Orion 2100 HCCA’s says I’m correct though... As for 1/2 ohm loads, I’m sure you understand the difference between reactive and resistive loads

[@deezsquuezeorg]

Would 8v output line drives give even more power? Compared to the 4 volt hu?

[@blueribb99]

A quick question - Do you think the 90's amps sometimes suffer a little bit in the ratings because of component degradation ? (caps especially).

[@OxBlitzkriegxO]

most likely, but the ratings are only true for this particular amp. we dont know how this amp was treated or how its been stored/used. if that amp hasnt been opened up, the caps are nearing 26 years old. i dont know for sure how itll affect the amps output, but those caps arent performing like they were when new.

[@brentb5303]

I'm pretty sure big d made sure this was re-capped before testing but I can't say for sure. He knows and recommens replacing caps on the old ms and mps series. I thought it was going to do a lot more power also.

[@erickouniakis5722]

I had the mps 2500 and the Orion hcca 2100 in my IROC. They were considered some of the best amps back in the day and also expensive considering. The phoenix would get hot pretty fast so i put a exterior fan that pushed four kicker ten inch. Today's amps are alot cheaper and more powerful..

[@wal]

90’s Phoenix Gold Amp Videos - kzbin.info/aero/PLu98-M_EowHOE-LYFqtP3fft14Ni-OvTMj Search for Old School Phoenix Gold Amps: goo.gl/m7DhjH Buy OSS Merch! teespring.com/stores/bigdwiz

[@manuelmunoz498]

I still have mine that I got back when they first came out. I have this one and the MPS 2240. Both have serial numbers in the single digits.

[@dlroto]

Manuel Munoz I also still have this beast amp, that amp is awesome

[@positrack99]

I had the 2240 as well. Financed the $500 price @ 28% interest. Got stolen. I always remember the claims of these amps being stable down to a half ohm.

[@RicardoPenders]

I own two of these amps today in 2020, bought them about 20 years ago and I only used them for about a year and from that point on I haven't used them anymore so they are as good as new. One thing I don't understand is how the master/slave thing works and how you should connect a dual voice coil subwoofer to these amps when they are used in master/slave mode, I saved my amps because I want to make an active subwoofer for my home cinema set, I also have the Rockford Fosgate Punch HX2 12" subwoofer that I bought back in the day which still looks brand new and I still love the sound, the ultra deep bass is absolutely crazy and makes my pants flapping around my legs when I turn up the volume... lol. However the amp I'm using now is only 100 watt RMS at 4 ohms, it does work fine with my subwoofer connected in the 2 ohms mode and it's so loud that I can never ever turn up the volume to 100% because it hurts my ears already at 50% but I still want to use the Phoenix Gold amps for my subwoofer in master slave mode if I knew how to do it, it would be very helpful if you can tell me how it works. And if you're interested in buying my two amps let me know, maybe we can work something out... At least I know that they go to the right person if you want to have them. Best regards, Ricardo Penders

[@96kylar]

I can still remember, skipping high school classes, to drive up to the "big city", ..just to tool around all the audio shops.They were every where back in the day. Id sit and stare at PG and Orion boards, under the glass,... and dream/wish. Way outta my price range sadly back then, even with 2 jobs. My head would be filled with thoughts, and dreams, the entire ride back home.....Good stuff BigD, as always. Appreciate all you do for the community bro. A lil bummed about those results, but, id wager, that board would take a beating, and last decades. Beautiful inside, for sure.

[@ivanbustamante6011]

I felt the same when i was younger and had no money but now that i am able to afford some old school quality amps i buy them even if i dont hook them up its like a drug for me getting some old school audio

[@floydbeard5073]

Its definitely a cool wall display amplifier Big D.

[@wal]

She is a beauty!!

[@martinharming1460]

If your running it bridged, shouldn’t the switch be set to bridged?

[@pgmurray76]

See BigD's response to me. Does not matter. Same numbers. Never liked this model. MS-275 and MPS,2250 yes. This one, NO.

[@martinharming1460]

Ok then, strange that it didn’t do better. Still a stunning looking amp😮 A have a PG Outlaw in my old summer car.

