I was the old New Product Development Manager @ PG in its prime back in the late 90’s early 2000 and was responsible for the very first TI amplifiers. We did our best to turn out the best possible amplifier that was robust and good feature sets. Back then anything with Titanium name on it was our best. We engineered it in house we wound the tortoise in house we did our own board insertion, aluminum and steel casing as well as our own silk screening. The entire thing was built in America at our factory in Portland Oregon. I can tell you these amplifiers are nothing remotely close to what we built back in the day. The attention to detail has gone out the window. This particular amp has many issues as so aptly pointed out. Even the speaker and power connections no longer have counter sinks for the wire insulation to seat into. The single most expensive thing on an amplifier is the heat sink. These guys will never be the same unless they bring it back to the US. It’s a sad day to see PG go down like this. We had an amazing team from the likes of Larry Fredrick and so many others. The difference is we actually cared.
Liked and subbed! I was actually looking for reviews on a Phoenix Gold GX 1200.1 as I am in the market (first time since thea early 90s) for an amp! (50 year crises and all that) I was Googling and I am glad I found your channel and review. PG is now off my list, and it was on top of it. So sad to see a great brand go down the toilet. Thanks for the now 3 year old video that keeps on helping. :) /Cheers
Don't know about internals. But I've installed a couple of the GX amps and they were great. I think PG had gone away from the higher echelon market and now have more reasonably priced models. I agree that their last couple "high end" amps were bunk. But haven't had any issues with the GX series. Would be nice to open up and see what's inside. Maybe even send Sam pics
I bought an original Phoenix Gold MS-275, 2 channel Power Amplifier, around 1992. Paid $475+ tx. I still have that amp., though unused ATM. Manufactured at a time when performance, specs., Made in the U.S.A. meant something. Today's offerings, seemingly mostly Made In China, are uninspiring. Like home audio, this really dampened my enthusiasm for home audio. My home system, back in mid. '80's, was for my bedroom. A modest Luxman L-210 Integrated amp., A Yamaha Belt Drive T-table, A Yamaha Cassette Deck, and a pair of ADS 2 way speakers.
Great vid. Glad I found it. I’m upgrading a vw sound system for the first time in 23 years. I’ve been happy with the standard audio in all my other recent cars. Phoenix gold were great in my max power days and I was considering a full PG system. Not a chance now. Thanks.
Put it up, people need to know. What brand and model number of capacitors are they using? Are they at least Rubycon, Panasonic, Nichicon or at the bare least United Chem-Con?
Thanks for this video dude. Here in aus, PG made a comeback out of fucking nowhere a couple years ago. At the time i was looking for a new bass amp and subwoofer for my ride and i knew about PGs history and i have a few car audio distributor mates who distribute a bunch of different brands including PG and i asked them whats the go? Are their amps still any good or have they sold out? To which i got yeah yeah they have sold out but the Ti series is still the one of the ones you want etc, high quality, blah blah After seeing this im glad i didnt go that route. I hate how hard it is to find out actual decent information about how generic an amp is, and where its made. Everyone seems to be full of shit. Like i understand a cheap amp for a cheap price, im all for it. But not $800 for something that turns out to be a generic POS worth $200. At the moment im looking yet again for a whole new setup. Ive been lead towards the Helix G series amps, but after some googling im having some speculation. Have you ever had any experiences with any of the Helix/Brax stuff?
It is possible that is a cheap counterfit. There are a lot of that going on. It is possible the Genuine product is still OK. Did you contact the company with your findings? They may have photos of the genuine article. Ask. They may be interested in knowing that there may be a counterfeit product disparaging their brand.
The output inductors are missing zip ties they come from the factory with zip ties to hold them in place. It's also missing the covers for the mosfets. I don't see the inspection test passed stickers either.
This truly hurt me to my core. When I was growing up Phoenix Gold and Rockford Fosgate where the must-haves. I still dream of "The-One". I also noticed their POS amplifiers they have been trying to push lately. It is terrible for whoever took over the business to drag them through the dirt like this. And what is really crazy is this video is a year old and they are still in business selling shit amplifiers WTF.
Could you do a video on the pots for volume control gain ect. I have an amp that seems to work other than the knobs when turned make noise. I can't seem to figure out where to buy replacements or what to order. The numbers on them get 0 results on google. Thanks
They were "DESIGNED" by Steven Mantz of Zed Audio fame, but still built at a Korean build house. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. They make the finest car amplifiers in the world now! It's just worth mentioning, since Zed Audio is one of the ONLY HOLDOUTS that STILL BUILDS his amps here in the states. He actually designed that AMAZING ZEN 9 "Limited Edition" Amp too. Man! That thing was FREAKING EPIC!!! There were only 100 of them made. Ultra exclusive!
@@hispls You're wrong buddy. Google the terms "Zed Audio Minotaur Manual" then download it. On THE COVER in BIG LETTERS "Designed & Manufactured in the USA." Before you say "ANYBODY COULD HAVE BUILT THEM IN THE US!" He's ONE OF THE ONLY US MANUFACTURERS LEFT! (Besides Linear Power, & TRU & those amps WERE NOT built by either!
