*SHOP* (affiliate links) Plinius PHF450D: amzn.to/3Ml7CLu Taramps Bass 800: amzn.to/47fGMwb Down4Sound MiniMaxx Amps: lddy.no/1hrle Savard Subwoofers: www.savardspeakersystems.com/?afmc=WAL *More videos of Mini Amps* Taramps TL 1500 3ch Class D Amp: ruclips.net/video/wqYx15cOsH4/видео.html Taramps TL 500 2ch Class D Amp: ruclips.net/video/3bLAqjkAYr4/видео.html Soundigital 400.4EVO 4ch Amp: ruclips.net/video/UhpXh4GjF1A/видео.html Down4Sound MiniMaxx MM1004 4ch Amp: ruclips.net/video/JwQQYl2Fvi0/видео.html Soundstream Reserve Micro Amps: ruclips.net/video/kO2QUZlsxHk/видео.html Down4Sound JP3 Mini Monblock Amp: ruclips.net/video/zDCSWJrtHZ0/видео.html See Other Mini Car Audio Amps: ruclips.net/p/PLu98-M_EowHPeIJDo-ISyHCtT__PzQsDi _DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases_
The real Plinius are a high end home audio company. They are based about five minutes from my house in Christchurch, New Zealand and have been around since the early 80s.
Perspective from an old 90's guy... That little thing would have been the stuff of legend back in the day... And it would have been $400-$500 minimum. I was born too early.
Wrong. We were born at the right time. We got to experience the world in the 80s and 90s and a time before 9/11. After that everything changed for the worse
Would've been a thousand bucks back in the early 90's. Imagine that little thing as a cheater Amp. Absolutely NO ONE would believe it was capable of more than 20 watts.
many have said it, but for the size and cost, the build quality looks decent enough. only question is about how it performs in a car. some cheap amp's suffer from no noise filtering on the power input and can be the cause of engine whine... would love to hear how it goes in this regard!!!
No engine noise at all, but I have noticed it causing interference with certain fm radio stations when the bass is heavy. It happened in 2 different cars I've tried it in, but both have cheap aftermarket head units that don't have very good fm reception to begin with. If the station is stronger it doesn't get affected.
If you could keep it dry, with the 4 ohm efficiency, it would be a great power sports amp. Plus, it is cheap enough that you won’t cry if it blows! Big D, I don’t know how you do it man, but you keep knocking these videos out of the park!!! I look forward to watching!
in the uk we have a company called Vibe. they make some reasonable stuff. i have this exact amp running a 15 in a sealed 4cuft box wired down to 2 ohms. its plenty for everyday listening i can tell you! i purposely built the cabinet big to make it a bit easier for the amp to move the sub, but is so damn musical and rich sounding! car is an ev so i had to limit the current draw from the low voltage loom, and this fitted the bill nicely! been beating on it for a year now with no problems at all. cool little amp.
I used to rin a Vibe 1000 watt amp on a couple high excursion Audiobahn 10s. Hit hard enough to make your heart beat funny and were fast enough to keep up with some heavy metal.
Back in the day or now at 50 bucks one one on every channel on high pass and a larger amp on sub duty. That thing as a monoblock with that efficiency would be incredible on front stage
Im honestly kinda impressed. I have no use for this amp, but for someone else at $50 , i think its worth it. Doesnt look to shabby either. I think its a small scale gem!
I do like the fact this has actual mosfet transistors instead of an amp chip. I never really liked amp chips. Discrete components is where the power really is, well depending on the quality. But my vote is for this amp because of that. So perhaps you can use one amp per door? Or channel? Yes in that case it would be cheaper to just buy a 4 channel amp unless you want the complication and don't care about how much $$ you spend. Hobbies and creativity can and will confuse the common folk.
For 46 bucks, I bought it. I needed something very small and low powered with good efficiency for my 2nd car. I needed to power an 8 inch Infinity Kappa sub I am putting in the rear deck of a 1995 Lexus LS400. This thing looks perfect for my needs, and if it doesn't work as intended, I could always use it to power a small home theater sub. Thx Big D, and I used your link to buy it. P.S. I'm still waiting patiently for an amp dyno on the JL RD1500/1. Dying to see that impedance switch in action. Lol
Nice find and review. Steak dinners cost more than that. So. 500+ watts (@ 1-ohm) for $46 is nothing to sneeze at. Those wide range crossovers are actually pretty dam useful if one is building a custom system.
Tysm - this is useful for people like me who are experimenting. I'm trying to make a 7.7 system or 7.0 if I can make my full range bookshelf speakers go lower. So far it's working. If not I need 7x sub amps.
With the full range capability im curious if it wouldn't make a little more power at 1khz. Either way it seems like a good deal for a fun little project.