[@lowtoyxx]

And then you wonder,has it been repaired??? I had 1 back in the day on 4 punch 15s. Took off and went hifonics atlas. 2 of them on 8 punch 15s. Killin it!!! Great video

[@wal]

Only way to know for sure is to test another. I will do in the future and we'll see if it was just this amp, but I have a good feeling this is typical of these

[@lowtoyxx]

@@wal it was a badd ass in its day. I was trying to beat the block down back then. It all started with a punch 150hd. Needed more,traded got this amp. But really wasnt doing much more. 4 paychecks later,went to 8 15s,and some hifonics for the win.

[@kewlbug]

Sorry new here, how do old caps affect the ratings? I know people do re-caps on old amps. Not sure the main benefit of recap. Wondering cuz I always end up w old PG amps

[@michaelhollon5332]

I had to keep rewinding it because a Phoebe Cates pool scene was on tv. Old school car audio and Phoebe Cates. The good ol days.

[@ivanbustamante6011]

Love your videos Big D Wizz in comparison with others me watching your videos is like a kid watching his favorite cartoon. Keep up the good work bro i respect what you do it looks like you do it with a passion. I have been installing car audio for 20 years and i love it when the customers bring in their own amps specially old school damn i love it.

[@wal]

I appreciate the feedback! I love making these vids!!

[@gen-X-trader]

Was this one also sharing a lot of the guts and transistors with an ms2125? From what I remember they make about the same amount of total power. I know back in the day Phoenix Gold used to share a lot of the parts and layouts between their amplifiers. The Phoenix amp I would like to see you test is the zpa 0.5 those things were just beastly and sounded amazing on top of making ridiculous power. Still my favorite old school brand. I grew up about 15 minutes away from their office in Portland when I was younger. Got to know one of the guys down there. They took a lot of pride in what they made. Was sad to see them blow up in the early 2000s

[@jeffreylittle8405]

My favorite amps, I have 3 zpas. Including a full custom 0.5 done by Jason Campbell.

[@carlosprovost5765]

BidD have you had any of the Phoenix gold xs series on the dyno? I think the xs2500 could be one of the best bang for the buck old school amps. They can occasionally be picked up on Ebay for under $100. The only problem is if they test well prices will go up.

[@christopher2102]

Hello Big D. Have you ever tested a QA2000D amp what do you think about them I have one and I feel like it has served me well. But I'm about to upgrade from jl audio to fi and I'm wondering if the amp is true or even close. Could you help me out

[@whozaskin3639]

Well, it still works, looks great, and is easy to repair. I just can't give any amp that doesn't do rated power much love tho. Great video Derek!

[@wal]

Bummer fo sho!!

[@evanfield580]

Thanks for making all the videos.keep up the great work.I would like to see the video's of you comparing the amps in your car like you talked about a while back.love that old school pg cheater.

[@ADR69]

That amp is more than a quarter century old. Wow.

[@volvo09]

Watch it buddy 😡 haha

[@DR.ELEKTRIK]

And better built than most of today's amplifiers too.

[@ivanbustamante6011]

In Tacoma Washington at the flee market or "El Suami" "Swapt Meet" i got the deal of my life. I bought a PHOENIX GOLD M44 4 channel in mint condition for $25 freaken bucks and on top of that same place i got an Orion 4 channel from 1987 i got it for $15 dollars it seem that the lady had no idea what she had the only thing she said i am not sure if they work thats why i am selling them cheap i said to my self even if the PG doesnt worl for parts alone its worth more than $80 bucks in my eye. Well that was the best cheap amps i bought i moved back to California and i still own then. Bastards. Sick amps

[@wal]

Lawd!! 😲

[@alfa7108]

Good vid. Do you remember the SPL made in USA amps by profile??

[@reiatepa594]

Hello Big D, Do you plan to test some old school audison amp ? Love your vids !

[@wal]

Eventually, yes. None in the upcoming line up though. Thanks for watching!

[@michaelhollon5332]

Do you plan on donating some old school audison amps ?

[@ledmk2]

Nice powerful amplifier, after many years still works well

[@wal]

She's a beauty for sure!

[@michaelhollon5332]

@@wal HA HA HA HA! Didn't say anything about powerful or how well it worked like what the original comment was about. Slick.

