Orion XTR 2500.1Dz Overview and Amp Dyno

[@clayshinn6953]

I JUST bought this amp. I've been researching amps again for a long time. I've got an old Rockford DSM collection that I retired, so I didn't want to use any of those. I recently saw that Big D video on this amp, and bought it! Can't wait to get my hands on it. It's definitely a beast of an amp! Great video!

[@stereomojo]

I hope it does a great job for you!

[@undernature2799]

Very good amplifiers and extremely underrated.

[@stereomojo]

Yes, I agree!

[@BDauto86]

Agreed

[@onesikm3]

I’m not so sure actually after watching orions videos I wish it didn’t blow so you could show us exactly as Orion does in there testing in this video on the ad1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGmXgKyrd9ekhdUsi=kZQCKBQ0KzfigYIe

[@ronaldklein4050]

Very cool seeing the actual 1ohm ratings, love Orion anps. Joe is a stand up guy, sent me a screenshot right away of the new amp. Also loving the Welsh 2k, running my 15's with it.

[@stereomojo]

Thanks again Ronald! We can meet up anytime this week.

[@UnholyTrinityS10]

That's one thing about Orion I never really cared about going all the way back to the late 80's, and that is their protection circuits. The amps had nuts for days, but if you pushed them hard they would blow just like that and the protection circuits wouldn't save them like it should.

[@911dott]

Yep!!! Your absolutely correct, but not now lol. But most of those old amps blew due to lack ofvoltage

[@JayTR_10]

If you run them at 2-4Ohm to the proper subs, they will run for days too

[@UnholyTrinityS10]

@@911dott What that amp couldn't handle is the current draw. That's why it blew. It was made for a 250amp fuse and was drawing over 500amps of current at 0.8 ohm. At the 0.67 ohm the amp made over 8k power but the circuit traces probably weren't made to handle that much current. If he could have maintained 15.8v without it dropping, that amp might have survived 0.67 ohm. Maybe! Still should have gone into protect because most amps are rated from 9v to 16v. He was still over 14v when it blew.

[@911dott]

​@@UnholyTrinityS10Who's going to run an Orion on .05 ohm on a daily basis 😂.. I use to run Orion 2150 at 1omh on 4 JL 10s 20yrs ago, absolutely no problems

[@UnholyTrinityS10]

@@911dott I'm not running Orion right now, but I would run below 1 ohm. I'm running one of the new Taramps T 12.000 Chipeo amps at 0.67 and was running it at 0.25 ohm in my daily driver until l got the 3rd 12" sub. Don't get me wrong. I love Orion and old school PPI. I still have a PPI230m circa 1989. I'm just trying to figure out how I can put a 24" long 600 watt class A/B old school amp into my system. LOL. No room.

[@Chuck_Sanders]

Good review man, just sucks it smoked. These are tanks with a ton of headroom. Also, very solid thing for you to do, by replacing it with a brand new unit. 👍

[@stereomojo]

Thanks Chuck!

[@BDauto86]

I can't believe it popped. Ive seen ppl running Orion in the dirt for years. Back when I was teenager most any comp or big audio setup was Orion amps, I'm sure you guys remember those days.

[@Chuck_Sanders]

@@BDauto86 yep, I have a decent collection of old Orion Amps. But not knowing the history of this Amp being tested, and how abused or not it was before testing, could be the issues. It's repairable, no doubt.

[@Thumper68]

Korean half bridge amps always have best dynamic head room

[@JasonWW2000]

No, no. That's just overly generalized beliefs. It really depends on the specific brand and model amp. It can vary a lot.

[@Thumper68]

@@JasonWW2000 I don’t mean always as in every single time but generally they do.

[@marcovaldovinos5009]

Great video keep up the good work

[@stereomojo]

Will do! Thanks Marco!

[@beemackin2316]

Great video & a very nice amplifier

[@stereomojo]

Thanks Bee!

[@Zachecker]

Great vid! that amp is POWERFUL!

[@stereomojo]

Thanks Zac! Yeah, it puts out some good numbers for sure.

[@Special.Purpose.Weapon]

Nice vid as always ! Have seen this amp up close and personal , bad boy thumps hard and sounds good 😉. Man, that hurt my soul when I saw her smoke 😢

[@stereomojo]

lol, I know what you mean! Thanks SPW!

