I have a zapco 1650 that smoked on me within 1 and a half hours of use. They fixed it under warranty but i think I'm going to sell it after seeing this. I have the 4 channel sq zapco as well. I hope that does better.
Boy, that is just sad, what a let down. I remember the prestige from the 90's. So glad people are getting to see what these companies are really about over the last few years! Thanks!
Rewinding back to the 90s, aka paying a dollar a watt. Things are better these days, with the amps, ho alts and agm batteries. Power is cheap and plentiful, just got to do your research before you buy.
My return to car audio from the late 80's/early 90's (and even early 00' when the outsourcing 1st began) is quite eye opening. Just about ALL the old heavy hitters are either gone or a shell of themselves seemingly just using their namesake to stay in business. I can't believe there is NO market for premium quality. I'll just buy the 25 year old stuff off ebay and the few pieces i have left from the era before using these best buy grade amps with premium names slapped on them.
Oh man i wasn't expecting that at all, i'm here thinking 1500 wrms, even internally the amp looks really decent, so....? Looking forward to the other Zapco amps being tested. Keep up the good work!!!!
I'm eagerly awaiting the other Zapco tests here, hopefully in the next few days. If those are subpar, there will be some massive shit slinging going around, rightfully so. If the other 2 are good as though, putting out spec or above power, then the finger would have to be pointed at the refurb unit. That would still reflect poorly though, that they could release that refurb as a "like new" unit, poor work, poor QC
The4x is underated no matter what this video says i have one and i run 4 6.5 mids 140rms and 2 100rms tweeters and it powers them really hard way better than maxxsonic autotek 2000 amp that i replaced. And much cleaner sound
Thanks for testing these as I’ve never found a test of newer Zapco ST-X series and I have a ST-5x II. Hoping for better numbers out of the other two Zappos.
OMG! The world has turned upside-down! We now have Dual amps that actually do above rating and Zapco amps that do under. Talk about Twilight Zone. Oh, and the efficiency on the Zapco sucks for class D and 300 bucks
I call that a BS i own St-2000x on strong electrical 270a alt+ 2 Agm batteries it out perform the SoundQubed 3500 with ease from Power to Sound Quality and if you want to shift to the Z series my dad own the Z3K rated at 3000 rms at 1-ohm you would not believe me but it out perform the Sundown Saz-5000 i will always trust Zapco Amps you should try different other models am sure you will be surprise anyway thank you for the effort you spends of making these video and keep it up
I had zapco amps years ago and paid dearly for them. Back when alma gates was setting records with a 157 db sealed on glass. I have been installing systems for going on 25 years+ I'm glad I held onto some of my old school a/b stuff. I actually ran an old reference 4 channel soundstream in my last system system with vintage Boston acoustics pro 6.5 CS and matching coaxs in rear. The speakers didn't hold up even on clean power. Tbh the ssa evil 6.5's and tweets crushed them in sq output and range. For a quarter the price, adjust for 20 years of inflation and my current system was less. I'm happy to see quality stereo equipment available at reasonable prices these days.
Re: The back in the day comments. Back in the day we never would have used the term "only a 1,000 watts, especially referring to 1 amp. It was nice having subs with 94 to 98db sensitivity. We didn't need 1000's of watts per sub to go BOOM.
Cyber Trucker Road Show I miss those old school subs that had 94 to 98 dB's sensitivity levels back in the day it didn't take much power to make them go boom
@@cooleynumpsey5084 yeah but you can get more out of a modern sub they had high sensitivity because they weren't as stiff and couldn't handle as much power didn't have as much excursion. Sure at 500w they would outperform modern subs but they can't handle the power needed to really max out your space. You can burp sundown Zv4-5's at 15k no problem no way an old sub could touch it.
Indeed. My understanding is it is now chinese owned, & has been for some time now. Zeff has always been about quality. Wouldn't put his name on something like this..
I tried Zapco 20 yrs ago. Amp died driving home from the install. Customer service was awful too. Luckily I disputed the charge and never paid for it. Arc audio is my choice now for sq which is all I care about
So depressing. I was 17 years old when I took a 30 minute drive in a walled S-10 blazer with 1000 ZAPCO watts into 2, 18 inch Cerwin Vega subs, this was 1988, I almost threw up after the ride. How far they have fallen.
Tyler Dewitt yeah. His last drag dyno between Orion, Sundown, Skar, and Crescendo made me a believer of Orion. Currently running a Sundown scv2000d, but planning a upgrade to the Orion HCCA 3k here shortly.
Yea i have the xtr 1400.1 and its a badass lil amp. Never let me down. I was pushing 2 xtrpro 10s for 2 years now i got 2 american bass xfl 144s and its still goin strong! Saving for the xtr 2500.1dz now.
Tyler Dewitt i hear you. Proof is in the numbers and those Orion amps do much more than rated and arent the most power hungry amps out. Have that Orion 3k amp in my Amazon cart, just waiting to pull the trigger. 😃
I emailed zapco about this line of amp recently, their response was that in a daily driver vehicle these amps get a little too hot to run at 1 ohm. They suggested I get a bigger amp in this line and rewire my subs for a 4 ohm load instead. They also suggested I get a bigger amp than I thought I needed because "while these amps exceed rated numbers, they sound so clean that people think they aren't putting out as much power". What a crock....your test numbers don't lie.
I bought the 5 channel amp in this series several years back and ended up throwing it into the trash can after having lots of problems with build quality and lack of bass. True story.
Unbelieveable man. Just save your money and buy orion! 300$ for a 1000 watt amp??? Thats nuts. The orion xtr 2500.1dz is on amazon RIGHT NOW for $350. And that amp is known to do just about 3k.