[@letthemusictakecontrol8388]

30% efficiency? She's one hungry beauty.

[@joshholden8561]

Have u seen a Phoenix Gold saphire 3.0 before or even heard of the saphire series ? The outter case looks just like the ms series amp same looking heat sink and the 2 i had was white in color but i think they have gloss black also.

[@clearme2]

I see Phoenix Gold and I click that simple

[@ThreeDeeIcon]

Always loved Phoenix Gold... In the 90s i had 2 of these runnin 4- 12" Cerwin Vega dvc's, 2 M50's & EQ-230 runnin MB-Quart mids / highs

[@wal]

Digging that setup!

[@ehrenkrause9861]

All the Phoenix amps i ran needed pld1 to get the best out of the amps. I have noticed some early 90's amps performed better with a line driver. Whats your take?

[@wal]

Absolutely not needed in my experience. It was a sales upgrade 🤷‍♂️

[@3RDERA]

She’s purrrrty!! Good stuff Mr Williston!! By chance you remember what size that fuse inside the amp was, the little glass one? By the way, I left a review the first month you guys started the 12vtalk podcast, and totally forgot to highjack each of my family members phones when I see them to add more reviews, so I’ll get on that this weekend. Not for the giveaway stuff, but because you guys are awesome and are doing a great thing for the 12 volt world. If I end up winning, I’ll do an unboxing and demo video but then I’ll send it to another person who left a review. Thanks again for the great content, you and Vega deserve more credit.

[@wal]

I don’t recall but I’m sure I can find out. Thanks for the reviews!

[@sylkelster]

I have a MS-2125H new in the box. The MS-2125H sticker was placed over the original box sticker which said MAC500. So the amp is really a MAC500 and was marketed later as a MS-2125H. You can clearly see the toroids have more windings than your standard 2125, but not as large as those in the 2250. Not sure why they changed the model number. Rated 2x200 RMS into 4ohms. Bought it on Ebay years ago and just have it sitting in temp controlled environment along with 5 MS-275s, and a tenth anniversary MS-2250 new in the box. Also a virtually new Alpine 3545 in the box, and a 30th 7909 new in the box. Strange hobby this is. Nobody understands why I hoard this stuff...they say sell! sell! I guess I should, but.. not yet. Love your videos.

[@wal]

👈😲👍

[@davidperry4013]

Pheonix Gold once made the best-sounding class D amplifiers for car audio. I wish they bring back their titanium amps even a 6-channel built-in high-res audio DSP and an 8 channel with built in high res DSP as well so you can do 4 way fully active fronts, 3 way fully active fronts and passive rears, 3 way partially active fronts and passive rears with sub on one amp and 2 digital inputs(TOSlink and digital coaxial), USB connector for tuning with the laptop or on a stinger head unit since Aamp owns Pheonix gold and Stinger, and an RJ45 connector on each amp and an available hub to connect up to five of them so you not required if you only have 2 like 1 8 channel for the 3 way active fronts, 2 way passive rears, and 1 mono for the subs. Also the the 1 channel should come in 3 flavors, a 1200.1, 2400.1, and a 4800.1 all conservatively rated with the latter outputting up to 5932 watts at 1 ohm so you piece together a badass SQL system.

[@BASSstarlet]

0:50 i remember the MPH-6300 but with a tag 100k! Did they sell even one piece of this?

[@HashDogg06]

Haha i thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when i saw the $50,000 price & also thought it may have been a printing mistake so thought it was meant to be $5000. Absolutely ridiculous price tag, what were they thinking.

[@BASSstarlet]

...to make a big impression!

[@shanen921]

Thanks for a great video Big D. Its nice to see some old school stuff back on your channel. Thank you for all the time you put into making your videos.

[@wal]

Thanks brother. I’m trying to incorporate at least one old school item per week 🤙

[@RawbasicInc]

Good videos I was born and raised in Trinidad back in the days you used to have a stack of eq in your car connected together it wasn’t clean but it was loud

[@wal]

👈😊👍

[@pdamon78]

My buddy was sponsored by Norton Audio in Orangeburg SC in 93. He had Phoenix Gold stuff. We were in highschool and could feel if he left school or came late cause the whole damn school shook. He had like 16 12s in a low-rider Ranger or Tacoma. I can't remember but I think they kept burning up.