Hey there Mr Williston!! I wanted to ask- would you do a year-end video providing a summary and recommendations for amp categories? Small amps based on sound quality and efficiency, best SQ amps, most efficient amps, and overall best performance for the dollar amp. Can we get an early Xmas gift from the labs?? Cheers
This a great amp for a highschool kid who owns a truck. Cheap af, takes up no room and would push a cheap 10" or 12" just enough. I instantly think of my old S10 single cab when I see tiny amps like these, and how hard it was to get box volume for just one 10". Let alone cram a ”400 watt" cheapo back there too
For that size and price it’s really a nice amp. 180 clean watts isn’t too bad at 4 ohms 😊 That thing has lower wattage at bursts than in continuous, that’s funny - minus dynamic headroom it’s then called continuous headroom?? 😅😅 I think they rated this amp dynamically with just one cycle instead of 20 cycles, they should just change the rating labels, great thing for a mobile speaker. How does it sound full range? If it’s ok this amp is a steal👍 I like these videos of the new products - very interesting!! Thumbs up, BigD!!! 👋
I just got a chachro box to go along with my quad 6/9 box and thats what that amp is made for a chachro box, thats why its full range, because they are mono full range box
Not always about cost. The big brands would be well served to offer these types of products so you can upgrade old factory amps in the factory locations. I have an 2007 Expedition we use for hauling and I'm looking to replace the factory sub Amp. Same for newer vehicles that have multiple amps like my 22 Wrangler.
I actually just purchased a pair of 6.5 in door speakers from the brand having never heard of them but they were really cheap and had good reviews so i gave them a shot and don't sound half bad
For the price it seems unmatched. If you had 2, 6.5" subs in a truck cab, installed and tuned properly, it would sound amazing. In my day, a "cheap" Amp was either a Jensen, or Roadmaster, and they cost $100-$200 then. That's roughly $250-$500 now. Plus those amps started clipping around 50W even tho they were rated at 200W. The biggest jump was when they started producing the MOSFET with NOMAD circuitry from kicker.
I think it's great when inexpensive amps like this are full range rated, You can use two of them for your main Mids and highs.. and push a lot of watts cheap.
I think I’m agreeing with everyone else in the comments and really for what you’re getting here and the looks of it, I don’t see anybody going wrong dropping a $50 bill on this unit and of course if it burned up after three months or so, or if it makes it a year or longer either way,, it’s well worth the money
I bought this and had to send it back. The auto power on with the high level inputs kept the amp on constantly, it didn’t have enough gain, and worst of all was the terrible amount of Class D RF interference with my radio tuner! Every bass hit would cause the tuner reception to fuzz out while the other non-tuner sources were fine. Too bad as the size per watt was perfect for my application.
I don't care about its rated power. But 94% efficiency at full power is beyond outstanding. It's better than my customized TPA3116D2 amps running on 25 volts directly, you'd have to go with an undervolted TPA3255 amplifier with good output inductors replaced to match that kind of efficiency. The fact that it's got a voltage boosting circuit in between makes it almost unbelievable. This is a portable speaker miracle you can easily design a speaker that outperforms a JBL Partybox for a fraction of the price.
It's not 94% efficient. Dyno tests significantly overestimate true efficiency numbers. Due to the energy stored in the rail caps, as well as the slight delay in the fluke
@@blakebrockhaus347 When taking continuous DC measurements things like energy stored in the rail caps don't really matter. What you're assuming is that the reactive power in the AC signal is being wasted as heat which is absolutely true in the AC portion of amplification, but when averaged over time, like continuous RMS testing, a DC to AC conversion circuit which this power capacitor and amplifier acts like, all reactive power is converted to DC current, there's no voltage or current mismatches. I've personally investigated this with my chip amps. Whether I completely remove the input power capacitor or increase it, past the ideal size to prevent low frequency roll off the capacitor does nothing to increase the efficiency of the amplifier. I've tested from 0 farad (cap removed) to 100,000 uF. As long as the power supply and wiring don't drop voltage, and can keep up with current, efficiency is not raised. The reason is as follows; The biggest weakness with the chip style mini amps is not the power capacitor, not one single person on youtube aaddresses this but the current rating of the 2.5x5 mm barrel plug is only 5 amps. This imposes a significant voltage drop before going to the input capacitor. As we know in crossover design a resistor in series with a parallel cap is a high pass filter. Get rid of the resistance, ie barrel plug, I replace mine with heavier gauge wire and a Deans style high current connector. I can remove the input capacitor entirely and I get no low frequency roll off nor a decrease in efficiency and DC clamping measures the same. The DC clamp Fluke is accurate enough. The only more accurate measurement would be a continuous drain and amp-hour measurement. RMS AC testing is valid in this case. By the way I'm an electrical engineer.