@@Str8GasGenetics soundqubed.... really.... and sundown already has been blown out of the water by orion go watch the Korean 3k amp dynos by big d wiz. Sundown BARELY did 3k while that orion did 5k rms at 1ohm and 7k burps. and the orion us about 300 or so dollars cheaper then the sundown. Numbers don't lie. But have fun replacing your slinky ass soundqubes 😂😂
@Blacky Madd Late last year I had an opportunity to scoop a minty 1 for $300 on local Kijiji, but the seller was a massive flake so it never happened. So 😥
Please do the 4X SQ! I am running that amp on my tweeters and would love to know the actual wattage. Also, I had 2 of them but one was returned due to audible popping when the amp shut off. Thanks to Amazon for taking that one back. The second one seems to have fried on the remote cicuit. The amp stays on at all times when power and ground are connected. I can leave the remote wire disconnected and it still stays on. Got a 120 amp relay and put it on the 12v line and use the remote line to trigger it so it works.... kinda. I would advise everyone to stay away from these. You get what you pay for time and time again. The "SQ" marketing gimmick, the tiffany inputs, and the Zapco name got me. Still, if I can ever afford to get a real Zapco then I would do that in a heartbeat. Go Wolfram! They are local to me here. Going to sell my Skar SKv2 amps and switch over to Wolfram.
Mid 90s before JL Audio released its own line , Zapco was the official/recommended of them. Thank God prices went down on Amps. I remember paying over a grand on my Xtant 1001 D ..... it cost more then my 3 12w6s and box back in the day " Note W6s were top dogs back then."
ZAPCO was such a big name in audio when I was big in audio and that was in the late 80’s early 90’s... I still even remember that ZAPCO stood for Zeff Advanced Products Co. they were definitely high rent district. They were compared to Linear Power and those prestige brands. Haven’t made it through the vid yet so I hope they don’t let me down. But like most I worry they sold their name to the devil.
The tech in Rockford Fosgate is still above and beyond any other manufacturer. I want one of their T Series Class BD monoblocks badly. Price isn't bad for what it is. I will not get anything above 2KW though! "Just" a T1500.
I have this amp and it sucks to see zapco fall on the list of amps that don't make rate... When you think of zapco you didn't have to question what it did because you knew what they where about but now I just shake my head
I've heard of these amps for 20+ years. (I'm 35 yrs old😒) and I've heard these are the best of the best. I'm just disappointed! What a shame! So much better values out there! No wonder it's a refurb. Someone was clearly trying to get 1350 watts out of a 1000 watt amp lol.
Thanks alot for this one. Have always wondered how they performed. Now we know 👎 Probably going to be some people mad about this one. Saying, " oh its refurbished! Can't trust it. "
It's worth noting afaik Robert Zeff has no real say in it anymore. Some of the oldschool Zapco stuff I had my hands on a while ago like the PX from the 80's are truly remarkable designs though
So far from what I've seen, the only real budget gem is the Soundstream Tn1.1200D. Real 1200 watts at 1 ohm for $130! But, that's the only Soundstream amp like that, that I have seen, the rest are all over-rated by double! It's a shame, but thanks to videos like this and others, we can see what they really do before wasting money! So, hats off to people like Ryan Blankenship, DigD Wiz, and so on! Keep em honest!✌
@@bigblank69 yeah I got lucky and found one of the discontinued ones from before they switched. But even if you look on thier website, all of the Tn models list a max wattage and then a RMS that's half the max. All except the Tn1.1200D, that one amp in the whole Tn line lists a max power that is matched RMS @ 1 ohm. Makes me wonder why that one amp?
Unless I'm misreading, Zapco's numbers are different than those in the video. They show 550 watts at 4 ohms, 900 at 2 ohms and 1350 at 1 ohm. Regardless, the amp still doesn't hit those, but it does come much closer.
While its a disappointing power figure, what the quoted damping factor and how does it measure up in that regard? How often do you get the chance to test amps vs a set number of familiar track with a reference sub (or speakers)?
Damn... didn't see that coming. Zapco should have rated it as a 1,000 watt amp, upped the build quality then, marketed it as an SQ amp. I'm hoping the SQ is much better than competitors like JL. Advertising MAX power ratings is lame and makes tarnishes the company name... that's a cheap amp move.
Just gotta say (and I'm only 2:40 into video) I have a ST-500XM ll that I've used to beat a SUNDOWN E-8 to death, stepped upto an S-8, and then warranty allowed for the X-8 to be the next resident of same box. This wasn't a fast process, this spans from 3/2016 until 8/2020 over 4 years. X-8just sent in and they say burnt voice coil. Still pounded. These have got to be underrated. ZAPCO BABY! And I ran linear power back in the day couldn't afford Zapco. 4yrs ran in 1ohm.
Well . I am not shocked one bit . After Robert left the company zapco has tried to enter the market a few times with entry level products. Don’t get me wrong they still have good amps but you have to pay like the old days . And if you want the old zapco quality go to arc audio that’s where Robert is now .
I hope the thd is low . high sq. The power is poo. Jipco! It's not that bad. If the sq is there. I'd buy 2 pioneer 9601's or something. If the sq and reliability is there. They need to call it a 900w or 1kw. Maybe they will do better. Or re rate the amps. Great video.
You definitely tell them their truth Alco was so expensive it was one of the dream hamp's you always wish you could hear but I only see in the magazines because of the price
I'd agree there, as well as a bunch of forum users. You can pick out countless other amps claiming massive figures with just a couple of tiny fuses. Easily seen through, and with the case here, you see what's on the amp itself and the manual spec for the inline fuse...160amp...
well given they charge like $10,000 for their 20k when you can get an amp like the vfl20k or the b2 raven 15k for 1/4 to 1/3 that much money and a taramps hd15k or t20.5k for around $1200 they gotta try to make money somewhere cuz them 20k ain't selling. theres been 2 on amazon for like 5 years. not to mention its a double stacked board design yet still surfboard length. I guess they just wanted to have a few mass produced, mass market 'cheapos' to make some quick and easy money cuz sadly theres probably a good amount of guys out there who don't watch these vids and will jump on an affordable zapco cuz its an affordable zapco. Like you said though Ryan, you used to pay a grand for 5oo watts from a zapco so getting ~1200 for $300 is a good deal(in zapco to $ terms, lol) but not when compared to amps like the skar or soundqubed 2ks
Rob Land It fell 250 short at 2 ohms and 350 short at 1ohm on the certified tests. That's a big problem for me, with these prices and Zapco written on top, it needs to hit it's numbers.
Well... this amp is for low end builds and everyday drivers that buy their equipment from Walmart and entry level car audio shops. But you can't deny their legitimacy because of a bargain basement model. I am pretty certain that this low end amp is still cleaner than other amps in the same price point. .