[@wal]

There was a guy like that at my school too...he had JBL GTI subs

[@TRONMAGNUM2099]

As a high school kid back in the early 90’s a Phoenix gold amp was a pipe dream. 800 bucks might as well had been a million to me. I bought a 250.00 amp and my parents thought that was a huge waste of money. Kids have it so good today. 200 bucks will get you 5000 watts.

[@Funnygalsproductions]

Glad you had this one to share. I came across a few of them used at the same time . 8 pack of bumpers free air What a life as a jitter bug. The same generation has the amp that came with the alternator that cost 50,000?

[@wal]

The MPH-6300 was only ever a prototype, friend has it. I hope to get my hands on it one day to show off

[@A-bomb-1984]

I have been a subscriber for and I must say I really enjoyed this video very professional

[@wal]

Thanks for watching and commenting! I almost didn’t put this video out as I was bummed at the results

[@jeffreylittle8405]

Why is this one so low? Do you think it's got some bad caps or something? I am very surprised at this. Considering how well all the other pg amps from this vintage do.

[@wal]

The high current amps are not all they were cracked up to be. See the Orion 2100HCCA videos. It’s hella disappointing

[@sittdogg]

I feel you on the disappointment on the results. I been surprised by most of the old PG amp dynos. Growing up I heard the rave for year about these amps and how they were the biggest baddest power houses ever. Then to see them miss their ratings and see the efficiency. But I suppose sound quality was their aim. To bad theres not a true way to test SQ of an amp.

[@wal]

Yes, I was bummed! Getting another one of these just to see if it performs the same...will be interesting 🤔

[@G3RMZONE]

im an idiot. a few years back i saw one of these at the pawn shop for 75$ and ended up buying an old school hifonics gemini IV instead. it would have made a great show piece framed without the cover. looks like a work of art.

[@Quetzalcoatl0]

Could the age of the amp lower the watts by 30-50 like we see here ?

[@wal]

I would say it’s possible, but I’ve tested older amps that have met and exceeded ratings...🤔

[@ericbachmann8037]

Loved Phoenix Gold stuff back then. I had an M44 in 1994..... which you have hanging on the workbench backboard. :)

[@ericbachmann8037]

calee4nyaboy It’s unfortunate you had issues with yours. I also used mine for mids and highs. Never had issues. I ran a Rockford Mono amp for my subs.

[@caraudiojoe3813]

I want to call that the Phoenix Gold ARP-2500 Almost Rated Power 2500. Still a beautiful amp for!

[@coloradoraptorguy9250]

Big D can you explain why old amps are so inferior at making power? I mean we all know they sound great, but even the old Orion’s made squat for power based on physical size. What’s so different today that these tiny amps (dual mono for example) that is the size of a pop-tart and makes almost as much as this PG... Keep up the great work! Love the content!

[@wal]

Class A/B requires more mosfets and the newer class D amps are much more efficient in their power consumption vs output

[@bkrgls]

The older amps were Class A/B. I'm assuming that when you are talking about newer amps you are talking about Class D amps, because Class A/B is still around. Just like Big D said...the Class D amps are more efficient at making power. The major difference is how the output stage is driven and the output stage operation. The difference in how they operate is night and day difference. Another thing is that the subs from back in the day didn't need as much power because your typical sub back then only needed 150 - 200 watts. Of course there were higher wattage ones but not like the stuff you see now. So, it's not that the older amps are inferior. They were good for the time, but technology had to get better first for the Class Ds amps to be where they are now. Class D tech has been out since the 60s but it wasn't as good as the old Class A/B. Oh well, if you really wanna know more just hit up Google or Wikipedia...✌.

[@RobPGamerVaper]

Is there a such thing as Testing Speakers like you do Amps ? I mean not in the Exact way but is there a Equivilant ?

[@chrisvinicombe9947]

Yes but it's quite a bit more difficult. Check out impulse audio here on KZbin if you want to find out more about it.

[@wal]

For home speakers check out Joe N Tell. He does awesome vids!!