@@pastorofmuppets325 I used to run 8 Minotaur, I still own Leviathan V1 that I bought on pre-order and have owned several other of the current series. Each and every one of those amps has "designed and ASSEMBLED" in the USA on the power terminal end-cap. I've visited Stephen back when he was at the Chchran St. address in Simi Valley and I can assure you no amps were being built there and "assembled" probably means just putting the boards into a heatsink. I do not know where Stephen actually gets those built and I don't care and never asked as his designs are fantastic and he always takes care of me. Going forward, all those amps are discontinued and I'm not sure if he'll ever release another under Zed brand because he simply doesn't sell enough of them to justify the R&D and tooling. Already he is using his best/newest technology in amps he designs for others (Focal/Mosconi) who have the deep pockets and move higher volume and from what he told me he has even better stuff in his notes just waiting for someone to come along and pay him what it's worth for the designs.
@@pastorofmuppets325 if you look me up on Instagram. angelvip2474. You can scroll down my feeds I have a huge collection of special edition PG amps including the Zen 9.
If you're replacing TIP36C BJT Transistors do you need to replace all of them being that they are not Mosfets ? Audiobahn AH-2150. Would be replacing a TIP42C, a TIP36C, and the 50v 4700uf and 50v 1500uf capacitors. Would be great to know this in advance as I don't want it to blow on initial power on. Thanks.
at the end of the video you are 100% right sam someone buys the name and they just use the name and don't care about quality people know a brand from the old days and think they are still the same until they buy it .. great review
I bought some of their newer stuff. The subs are fine and the little class a/b mono amp is fine, but the 4 channel amp for the speakers is generic class d bullshit and I can hear it
Hey, I have a couple of cheep dhd audio amps I’d like to attempt a few repairs on. My first issue is the rca cable inputs are loose and crackle when moved, the second issue is the gain knob on both amps scratches and makes some pretty gnarly sounds when adjusting. I also noticed the transformers looked like there was minimal to nothing to support them from rubbing and causing a short, I also noticed one of the amps two of the 50v caps look like the top is bubbling out. Should I be concerned?
Awsome vid, need to see more like this. The numbers are not everything! Would like to know a good cheap amp with a solid design/board that can be easily upgraded to be awsome.
The thing to do is after purchase ,take it home and take the lid off and glue the transformers Down properly and fix alloy heatsinks on top of the transformers
Brand has made great to garbage since it began in the early 90s. The best amplifiers they have ever produced are the zero points. The zpa 0.3 and 0.5 are absolutely amazing. Below that you had the ZX. Ms. Mps. Ti and M series. This stuff was all pretty good. Especially the ZX amps for sq. The junk was Sapphire and octane. The Tantrum and xs amps we're actually decent for low cost. Especially the Tantrum. The xs was actually a pretty terrible sounding amplifier line but it worked well on Subs. Phoenix Gold is definitely not a brand that you can just say is good or bad. It depends on the specific amplifier you're talking about. In fact one of the best bargain amplifiers of all time right now is the xenon line. They don't look great. They are responsible in some degree for the demise of the original Phoenix Gold. Some of the amps had terrible build quality but the ones that are still alive today are probably alright. You can find them for very little money and they sound really decent
Kyle V Xenons were my favorite, being overbuilt you could wire them into the dirt being you could feed it and cool it they would make tons over rated power!
I dont see a single instance on that board where you could say "well at least they specced good quality [component or process]". everything about it is done as cheaply as possible.
barevids Man I love your videos! What a smart man! Wish I could Do that too!! Do you have videos that are for teaching only? To teach exactly how to repair amps?
Sorry for the confusing words... what your videos show is how you repair amps and is very I formative but do you have any that go step by step very slowly and show everything about how to repair them.
I just looked at one of my old MPS2500 amps and there are no screws down the middle of the board attaching it to the heat sink and there is no glue or anything around the torids.
I had 2 xs 12 pg in a bandpass box and started out with a pg amp (wish I cold remember which one) more than 20 years ago now and that is exactly what happened way way back then. Not saying it was crap back then but I was disappointed and I'm thinking it was vibration from the box but the amp was not mounted on the box but still huge vibration. I was so disappointed I packed that amp away and got two pioneer gmx 702s and mounted them as far away from the sub box as possible.
Phoenix Gold was purchased by AAMP in 2008 iirc. AAMP fired most of the staff from the original PG company and went on to basically make it a catalog amplifier brand. They have in the past year at least brought in some fresh cosmetic designs, and most of their higher end lines (yes, they have higher priced lines than the ti2) are designed by Steven Mantz, but still manufactured in China. It's been a long, long time since they transitioned from a high end brand to the rubbish you have in front of you there.
yup. from 08 to like, 10? 11? they 'kind of' vanished form the scene, and when they 'came back' it was all garbage. if you have to have PG stuff, stick with pre-08 gear and you should be fine. if you don't, look at another brand, you'll get more bang for the buck.
Wrong, it was a company called radionics. AAMP is the new current owner and responsible for the Ti3 amps and the Zen9. It seems they are back with high end products again.
Name recognition. That's it people. They have made a few REALLY GOOD amps (in VERY LIMITED #s) for their diehard fans) over the past few years. the Elite Series, the SX2's, & the Ti3's were ALL really good!
This is review is on a discontinued product. The new lines (TI3 and SX2) are very well designed and have good built quality from what has been seen so far. They were designed by Steve Mantz of Zed Audio. The TI2 line which he reviewed was one of the first lines AAMP came out with after they purchased PG and they made a few bad choices. Now they have corrected those choices and are trying to bring back the PG name as being associated with a quality product.