You sure someone didn't place a planet audio board in there lol I had a zapco z600 back in the mid 90s that would destroy the 412s I had on it.i was wondering if they went down hill like everyone else.still not bad price but way better value these days.way to tell it like it is competition is what pushes these manufacturers to up their game.
Hey dude could you make a list of what all you have done and maybe give them rankings?And make like a champion and we can and each week when u test one to see if it can take the title champion? Just a thought. Any how thanks for all that u do for the Basshead community!!!
What you people don't realize is back in the day it was a dollar per watt. So if you go back in the day that amp would cost 1200.00 bucks. So if you want real power don't buy a mini amp pay for the real stuff other than that most amps will serve what its designed for these days. Everyone makes a budget amp for those cheap people out there so you pay for what you get.
So RE audio has and amp for $159.79 and they clain ot can do 4000 watts (dynamic) could you please try to get this one it is an Re Xt 4000.ev2 class damp of it can pull 4k dynamically you would have the biggest gem ever!!! Let me know what ya think! Thanks
That a shame. I spent so much on zap boards back I. The day to see this now😖 man I know some folks who spent big money back in the day with zapco. Hope the other ones do better
Are you ever going to post up the vid/numbers from the non refurb you received? I got one of these amps recently and would like to see what type of numbers should be expected from this amp new.
Sad day... You got zapped... Even if it didn't get 14.4... Still should reach its rated at 13.5 even rf prime does that.. Higher end companies have a rep to uphold..
i remember when zapco hit the car audio market way back when, i wasn't impressed then either but then again i never needed 2k watts to get the sound i wanted anyway, i'll take headroom over wattage any time....
Jeez, mark another prestigious top tier brand as questionable. I didn't see that coming either really. What's next, a budget amp from Xtant that fails? I seriously hope not.
I just saw this video for the first time, and while im shocked im also upset on how the amp was treated.... Throwing around boxes with amps inside, and slapping the actual amp... not cool. That cant be good for it.
Zapco trying to capture some that entry level market...with near flea market quality. On the positive side, I wish all amps came with those tiffany style RCA's. Can't add much (if anything) to the cost to build.
Thats really dissappointing man...im glad I didnt go with zapco for my build I was looking at their amps for a while... IF IT SAYS 1350 IT SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO 1350 CERTIFIED.
catch22frubert ruclips.net/video/UU_Way9WkSs/видео.html Basic breakdown of this link. BigD dynos ZAPCO SQ amp and it basically just does what its rated for. 1%THD and Clipping pretty much match for power output. Thats what I expected to see but it just wasnt even close...hopefully the other amps can show me this line isnt so bad but right now it just seems like brand gouging. I'm not the type of person to EVER. Get a SQ subwoofer amplifier. It just seems like a waste of money...
I get the point of the dyno but its dumb to think wattage is the only make or break for audio. I guess if you’re just a simple basshead you only care about the wattage. Its completely misleading to talk about a dyno in relation to zapco. You shouldnt even be dyno’ing their amps because none of them are for spl except the zx series. The brand is completely set around sq. If you want cheap, go with a different brand. Somethings arent for everybody, then you’re dyno’ing a refurb amp lol. Atleast get a completely brand new one
Your an Idiot.. After this video was done Zapco sent me a bunch of amps to test.. including a brand new 1350... that amp blew up in the same spot this 1350 had been repaired... Also this amp is a bass amp... so yeah you want all the watts you were promised. Btw the revision of specs by Zapco, on this amp compared to what's in this video... yeah it was thanks to this video they revised there ratings...
Great video as always sorry for the hit you take on some of these amps man! Hey I got a Rockford Punch 1000.1 BDX dyno'd at 15001 watts to my door for 260$ is that a budget gem lol? Florida shop sold it as new/open box a customer came in with it new unopened and sold it to them so they opened it and tested it got 1500 watts out of it and i grabbed the deal.
The IC's you called fets are BPT for the power supply section by that big toroid, mosfet's for the output section are by the output inductor, the smaller toroid. A good place to start if you're interested in the amps internals is pulling one of the clamps holding down the fets and BPT's and reading off the numbers. Output fets are really what people like to know about because you can get a good idea of the actual output just based on the number and rating of the fets.
They aren't just BPT's? I thought that's how they were designed? I'll correct my statement if so but that's not my understanding although I'm by no means well educated in circuits
Wow. So sad to see the brand sink this low. I had work done at Zapco’s home stereo shop in Modesto Ca (Sounds Unlimited) back in the 90’s and it was something to brag about back then. Their stuff was too expensive for most of us but we all aspired to a system with their amps. Guess its time to just keep an eye on these tests and forget about brand history completely.
2011joser What memories! That was the first car stereo shop I ever walked into, been hooked ever since. There I was Introduced to Zapco, Arc Audio, Phoenix Gold, MB Quart, Diamond, Kove, even spent my HS graduation money on 3 JL 12w6d6s and a custom box. Never did save up enough for the Studio 500 though...
@Ryan Blankenship , quick question ......I know BigDWiz always states that he does all his Dyno tests @ 40Hz (which isn't in the amps favor for hitting the highest wattage measurements) ..... Just wondering if you can enlighten us with, at what frequency (Hz) are you running your Dyno tests at?? ... Just for the record!?? =^D ...... On a side note I appreciate everything you & BigDWiz do for this community! Keep up the good work!!!
most people do 40hz as a standard when using amp dynos. if a diff freq is used, its usually stated in the vids and that freq is usually 1k hz because some shitty companies use that cause its easier on the amp and generally gives a bit more power, especially on 4 channel amps since most mfgs skimp out on the power supplies.
Damm that sucks.. im a big zapco fan too... i saw some JL audio amps there were cheap on Amazon the same as i saw zapco.. hope they do a test on JL too.. i guess now a days its skar n sundown is were youll get your moneys worth
SOOOOO been watching for a while and got a question ....... Are you crazy!!!!! i see you on almost all of your amp reviews beating and banging the amp in the box and the amp itself . are you concerned about breaking the amp?? you could also knock some of the internals loose which could effect your test. It is not a big deal for the amps you personally buy, but you also test some of your viewers amps and yes you bang and knock those around too?? are you just really not concerned about messing up the amps at all?? just a observation on my behalf and yes i realize they are intended to be in a rough environment in vehicles, but why not give the amps a break and not knock and bang them around on your test bench. my rant is over??