[@patrickmarquez8350]

Did you flip the switch and placed it in bridge mode when you did the tests?

[@wal]

No, not needed

[@noppa82]

Oh i remember these.. i would like to see you test Caliber CA 500 competition(white, blue, red color).. i used to run it back in the days(90's)with 2x15" Hifonics(dont remember the model anymore), ears still "whining" cos of it :)

[@mcloopie]

Is there a reason you didn’t test it at 1 ohm mono? I had this amp back in the day and many others. The mps series was designed to compete with the likes of the Orion hhca series and the ppi promos series. All designed to run at 1 ohm mono.

[@wal]

Watch all the way until the end of the video and your question will be answered.

[@mcloopie]

My apologies. I missed that. Crazy how that amp seemed soooooo powerful in the cars I did back in the day. Lol

[@mcloopie]

Keep makin great vids!

[@haileybadeaux9036]

Big d I have a black 2125 Orion amplifier still works but want to have it restored who do you know that works on old school amps

[@wal]

Repaired? Try LinearPower.com but for "restored", that's more complicated if you're talking about cosmetic fixes

[@hisaanhaq4116]

You ever do the ti2 series from 2014 i had that 5 channel and elite series from the same year 2014 would love to see them keep it up Big D

[@jasont1303]

I love me some OLD SCHOOL STEREO & Big D Wiz!!! Hey if you se this I was wondering if you could do something on Audio Control. I know it's technically not old school but I was wondering what your thoughts are about this company. I was going to incorporate some of their products (specifically their pre amp and possible the DQ-61 sound processor). I just respect your opinion and would like to know what you think! If you don't like that idea maybe a video on accessories in general (pre amps, equalizers, crossovers, processors, etc.... What you think is important in a good car audio system. Maybe old school compared to current systems and/or budget build? IDK just a thought. I really enjoy your content and the consistent quality you produce! Keep up the great work and I hope this can turn into your full time job! I'm out of heeeerrreee!

[@wal]

Keep watching, AC stuff coming 🤙

[@jasont1303]

Hey Dereck, another idea would be a video about RF Perfect Interface products! Do you have a Perfect Interface catalog or where to find one? I know you are super busy but I appreciate all the great content you put out. @@wal

[@jdizzle3740]

I remember (from my old car audio days back in the late 90's/early 2k's) a lot of amp mfgs were claiming ratings at 12 or 14.4 volts and (really, REALLY) did testing at 16 volts......

[@1boostup]

Big D I have like 4 Harman Kardon CA260 amplifiers I want to see the dyno results !

[@ed_1969]

Mph-6300! I saw it on the price list and looked into it. Wow

[@simonecominato5561]

In my opinion it's really worthy to give a try to an (italian) masterpiece of that era: the Audison HR100. If you find one and you listen to it you'll never want anything else!

[@wal]

That one is on the bucket list!

[@simonecominato5561]

@@wal I can't wait for a review! 😉👍

[@peterraymond1659]

Used 4 of their smaller amps in an active demo vehicle, with end cap joined to look like HR100, but sold 2 of them, from memory $7K each. Beautiful box and presentation with cables

[@notyobiz6207]

would u do a hifonics zrx1800.1d @ .667 ohms? love your tests on old school stuff as well.

[@IsmaelMartinezPR]

Big D, what would be the most powerful 5ch amp today?

[@wal]

Good question. I don’t think any have more than 600 on the sub channel, so probably the JL Audio HD900/5

[@IsmaelMartinezPR]

Williston Audio Labs just took a look at the specs and yes seems robust also premium priced.

[@Pgh2Dall]

Could it be that is is not meeting the RMS due to the parts inside being so old?

[@wal]

Possible, but I’ve tested much older amps that have done rated power.

[@jxke]

Caps sitting around unused is bad.

[@envisionelectronics]

Williston Audio Labs That’s kind of an unfair comparison. It’s possible that some of the smaller caps in predriver stage (not the preamp) are out of spec causing higher distortion due to higher leakage current.

[@envisionelectronics]

Joseph John Bauer III Yes it is possible.

[@jxke]

If you need an example. I bought an Orion 250sx that was BNIB and never used. It fried a few moments after using it for the first time. Opened it up and the caps were all bulging.