@@blakebrockhaus347 The response time of the Fluke is within that couple seconds. I have the same model. I've done the testing, put it on max hold and it will be accurate within half a second of running, within the specs. Fluke wouldn't be the gold standard in electrical measurement tools if the results couldn't be trusted by electronics technicians and engineers alike. When we talk dynamic power that is power sustained in a single waveform, when designing these amps all you need technically is just enough capacitance to sustain a single waveform at the minimum cutoff frequency desired. Any more don't add to the dynamic power capability or efficiency. Want a real world example? If you get rid of the electrical resistance in your cars system, you don't need those 1 Farad caps to prevent lights dimming, and adding one won't all of a sudden make more power or be more efficient, it will though sustain a dynamic burst for longer, but even a 1 F cap won't sustain a 12 amp load at 12 volts for more than .1 seconds before voltage drops to 10.5 volts and the amp shuts off. I can take you through the equations if you'd like. But you'd better be pretty decent at calculus and logarithmic functions. The theory is exactly identical to what's happening with this amp. I've done the time constant testing on class D amplifiers. Unless you're going well over 10,000 uF or so on the TPA3116, the power caps won't even store enough power for more than a couple waveforms, certainly not the couple seconds it takes to get RMS readings, and keep in mind some of this guys tests keep testing for upwards of 5 seconds or more as some amps take time to get a clean RMS signal. The power jumps up a couple watts as the system attempts to slowly raise power until clipping. This slow rise is definitely slower than the time constant of the amps input capacitor which again shows the input capacitor is doing nothing to sustain RMS output. Easy test for this. run your amp at low listening levels. Unplug the amp and see how fast it turns off. My efficiency modified amps with big caps might stay on about 2-3 seconds. At full power though it turns off immediately. This tells you the input cap can't possibly be sustaining those dynamic loads, ie it's the power supply sustaining the RMS load. There's a lot to understand when dealing with AC power efficiency. It is now entirely possible to have 95% efficiency amplifiers and power converters. They may be playing some games with their electronics, but DC measurements
I'm far more interested in full range amplifiers, as some of us may use a much more flexible DSP instead of the basic fixed slope electronic crossover in the amplifier. I wish head units incorporated DSP for all necessary adjustments, or at least offered a digital output to send to a miniDSP.
It is beyond insane aftermarket car audio has not incorporated digital or Toslink connections, as it is surely the best audio signal s since it was developed for and is exclusive to audio connections! RCA connections are tiny tiny wire connections that are 1970's technology. Plus, if you happen to have a car with a premium Bose or Harmon Kardon stereo etc. they all use digital connections even starting with the "In-Dash" unit. I don't understand the idea of using a DSP then connecting it to your amplifier via RCA cables. Kinda defeats the point doesn't it? I hear ya brother about current car audio tech. BUT one question that SERIOUSLY is not being addressed: "What happens to "aftermarket" car audio if ONLY EV vehicles are allowed? " That's a serious concern. Especially since EV's are already a Frog wrapped in a Prince's clothing. OEM stereo's in EV's suck even more than regular OEM car stereos. Now go Turn That Shit Up While You Can! lol! (I've heard really good things about Clarion's powered analog crossover unit. In fact, so good, you shouldn't even bother with other brands like minded devices. Going with Marine audio instead of car audio (for the most part. as most marine subwoofers have LED lights you can't turn off. why?) Anyway That's been my "secret" to better car audio. I just did an install where I went with a Kenwood Marine cd/receiver ($180 - but I really like Kenwood source units. some of the best in the industry I think) to a Rockville Marine Phenom Class A/B 6 channel Amplifier to 4 Polk Audio DB+ Marine speakers, and 2 (two) - 3/4 inch Harmon Kardon tweeters, and the sound quality even impressed me. I was surprised how damn good it sounded. Even with RCA connections. That Rockville Marine amp doesn't put out big power, but enough, around 80 watts per channel at 4 Ohms. BUT it has some "choice" internal components for better sound quality and by God they are not lying. Being a Marine receiver I also hope it lasts a good time. Marine audio is 3rd party certified. Think how a boat must handle the chop of waves without a suspension. So the stereo components must be made well to take that beating. I can also tell you the Polk DB+ 6.5 inch speakers are some of the best 6.5 inch speakers on the market regardless of price, and well worth an option for your system. I've been a musician all my life, and though "not" an audiophile, I do spend alot more on home and car stereo equipment than the next person. And have a "collection" of home amplifiers, receivers, speakers etc. I try to go for a clean clear high headroom neutral image hi fidelity sound with stereo equipment, without spending vast sums of money, because 99% of the shit is all made in China! I have a real nice JBL "Bespoke" A/V receiver + matching surround speaker system for my tv/computer- made in bloody China! Does it sound great. Yep, One of the best systems ever. Over $2,500 new, but I cannot pay that because of the whole China thing. So picked it up used for $500 and don't feel guilty about it. lol Oh yeah, I did add a bandpass (2 x 10) sub and seperate Class D monoblock to that system install I mentioned. You still need bass if all you have are 6.5 inch woofers! Also, making sure each speaker has its own discreet channel is another way for better sound quality. I know that usually means running your car system at 4 ohms instead of 2 Ohm, but it will give you better sound quality. That's why I went with the 6 channel amp. And my buddy is quite happy even if his wallet isn't. The total cost still $1,300 for just the stereo components and wiring. (including A Big 3 upgrade - 2 Ga. Marine grade silver tinned OFC copper wire instead of 0 Ga. saved $100 right there using 2 Ga. Instead of 0 Gau!. Plus a more powerful alternator to drive both amplifiers. Both amps I used had peak power usage of 120 amps. Only using about 60% of total power to keep heat down and for long term operation. That's another little trick that helps with your amplification. Get a more powerful amp than needed, and run it at less power around 50-60% - but still matching your speaker wattage). So hope this helps. Probably not as much as Big D, but I try.) take care.
@@johannjohann6523 aftermarket headunits did make optical digital outputs for awhile but they were kinda ahead of their time and didn't sell so they stopped making them. As far as Polk goes the couldn't touch morel, focal and many other speakers out there. Further more all band pass sucks musically. It's in their design since the box limits the band of sound that pass out of the box.