Yeah, i heard the newer versions are meant to be better, but at time of recording and still to this day they are a current line available product to buy new over here in the UK and the new ones not released yet.
There's nothing like screwing your well earned name into the ground even if you inherited the name. The Chinese are well known for starting a company like One Hung Low and talking it up selling you complete shit and when the run out of supplies and bad reviews, they change their name and do it all over again calling themselves Tu Kan Chew or Hew Flung Pooh with no quality control. I have seen great quality items when you see the same name for years.
@@barevids please in your next video explain to me how buffer transistors work in each bank of mosfet and when we put them and when we can use the ic directly to drive the gates i whatched all ur videos but there wasn't enough explanation about that because i want to build a powerful class d amplifier but not to use it in a car so the power supply is not a problem for me but the buffer transistor and the output filter still not clear and google not saying much thing about that (thanks for replying and for the help)
I can't help you with that I'm afraid I don't know amplifier design. I only find problems and fix them. To design an amp is a whole different set of skills.
@@barevids by saying this amplifier is a self oscillating one in ur prévious video i was thinking that u have schematics or u can at least make it from the board because most of these amplifiers we can say 90% of them have the same principle of work and the same design skills are in calculation . let this be a side i enjoy see ur vidoes and happy for ur answer thank you
Hey, maybe you read this. I have a rockford t2000.1bd with a phase switch that is a bit loose. So if my helons start pushing some air the switch sometimes shuts down the output until i wiggle on it again. Normaly i could just take the switch out or does it do anything bad to the board?
Hmm Rockford Fosgate for that much money! Phoenix Gold used to have such a high reputation, Genesis did too not the amp you have there but the British brand Genesis, no idea if there still around?
I do repair work for the founder of Genesis, I have a rare 8channel class A / Twin mono AB here which im going to be using in my SQ car, and i got an up close look at one of the £4000 ultra rare valve class A amps he made today! Such a beauty!
barevids Fantastic, must be a great contact to have! Great to see them still around making amps. I remember when they first launched a five channel and it was praised like nothing for its SQ.
barevids you are one lucky person! I would love to hear it. I will be running Hybrid Audio Technologies amplifiers in my SQ build. And finally competing here in the states. A dream of mine for 25 years!
@@barevidsI have 2 genesis a duel mono , which the owner had made even better and I bought direct from him. Lovely guy. Also I have a 4 channel that Genesis set up as mids and tweeters, for me . Was his name Malcolm ?
@barevids I fuckin love this guy!!!! Wish I could get ahold of him. I have a JL Audio 1000/1v1 Slash series question about random loss of output. Or if anyone can answer this for me. After a certain frequency played over a short time, it won't get over 67v of output. With nothing connected, I can get over 67v AC until a reactive load is on it and it will just clamp down to 67v and won't give higher AC Voltage when disconnected. Their required output at 2 ohms is 44.7v AC on the output, but it will clamp down to 34v AC when the load is applied and when the Input is raised, nothing changes.
barevids no problem man. Without guys like you in the world, their would be a lot of great broken equipment. If the issue happens again, I’ll send you the amp for repair for a video if you’d like. Would make for a great video for future learning and for others to visit if they have the issue with their own amps. Thanks again for responding. You the illest!!!
They get away with it cuz they know most ppl are clueless...ive learnt so much just from this vid wow ......I have a phoenix gold tantrum that is showing a blue light what should I do?
big D wiz the old school stereo guy did an amp dyno on this 2 years ago. he showed the guts. the price tag was apparently 1000 USD! O.o the only place it looks like you can get it is through the PG website. but it does around 3k at just under 14 volts. so...i guess thats something? but my twisted 3.5k doing just over 5k is 800 USD...so i think PG went nuts with pricing here!
PG went cheapo with one version of the Ti2 2000.1. They have since changed to higher quality. That is no excuse for what you see here, just wanted to reply the Rev 2 of this amp is better and their newer amps are better quality as well. Also, it is never recommended to mount an amplifier to a subwoofer box as it does not matter how well the amp is built, it could cause damage to the amplifier with the vibration.
It makes sense in many ways. In the last 3 years I have bought a ton of old ppi. Case and point 1997 ppi pc2350 for $200, 1,300-1,400 cristal clear a/b watts rms at 4ohm mono. Been using it for well over two years abusing it daily with no problems. Msrp in 1997 was $1,499 and the USA build quality is insane when compared to anything comming out of Brazil, Korea, and definitely china. Such a value. You'll pay even more for an A1200 but your talking about one of the most special amps ever made. Better value for your pound, dollar than anything you can go get today. Unless you're in the spl lanes and need 10,000 watts I can't justify buying anything being offered today. That goes for way more than just my preference ppi. They are out there people. I'm just glad no one listens to me. Leaves more for me but I already have more than a lifetime's worth and no where to stack them.
I know all these amps looks the same but it is identical to the hifonics Brutus 35th anniversary with the resistors that we’re stuck to the back plate 😂 It is truly sad what greed does to people.