[@chrisnunya7171]

I agree. I would stop going below the rated ohm load as well. When you said you were going to do that in this vid, I cringed. 😅

[@stereomojo]

I thought that I could handle it dynamically. I was wrong! lol

[@BDauto86]

These Orion xtr and hcca amps are very good they can handle low ohm loads. I've seen hcca ran at .25 and .33 regularly and xtr at .5 to .67.

[@BobBasshead]

I have two of these brand new still in the box, about a two year period between purchasing them. I got curious and popped them open and much to my surprise the board layout is totally different! The "newer" one had 10 gauge wires instead of buss bars in the older one. Being upset because of the difference I don't think I could strap them with out smoking them. The next thing was to remove the clamps that hold down the FET's and compare the numbers, yup totally different. Looked up the specs on these FET's, I would say the "newer" one has weaker ones than the older one. What I mean by this is the current and voltage rating, big difference. Talk about being inconsistent, I'm shocked. Why would Orion do this? So it looks like I'm going to power one amp to one subwoofer and gain match them

[@stereomojo]

Wow, that’s crazy! Are they both Dz models?

[@BobBasshead]

@@stereomojo Yes, and they look identical. The only difference was the boxes they came in, the older one has a gloss finish the newer one has a matte finish .The bass knobs, older one is made of plastic newer one metal, both have the 3.5mm plug with NO clip light.

[@DeeHermanson]

Nice setup man that really hurts to see that go up in smoke!! That amp is crazy I never knew Orion had such a good amp. Probably Brazilian

[@stereomojo]

Thanks Dee! It’s a Korean amp

[@onesikm3]

Hifonics just released* a copy of this Beast amp it was worth the pain bro thanks for showing us the beast

[@joebruce2180]

Hifonics? What's the model number?

[@SuperBlah57]

i can verify that this test is true. i had one till it went out .. i bought the next wattage wise up and my subs are mad at me!

[@stereomojo]

That’s funny! Yeah, these are strong amps for sure!

[@timothykees6187]

I have one. I love it. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@ashylarry1589]

Always wanted one of these but never pulled the trigger on one.

[@stereomojo]

Same here

[@onesikm3]

Didddooo😢

[@SuperBlah57]

get one now because alphasonic owns them now. they dont have a repair facility yet but still . get one while you can.

[@stereomojo]

@@SuperBlah57 hmmm, that’s interesting

[@JAHblu.Rasta.Far.I]

I didn't expect that to happen.

[@stereomojo]

That makes 2 of us! Lol

[@roadlife9312]

I brought the 1500.1 for my alpine r's . About three years ago. Very strong amp. The r's can't take it.

[@stereomojo]

That’s cool. I’d like to try the 1500

[@MatthewGuynn-ki8rn]

I have this same amp.. 👍 mines been solid pulls a tone of current tho

[@stereomojo]

They’re good amps for sure!

[@DustmanDiagnostics2]

Amazing video, more free education...Um, no...I take it back, not free education. I was shouting no Joe, NO!, Guess you heard Go Joe, GO!🤣 On a more serious note, I remember running the Orion HCCA's back in 1990 at 1/10th Ohm loads for hours on end doing demos. Definitely lost a few doing that, but not often. Tons of cooling and input supply kept them alive generally. Had flashbacks watching this one let the magic smoke fairy out...😖. Sorry brother. BTW, any viewers that know of/or are a good source to have a Pioneer DEH 80-PRS repaired, I'd like to speak with you. Have a great week, my blessings have been countless, glad to still be here with y'all!

[@stereomojo]

lol, thanks Dustin! Do you have any pics of your systems from back in the day?

[@DustmanDiagnostics2]

@@stereomojo All my polaroids were lost in a flood back in 97'. Didn't have cloud servers for back up back then.

[@stereomojo]

@@DustmanDiagnostics2 aw dang!

[@DustmanDiagnostics2]

@@stereomojo I looked for years, never have found any other photos from any other sources. Wasn't too many 87' Ford Aerostars with a wall of 12 - 12's back then.

[@DustmanDiagnostics2]

@@stereomojo FYI, your WA-2K may have just been the first one of them to be impact rated (aka. Crash Test Dummy). Passed with flying colors.

[@mr.18s73]

Hey brother love your videos I also have plenty of amps you can test , and I'm wanting to know the truth on power 😂

[@stereomojo]

Thanks for the support! What state do you live in?