Do they have a 4 channel version? Now that I think about it, I could always buy 4 of these. They aren't much bigger than some crossovers I've had and they would all fit under the front seat or seats. 184 watts to a single component speaker side would provide plenty of power and headroom.
You could get a pair of these and run one for each front door/dash with the @ ~1 or 2ohm on the the line inputs and have plenty of power to the front speakers for most people and retain stereo for people on a factory setup that don't want to do a lot of rewiring. $110 to get that much power from some easily concealable gear might be handy for some people.
I thought about that too but he said it pulled about 50a during the test. You'd probably wanna run something a bit thicker than the factory 22/20/18ga wire that's probably fused at 10/15a. Then you're talking about needing a distribution block to feed a few of these with some 8ga wire or so and running wires to each door anyway. In certain situations, I agree that it could be a really good custom build setup, but I think there'd still be a bit of wiring going on to get a couple of these feeding 4/6 channels. 94% efficient at 4ohm for $46 and 150 clean watts... Not too shabby if the crossovers can be compensated for. Maybe this will make the 2023 gems list in December/January 🤔
Acabo de pedir uno en Amazon, quiero ver cómo funciona, Derek por ti compre el doble rock en ves del skar 2000.1, ahora lo voy a conectar, espero suene bien por qué segi tu consejo
I'm curious, as someone who has a couple old exile amps, that i was going to put in my worktruck, if i would be better with some of these new school cheap amps that are TINY!
Hey, Man for the coin it's worth it just because it's kind of a Novilty. I think Class D is amazing in a way.. Please include AMPERAGE draw on your tests..?? thank you..
Makes you wonder if the rating was for 1ohm not 4ohm and it was lost in translation! On another note, modern amps don't seem to put any importance on the damping factor, where as back in the 80's and 90's a high damping factor was a sign of a well designed amp with great speaker control, why is this?
@@miketaylor2197 actually there really impressive and the best amps.i have ever owned have 4 of them dampeninf factor plays a part but it's not the whole picture....They also so 1000 watts RMS with only 60 amps of current draw....Most amps.would be around 100 amps.of current draw to do that 1000 watts
I GUESS.. like anything else that improves with new tech - they get smaller and more efficient over time. we're both old enough to remember a 19" television that weight 106 pounds LOL! all the amps i ever had in the 80's were HUGE, for like 55x4 it came in a 12x20" footprint! now i have the same basically output WITH 300w mono channel in a 7x11 package. how is the sound quality tho?
Thank you for all the videos, wish some day you can take a look at a amplyfier that i own Hammer Tech Heavy Class HCA 1650.1D would be happy to find out annything about theese hard to get any info on them at all on the web ;) /Cheers from Sweden.
Why does this amp seem so eerily similar to the Sundown Audio SAM-500D? Even certain components on the boards match up. While not a complete copy, it very similar.
It looks like same as the Sundown Audio SAM 500D (rated 125/250/500 watt RMS @ 4/2/1 ohm) and the Vibe Powerbox 400.1M-V7 (rated 170/250/400 watt RMS @ 4/2/1 ohm) amplifiers
How Long Do You Think it would be before thermal degradation set in it is Tiny . No mass for heat soak. I Think they have a printing error on the box.. or the wrong units are in the box..
You'd think they would realize under rating these amps would make them sell better. Why not sell this as a 200 watt amp? Then when it makes well over 200 watts word would spread
Well it didn’t match it rated power, like most off brands cheap amps. But for the price (price of one of your hoodies) and size (fit under the 🌊 seat or saddle bags), can be a bargain for a upgrade to a stock unit or a motorcycle etc… I have a GM truck with a Bose system. The Bose system is a 150W 5-channel amp that puts out 25Wx4 + 50Wx1 all a 2 ohms.🤔
Couldn't find a contact button - but dude, ya gotta check out Taramps latest BASS 3 lines, bro over at Parker Basshead, just measured nearly 8k on the meter for that bad boy, def. worth putting on the dyno imo - yaboooooy!
Ok big D what's the best amp for the money? I'm an old school MECP installer but been out of the biz for years. Looking for a high quality 4 channel for front and rear x 100 at least and a 400 watt RMS for a single 12" sub for my truck.
That amp has been tested before. The OG version did it's rated power, which it's only rated 650RMS@2 ohms . The newest version is now rated 1 ohm stable and can manage over 1000RMS@1 ohm. It also has larger fuses than the prior, now having two 50AMP vs two 30AMP, IIRC.
I need your help Big D I need 5.25" speakers for my bike. I cant find anything good besides Polk Audio. Do you have any recommendations? Im a DB Drag Racer and Demo guy, so id liek something that sounds as good as possible.