[@justincase948]

Old school rite here👍👍 I had this amp in 94 dam I’m old

[@wal]

Nawsa...we are aged, not old 😊

[@justincase948]

Williston Audio Labs rite on my fellow BASS HEAD , and Phoenix Gold made some bad ass amps so did Hifonics old school tho but I had this little carver amp that was 125x2 RMS AT 4 and this little thing took a beating but I never seen another one and I really wish I kept it -hell I wish I kept all my old amps !!! Really like ur vids man keep on keepin

[@ScottyMyersS7Web]

You stopped at 2 Ω? That amp would handle "Any achievable ohm load" I had four Orion XTR 4Ω DVC 12"s subs in parallel and the MPS2500 put out 1000+ Watts @ 0.5 Ω -- That is why they called them cheater amps, compete in 100w class pushing over 1000w.... I'm pretty sure I ran that bridged so the amp saw 0.25Ω and pushed over 1200w

[@wal]

Don’t forget resistive loads I’m using don’t fluctuate (impedance rise) like speakers do.

[@lesaatuatasi6267]

Can you do the Precision Power amps?

[@adriant815]

I’ve got an oldschool Phoenix Gold Sapphire SA3.0x powering my mids been running since I got it back in the day👍🏽

[@shckltnebay]

Thoughts on DIGITAL amps?

[@MrBigR928]

Phoenix Gold amps were legendary back in the day!

[@wal]

100%

[@kenabi]

given the age, and if these older ones haven't been recapped, the not quite hitting rated spec actually makes sense. the caps are probably half dead to almost dead entirely. ~20-30 years out and its surprising some of these units work very well at all, given how fickle some circuits are when the electrolytics dry out.

[@wal]

Amp has been recapped. Older amps I’ve tested have done rated power

[@kenabi]

then i got nothin beyond driver stage component failure due to age in the parts they chose for this model. especially since PG wasn't really know for being that bad about fake numbers in that era. and short of taking the driver packages out to test for how close to spec they are, i guess we're just gonna be left scratching our heads going hmmmm.

[@llebcire]

I used to sell and install PG amps. They sounded better than most and were very stable and reliable - even with less than optimal electrical systems. I'd have to check but I don't believe these amps ever meet their rated power?

[@wal]

See my other tests of the MS-275, MS-2125 and MS-2250. They did rated plus some

[@llebcire]

@@wal I'll go back and look - maybe I'm thinking of old Orion amps like the Beast.

[@RS8XB]

one of my friends was on the design team for these amps. Bill Kraut

[@wal]

That’s awesome

[@michaelwolf5609]

Can you test the JBL Charge 2 I've had some big speakers up to my JBL Charge 2 and it runs them just fine supposed only have 7 watts. I took it apart and hooked up Klipsch 2.2 and it runs fine

[@greggarner4477]

Phoenix Gold was the stuff back when Blaupunkt was still Good.. Good memories

[@mattmahoney9815]

After pulling these vintage amps off the storage shelves, they should really be freshened up and properly checked out before testing their true capacities. Electrolytic capacitors age and lose some of their values, pot switches get dirty, and may have old carbon tracing in them that needs cleaned out. I just wonder after a thorough cleaning and diagnostic test with a waveform generator and oscilloscope if it would perform differently. I did this with an old Orion amp and it made a huge audible difference. My Orion “worked” before the work, but once I checked it out and cleaned/recapped it, the difference in sound was apparent. Just a thought, anyway. Phoenix Gold was one of the big players in the day.

[@mattvanourney128]

Is that left rca broke off inside the board?

[@TheStravus]

Dang where is the low ohm test, they were supposedly stable to 1/4 ohm stereo. I would love to see some lower ohm testing

[@wal]

Watch all the way until the end of the video 🤦‍♂️

[@WXSTANG]

You need to find some old Blade SE Amplifiers. AB Topology, class D efficiency. Sound amazing.

[@Buzztiburon13]

Can you find and show\test for us a Phoenix Gold MPH-6300 from 1993 please ? If it is even possible to do ... you should be the one that can !!! Thank you from Montreal !!!

[@scarr3ll]

Didn't you do this one a couple years ago? Edit: 4 years ago..