Why do the majority (not all) of fabled brands go down this same path? Do they really make that much more money cheaping out and losing brand reputation in the long run? If Lanzar can put out a similar amp with better QC at 1/3 the price then.......... (too many ways that sentence could be finished)
Well.. I’m a huge phoenix gold fan and this makes me so fucking sad 😢. I Know that the newer generations compared to the old generation are worse, but this bad? DAMN! Own a lot of ms and m series amplifiers.. hope they will do better with the new gen9 and ti3 series. Glad I’ve watched this tough!!! Go oldschool (90’s) ,or good chinees amps (soundmagus or whatever) Thanks 🙏🏼 for the video Keep it up
Yep! They always go to the shitter when bought by these Chinese companies that try to make a buck off a reputable company but don't know crap about audio.. too many companies have been squeezed once sold until the name has gone to shit! 🤷🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
Hi BareVids, Really enjoy the vids but I have seen you replace damaged electrolytics with no brand old and possibly stressed components lifted from dead amps? I appreciate that this often gets the job done and is OK for many components but capacitors? Not a good idea. Small value, high quality (Rubycon, Panasonic, etc) electrolytics are so inexpensive and I think your viewers and clients would be happy to know that good quality new parts were used wherever possible.
Other than their older Titanium series... Phoenix gold has always been shit. I worked for a shop who sold Phoenix gold and we had at least 14 tantrum 1000w amps at a time that took a shit
They are trying to make a quick buck on the name... they should of kept it 100% old school class ab with the classic design, i would of bought that if it was like they used to be...
I'd say the Phoenix company was sold and the new owners did this so they can milk the fuck out the name pay themselves a fortune the fold the company screwing their suppliers and the customers, pretty standard behavior these days.
They also use shitty cheap Chi*ese capacitors, no nichicon, panasonic, rubycon, United chemicon or vishay, cde... nothing but trash in there. Dude, why dont you buy pg and have a no cost no object approach to the design.
I bought a chrome Phoenix gold amp years ago, I think it was a 2x100, it was fucking garbage, my old ppi 2050 killed it, which I ran after, much more more musical, and louder, It was before all the dyno stuff came out, so I don't numbers, but I ran my 2050 @1/2 ohm stereo, blew some fuses but never the amp
That is NOT a real PG amp, the real thing has a gold plated circuit board and gold plated bus bars, that's what they are known of so I don't believe that it is the real PG amp.
I was the old New Product Development Manager @ PG in its prime back in the late 90’s early 2000 and was responsible for the very first TI amplifiers. We did our best to turn out the best possible amplifier that was robust and good feature sets. Back then anything with Titanium name on it was our best. We engineered it in house we wound the tortoise in house we did our own board insertion, aluminum and steel casing as well as our own silk screening. The entire thing was built in America at our factory in Portland Oregon. I can tell you these amplifiers are nothing remotely close to what we built back in the day. The attention to detail has gone out the window. This particular amp has many issues as so aptly pointed out. Even the speaker and power connections no longer have counter sinks for the wire insulation to seat into. The single most expensive thing on an amplifier is the heat sink. These guys will never be the same unless they bring it back to the US. It’s a sad day to see PG go down like this. We had an amazing team from the likes of Larry Fredrick and so many others. The difference is we actually cared.
amazing to hear such comments from you sir! Thank you for your efforts in producing some of the best amplification products of the time x
Shame you did'nt use Hammerite to paint them LOL
All my 10yr old Ti stuff is rusting....BUT never skipped a beat.
@@alwishy2696 lol.,sounds like my 1998 Sound Stream Rubicon
Everything is an extra dollar..the world will soon be in the shitter
Jerry is that you? The engineering dept./ T Sanow Designer
This guys the bomb. So well explain and so articulate. Keep up the great work man.
I appreciate your knowledge! Could you do a current top 5 amplifier brands and maybe good build houses?
Liked and subbed! I was actually looking for reviews on a Phoenix Gold GX 1200.1 as I am in the market (first time since thea early 90s) for an amp! (50 year crises and all that) I was Googling and I am glad I found your channel and review. PG is now off my list, and it was on top of it. So sad to see a great brand go down the toilet. Thanks for the now 3 year old video that keeps on helping. :)
/Cheers
Don't know about internals. But I've installed a couple of the GX amps and they were great. I think PG had gone away from the higher echelon market and now have more reasonably priced models. I agree that their last couple "high end" amps were bunk. But haven't had any issues with the GX series. Would be nice to open up and see what's inside. Maybe even send Sam pics
im running the GX1200.6 i have no complaints whatsoever, plenty of power, runs cools and small footprint.
When are you coming to Barbados?
I bought an original Phoenix Gold MS-275, 2 channel
Power Amplifier, around 1992. Paid $475+ tx.
I still have that amp., though unused ATM.
Manufactured at a time when performance, specs., Made in the
U.S.A. meant something.
Today's offerings, seemingly mostly Made In China, are uninspiring.
Like home audio, this really dampened my enthusiasm for home audio.
My home system, back in mid. '80's, was for my bedroom.
A modest Luxman L-210 Integrated amp., A Yamaha Belt Drive T-table,
A Yamaha Cassette Deck, and a pair of ADS 2 way speakers.
Great amp in the day 👍🏻👍🏻
This has got to be one of the best videos on the explanation of amp internals and what to look for in quality amplifier layout.
Great vid. Glad I found it. I’m upgrading a vw sound system for the first time in 23 years. I’ve been happy with the standard audio in all my other recent cars. Phoenix gold were great in my max power days and I was considering a full PG system. Not a chance now. Thanks.
Put it up, people need to know. What brand and model number of capacitors are they using? Are they at least Rubycon, Panasonic, Nichicon or at the bare least United Chem-Con?
Appears to be "ITA", some chinese cap.
Ita Special Capacitor (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. Doesn't give a lot of confidence at all! For that price I at least expected some quality caps.