A Zapco is going to be much better quality than any Sundown, Skar, PPI etc. Much better quality capacitors, traces, beefier power supply etc Depends on budget and your goals. This amp is definately not up to par with normal Zapco quality.
Steven Young Yes. If you look at the higher end Zapco zeries amplifiers you find japanese 105c capcitors throughout, better heatsinks, exceptional build quality etc. Zapco does has a z-d series that is better class D series. For example the 5 channel in the z-d series is $449 vs the $299 z-vx series 5 channel. Better heatsink, larger power supply etc;
Dell Alexander He said he got it straight from Zapco, and they said it was brand new, so it's thier own fault either way. If it was a dud, that's on them.
Idk if it's just that amp or what but I put my buddies on my clamp and multimeter and did some basic multiplication and it did over rated power not sure if its cause refurbished or what
If your clamping on a multimeter, clamp and using a speaker... your not calculating Watts... you are calculating VA. If using a reactive load you have to measure the power factor and multiply that into the voltage and amps
@@bigblank69 huh learn something every day I just used a peak hold meter on the power wire set the gain with my cheap oscope/multimeter then cranked volume and played 60 hz test track with no subs and multimeter hooked to pos and negative did three runs with battery topped after each run somewhere around 13.8 volts I dont have the numbers I came out with now but I will get them maybe you could help me
I think one very very important spec isnt mentioned in these budget series espescially with monoblocks...is the dampening factor..if the amp brings lots of watts and the dampening factor is low...(less control over the woofer) its all but useless...so i am hoping the price increase is because the dampening factor is higher...
thanks for the test. I am very confused: in the zapco site they write 4 ohm 650w, 2 ohm 970w, 1 ohm 1350; in the online manual there is written 4 ohm 450w, 2 ohm 870w, 1ohm 1250. not much is understood. I await the test of st-4xsq
Try the ignite amp please is 70 dollars on amazon. Never hear of it but I bought one and install it on a single 12” P3 and it hit very hard at 1/4 gain if that. Thank you good show.
Ryan Blankenship I feel you, but this amp is so popular on the SQ pages I think this warrants an exception. Myself and many others really want to see if this amp lives up to the hype.
Oh boy, now that's a shame! Keep'in dem honest...
BigDWiz
That's a BIG Damn shame!!! Shame you zap!!
BigDWiz Really disapointing
🤕👎 Zapco
I have a zapco 1650 that smoked on me within 1 and a half hours of use. They fixed it under warranty but i think I'm going to sell it after seeing this. I have the 4 channel sq zapco as well. I hope that does better.
Noob Implants That's a shame. You should be able to trust an amp that has Zapco on it.
You big dummy!
Boy, that is just sad, what a let down. I remember the prestige from the 90's. So glad people are getting to see what these companies are really about over the last few years! Thanks!
Rewinding back to the 90s, aka paying a dollar a watt. Things are better these days, with the amps, ho alts and agm batteries. Power is cheap and plentiful, just got to do your research before you buy.
🙈😓😓😓😮....scared to buy anything anymore,can we plz rewind to the 90's please?taking advantage of people is bad for business.
What did a 1000W Zapco amp cost then?
$2,000
hispls For the Reference 500 $1,700
My return to car audio from the late 80's/early 90's (and even early 00' when the outsourcing 1st began) is quite eye opening. Just about ALL the old heavy hitters are either gone or a shell of themselves seemingly just using their namesake to stay in business. I can't believe there is NO market for premium quality. I'll just buy the 25 year old stuff off ebay and the few pieces i have left from the era before using these best buy grade amps with premium names slapped on them.
Guys this isnt even budget. $300 for whats supposed to be 1350 watts is over priced esp when it doesnt even do 1350 dynamic
Oh man i wasn't expecting that at all, i'm here thinking 1500 wrms, even internally the amp looks really decent, so....? Looking forward to the other Zapco amps being tested. Keep up the good work!!!!
3rd World Car Audio It surprised me as well. The internals looked as good or better than most 1200-1500 wrms amps.
I'm eagerly awaiting the other Zapco tests here, hopefully in the next few days. If those are subpar, there will be some massive shit slinging going around, rightfully so.
If the other 2 are good as though, putting out spec or above power, then the finger would have to be pointed at the refurb unit. That would still reflect poorly though, that they could release that refurb as a "like new" unit, poor work, poor QC
Great to see you testing these amps out. I've been very curious of the SQ 4 channel amp myself.
Matt B yep I almost bought 1 last week. No thank you.
The4x is underated no matter what this video says i have one and i run 4 6.5 mids 140rms and 2 100rms tweeters and it powers them really hard way better than maxxsonic autotek 2000 amp that i replaced. And much cleaner sound
Xesar Rx so how do you know how much power it puts out?
Thanks for testing these as I’ve never found a test of newer Zapco ST-X series and I have a ST-5x II. Hoping for better numbers out of the other two Zappos.
OMG! The world has turned upside-down! We now have Dual amps that actually do above rating and Zapco amps that do under. Talk about Twilight Zone.
Oh, and the efficiency on the Zapco sucks for class D and 300 bucks
60%. Royal piece of shit. It is indeed a Class D too. Website along with falsified power specs, lists the efficiency as '>85%'. Bullshit.