*SHOP* (affiliate links)
Plinius PHF450D: amzn.to/3Ml7CLu
Taramps Bass 800: amzn.to/47fGMwb
Down4Sound MiniMaxx Amps: lddy.no/1hrle
Savard Subwoofers: www.savardspeakersystems.com/?afmc=WAL
*More videos of Mini Amps*
Taramps TL 1500 3ch Class D Amp: ruclips.net/video/wqYx15cOsH4/видео.html
Taramps TL 500 2ch Class D Amp: ruclips.net/video/3bLAqjkAYr4/видео.html
Soundigital 400.4EVO 4ch Amp: ruclips.net/video/UhpXh4GjF1A/видео.html
Down4Sound MiniMaxx MM1004 4ch Amp: ruclips.net/video/JwQQYl2Fvi0/видео.html
Soundstream Reserve Micro Amps: ruclips.net/video/kO2QUZlsxHk/видео.html
Down4Sound JP3 Mini Monblock Amp: ruclips.net/video/zDCSWJrtHZ0/видео.html
See Other Mini Car Audio Amps: ruclips.net/p/PLu98-M_EowHPeIJDo-ISyHCtT__PzQsDi
_DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases_
Rate it 250-300 watts and change those crossover settings and they got a decent little amp. It looks to be well built for what it is.
Or rated it for 1ohm 2 ohm like BigD mentions 400@ 1 and 275@ 2 would be good
@@momanholmes8715its not rated 1 ohm. You would break it at 1 ohm
@@F.B.l no you won’t. Did you even watch? Its the same amp vibe audio sells which is rated 400w @ 1 ohm
@@momanholmes8715 its rated 1 ohm?
Not going to lie...this man has saved me money and trust me his word when it comes to audio is the gospel.
I make these videos for you guys! It's also fun for me but most of the cheap stuff I do to help people decide if they might want to buy or stay away
That’s actually impressive for the size. It would work great for a badass homemade Bluetooth speaker build.
Good luck finding a portable power supply that can actually provide enough juice for that much output. Unless its a plug in party speaker
@@chrishernandez2490 could be both and using headway cells be all you need.
@@chrishernandez2490not too hard with a moderate lithium bank
That is what I want to do and hook it up to a 16ah lithium battery with a skar ix-8
Yeah it would and for the price and the rating, you really cant best it for a homemade cooler stereo or ammo can o e
"It's ONE ⭐ on Amazon: Let's get it!"
Bless you, Big D, for doing what others could not.
The real Plinius are a high end home audio company. They are based about five minutes from my house in Christchurch, New Zealand and have been around since the early 80s.
Perspective from an old 90's guy... That little thing would have been the stuff of legend back in the day... And it would have been $400-$500 minimum. I was born too early.
I was thinking the same... And to us a punch 45 was a beast for it's size lol.
@@D3M3NT3Dstrang3r 😂 100% agree! My first amp was the Punch 40ix and it took about two full paychecks to buy it used!
Wrong. We were born at the right time. We got to experience the world in the 80s and 90s and a time before 9/11. After that everything changed for the worse
Would've been a thousand bucks back in the early 90's. Imagine that little thing as a cheater Amp. Absolutely NO ONE would believe it was capable of more than 20 watts.
many have said it, but for the size and cost, the build quality looks decent enough. only question is about how it performs in a car. some cheap amp's suffer from no noise filtering on the power input and can be the cause of engine whine... would love to hear how it goes in this regard!!!
Extremely good point.
Amazingly no noise at all.
No engine noise at all, but I have noticed it causing interference with certain fm radio stations when the bass is heavy. It happened in 2 different cars I've tried it in, but both have cheap aftermarket head units that don't have very good fm reception to begin with. If the station is stronger it doesn't get affected.
First thing we see is the 1 star review. Im even more excited to see it.
If you could keep it dry, with the 4 ohm efficiency, it would be a great power sports amp. Plus, it is cheap enough that you won’t cry if it blows!
Big D, I don’t know how you do it man, but you keep knocking these videos out of the park!!! I look forward to watching!
in the uk we have a company called Vibe. they make some reasonable stuff. i have this exact amp running a 15 in a sealed 4cuft box wired down to 2 ohms. its plenty for everyday listening i can tell you! i purposely built the cabinet big to make it a bit easier for the amp to move the sub, but is so damn musical and rich sounding! car is an ev so i had to limit the current draw from the low voltage loom, and this fitted the bill nicely! been beating on it for a year now with no problems at all. cool little amp.
I used to rin a Vibe 1000 watt amp on a couple high excursion Audiobahn 10s. Hit hard enough to make your heart beat funny and were fast enough to keep up with some heavy metal.
Back in the day or now at 50 bucks one one on every channel on high pass and a larger amp on sub duty. That thing as a monoblock with that efficiency would be incredible on front stage
The potential DIY projects this thing can perform well at are scrambling through my mind. Party Box.
Im honestly kinda impressed. I have no use for this amp, but for someone else at $50 , i think its worth it. Doesnt look to shabby either. I think its a small scale gem!
Hey Big D.....temu has an 18000 watt amp for 195.21....210.65 with shipping. Love to see a Dyno on that
I do like the fact this has actual mosfet transistors instead of an amp chip. I never really liked amp chips. Discrete components is where the power really is, well depending on the quality. But my vote is for this amp because of that. So perhaps you can use one amp per door? Or channel? Yes in that case it would be cheaper to just buy a 4 channel amp unless you want the complication and don't care about how much $$ you spend. Hobbies and creativity can and will confuse the common folk.