They actually had a recall/replace with new model upon amp blowing up here in Australia. Absolute garbage, we stopped carrying PG.
And issues with the Ti3 amps?
Everyone should see this video. Lol
Once they moved from Portland Oregon , everything went to the shit .
Yea. St. Johns has never been the same after that either. Let alone PoorTown
Thanks for this video dude.
Here in aus, PG made a comeback out of fucking nowhere a couple years ago. At the time i was looking for a new bass amp and subwoofer for my ride and i knew about PGs history and i have a few car audio distributor mates who distribute a bunch of different brands including PG and i asked them whats the go? Are their amps still any good or have they sold out? To which i got yeah yeah they have sold out but the Ti series is still the one of the ones you want etc, high quality, blah blah
After seeing this im glad i didnt go that route. I hate how hard it is to find out actual decent information about how generic an amp is, and where its made. Everyone seems to be full of shit. Like i understand a cheap amp for a cheap price, im all for it. But not $800 for something that turns out to be a generic POS worth $200.
At the moment im looking yet again for a whole new setup. Ive been lead towards the Helix G series amps, but after some googling im having some speculation. Have you ever had any experiences with any of the Helix/Brax stuff?
It is possible that is a cheap counterfit. There are a lot of that going on. It is possible the Genuine product is still OK. Did you contact the company with your findings? They may have photos of the genuine article. Ask. They may be interested in knowing that there may be a counterfeit product disparaging their brand.
The output inductors are missing zip ties they come from the factory with zip ties to hold them in place. It's also missing the covers for the mosfets. I don't see the inspection test passed stickers either.
This truly hurt me to my core. When I was growing up Phoenix Gold and Rockford Fosgate where the must-haves. I still dream of "The-One". I also noticed their POS amplifiers they have been trying to push lately. It is terrible for whoever took over the business to drag them through the dirt like this. And what is really crazy is this video is a year old and they are still in business selling shit amplifiers WTF.
Matthew Massey Rockford Fosgate still makes excellent gear.
@@djhaloeight yes they do
i got all Rockford gear in my car!!!
I have sound steam amps and genesis . Both were great in the 90s
Could you do a video on the pots for volume control gain ect. I have an amp that seems to work other than the knobs when turned make noise. I can't seem to figure out where to buy replacements or what to order. The numbers on them get 0 results on google. Thanks
is the ti3 series better?
Some of the SX series were designed by Zed Audio. I've run a few and they're quite nice for small footprint class D full range.
They were "DESIGNED" by Steven Mantz of Zed Audio fame, but still built at a Korean build house. I'm not saying that's a bad thing.
They make the finest car amplifiers in the world now! It's just worth mentioning, since Zed Audio is one of the ONLY HOLDOUTS that STILL BUILDS his amps here in the states.
He actually designed that AMAZING ZEN 9 "Limited Edition" Amp too. Man! That thing was FREAKING EPIC!!! There were only 100 of them made. Ultra exclusive!
@@pastorofmuppets325
Stephen does not build amps in house and hasn't done so since the Boss amps he built in the late 90s.
@@hispls You're wrong buddy. Google the terms "Zed Audio Minotaur Manual" then download it.
On THE COVER in BIG LETTERS "Designed & Manufactured in the USA." Before you say "ANYBODY COULD HAVE BUILT THEM IN THE US!" He's ONE OF THE ONLY US MANUFACTURERS LEFT! (Besides Linear Power, & TRU & those amps WERE NOT built by either!
@@pastorofmuppets325
I used to run 8 Minotaur, I still own Leviathan V1 that I bought on pre-order and have owned several other of the current series. Each and every one of those amps has "designed and ASSEMBLED" in the USA on the power terminal end-cap.
I've visited Stephen back when he was at the Chchran St. address in Simi Valley and I can assure you no amps were being built there and "assembled" probably means just putting the boards into a heatsink. I do not know where Stephen actually gets those built and I don't care and never asked as his designs are fantastic and he always takes care of me.
Going forward, all those amps are discontinued and I'm not sure if he'll ever release another under Zed brand because he simply doesn't sell enough of them to justify the R&D and tooling. Already he is using his best/newest technology in amps he designs for others (Focal/Mosconi) who have the deep pockets and move higher volume and from what he told me he has even better stuff in his notes just waiting for someone to come along and pay him what it's worth for the designs.
@@pastorofmuppets325 if you look me up on Instagram. angelvip2474. You can scroll down my feeds I have a huge collection of special edition PG amps including the Zen 9.
If you're replacing TIP36C BJT Transistors do you need to replace all of them being that they are not Mosfets ? Audiobahn AH-2150. Would be replacing a TIP42C, a TIP36C, and the 50v 4700uf and 50v 1500uf capacitors. Would be great to know this in advance as I don't want it to blow on initial power on. Thanks.
Generally no you can usually get away with just replacing the dead ones
at the end of the video you are 100% right sam someone buys the name and they just use the name and don't care about quality people know a brand from the old days and think they are still the same until they buy it .. great review
I bought some of their newer stuff. The subs are fine and the little class a/b mono amp is fine, but the 4 channel amp for the speakers is generic class d bullshit and I can hear it
I once heard that in the US Phoenix Gold is sold only in specialized shops, not online, intending to say that PG is for enthusiasts. How true is that?