[@timothykees6187]

Orion XTR 2500 and a Kicker SoloX 10. Six hour road trip no problem.👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@stereomojo]

That’s cool!

[@popeye2674]

Can't mess with rockford Fosgate amps

[@r.b6015]

Are you sure the new models come with a clip indicator on the bass knob? I just got one today and there's no clip indicator. Just a bass knob with a 3.5 mm jack. The datalink port to my knowledge is just for strapping 2 amps.

[@stereomojo]

@@r.b6015 no, I was wrong about that

[@undernature2799]

Ouch! Man that sucks..I'd get it fixed. Sorry it happened to ya

[@chicagorc3967]

if you get a chance to dyno a nemesis 4500 id love to see what the results are!

[@stereomojo]

I’ll look it up. Thanks!

[@georgeelve1058]

Send that amp to indy amp repair. Hes an orion expert.

[@briannicolai9276]

I think a couple Massive 18s would pair nicely.. djembe speaker box standard. Tuned to 20hz.

[@stereomojo]

lol, that would be interesting!

[@DibeezyTheGifted]

I had the DZ model and it's never come with a clip light bass knob.

[@stereomojo]

Yeah, I was wrong about that. The new one that I bought didn’t have one either.

[@benmisner6457]

I got the 4k it was a bad ass amp but i smoked to because i wired it with no fuses

[@stereomojo]

Dang, that stinks! These are strong amps!

[@jordanlee2936]

Nice amp dyno video. Do you think by chance you can do the orion xtr2500.4 four channel amp?

[@stereomojo]

That would be a cool 4 channel for sure. I bet it’s very strong!

[@jordanlee2936]

@@stereomojo yeah. I hear its a strong amp. Just it would be something to see it on your channel.

[@BDauto86]

I like Orion gear especially the powerhouse amps but heres the problem it creates. For any person buying an amp especially new to audio, most amps are overrated or pretty close to rated, then some like these way underrated can be problems too. For example this rated 2500w and pulled near 600amps, the 3500 and hcca are even more. Swapping from a 2k to this isnt 500w, its a big jump.

[@stereomojo]

Yeah, I agree 100%

[@JasonWW2000]

Looks like the power supply FETs blew. Replace them, replace the gate resistors, check the board for blown traces and probably need to change the smaller drive transistors and maybe even the driver chip (tl494, etc...) It definitely looks repairable.

[@JasonWW2000]

Hopefully Orion can hook you up with a remote bass knob. I don't see them being sold separately.

[@Chuck_Sanders]

​@@JasonWW2000I guess a certain someone, who brags on his DD amps being the best, and very underrated, might think twice with the headroom of this, comparing the two. I have the non Z 2500.1 and I will never let it go, lol.

[@stereomojo]

Thanks Jason!

[@MatthewGuynn-ki8rn]

😂 yeah I have this amp also .. id like to see the dd vs it.. and id definitely like to see it against the 100hc ​@@Chuck_Sanders

[@Chuck_Sanders]

@@MatthewGuynn-ki8rn yeah this thing has quite a bit more headroom than the dd 2500. Isn't that 100hc suppressed to do over 3k as well?

[@Chris-B-Bassin]

Was the LEDs on top showing clip?

[@stereomojo]

I didn’t even notice. I wish I would’ve been paying attention to those. Thanks

[@lacboiatl]

My model doesn't have the clip light. And the dz has more caps than the d

[@stereomojo]

Yeah, the new one that came in didn’t have a clip light either. I was wrong about that.

[@lacboiatl]

@@stereomojo batches are mixed lol. So I opened the other box and that 1 had a metal knob but the 1 I've been using had a plastic knob. They're all over the place. These amps are power hungry too

[@stereomojo]

@@lacboiatl dang, that’s crazy. People definitely like to see consistency with stuff like that.

[@bradgilpin9740]

I was saying no don’t do it🤦‍♂️ sorry man that sucks. These amps are very strong amps but I have heard there over current protection sucks. Definitely a fixable amp tho. Didn’t look to do any damage to the board and I’m sure if you were to upgrade the mosfets you wouldn’t have any problems ever again.

[@stereomojo]

lol, thanks Brad!

[@PunisherOfDeath101]

Smoked...dang. hcca would have handles low ohms. Xrt not so much.

[@stereomojo]

I’d love to try a HCCA.

[@kevszman]

Just like a reverse Boss on the ratings 😂

[@stereomojo]

For sure! Thanks!