For 46 bucks, I bought it. I needed something very small and low powered with good efficiency for my 2nd car. I needed to power an 8 inch Infinity Kappa sub I am putting in the rear deck of a 1995 Lexus LS400. This thing looks perfect for my needs, and if it doesn't work as intended, I could always use it to power a small home theater sub. Thx Big D, and I used your link to buy it.
P.S. I'm still waiting patiently for an amp dyno on the JL RD1500/1. Dying to see that impedance switch in action. Lol
Nice find and review. Steak dinners cost more than that. So. 500+ watts (@ 1-ohm) for $46 is nothing to sneeze at. Those wide range crossovers are actually pretty dam useful if one is building a custom system.
This would be a great little amp, especially for a compact system. You can tuck this amp into any small area, and not even see it.
Tysm - this is useful for people like me who are experimenting. I'm trying to make a 7.7 system or 7.0 if I can make my full range bookshelf speakers go lower. So far it's working. If not I need 7x sub amps.
With the full range capability im curious if it wouldn't make a little more power at 1khz. Either way it seems like a good deal for a fun little project.
Hey there Mr Williston!! I wanted to ask- would you do a year-end video providing a summary and recommendations for amp categories? Small amps based on sound quality and efficiency, best SQ amps, most efficient amps, and overall best performance for the dollar amp. Can we get an early Xmas gift from the labs?? Cheers
Thanks D, bought this amp to drive one 8” sub. No complaints from me.
Still good power for price and small footprint
Its a win imo
This a great amp for a highschool kid who owns a truck. Cheap af, takes up no room and would push a cheap 10" or 12" just enough. I instantly think of my old S10 single cab when I see tiny amps like these, and how hard it was to get box volume for just one 10". Let alone cram a ”400 watt" cheapo back there too
Wonder what it would do @ 1khz since it's a full range amp.
It's value and footprint are impressive.
Yeah, I like it. Nice and compact, plenty of power for someone like me without all the space.
Love how the early days of RUclips editing style is still going strong. Ntm genuine reviews
Impressive little AMP!
For that size and price it’s really a nice amp. 180 clean watts isn’t too bad at 4 ohms 😊
That thing has lower wattage at bursts than in continuous, that’s funny - minus dynamic headroom it’s then called continuous headroom?? 😅😅
I think they rated this amp dynamically with just one cycle instead of 20 cycles, they should just change the rating labels, great thing for a mobile speaker. How does it sound full range? If it’s ok this amp is a steal👍
I like these videos of the new products - very interesting!! Thumbs up, BigD!!! 👋
I just got a chachro box to go along with my quad 6/9 box and thats what that amp is made for a chachro box, thats why its full range, because they are mono full range box
Not always about cost. The big brands would be well served to offer these types of products so you can upgrade old factory amps in the factory locations. I have an 2007 Expedition we use for hauling and I'm looking to replace the factory sub Amp. Same for newer vehicles that have multiple amps like my 22 Wrangler.
Seems like two of these be great to add some mid-bass through a pair of 6.5" woofers.
I actually just purchased a pair of 6.5 in door speakers from the brand having never heard of them but they were really cheap and had good reviews so i gave them a shot and don't sound half bad
For a $50 Amp that's THAT small.. that's REALLY impressive! We could have never done that 10 years ago.
For the price it seems unmatched. If you had 2, 6.5" subs in a truck cab, installed and tuned properly, it would sound amazing. In my day, a "cheap" Amp was either a Jensen, or Roadmaster, and they cost $100-$200 then. That's roughly $250-$500 now. Plus those amps started clipping around 50W even tho they were rated at 200W. The biggest jump was when they started producing the MOSFET with NOMAD circuitry from kicker.
I think it's great when inexpensive amps like this are full range rated, You can use two of them for your main Mids and highs.. and push a lot of watts cheap.
I think I’m agreeing with everyone else in the comments and really for what you’re getting here and the looks of it, I don’t see anybody going wrong dropping a $50 bill on this unit and of course if it burned up after three months or so, or if it makes it a year or longer either way,, it’s well worth the money
That would be a nice home set up with that box amp and a 50amp power supply with proper grounding
And all this “ free education “ plus a great dyno, what win for the week ;)
I bought this and had to send it back. The auto power on with the high level inputs kept the amp on constantly, it didn’t have enough gain, and worst of all was the terrible amount of Class D RF interference with my radio tuner! Every bass hit would cause the tuner reception to fuzz out while the other non-tuner sources were fine. Too bad as the size per watt was perfect for my application.
Im gonna say their rating was the old MAX rating, where id expect 150 and 225. still at that price and size looks like a steal
How about a dedicated center channel, as for full range
Just ordered two for full range and a single sub set up in my Yugo on Maryland
I don't care about its rated power. But 94% efficiency at full power is beyond outstanding. It's better than my customized TPA3116D2 amps running on 25 volts directly, you'd have to go with an undervolted TPA3255 amplifier with good output inductors replaced to match that kind of efficiency. The fact that it's got a voltage boosting circuit in between makes it almost unbelievable. This is a portable speaker miracle you can easily design a speaker that outperforms a JBL Partybox for a fraction of the price.