What kind of glue or silicone would you recommend to hold down the transformers?
you are very smart man...would you explain how this two transformator work,and how to winding it...please...thank you
Hey, I have a couple of cheep dhd audio amps I’d like to attempt a few repairs on. My first issue is the rca cable inputs are loose and crackle when moved, the second issue is the gain knob on both amps scratches and makes some pretty gnarly sounds when adjusting. I also noticed the transformers looked like there was minimal to nothing to support them from rubbing and causing a short, I also noticed one of the amps two of the 50v caps look like the top is bubbling out. Should I be concerned?
Awsome vid, need to see more like this. The numbers are not everything!
Would like to know a good cheap amp with a solid design/board that can be easily upgraded to be awsome.
What are your thoughts on cab2000.1 and audiopipe apmi2000
Quick question, can you fix the amp and if so could you make it better? Great vid
The thing to do is after purchase ,take it home and take the lid off and glue the transformers Down properly and fix alloy heatsinks on top of the transformers
Phoenix Gold is marketed in Canada as an ultra premium brand commanding insane prices, meanwhile they sell in flea markets down in the U.S.
Phoenix Gold is not in any Flea Markets... get a grip
Brand has made great to garbage since it began in the early 90s. The best amplifiers they have ever produced are the zero points. The zpa 0.3 and 0.5 are absolutely amazing. Below that you had the ZX. Ms. Mps. Ti and M series. This stuff was all pretty good. Especially the ZX amps for sq. The junk was Sapphire and octane. The Tantrum and xs amps we're actually decent for low cost. Especially the Tantrum. The xs was actually a pretty terrible sounding amplifier line but it worked well on Subs. Phoenix Gold is definitely not a brand that you can just say is good or bad. It depends on the specific amplifier you're talking about. In fact one of the best bargain amplifiers of all time right now is the xenon line. They don't look great. They are responsible in some degree for the demise of the original Phoenix Gold. Some of the amps had terrible build quality but the ones that are still alive today are probably alright. You can find them for very little money and they sound really decent
Kyle V Xenons were my favorite, being overbuilt you could wire them into the dirt being you could feed it and cool it they would make tons over rated power!
I dont see a single instance on that board where you could say "well at least they specced good quality [component or process]". everything about it is done as cheaply as possible.
so should i not buy an sx2 800.4 to run my front stage this is pretty sad but great vid
Sx2 line amps are great with underrated specs. I would say go for it they are powerhouses with great build quality.
HI, Hope you are well, which brand amps, which brand woofers, which brand mids and tweeters would you install in your vehicle if money was no object?
looking at his other vids im betting its dd audio
Doesn't look as though he replies to youtube messages! lol but yeah I bet it is DD audio for speakers at least
Very informative, knowledgeable also. More people need to know this.
Could you check out some zapco amps? ST series and Z-series?
Do you ever sell any refurbished amps!!!??? I’ll buy one!! What do you have ?
yes, loads for sale at the mo. UK only tho.
barevids Man I love your videos! What a smart man! Wish I could
Do that too!! Do you have videos that are for teaching only? To teach exactly how to repair amps?
Sorry for the confusing words... what your videos show is how you repair amps and is very I formative but do you have any that go step by step very slowly and show everything about how to repair them.
I just looked at one of my old MPS2500 amps and there are no screws down the middle of the board attaching it to the heat sink and there is no glue or anything around the torids.
:'(
I was going to be sold a PG amp at a local car audio store. I don’t know whether since this, things are the same, but glad now I chose another brand!
8:21 "Y2K? Because 1999 is not enough!"
lol
Y2K was the year 2000. That’s the joke.
Sad to see them go but at least we all know now. I used to be a big fan of PG
I had 2 xs 12 pg in a bandpass box and started out with a pg amp (wish I cold remember which one) more than 20 years ago now and that is exactly what happened way way back then. Not saying it was crap back then but I was disappointed and I'm thinking it was vibration from the box but the amp was not mounted on the box but still huge vibration. I was so disappointed I packed that amp away and got two pioneer gmx 702s and mounted them as far away from the sub box as possible.
Phoenix Gold was purchased by AAMP in 2008 iirc. AAMP fired most of the staff from the original PG company and went on to basically make it a catalog amplifier brand. They have in the past year at least brought in some fresh cosmetic designs, and most of their higher end lines (yes, they have higher priced lines than the ti2) are designed by Steven Mantz, but still manufactured in China. It's been a long, long time since they transitioned from a high end brand to the rubbish you have in front of you there.
yup. from 08 to like, 10? 11? they 'kind of' vanished form the scene, and when they 'came back' it was all garbage.
if you have to have PG stuff, stick with pre-08 gear and you should be fine. if you don't, look at another brand, you'll get more bang for the buck.
Wrong, it was a company called radionics. AAMP is the new current owner and responsible for the Ti3 amps and the Zen9. It seems they are back with high end products again.
I owned the 1600.5 and its worked like a champ not sure what the bitching is about but it also looks alot better inside.
I'm still rocking my ti21600.5 and love it. It's one of the best performing 5 channel amps I've come across in recent years. I wonder if it's a v2.. 🤔
Name recognition. That's it people. They have made a few REALLY GOOD amps (in VERY LIMITED #s) for their diehard fans) over the past few years. the Elite Series, the SX2's, & the Ti3's were ALL really good!
