Not Much Power But Still an Awesome Old School Amp - 1988 Alphasonik PMA-2030

#fleamarket #vintageaudio #1980s
1988 Alphasonik PMA-2030
Rated 30x2 at 4 or 2 ohms
60W Bridged at 8 or 4 ohms
Link to Owner's Manual for the PMA-2030 / PMA-2050 - archive.org/de...
Shop for Alphasonik Amps on eBay (affiliate): ebay.us/FphiIc
See the Audiovox VoxBox VB-1 video - • Audiovox Copied KICKER...
Previous Alphasonik Videos:
1991 PMA-2100x - • Classic '90s Car Audio...
1987 MAS1100 - • 1987 Alphasonik MAS-11...
PMA-2030 Amp Overview - • Old School Alphasonik ...
Deltasonik DP-200 Amp Dyno Test - • Vintage Car Audio Delt...
My First Car Stereo - • 1990 My First Car Ster...
How to Clean Your Amplifier (PMA-2050) - • How To Clean Old Car A...
3 Modes of the Amp Dyno Explained: • 3 Modes of the Amp Dyn...
See the 7 Days of Amp Tests Playlist: • 7 Days of Old School A...
1983 Pyramid SE909 ECHO EQ/Booster: • 1983 Flea Market Car A...
Brand New 37yr Old Sony Speakers: • Brand New 37 Year Old ...
'80s Sparkomatic Speakers: • Unboxing NEW 1986 Spar...
1984 Kmart Blue Light Special Speakers: • Kmart Blue Light Speci...
Vintage Radio Shack Optimus Surface Mount Speakers: • Radio Shack Optimus 3-...
The Worst $200 Speakers Ever: • The WORST $200 Speaker...
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SAVARD Speakers: lddy.no/1i9ss (use code WAL7 for 7% off!!)
Down4Sound - Shop4Bass.com
Amazon - amzn.to/3wNX6Fn
Crutchfield - howl.me/cjZI33...
Get your WAL/OSS Merch: bigdwiz.creato...
Buy Me a Coffee/Tea/Slap-a-D-No : www.oldschools...
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TEST BENCH EQUIPMENT
SMD / D'Amore Engineering Amp Dyno: goo.gl/sJTcf7
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DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase

[@wal2]

Link to Owner's Manual: archive.org/details/alphasonikpma2030man Shop for Alphasonik Amps on eBay (affiliate): ebay.us/FphiIc See the Audiovox VoxBox VB-1 video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXKkinhjn66br6M *Previous Alphasonik Videos* 1991 PMA-2100x - kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4fCpX-lqLeDe9E 1987 MAS1100 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnXSlYuwrcl_qZY PMA-2030 Amp Overview - kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3bLh5dpZq13mK8 My First Car Stereo - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaXVnKCNbLOMn8U How to Clean Your Amplifier (PMA-2050) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZ6kf4N4gcdqqqs 3 Modes of the Amp Dyno Explained: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2HQZ4Gpd5J7fsU See the 7 Days of Amp Tests Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLuodE1Zx7Y-6bhrEfCERSfl43EpB3P3lS 1983 Pyramid SE909 ECHO EQ/Booster: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zpe0n6umjNWLjKc Brand New 37yr Old Sony Speakers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2rdi4KCq8uSmKs '80s Sparkomatic Speakers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqDbe5RooJeCa6M 1984 Kmart Blue Light Special Speakers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZzZm4iZppJ0eNU Vintage Radio Shack Optimus Surface Mount Speakers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nquumKegj7SUiMk The Worst $200 Speakers Ever: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWWVe3RmZb2JmJo *SHOP Affiliates* SAVARD Speakers: lddy.no/1i9ss (use code WAL7 for 7% off!!) Down4Sound - Shop4Bass.com Amazon - amzn.to/3wNX6Fn Crutchfield - howl.me/cjZI33auToW Get your WAL/OSS Merch: bigdwiz.creator-spring.com/ Buy Me a Coffee/Tea/Slap-a-D-No : www.oldschoolstereo.com/p/donate.html *VIDEO AND AUDIO GEAR* Camera - iPhone 13pro 1TB - amzn.to/3nCjGvc RODE Wireless Go II Microphones: amzn.to/3Q6NVHl Shure MV7 Microphone: amzn.to/3A4OICK Zoom H4n Audio Recorder: amzn.to/3BXjVsS 960 LED Panel: amzn.to/2Sxoq3S *TEST BENCH EQUIPMENT* SMD / D'Amore Engineering Amp Dyno: goo.gl/sJTcf7 XS Power LTO Lithium Battery Cells - lddy.no/1ivr6 XS Power D1400 14V AGM Batteries - amzn.to/2BPFCKW XS Power Titan 8 Lithium Battery - lddy.no/1iq28 XS Power PSC60 Charger - amzn.to/2CHGcfs Fluke 1000A AC/DC Clamp Meter: amzn.to/2Rw5WDA Handheld Dyno: amzn.to/2u2EgKV My Favorite Screwdriver Kit: amzn.to/3vijokl _DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase_