It's not 94% efficient. Dyno tests significantly overestimate true efficiency numbers. Due to the energy stored in the rail caps, as well as the slight delay in the fluke
@@blakebrockhaus347
When taking continuous DC measurements things like energy stored in the rail caps don't really matter. What you're assuming is that the reactive power in the AC signal is being wasted as heat which is absolutely true in the AC portion of amplification, but when averaged over time, like continuous RMS testing, a DC to AC conversion circuit which this power capacitor and amplifier acts like, all reactive power is converted to DC current, there's no voltage or current mismatches.
I've personally investigated this with my chip amps. Whether I completely remove the input power capacitor or increase it, past the ideal size to prevent low frequency roll off the capacitor does nothing to increase the efficiency of the amplifier. I've tested from 0 farad (cap removed) to 100,000 uF. As long as the power supply and wiring don't drop voltage, and can keep up with current, efficiency is not raised. The reason is as follows;
The biggest weakness with the chip style mini amps is not the power capacitor, not one single person on youtube aaddresses this but the current rating of the 2.5x5 mm barrel plug is only 5 amps. This imposes a significant voltage drop before going to the input capacitor. As we know in crossover design a resistor in series with a parallel cap is a high pass filter. Get rid of the resistance, ie barrel plug, I replace mine with heavier gauge wire and a Deans style high current connector. I can remove the input capacitor entirely and I get no low frequency roll off nor a decrease in efficiency and DC clamping measures the same.
The DC clamp Fluke is accurate enough. The only more accurate measurement would be a continuous drain and amp-hour measurement. RMS AC testing is valid in this case.
By the way I'm an electrical engineer.
@@LVeAV the Dyno test is dynamic. Which is why it's not fully accurate. Even the certified and uncertified tests ramp up in less than a couple seconds
@@blakebrockhaus347
The response time of the Fluke is within that couple seconds. I have the same model. I've done the testing, put it on max hold and it will be accurate within half a second of running, within the specs. Fluke wouldn't be the gold standard in electrical measurement tools if the results couldn't be trusted by electronics technicians and engineers alike.
When we talk dynamic power that is power sustained in a single waveform, when designing these amps all you need technically is just enough capacitance to sustain a single waveform at the minimum cutoff frequency desired. Any more don't add to the dynamic power capability or efficiency. Want a real world example?
If you get rid of the electrical resistance in your cars system, you don't need those 1 Farad caps to prevent lights dimming, and adding one won't all of a sudden make more power or be more efficient, it will though sustain a dynamic burst for longer, but even a 1 F cap won't sustain a 12 amp load at 12 volts for more than .1 seconds before voltage drops to 10.5 volts and the amp shuts off. I can take you through the equations if you'd like. But you'd better be pretty decent at calculus and logarithmic functions.
The theory is exactly identical to what's happening with this amp.
I've done the time constant testing on class D amplifiers. Unless you're going well over 10,000 uF or so on the TPA3116, the power caps won't even store enough power for more than a couple waveforms, certainly not the couple seconds it takes to get RMS readings, and keep in mind some of this guys tests keep testing for upwards of 5 seconds or more as some amps take time to get a clean RMS signal. The power jumps up a couple watts as the system attempts to slowly raise power until clipping. This slow rise is definitely slower than the time constant of the amps input capacitor which again shows the input capacitor is doing nothing to sustain RMS output.
Easy test for this. run your amp at low listening levels. Unplug the amp and see how fast it turns off. My efficiency modified amps with big caps might stay on about 2-3 seconds. At full power though it turns off immediately. This tells you the input cap can't possibly be sustaining those dynamic loads, ie it's the power supply sustaining the RMS load.
There's a lot to understand when dealing with AC power efficiency. It is now entirely possible to have 95% efficiency amplifiers and power converters. They may be playing some games with their electronics, but DC measurements
It should have ended with DC measurements don't lie.
This is what I was looking for! Thanks big D!!!!❤
I'm far more interested in full range amplifiers, as some of us may use a much more flexible DSP instead of the basic fixed slope electronic crossover in the amplifier. I wish head units incorporated DSP for all necessary adjustments, or at least offered a digital output to send to a miniDSP.