[@pumapunkudevelopment3376]

$400 would of bought you more time at the strip joint than the time the amp had life. But at least now we know what will happen.

[@johnstarks5323]

14:07 They don't make them like they used to. the U.S.A. Red Orions HCCA's would do 0.5 mono all day. It was a time were over engineered amps were a thing. that was the one of the best things about usa made flagship amps.

[@user-cm8jr3ct3q]

Ok. So it burnt up. What’s that mean to a guy who just wants something that will bang hard. I have 2 L7 12”s. Should I not get this?

[@stereomojo]

Yes, these are good amps. Just don’t wire below 1 ohm and you’ll love it!

[@user-cm8jr3ct3q]

@@stereomojo thank you sir! I really don’t know how to do that lol. I have a 1979 coupe deville. Standard battery, 60 amp alternator, I forgot the gauge power wire and ground lol. I need to upgrade everything huh lol

[@stereomojo]

@@user-cm8jr3ct3q sounds nice! Yeah, this amp pulls a lot of current, but all powerful amps do. Do you know the ohm load of each of your subs?

[@user-cm8jr3ct3q]

@@stereomojo not at all. I’ll find out

[@yougod7253]

what happen to the protect?

[@JasonWW2000]

It has protection circuits for other things like short circuit, over heating, etc, but not this. They warn you against running that low of a resistive load. A 1 ohm speaker load will have impedance rise so you could probably wire a sub to 0.5 ohm and real load should be 1.0 or higher. Amp dyno's, which use resistive loads, often burn up amps. Its common.

[@joeJoe-pb3su]

Try Burst

[@stereomojo]

That was a burst

[@johnjohnson7128]

my 1dz did'nt come with clip light on bass remote i want to sell it but i live in the hampton roads area of va and people think i should accept 50.00 so i guess i'll have it till i die only used it about 9 months

[@stereomojo]

The new one that I bought didn’t either, so I was wrong about that

[@elulysero8863]

Are you willing to test a amp if i ship it to you ? 4,2, 1 ohm

[@stereomojo]

Good possibility. What amp is it? Or if you’d rather, you can email me at [e-mail]

[@elulysero8863]

@@stereomojo it's a memphis viv3000.1v2 sixfive series. I'm curious if it does rated power and also how many amps it pulls under 4,2,1 ohms. Please don't go under 1 ohm lol 😂. It is brand new.

[@elulysero8863]

@@stereomojo apparently when it came out it cost over $1k

[@stereomojo]

@@elulysero8863 that sounds pretty cool! Yes, I’m done with going below 1 ohm. lol

[@stereomojo]

@@elulysero8863 wow, that’s a lot of money. I’m gonna look that amp up. I’m not familiar with it. About what year is it?

[@diegoalta03]

Your Orion amplifier burned out just like he tried the Taramps 3000 amp. Why would he be a friend? 🤔 Greetings

[@stereomojo]

Oh boy, here we go

[@ronaldklein4050]

Having a friend buy you a replacement amplifier and give you your original amplifier back is going above and beyond. I will gladly lend my amplifiers to him anytime he wants and I don't expect for him to buy me a brand new replacement if something were to go wrong. Joe is a stand-up guy. I love the fact that I can help him bring in some amplifiers to test.

[@stereomojo]

@@ronaldklein4050 I really appreciate the kind words! Thanks a bunch Ronald!

[@MatthewGuynn-ki8rn]

​@@ronaldklein4050 good stuff brother 🤘..

[@trucavalier]

I’m getting sick of these manufactures lies 🤣. I have all xtr amps zero issues in 6 years now.

[@stereomojo]

lol, yeah this one was a lie in a good way. Thanks

[@Thumper68]

It’s just not worth pushing amps below rated. These Orion amps are super solid but it’s kinda known not to push them under the rated. You have high moral fiber replacing it new that was the only true solution.

[@philipeli1192]

I don't know what bothers me more animal abuse or amplifier abuse! I feel sorry for this amp,lol

[@anthonydunn4613]

Stop reserve loads ghost audio 😮

[@Thumper68]

250 amp fuse😂

[@JasonWW2000]

That size seems correct for music and a 1 ohm wired load. You'll get some impedance rise. Definitely not big enough for test tones on a resistor at max volume.

[@Thumper68]

@@JasonWW2000 maybe but I would go with 300.

[@JasonWW2000]

​@@Thumper68Me too. 😊