[@robsolf]

Back in the 80's, true 2x30 watts was nothing to sneeze at. It can't be overstated how much we're living in a golden age for big cheap power, right now. Nowadays we "meh" at a 600 watt monoblock amp, but that would have been insane in the 80's and would cost a thousand or more in 80's dollars.

[@bigserge07]

I remember my very first car amp was a Sanyo 135 watt car amp. It was huge, like 12" l x 10"w x 3" h. Pushing two JVC 2-way 6x9s and two Realistic piezo tweeters and a Realistic 7-band graphic equalizer.

[@josephsaucedo8691]

How about a interfire amplifier I don't see to many of those they did alright. 🤔

[@chrishuyler3580]

I’m working on a period correct install that is going to just use a a/d/s 6x20 watt amp. Going to see whether modern tuning can extract the maximum out of the amp. 20-30 watts is a lot of sound, just not really a lot of bass. I’m thinking it will rock down to 100Hz then kind of fall off.

[@robsolf]

@@chrishuyler3580 ADS was good stuff! It could do some great tweets, at very least! Best of luck on your build!

[@robsolf]

@@bigserge07 I had a Sherwood XA-1240Q which claimed 60x4. It was huge and kicked pretty good, powering two Cerwin Vega 12XL's. I think the amp went for about 250 bucks in 80's dollars. Now you could get a Punch Prime amp for half that(current dollars) with 2-3 times the power and it would be no contest. An Amazon amp for about a quarter of that.

[@alanstant9356]

Nothing better than watching dinosaur equipment still working yet Big D

[@89G]

I love watching this old stuff... I have an old Kraco EQ/Amp that I'd love to dyno. I used it to drive two 8's when I was in high school.

[@Daniel-79]

It’s cool that you feature and test vintage equipment that the average Joe would have owned and used

[@EpicureMammon]

A while back, I wanted to put a decent but cheap stereo in my car. I got a 12" sub, built a box, and was looking for an amp. Someone recommended that I get an old Punch 40. I was like "40 watts?" and they convinced me to give it a shot. It was phenomenal! If I had to do it all over again, the only difference would probably have been a couple smaller subs instead of the 12... At one point, I put groceries in the trunk (it was 4 door, there was no reason to do that), and the sub cut out on the way home. I thought that was weird. I popped the trunk when I got home-- a grocery bag had somehow pulled a wire loose, crossed them, and the amp was literally on fire. IT was a sad day.

[@chrisdeanndavison3626]

I had a buddy back in the mid 90s that ran 2 punch 40s. 1 for mids/highs and the other for 2 10" subs. We thought it sounded awesome at the time.

[@timbarney53]

Great Video . nice old school amp , never had one . looks like it gets the job done. My very first amp was Blaupunkt BEA 80 eq amplifier 20 watts x 4 , around 1988 , still own it to this day in my collection of car audio stuff . when i decided to add bass to that system bought a Unic 50x2 amp and a pair of 8" American HiFi Turbo Force subs , blew one of them pretty quick , i am sure because it wasn't set up properly. That was my very first system and still love seeing all the different brands. Thanks for the videos.

[@jmac636]

I still have a good working PMA 2150ix. It has the more colorful center. I bought it around 1994.