This is review is on a discontinued product. The new lines (TI3 and SX2) are very well designed and have good built quality from what has been seen so far. They were designed by Steve Mantz of Zed Audio. The TI2 line which he reviewed was one of the first lines AAMP came out with after they purchased PG and they made a few bad choices. Now they have corrected those choices and are trying to bring back the PG name as being associated with a quality product.
Yeah, i heard the newer versions are meant to be better, but at time of recording and still to this day they are a current line available product to buy new over here in the UK and the new ones not released yet.
I know this is a 4yr old post, but go to PG's website and see what they have now. SOS.
There's nothing like screwing your well earned name into the ground even if you inherited the name. The Chinese are well known for starting a company like One Hung Low and talking it up selling you complete shit and when the run out of supplies and bad reviews, they change their name and do it all over again calling themselves Tu Kan Chew or Hew Flung Pooh with no quality control. I have seen great quality items when you see the same name for years.
Is the phoenix gold r1000 any good planning on running 3 10 inch L7 at 1.3 ohms
No lol
@@barevids good thing I asked
y u dont make a schematic of these amplifiers i need schematic
No one needs schematic on these
@@barevids please in your next video explain to me how buffer transistors work in each bank of mosfet and when we put them and when we can use the ic directly to drive the gates i whatched all ur videos but there wasn't enough explanation about that because i want to build a powerful class d amplifier but not to use it in a car so the power supply is not a problem for me but the buffer transistor and the output filter still not clear and google not saying much thing about that (thanks for replying and for the help)
I can't help you with that I'm afraid I don't know amplifier design. I only find problems and fix them. To design an amp is a whole different set of skills.
@@barevids by saying this amplifier is a self oscillating one in ur prévious video i was thinking that u have schematics or u can at least make it from the board because most of these amplifiers we can say 90% of them have the same principle of work and the same design skills are in calculation . let this be a side i enjoy see ur vidoes and happy for ur answer thank you
Hey, maybe you read this. I have a rockford t2000.1bd with a phase switch that is a bit loose. So if my helons start pushing some air the switch sometimes shuts down the output until i wiggle on it again. Normaly i could just take the switch out or does it do anything bad to the board?
Hi, How do I get in contact I have an amp and was wondering if you can repair it.
+TI702295 facebook.com/nsvaudio
why u hating on me bro?
Y u selling over priced crap?
Hmm Rockford Fosgate for that much money! Phoenix Gold used to have such a high reputation, Genesis did too not the amp you have there but the British brand Genesis, no idea if there still around?
I do repair work for the founder of Genesis, I have a rare 8channel class A / Twin mono AB here which im going to be using in my SQ car, and i got an up close look at one of the £4000 ultra rare valve class A amps he made today! Such a beauty!
barevids Fantastic, must be a great contact to have! Great to see them still around making amps. I remember when they first launched a five channel and it was praised like nothing for its SQ.
barevids you are one lucky person! I would love to hear it.
I will be running Hybrid Audio Technologies amplifiers in my SQ build. And finally competing here in the states. A dream of mine for 25 years!
I have 2 genesis amps and duel mono and a 4 channel. Also I have 3 sound stream amps . Love all of them . Greats amps in the day
@@barevidsI have 2 genesis a duel mono , which the owner had made even better and I bought direct from him. Lovely guy.
Also I have a 4 channel that Genesis set up as mids and tweeters, for me . Was his name Malcolm ?
Was so excited to get a notification, but I have already seen this!! Not helping my amp video withdrawls! But great video, shame on Phoenix Gold
It's a shame, I own some Phoenix gold amps in the early 90s very good build quality they're just pimping out their name now
@barevids I fuckin love this guy!!!! Wish I could get ahold of him. I have a JL Audio 1000/1v1 Slash series question about random loss of output. Or if anyone can answer this for me. After a certain frequency played over a short time, it won't get over 67v of output. With nothing connected, I can get over 67v AC until a reactive load is on it and it will just clamp down to 67v and won't give higher AC Voltage when disconnected. Their required output at 2 ohms is 44.7v AC on the output, but it will clamp down to 34v AC when the load is applied and when the Input is raised, nothing changes.
Hey buddy, I emailed you back. Thanks for the tip by the way only just seen it!
barevids no problem man. Without guys like you in the world, their would be a lot of great broken equipment. If the issue happens again, I’ll send you the amp for repair for a video if you’d like. Would make for a great video for future learning and for others to visit if they have the issue with their own amps. Thanks again for responding. You the illest!!!
How about the TI3 😥
They get away with it cuz they know most ppl are clueless...ive learnt so much just from this vid wow
......I have a phoenix gold tantrum that is showing a blue light what should I do?
Luckily I got the Ti3 1300.1 with the golden yellow PCB and golden yellow heat sink for 700 usd.
I am looking at get the same amp or perhaps audio control. What are your thoughts on the Ti3
This was a fantastic episode!
big D wiz the old school stereo guy did an amp dyno on this 2 years ago. he showed the guts. the price tag was apparently 1000 USD! O.o the only place it looks like you can get it is through the PG website. but it does around 3k at just under 14 volts. so...i guess thats something? but my twisted 3.5k doing just over 5k is 800 USD...so i think PG went nuts with pricing here!
PG went cheapo with one version of the Ti2 2000.1. They have since changed to higher quality. That is no excuse for what you see here, just wanted to reply the Rev 2 of this amp is better and their newer amps are better quality as well. Also, it is never recommended to mount an amplifier to a subwoofer box as it does not matter how well the amp is built, it could cause damage to the amplifier with the vibration.