I call that a BS i own St-2000x on strong electrical 270a alt+ 2 Agm batteries it out perform the SoundQubed 3500 with ease from Power to Sound Quality and if you want to shift to the Z series my dad own the Z3K rated at 3000 rms at 1-ohm you would not believe me but it out perform the Sundown Saz-5000 i will always trust Zapco Amps you should try different other models am sure you will be surprise anyway thank you for the effort you spends of making these video and keep it up
Wow, I definitely didn't see that coming. Why you gotta do me like that Zapco?! Great video as always Ryan. Thanks for putting these on the Dyno.
old school Zapco is best, I have a few amps I could send you if you want to do a throw back episode😎
I've got a couple of reference 1400 with white lettering and the thousand watt with gold lettering both reference models
Sweet, I have 2 c2k4.0’s, 1 c2k6.0 and 3 c2k9.0’s
billybullfrog Wow that's quite a collection. Very nice
I had zapco amps years ago and paid dearly for them. Back when alma gates was setting records with a 157 db sealed on glass. I have been installing systems for going on 25 years+ I'm glad I held onto some of my old school a/b stuff. I actually ran an old reference 4 channel soundstream in my last system system with vintage Boston acoustics pro 6.5 CS and matching coaxs in rear. The speakers didn't hold up even on clean power. Tbh the ssa evil 6.5's and tweets crushed them in sq output and range. For a quarter the price, adjust for 20 years of inflation and my current system was less. I'm happy to see quality stereo equipment available at reasonable prices these days.
Re: The back in the day comments. Back in the day we never would have used the term "only a 1,000 watts, especially referring to 1 amp. It was nice having subs with 94 to 98db sensitivity. We didn't need 1000's of watts per sub to go BOOM.
Cyber Trucker Road Show I miss those old school subs that had 94 to 98 dB's sensitivity levels back in the day it didn't take much power to make them go boom
@@cooleynumpsey5084 yeah but you can get more out of a modern sub they had high sensitivity because they weren't as stiff and couldn't handle as much power didn't have as much excursion. Sure at 500w they would outperform modern subs but they can't handle the power needed to really max out your space. You can burp sundown Zv4-5's at 15k no problem no way an old sub could touch it.
Robert Zeff started ZAPCO and was the head engineer, my understanding is he sold the company and is no longer affiliated.
Indeed. My understanding is it is now chinese owned, & has been for some time now. Zeff has always been about quality. Wouldn't put his name on something like this..
I tried Zapco 20 yrs ago. Amp died driving home from the install. Customer service was awful too. Luckily I disputed the charge and never paid for it.
Arc audio is my choice now for sq which is all I care about
So depressing. I was 17 years old when I took a 30 minute drive in a walled S-10 blazer with 1000 ZAPCO watts into 2, 18 inch Cerwin Vega subs, this was 1988, I almost threw up after the ride. How far they have fallen.
what we are seeing is CORPORATE GREED!! it's all about making profit these days bud. Quality be damned....it's a shame
PoppONaya Shelly and that is exactly why i only buy orion xtr/hcca amps. The dynos never lie. #orionftw
Tyler Dewitt yeah. His last drag dyno between Orion, Sundown, Skar, and Crescendo made me a believer of Orion. Currently running a Sundown scv2000d, but planning a upgrade to the Orion HCCA 3k here shortly.
Yea i have the xtr 1400.1 and its a badass lil amp. Never let me down. I was pushing 2 xtrpro 10s for 2 years now i got 2 american bass xfl 144s and its still goin strong! Saving for the xtr 2500.1dz now.
Tyler Dewitt i hear you. Proof is in the numbers and those Orion amps do much more than rated and arent the most power hungry amps out. Have that Orion 3k amp in my Amazon cart, just waiting to pull the trigger. 😃
Nothing stopping you from contracting Robert Zeff to design an amp for you, have it manufactured, and charge whatever price you think is "fair".
I emailed zapco about this line of amp recently, their response was that in a daily driver vehicle these amps get a little too hot to run at 1 ohm. They suggested I get a bigger amp in this line and rewire my subs for a 4 ohm load instead. They also suggested I get a bigger amp than I thought I needed because "while these amps exceed rated numbers, they sound so clean that people think they aren't putting out as much power". What a crock....your test numbers don't lie.
I bought the 5 channel amp in this series several years back and ended up throwing it into the trash can after having lots of problems with build quality and lack of bass. True story.
First! I see that you've taken heed of my suggestion to test a "budget" zapco amplifier. Thanks for listening to me.
Unbelieveable man. Just save your money and buy orion! 300$ for a 1000 watt amp??? Thats nuts. The orion xtr 2500.1dz is on amazon RIGHT NOW for $350. And that amp is known to do just about 3k.
that amp does 2.5k at 12v too... rip zapco
@@Str8GasGenetics soundqubed.... really.... and sundown already has been blown out of the water by orion go watch the Korean 3k amp dynos by big d wiz. Sundown BARELY did 3k while that orion did 5k rms at 1ohm and 7k burps. and the orion us about 300 or so dollars cheaper then the sundown. Numbers don't lie. But have fun replacing your slinky ass soundqubes 😂😂
HCCA 3k is $300 cheaper than sundown 3k and does 5krms.
HCCA = Korean. XTR/RP2k = Chinese. of course theres a price difference
Yeah that is correct. about 18-19 yrs ago I paid $1700 for my Zapco Studio 500! 😳🤑😳
Blacky Madd tinyurl.com/y8rwaka8
Zapco reference series $200 obo
I had 8 of them
@Blacky Madd Late last year I had an opportunity to scoop a minty 1 for $300 on local Kijiji, but the seller was a massive flake so it never happened. So 😥
@@1madmaxx80 Damn!😱
Please do the 4X SQ! I am running that amp on my tweeters and would love to know the actual wattage. Also, I had 2 of them but one was returned due to audible popping when the amp shut off. Thanks to Amazon for taking that one back. The second one seems to have fried on the remote cicuit. The amp stays on at all times when power and ground are connected. I can leave the remote wire disconnected and it still stays on. Got a 120 amp relay and put it on the 12v line and use the remote line to trigger it so it works.... kinda. I would advise everyone to stay away from these. You get what you pay for time and time again. The "SQ" marketing gimmick, the tiffany inputs, and the Zapco name got me. Still, if I can ever afford to get a real Zapco then I would do that in a heartbeat. Go Wolfram! They are local to me here. Going to sell my Skar SKv2 amps and switch over to Wolfram.
SAD DAY FOR ZAPCO!!!
Thank god for giving us Ryan!! Keep'em coming. Thanks buddy!
Mid 90s before JL Audio released its own line , Zapco was the official/recommended of them. Thank God prices went down on Amps. I remember paying over a grand on my Xtant 1001 D ..... it cost more then my 3 12w6s and box back in the day " Note W6s were top dogs back then."