[@Tron1731]

Shiny sticker yep

[@Steve69SS396]

I still have an Alphasonik MA-2101 amp from 1984. It was rated at 100 watts per channel at 4 ohms. I beat the heck out of it for years and it never failed. It drove 4 Becker 10" subs in my 3rd gen Camaro.

[@trecedaves3159]

I got that amp when I was 15 before my license. I had it ran in my chevy luv low rider to a single jamo home speaker my neighbor game me. All before I could drive. Good times

[@somenamelessdude8095]

Lol same first car. Mine was a diesel though

[@RobertDickens2002]

You sound a lot like me at 14-15 I was already buying stuff up for my 67 f100

[@dougmasters3875]

My first amp was a little Alpine 3518 back in the mid 80's.

[@wal2]

Awesome, thanks for sharing!

[@effectivetactics422]

In 1990 I had 2 of the PMA-2100. One on my highs and one on a pair of Cerwin Vega 12’s. Loved that system. That was the first system I ever had. Truck came with a headunit and one PMA-2100. I searched forever to find a second one. Had to drive 3 hours to find a dealer after calling every shop I could think of.

[@brianmack6285]

I had that amp or it's cousin in my '84 CRX. HU was a Yamaha YCT-???. Eventually it was used as part of a bi-amped system. Back then 25-30 WpC was a fair amout for those of us who weren't hedge fund kids. Certainly better than it's predecessor, a Craig PowerPlay in a Plymouth with Jensen 6x9 coax's. Simpler times back then.

[@DarrenShaw-ev5tb]

Blowed up many Jensen Tri-Ax 6x9 ! - Yes Yes Good times by all ( Lol

[@Arc-popz]

Oh fer shizzle an old stilwater with the pizzo tweeterz! Lordy everyone had one. I had a burned out 8 that i cracked the magnet off and turned into a passive for a thin sealed triangle profiled box with 2 6x9's. It was sweet. Solid design too

[@bigcountry55]

That "Little 30 Watt Amp" gonna smoke them subs!!

[@kirkromero201]

I had a pma2100 And a 60 eq. All alphasonic made your eyes flutter. 100 x2 at 4 ohms Ran 2 10" mtx s at 8 ohm and 1 4 ohm. Eq power 2 4 " full range and 2 peerless 1" soft dome tweeters oh and sub box had two 10 " passive radiators so 5 10 behind seat 200 watt Amp still running 20 yrs then I sold truck with stero in it.

[@stevemaniaci4750]

I had 2 of these amp an the same crucified mag. Great ref. Solid amp, works great with some caps on the sport. My 6×9 Craig's where pounding. Thank big d. Brought back memories

[@pinsandscrews6459]

I saw a lot of mini trucks back in the day that had a pair of these amps, one for the mids and highs as you mentioned, with the other handling the bass for small sub boxes behind the seats due to the lack of space.

[@cm1752]

Seeing this amp in action brings back a lot of fond memories, thank you BDW!

[@joecool7165]

I ran one of these by itself. It was pretty good when I hooked it up to a powered EQ. It was really good most of the time you can’t do this, but for some reason, this was an amazing group together. It was a little louder. It was crazy loudertoday it wouldn’t be much at all but back then for the two cheap pieces wow, was something else

[@91CavGT5]

In the 90’s, I had SEVERAL systems using amps that were less than 30 watts per channel. The cleanest sounding system I ever had was using a pair of Sony XM-2025 amps. These amps were rated at 20 watts X 2, and were bridgeable. One of them powered a set of components and the other was bridged on a single 8” subwoofer. As time has gone by, we have gotten spoiled to cheap power and society now frowns at systems using low power. When in reality, for normal listening volume levels, you are rarely pushing more than 20 watts for mids and highs.

[@drozcompany4132]

I have this one's bigger brothers, the 2070 and the 2300. The 2300 is a BEAST. These were cheaper back in the day but like you said they were quite reliable.