[@wal]

That was the MS-2125, the high voltage version of this amp

[@johndoe-xm8kk]

Yo Big D I live in South Carolina, I would really like to have a review done on this Power Acoustik bamf 8000 I'm willing to drive it up there and pay you to dyno and review it and or make a video if you like please and thank you hopefully

[@brentb5303]

The board looks the same as the 2125 and 2250 minus the larger toroids on the 2250. You should edit a video together with the 2250 and 2500. Maybe add a Nancy Kerrigan "why" when this one falls flat on it's face.

[@wal]

True dat!

[@jameslewis974]

There are just 2 well 3 amps i wish i still had #1 the first car Audio amp i ever bought"@15 before i even had a license PPI. Sedona 500iqx. #2 my Phoenix Gold ms2250. And #3 infinity kappa 202a

[@randomtube8226]

Hard to believe that amp is from 93. Looks ahead of its time.

[@wal]

I agree. She’s a beauty 👀

[@85salivegaragechronicles56]

Is Phoenix Gold still a good amp? I haven’t seen them around my area in a while

[@AnDrEw122100]

David Sanchez they are garbage now unfortunately. Very cheaply made no glue holding the transformers down they a prone to blowing up and expensive .

[@ruikazane5123]

Car nowadays: I can give ya power Old school amps: I'll suck your power DRY!

[@jaredwood3594]

Watched this video and researched where PG is now. They were bought in 2017 and supposedly revamped their lineup to being back old school phoenix gold quality. You should test one of the new amps.

[@timothywild9670]

A bit disappointing. This amp is supposed to be 1/4 ohm stable yet it goes into protect at 1 ohm mono. I guess it goes to show class AB amps are not great at low ohm loads. Anyway I was thrilled to see this video cause I have an MPS myself. Keep up the good work! I would love to see a ZPA on the bench one day. That would be very interesting because of the dual mode power supply and you could do some myth busting as well...

[@wal]

The ZPA’s are legit S well as the MS series. Both the MS-2125 and 2250 well exceeded their rated power

[@Raul.S]

Could you test this model of amplifier? Corzus PWR-2004 Power Module.

[@peterkay2406]

wow thought for sure it would produce very high numbers...🤔

[@robland6118]

Did u expect it to put out more power then it did? Were u disappointed with its out put? I have never really cares much for these amps, even back in the day. I can't take away from the looks of them because they are beautiful amps, but I just don't feel that they were foreal powerful amps. I had a friend that had one back in the day and I switched it out with my amp and I wasn't impressed with it for the hype and the pricing of them. I believe the older coustic amps were cheaper more reliable and more powerful.

[@wal]

I was bummed. The previous OS PG amps I’ve tested have been very impressive

[@trucavalier]

265 watts at 4ohms to mids and highs is crazy power for early 90's.

[@1rexrex]

What about 1 or 2 ohm stereo? Some amps just dont like bridged mono.

[@wal]

🤷‍♂️

[@ProRebuild]

I had a MPS-2500 stolen from my car in high school in 1993. I was so sad.

[@victorlambertt4662]

Big D I had that same Amp back then 😊

[@victorlambertt4662]

I new it was going to go in protein a very sensitive Amp

[@1-Six-dee]

Can u read amperage thru the ground wire like u r clamped around?

[@wal]

Same amount of current is pulled from power and ground, so yes

[@kylevanwinkle2081]

Only thing I wonder is has it been repaired? If it has are the components same as factory? Otherwise I'm curious how the components have degraded over time

[@wal]

Amp was recapped by tech and gone over by Zed Audio prior to testing

[@kylevanwinkle2081]

@@wal while I know zed does great work if same components weren't available I'm sure they swapped them for something similar or better. I wish they had the amp dyno back then. Maybe we wouldnt see so many max ratings now if they did

[@garlicandgasoline5250]

While I'm not a Phoenix Gold apologist, old amps do "get tired" over the years and a fresh set of caps can do wonders to wake the beast. Who can service these old amps? No idea...I have some I'd like to get new caps for as well.

[@wal]

Absolutely. These mid 90’s PG amps for sure MUST be recapped due to failure and the originals will leak and can start a fire! These were changed, so no issue there