+BigDWiz would love to check out the rev2!
I remember back in the day Phoenix Gold used to put out extremely high quality products
great video. compring those amps.
keep up the good work
Yo check out the new Phoenix gold elite 12” 2’s your getting one hell of a run for your money. I’m bumping two hits lows like a king.
Yes I would say that is shit!! Call it how you see it. Love the vids.
Eye watering price for the name only. Its why I had to buy 20 year old PPI amps.
Oldschool amps are the best👌
It makes sense in many ways. In the last 3 years I have bought a ton of old ppi. Case and point 1997 ppi pc2350 for $200, 1,300-1,400 cristal clear a/b watts rms at 4ohm mono. Been using it for well over two years abusing it daily with no problems. Msrp in 1997 was $1,499 and the USA build quality is insane when compared to anything comming out of Brazil, Korea, and definitely china. Such a value. You'll pay even more for an A1200 but your talking about one of the most special amps ever made. Better value for your pound, dollar than anything you can go get today. Unless you're in the spl lanes and need 10,000 watts I can't justify buying anything being offered today. That goes for way more than just my preference ppi. They are out there people. I'm just glad no one listens to me. Leaves more for me but I already have more than a lifetime's worth and no where to stack them.
I know all these amps looks the same but it is identical to the hifonics Brutus 35th anniversary with the resistors that we’re stuck to the back plate 😂 It is truly sad what greed does to people.
Don't hate on the hifonics amps there are some pretty decent ones
+Joel Freedman not any more.
barevids I ment the older brutus amps
Interesting. Ya learn something new everyday. Thanks bud
Why do the majority (not all) of fabled brands go down this same path?
Do they really make that much more money cheaping out and losing brand reputation in the long run? If Lanzar can put out a similar amp with better QC at 1/3 the price then.......... (too many ways that sentence could be finished)
This will be sundown,crescendo,dc audio,skar,focal,infinity and other reputable brands one day!
Well.. I’m a huge phoenix gold fan and this makes me so fucking sad 😢. I Know that the newer generations compared to the old generation are worse, but this bad? DAMN!
Own a lot of ms and m series amplifiers..
hope they will do better with the new gen9 and ti3 series.
Glad I’ve watched this tough!!!
Go oldschool (90’s) ,or good chinees amps (soundmagus or whatever)
Thanks 🙏🏼 for the video
Keep it up
BigD got 3300 watts dynamic on amp dyno. Can’t be to much shit but way over priced for sure!
Thank you for the great video. Really enjoyed it.
Yep! They always go to the shitter when bought by these Chinese companies that try to make a buck off a reputable company but don't know crap about audio.. too many companies have been squeezed once sold until the name has gone to shit! 🤷🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
Wow...they must have built that amp on a Friday afternoon. lol
Hi BareVids, Really enjoy the vids but I have seen you replace damaged electrolytics with no brand old and possibly stressed components lifted from dead amps? I appreciate that this often gets the job done and is OK for many components but capacitors? Not a good idea.
Small value, high quality (Rubycon, Panasonic, etc) electrolytics are so inexpensive and I think your viewers and clients would be happy to know that good quality new parts were used wherever possible.
I'm surprised they didn't use duct tape. I mean come on really!66 zip ties to hold the s*** down
Is it a knock off?
When they start making it in china, it goes down in quality
Thanks for saving my money!
Very interesting cheers for showing
Wow....even Brazil amps do more with their price...
Looks like it was attached to the box, and rattled everything off! But f*@$ing aay! What happened PG?! Selling straight shit eehhh!?
Other than their older Titanium series... Phoenix gold has always been shit. I worked for a shop who sold Phoenix gold and we had at least 14 tantrum 1000w amps at a time that took a shit
subbed you seem so smart
Lanzar for the win 🏆
They are trying to make a quick buck on the name... they should of kept it 100% old school class ab with the classic design, i would of bought that if it was like they used to be...
Phoenix Gold sold out in 2006-2007. They have not been the same since then.
The name was sold to a cheap board maker.
Man the old usa made 2125's make that look like a POS! WTF happened to Phoenix gold in the last 25 years?
sad.....😓🤕
simple solution buy lanzar vibe instead they are built better
Marketing off of an old reputation period.
Could this possibly be a Chinese fake?
Very expensive. And it smoked on me
Ridiculous right?
I'd say the Phoenix company was sold and the new owners did this so they can milk the fuck out the name pay themselves a fortune the fold the company screwing their suppliers and the customers, pretty standard behavior these days.
They also use shitty cheap Chi*ese capacitors, no nichicon, panasonic, rubycon, United chemicon or vishay, cde... nothing but trash in there. Dude, why dont you buy pg and have a no cost no object approach to the design.
Sad
I bought a chrome Phoenix gold amp years ago, I think it was a 2x100, it was fucking garbage, my old ppi 2050 killed it, which I ran after, much more more musical, and louder, It was before all the dyno stuff came out, so I don't numbers, but I ran my 2050 @1/2 ohm stereo, blew some fuses but never the amp
That is NOT a real PG amp, the real thing has a gold plated circuit board and gold plated bus bars, that's what they are known of so I don't believe that it is the real PG amp.
Yes, it's real, this repair came in through the authorised UK dealer. This is what PG have become, sadly.
@@barevids that's actually really sad if that's true, I can hardly believe it but I take your word for it.