[@optimusprimer4392]

I love this setup it was a treat to see in action

[@ronrose1656]

Had, still have and am running several of these smaller "type" amps. My brand of choice is the Optimus/Realistic/Radio Shack. That said some of these are going on 40 years old, and still rocking their cars like they were new!. Absolutely fills the Grand Cherokee and the Sorrento with sound. Warm tone, nice sound and damned hard to beat!

[@69Dartman]

I always ran Alpha amps back in the day, clean, sounded better than their competition, ran pretty cool. I have a few in my old Dart that's retired that I was driving and slowly upgrading the sound system as deals came up. They did have some high power amps and I THINK they were using mosfet output transistors so they were fast clean sounding.

[@Jaymeister587-r2e]

My first amp in 1994 was a little Coustic 60 watt. It pushed two 10s hard enough to get that side mirror flex everyone was after at the time. Even got some back window flex in my hatchback, and steering wheel flex with the low notes below 25 hz.

[@flashbacks7892]

Video is bright AF then usual, thanks for sharing.

[@suchajoe]

My budget "go to" amps from the late 80's to early 90's were the Coustic Power Logic series amplifiers. For the money, they sounded great and had plenty of power.

[@RustyTheGeek]

I bought a lot of those back in the day and used them for myself and several friends. They worked great for a good all around dual or triple amp system. Even back then, I understood the difference active pre-amp crossovers and dedicated amps made for a clean and powerful system. I couldn't test the output myself but the magazine reviews were good and I felt like it did what it claimed (and then some) without distortion. They got a bit hot but they ran for years and didn't seem to mind 2 ohm loads.

[@wal2]

Yessir!

[@chrisgolding1259]

Sundown audio: we can literally take this case and make a 3500 watt amp. Hold my beer!

[@twoturbo468]

Back in the mid 90’s I ran Earthquake 50x2 amp for midrange and the cheaper line Annihilator. The Eathquake amp still runs like a champ 30 years later and the Annihilator 15” sub with 400x2 amp hung with the best in a chevette hatchback, lot of hearing loss from those days and I lusted for MTX or Kicker stuff but couldn’t swing the prices.

[@MrBetaTube]

New State, new car, new stereo. All Alphasonik 5 or 6" components...... tweeters where rectangle shape. Metal screen that popped off for installation.99 Amps wouldn't fit on the Alphi amp rack package. So i got 60 or 70 per channel, and 30 or 40 per channel. Alphi EQ with the Green Leds. Alphi 3 way electronic crossover.........i hadn't decided on subs yet. I did have Pioneer 6x9's. Concord tape deck. Ben to the Berkeley California Office a couple of times. Just to drop off rush repairs for the store.

[@johndilauro3462]

I sold Alphasonic .They were good and dependable amplifiers.They always made rated power Unlike Kenwood ,Alpine and Pioneer Who used maximum power ratings The Alphasonic amplifiers had a dense sound to them .I know high powered decks claimed to have more power .But the Alphasonics had clean power .That 30X2 Bridged mono could drive a single 8”-10” sub .Or run separates or even 2-6 1/2 and 2 6X9 .Speakers were more efficient back then They had to be Great video !!

[@2sc458]

@@johndilauro3462 I used to work at Resistance Repair at Berkeley’s Aquatic Park. I worked with an Engineer, Bruce MacMillian, that went on to design for Visonic/Alphasonic. Bruce would never cheat on a spec. I believe he went on to be chief Amp Designer at JL Audio.

[@rimfire2642]

I still have a Fultron 70x2 amp that works, I think it was like TidalWave 70 or something. But yeah, from early 90s. I used it a few years ago again to run some 6x9s for a few years. AFAIK it stillw orks, was always a solid amp.

[@fabelgamer7410]

Fultron became memphis audio around the time they made the memphis belle amp.

[@rimfire2642]

@@fabelgamer7410 I had a lot of Fultron. I had a CD pull out, 2 amps,, the 70x2 and a 25x4 of the newer series that were 2 ohm stable. I also had 2 of their 12" subs, if I reemmber they were called "Depth Charge". I got into Fultron after going to an electronics show and they had a demo van there, a blue Astro van IIRC.