A once proud "Zeff Advanced Products Company" is no more.
The new generation of old schools is.........is........junk
A8vscRrabbit I won’t buy anything class d or made after 2005
ZAPCO was such a big name in audio when I was big in audio and that was in the late 80’s early 90’s... I still even remember that ZAPCO stood for Zeff Advanced Products Co.
they were definitely high rent district.
They were compared to Linear Power and those prestige brands. Haven’t made it through the vid yet so I hope they don’t let me down.
But like most I worry they sold their name to the devil.
I'm shocked it didn't drop far better numbers with that gut shot...i would have bet money it would have.....thank god I stick with good ol fosgate
The tech in Rockford Fosgate is still above and beyond any other manufacturer. I want one of their T Series Class BD monoblocks badly. Price isn't bad for what it is. I will not get anything above 2KW though! "Just" a T1500.
I have this amp and it sucks to see zapco fall on the list of amps that don't make rate... When you think of zapco you didn't have to question what it did because you knew what they where about but now I just shake my head
bennyblanco14 I was really dissapointed too, man. Zapco was a legendary brand.
But these are their cheapest product line, the high end Zapco is still great.
I've heard of these amps for 20+ years. (I'm 35 yrs old😒) and I've heard these are the best of the best. I'm just disappointed! What a shame! So much better values out there! No wonder it's a refurb. Someone was clearly trying to get 1350 watts out of a 1000 watt amp lol.
Thanks alot for this one. Have always wondered how they performed. Now we know 👎 Probably going to be some people mad about this one. Saying, " oh its refurbished! Can't trust it. "
Ryan Blankenship Oh I know.
Are the other two zapcos you have higher end?
Ryan Blankenship I saw that on Atrend's website did they buy Zapco?
Well it is a referb. But I actually noticed the voltage drop on his power supply. It can't hold 14.4v on 500w. Need to beef that up bro.
Christian D Shatto I know. I was just saying some people are going to use that as a excuse for the low numbers
It's worth noting afaik Robert Zeff has no real say in it anymore. Some of the oldschool Zapco stuff I had my hands on a while ago like the PX from the 80's are truly remarkable designs though
So, only the "premium" lines are designed by Robert Zeff? Or are they designed by someone else with his name on it?
Adds Zapco to the list of "doesn't deliver." Over priced and under delivers. Definitely a bust! Thanks for the test!
So far from what I've seen, the only real budget gem is the Soundstream Tn1.1200D. Real 1200 watts at 1 ohm for $130! But, that's the only Soundstream amp like that, that I have seen, the rest are all over-rated by double! It's a shame, but thanks to videos like this and others, we can see what they really do before wasting money! So, hats off to people like Ryan Blankenship, DigD Wiz, and so on! Keep em honest!✌
@@bigblank69 yeah I got lucky and found one of the discontinued ones from before they switched. But even if you look on thier website, all of the Tn models list a max wattage and then a RMS that's half the max. All except the Tn1.1200D, that one amp in the whole Tn line lists a max power that is matched RMS @ 1 ohm. Makes me wonder why that one amp?
Unless I'm misreading, Zapco's numbers are different than those in the video. They show 550 watts at 4 ohms, 900 at 2 ohms and 1350 at 1 ohm. Regardless, the amp still doesn't hit those, but it does come much closer.
While its a disappointing power figure, what the quoted damping factor and how does it measure up in that regard? How often do you get the chance to test amps vs a set number of familiar track with a reference sub (or speakers)?
Damn... didn't see that coming. Zapco should have rated it as a 1,000 watt amp, upped the build quality then, marketed it as an SQ amp. I'm hoping the SQ is much better than competitors like JL. Advertising MAX power ratings is lame and makes tarnishes the company name... that's a cheap amp move.
every one of these top companies make a crappy amp the crazy thing is people fall for it like a old sales pitch
Just gotta say (and I'm only 2:40 into video) I have a ST-500XM ll that I've used to beat a SUNDOWN E-8 to death, stepped upto an S-8, and then warranty allowed for the X-8 to be the next resident of same box. This wasn't a fast process, this spans from 3/2016 until 8/2020 over 4 years. X-8just sent in and they say burnt voice coil. Still pounded. These have got to be underrated. ZAPCO BABY! And I ran linear power back in the day couldn't afford Zapco. 4yrs ran in 1ohm.
Well . I am not shocked one bit . After Robert left the company zapco has tried to enter the market a few times with entry level products. Don’t get me wrong they still have good amps but you have to pay like the old days . And if you want the old zapco quality go to arc audio that’s where Robert is now .
I hope the thd is low . high sq. The power is poo. Jipco! It's not that bad. If the sq is there. I'd buy 2 pioneer 9601's or something. If the sq and reliability is there. They need to call it a 900w or 1kw. Maybe they will do better. Or re rate the amps. Great video.
You definitely tell them their truth Alco was so expensive it was one of the dream hamp's you always wish you could hear but I only see in the magazines because of the price
Bad form Zapco😡
Its funny how manufacturer put more fusing on amps cause people think it does rated good thing for a dyno
Mod Box it fooled me when I saw all those fuses I was expecting better
I'd agree there, as well as a bunch of forum users. You can pick out countless other amps claiming massive figures with just a couple of tiny fuses. Easily seen through, and with the case here, you see what's on the amp itself and the manual spec for the inline fuse...160amp...
I was thinking at least 1500-1600 certified
Matt B thats what my boss 5000d's do strapped on two 18" ct sounds they move crazy and only paid $230 on two new
3000 certified strapped 2 ohm
well given they charge like $10,000 for their 20k when you can get an amp like the vfl20k or the b2 raven 15k for 1/4 to 1/3 that much money and a taramps hd15k or t20.5k for around $1200 they gotta try to make money somewhere cuz them 20k ain't selling. theres been 2 on amazon for like 5 years. not to mention its a double stacked board design yet still surfboard length.