[@fabelgamer7410]

@@rimfire2642 depth charge was their sub series. I also had a white amp from them that used soundstreams old reference heatsinks. It was a really good looking and good sounding amp... Until my cousin borrowed it and bridged it into a 2 ohm load🤬

[@nunyabizznizz7326]

i had the 2100 "class a" version, although it wasnt actually class a....

[@dyslectische]

In 2000 Pioneer stil had 2x70watt 2ohm amps. Max out put. Continu output about 30watts

[@atomiczombie22]

I had 2 PPI 2030AMs (2X30 watts) to power my mains back in the 90s in my 1990 CRX. It got very loud and pushed my MB Quart speakers. Im sure those amps were way under rated.

[@juanrivera-pm5ci]

You should try Looking for an amp that was made by Pyramid It has a L.E.D Indicator lights on top of the amp It's a gold amp I believe it was a 1500.Watt amp or a 2000 watt amp. All I know, it was a good looking amplifier.I had it back in a day.And I wish I would never ever sold that amplifier because it's a one of a kind.

[@jasonnelson6624]

Couldn't go wrong with any of the zed made alphasoniks

[@joecool7165]

Be careful of your passive radiator. It’s like new condition, but old foam surround like that can rip and tear pretty easy because of the age.

[@karlosmus610]

Those were a lot better than the MA series, but still tended to self-destruct if you ran them below 4 ohms, even at higher frequencies. The later "i" series was bulletproof, even if you ran them hard at 2 ohms per channel.

[@MuvoTX]

Those alphasoniks were well made, budget priced amps. Werent they headquartered in the SF bay area? IIRC they had a sister company Deltasonik, that specialized in line level components.

[@jasonnelson6624]

Now that you mentioned it I think they did. I could be wrong but I remember how similar they looked to earthquake. But that could have been when earthquake copied or cloned one of the zed amps. But I think your correct.

[@UnholyTrinityS10]

I would like to see Sansui. The white ones made by PPI. And I would also like to see a Sanyo PA6100 tested if you have one. I had one of those as my first Amp back in 84 or 85

[@dannyrobinson7509]

I had this exact amp back in the day. Last time I wired it up it still works. Do the current Alphasonik amps share anything with these older amps?

[@cracklingice]

This might be decent if I ever get my brand new 3.5" MB Quart 2 ways out of the box. Intended to mount them as tweeter replacements.

[@z1berzerker]

I liked Kenwood and Sony amps 🎉 in the years of yore

[@jeradroberts220]

Hot shots flea market amps

[@FUBuddy]

you should also do 1990 watts to 2024 watts :P back then 1k was insane. now thats weak sauce.

[@thebreakbarrelshow]

In the 90's I had a Crunch 50 x 2 amp that was wayyyy louder than any other amount I had then.. I'd be curious of how crunch did power wise back then compared to ratings.. now days from what I see they are as bad as Blaupunkt on ratings

[@tomb9566]

It's hard to believe. my 6000btu pioneer mosfet head unit has around the power

[@floydwilliams3321]

❤❤

[@greggory448]

I have pma 2060😊

[@mihaibalint8183]

try to find a kipus brand amp!

[@michaelparker5640]

😎😎😎

[@aanishthomas8056]

Since when do you make vids with hdr

[@robsolf]

I think they shot themselves in the foot with their name. I remember seeing the name "Alphasonik" and assuming it was Pyramid level stuff.

[@shawnthomas7404]

Why?

[@keithdavis2680]

I would love to see a urban audio works amplifier on the dyno

[@kjata77]

Do it bump doe? [Spoiler Alert] Bump it do! And no, we don't need no stinking LED "ON" light!! When you turn on your radio and feel the kick rum in your chest, you'll know that it's on, like Donkey Kong ;)

[@robertoortiz85]

F video is f bright

[@keithdavis2680]

Does anyone remember Urban audio works they were purple amplifiers

[@KellyNorman-wu6qr]

That amp sucks That power isn't going to rattle any windows

[@joecool7165]

I ran one of these by itself. It was pretty good when I hooked it up to a powered EQ. It was really good most of the time you can’t do this, but for some reason, this was an amazing group together. It was a little louder. It was crazy loudertoday it wouldn’t be much at all but back then for the two cheap pieces wow, was something else