I guess they just wanted to have a few mass produced, mass market 'cheapos' to make some quick and easy money cuz sadly theres probably a good amount of guys out there who don't watch these vids and will jump on an affordable zapco cuz its an affordable zapco. Like you said though Ryan, you used to pay a grand for 5oo watts from a zapco so getting ~1200 for $300 is a good deal(in zapco to $ terms, lol) but not when compared to amps like the skar or soundqubed 2ks
Looks like an epic fail to me bro. Didn't hit any of its numbers did it?
Rob Land dynamic at 1 ohm it fell about 30 watts short
Rob Land It fell 250 short at 2 ohms and 350 short at 1ohm on the certified tests. That's a big problem for me, with these prices and Zapco written on top, it needs to hit it's numbers.
Well... this amp is for low end builds and everyday drivers that buy their equipment from Walmart and entry level car audio shops. But you can't deny their legitimacy because of a bargain basement model. I am pretty certain that this low end amp is still cleaner than other amps in the same price point. .
Up vote before I even watched =) Every time, Keep it up
You sure someone didn't place a planet audio board in there lol I had a zapco z600 back in the mid 90s that would destroy the 412s I had on it.i was wondering if they went down hill like everyone else.still not bad price but way better value these days.way to tell it like it is competition is what pushes these manufacturers to up their game.
Yes Ryan I am very disappointed at the results. I used to dream about getting a Zapco amp when I was younger.
mbtrucker68 Same here. Guess I'll have to wait until Zapco can redeem themselves to think about a 4 channel from them.
Hey dude could you make a list of what all you have done and maybe give them rankings?And make like a champion and we can and each week when u test one to see if it can take the title champion? Just a thought. Any how thanks for all that u do for the Basshead community!!!
Back when Rob owned it, Zapco was unmatched, but once it sold overseas they went to shit.
What you people don't realize is back in the day it was a dollar per watt. So if you go back in the day that amp would cost 1200.00 bucks. So if you want real power don't buy a mini amp pay for the real stuff other than that most amps will serve what its designed for these days. Everyone makes a budget amp for those cheap people out there so you pay for what you get.
That's why I have the old school zapco
Did you ever dyno one that wasn’t refurbished?
So RE audio has and amp for $159.79 and they clain ot can do 4000 watts (dynamic) could you please try to get this one it is an Re Xt 4000.ev2 class damp of it can pull 4k dynamically you would have the biggest gem ever!!! Let me know what ya think! Thanks
Damn as I watch your vids I get to part of the song where I think my door open buzzer is going off in the Tacoma lol
Can you get your hands on one of the new Crescendo S1-1500.1? Would love to see if it can actually do 1500 with as small as it is.
Certainly I agree they shouldn’t over inflate spec but is sound quality not more important to revue?
That a shame. I spent so much on zap boards back I. The day to see this now😖 man I know some folks who spent big money back in the day with zapco. Hope the other ones do better
Are you ever going to post up the vid/numbers from the non refurb you received? I got one of these amps recently and would like to see what type of numbers should be expected from this amp new.
I remember Zapco. Back in the day if you had Zapco you were king of the block. Now SMH literally
denverdan13 Exactly, which makes this result so much more sad. I really wanted these amps to do well. I would had bought one.
catch22frubert maybe even bought 2
Sad day... You got zapped...
Even if it didn't get 14.4... Still should reach its rated at 13.5 even rf prime does that.. Higher end companies have a rep to uphold..
Uh oh... Zapco be foolin!
i remember when zapco hit the car audio market way back when, i wasn't impressed then either but then again i never needed 2k watts to get the sound i wanted anyway, i'll take headroom over wattage any time....
Jeez, mark another prestigious top tier brand as questionable. I didn't see that coming either really. What's next, a budget amp from Xtant that fails? I seriously hope not.
Kevin Ball Right? 🤕🤔
I just saw this video for the first time, and while im shocked im also upset on how the amp was treated.... Throwing around boxes with amps inside, and slapping the actual amp... not cool. That cant be good for it.
Zapco trying to capture some that entry level market...with near flea market quality.
On the positive side, I wish all amps came with those tiffany style RCA's. Can't add much (if anything) to the cost to build.
Thats really dissappointing man...im glad I didnt go with zapco for my build I was looking at their amps for a while...
IF IT SAYS 1350 IT SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO 1350 CERTIFIED.
Matthew Joseph Talk about a let down. I was really hoping to see it do over 1k @ 2 ohms and 1500 @1 ohm 😒
catch22frubert
ruclips.net/video/UU_Way9WkSs/видео.html
Basic breakdown of this link. BigD dynos ZAPCO SQ amp and it basically just does what its rated for.
1%THD and Clipping pretty much match for power output.
Thats what I expected to see but it just wasnt even close...hopefully the other amps can show me this line isnt so bad but right now it just seems like brand gouging. I'm not the type of person to EVER. Get a SQ subwoofer amplifier. It just seems like a waste of money...
I get the point of the dyno but its dumb to think wattage is the only make or break for audio. I guess if you’re just a simple basshead you only care about the wattage. Its completely misleading to talk about a dyno in relation to zapco. You shouldnt even be dyno’ing their amps because none of them are for spl except the zx series. The brand is completely set around sq. If you want cheap, go with a different brand. Somethings arent for everybody, then you’re dyno’ing a refurb amp lol. Atleast get a completely brand new one
Your an Idiot.. After this video was done Zapco sent me a bunch of amps to test.. including a brand new 1350... that amp blew up in the same spot this 1350 had been repaired... Also this amp is a bass amp... so yeah you want all the watts you were promised. Btw the revision of specs by Zapco, on this amp compared to what's in this video... yeah it was thanks to this video they revised there ratings...
Great video as always sorry for the hit you take on some of these amps man! Hey I got a Rockford Punch 1000.1 BDX dyno'd at 15001 watts to my door for 260$ is that a budget gem lol? Florida shop sold it as new/open box a customer came in with it new unopened and sold it to them so they opened it and tested it got 1500 watts out of it and i grabbed the deal.
The IC's you called fets are BPT for the power supply section by that big toroid, mosfet's for the output section are by the output inductor, the smaller toroid. A good place to start if you're interested in the amps internals is pulling one of the clamps holding down the fets and BPT's and reading off the numbers. Output fets are really what people like to know about because you can get a good idea of the actual output just based on the number and rating of the fets.
They aren't just BPT's? I thought that's how they were designed? I'll correct my statement if so but that's not my understanding although I'm by no means well educated in circuits
If you had the opportunity would you buy a performance techniques? Would you recommend it?
I had 2 zapco amps. Early 90s and early 00s. Both were junk and never worked and customer service was even worse
does turning up the bass boost do anything to the test? just been curious about that
moving the bass know only affects the waveform, not the power made from the board.
heartbreaking......love your channel.......
Wow. So sad to see the brand sink this low. I had work done at Zapco’s home stereo shop in Modesto Ca (Sounds Unlimited) back in the 90’s and it was something to brag about back then. Their stuff was too expensive for most of us but we all aspired to a system with their amps. Guess its time to just keep an eye on these tests and forget about brand history completely.
2011joser What memories! That was the first car stereo shop I ever walked into, been hooked ever since. There I was Introduced to Zapco, Arc Audio, Phoenix Gold, MB Quart, Diamond, Kove, even spent my HS graduation money on 3 JL 12w6d6s and a custom box. Never did save up enough for the Studio 500 though...
I was wondering how much wattage rated power will it come out at 3ohms?
I was literally just looking at that yesterday on Amazon. Crazy.
@Ryan Blankenship , quick question ......I know BigDWiz always states that he does all his Dyno tests @ 40Hz (which isn't in the amps favor for hitting the highest wattage measurements) ..... Just wondering if you can enlighten us with, at what frequency (Hz) are you running your Dyno tests at?? ... Just for the record!?? =^D ...... On a side note I appreciate everything you & BigDWiz do for this community! Keep up the good work!!!
most people do 40hz as a standard when using amp dynos. if a diff freq is used, its usually stated in the vids and that freq is usually 1k hz because some shitty companies use that cause its easier on the amp and generally gives a bit more power, especially on 4 channel amps since most mfgs skimp out on the power supplies.
Ryan take a looked at b2 audio ma1200.1 is this the same amp
Good catch, it does seem to be the same board. Note B2's version is priced at 350$ FWIW.
Deferent owner. Now. They sale the name brand. The owner of Arc audio is the guy. Was the owner of zapco .
Damm that sucks.. im a big zapco fan too... i saw some JL audio amps there were cheap on Amazon the same as i saw zapco.. hope they do a test on JL too.. i guess now a days its skar n sundown is were youll get your moneys worth
Its become common with all big name companies from back in the day. All were about true watts and now its about money
SOOOOO been watching for a while and got a question ....... Are you crazy!!!!! i see you on almost all of your amp reviews beating and banging the amp in the box and the amp itself . are you concerned about breaking the amp?? you could also knock some of the internals loose which could effect your test. It is not a big deal for the amps you personally buy, but you also test some of your viewers amps and yes you bang and knock those around too?? are you just really not concerned about messing up the amps at all?? just a observation on my behalf and yes i realize they are intended to be in a rough environment in vehicles, but why not give the amps a break and not knock and bang them around on your test bench. my rant is over??
A Zapco is going to be much better quality than any Sundown, Skar, PPI etc. Much better quality capacitors, traces, beefier power supply etc
Depends on budget and your goals.
This amp is definately not up to par with normal Zapco quality.
lakorai2 , you really believe that?
It's what's weird is that it looks pretty good inside...
Steven Young Yes.
If you look at the higher end Zapco zeries amplifiers you find japanese 105c capcitors throughout, better heatsinks, exceptional build quality etc.
Zapco does has a z-d series that is better class D series. For example the 5 channel in the z-d series is $449 vs the $299 z-vx series 5 channel. Better heatsink, larger power supply etc;
unlikely seeing this lmao
150% true idk if being a refurb has anything to do with it. I have a 4xii and its definitely underrated
Please remember this is a refurb app. It is not a brand new zapco amp. I wish he had tested a brand new zapco amp that was not refurbished
Dell Alexander it's a new board same thing
Dell Alexander He said he got it straight from Zapco, and they said it was brand new, so it's thier own fault either way. If it was a dud, that's on them.
Idk if it's just that amp or what but I put my buddies on my clamp and multimeter and did some basic multiplication and it did over rated power not sure if its cause refurbished or what
If your clamping on a multimeter, clamp and using a speaker... your not calculating Watts... you are calculating VA. If using a reactive load you have to measure the power factor and multiply that into the voltage and amps
@@bigblank69 huh learn something every day I just used a peak hold meter on the power wire set the gain with my cheap oscope/multimeter then cranked volume and played 60 hz test track with no subs and multimeter hooked to pos and negative did three runs with battery topped after each run somewhere around 13.8 volts I dont have the numbers I came out with now but I will get them maybe you could help me
I think one very very important spec isnt mentioned in these budget series espescially with monoblocks...is the dampening factor..if the amp brings lots of watts and the dampening factor is low...(less control over the woofer) its all but useless...so i am hoping the price increase is because the dampening factor is higher...
ooh how wrong i was....this is a shame....
How unfortunate. That's a major let down from a company once known as legendary
Zapco is just a name...
Funny I was deciding to get this amp before I got my current one. Was wondering on this power it put it out.
Since when has Zapco been a budget amp?!?!?! Those things used to be worth more than gold!!! My how the times have changed
thanks for the test. I am very confused: in the zapco site they write 4 ohm 650w, 2 ohm 970w, 1 ohm 1350; in the online manual there is written 4 ohm 450w, 2 ohm 870w, 1ohm 1250. not much is understood. I await the test of st-4xsq
Mau And It only did 1000 @1 ohm, so both of those power claims have been proven false. It's a bust
Yeah buddy thank you!
Are you not going to test zapco st-2000XM ii?
Try the ignite amp please is 70 dollars on amazon. Never hear of it but I bought one and install it on a single 12” P3 and it hit very hard at 1/4 gain if that. Thank you good show.
Can you test the st 4x next? Curious to see if lives up to it's claims.
Ryan Blankenship I feel you, but this amp is so popular on the SQ pages I think this warrants an exception. Myself and many others really want to see if this amp lives up to the hype.
Ryan Blankenship awesome video BTW. This video caused quite a stir on the strickly sound quality page.