It is beyond insane aftermarket car audio has not incorporated digital or Toslink connections, as it is surely the best audio signal s since it was developed for and is exclusive to audio connections! RCA connections are tiny tiny wire connections that are 1970's technology. Plus, if you happen to have a car with a premium Bose or Harmon Kardon stereo etc. they all use digital connections even starting with the "In-Dash" unit. I don't understand the idea of using a DSP then connecting it to your amplifier via RCA cables. Kinda defeats the point doesn't it? I hear ya brother about current car audio tech. BUT one question that SERIOUSLY is not being addressed: "What happens to "aftermarket" car audio if ONLY EV vehicles are allowed? " That's a serious concern. Especially since EV's are already a Frog wrapped in a Prince's clothing. OEM stereo's in EV's suck even more than regular OEM car stereos. Now go Turn That Shit Up While You Can! lol! (I've heard really good things about Clarion's powered analog crossover unit. In fact, so good, you shouldn't even bother with other brands like minded devices. Going with Marine audio instead of car audio (for the most part. as most marine subwoofers have LED lights you can't turn off. why?) Anyway That's been my "secret" to better car audio. I just did an install where I went with a Kenwood Marine cd/receiver ($180 - but I really like Kenwood source units. some of the best in the industry I think) to a Rockville Marine Phenom Class A/B 6 channel Amplifier to 4 Polk Audio DB+ Marine speakers, and 2 (two) - 3/4 inch Harmon Kardon tweeters, and the sound quality even impressed me. I was surprised how damn good it sounded. Even with RCA connections. That Rockville Marine amp doesn't put out big power, but enough, around 80 watts per channel at 4 Ohms. BUT it has some "choice" internal components for better sound quality and by God they are not lying. Being a Marine receiver I also hope it lasts a good time. Marine audio is 3rd party certified. Think how a boat must handle the chop of waves without a suspension. So the stereo components must be made well to take that beating. I can also tell you the Polk DB+ 6.5 inch speakers are some of the best 6.5 inch speakers on the market regardless of price, and well worth an option for your system. I've been a musician all my life, and though "not" an audiophile, I do spend alot more on home and car stereo equipment than the next person. And have a "collection" of home amplifiers, receivers, speakers etc. I try to go for a clean clear high headroom neutral image hi fidelity sound with stereo equipment, without spending vast sums of money, because 99% of the shit is all made in China! I have a real nice JBL "Bespoke" A/V receiver + matching surround speaker system for my tv/computer- made in bloody China! Does it sound great. Yep, One of the best systems ever. Over $2,500 new, but I cannot pay that because of the whole China thing. So picked it up used for $500 and don't feel guilty about it. lol Oh yeah, I did add a bandpass (2 x 10) sub and seperate Class D monoblock to that system install I mentioned. You still need bass if all you have are 6.5 inch woofers! Also, making sure each speaker has its own discreet channel is another way for better sound quality. I know that usually means running your car system at 4 ohms instead of 2 Ohm, but it will give you better sound quality. That's why I went with the 6 channel amp. And my buddy is quite happy even if his wallet isn't. The total cost still $1,300 for just the stereo components and wiring. (including A Big 3 upgrade - 2 Ga. Marine grade silver tinned OFC copper wire instead of 0 Ga. saved $100 right there using 2 Ga. Instead of 0 Gau!. Plus a more powerful alternator to drive both amplifiers. Both amps I used had peak power usage of 120 amps. Only using about 60% of total power to keep heat down and for long term operation. That's another little trick that helps with your amplification. Get a more powerful amp than needed, and run it at less power around 50-60% - but still matching your speaker wattage). So hope this helps. Probably not as much as Big D, but I try.) take care.
@@johannjohann6523 aftermarket headunits did make optical digital outputs for awhile but they were kinda ahead of their time and didn't sell so they stopped making them. As far as Polk goes the couldn't touch morel, focal and many other speakers out there. Further more all band pass sucks musically. It's in their design since the box limits the band of sound that pass out of the box.
Am i the only one impressed with the guts on this thing?
a pair of these would run a small line array in full range out the back of the whip pretty well add another pair for bottoms. D'appolito style..
Hey Big D long time haven’t watch you videos in years hope you are doing great!!
I see and hear 20/20 😂 That’s got to be one of the best cheapest amps under 50$ 👏🏼
Nice innards!!! Reminds me of the Dual 301L!
Would do a set of 6x9s just fine. I need something in that size range that's 4 channel
Buy two, bridge them and run one per channel. 180W RMS to each. Your ears will hurt and voice coils will smoke.
Do they have a 4 channel version? Now that I think about it, I could always buy 4 of these. They aren't much bigger than some crossovers I've had and they would all fit under the front seat or seats. 184 watts to a single component speaker side would provide plenty of power and headroom.
You could get a pair of these and run one for each front door/dash with the @ ~1 or 2ohm on the the line inputs and have plenty of power to the front speakers for most people and retain stereo for people on a factory setup that don't want to do a lot of rewiring. $110 to get that much power from some easily concealable gear might be handy for some people.
I thought about that too but he said it pulled about 50a during the test. You'd probably wanna run something a bit thicker than the factory 22/20/18ga wire that's probably fused at 10/15a. Then you're talking about needing a distribution block to feed a few of these with some 8ga wire or so and running wires to each door anyway. In certain situations, I agree that it could be a really good custom build setup, but I think there'd still be a bit of wiring going on to get a couple of these feeding 4/6 channels. 94% efficient at 4ohm for $46 and 150 clean watts... Not too shabby if the crossovers can be compensated for. Maybe this will make the 2023 gems list in December/January 🤔
This would probably be a great amp for a side by side or atv audio setup if keep it in a dry spot.
I’m thinking of putting this in my 01 suburban 2500 to power a skar 8” shallow mount
Impressive for the money
Love me some small amps
MVP1A still on top
Not to shabby 😉 for fitty bucks. 1 ohm juice will run 🏃♂️ a sub... don't forget the extinguisher 🔥
Acabo de pedir uno en Amazon, quiero ver cómo funciona, Derek por ti compre el doble rock en ves del skar 2000.1, ahora lo voy a conectar, espero suene bien por qué segi tu consejo
I'm curious, as someone who has a couple old exile amps, that i was going to put in my worktruck, if i would be better with some of these new school cheap amps that are TINY!
Hey, Man for the coin it's worth it just because it's kind of a Novilty. I think Class D is amazing in a way.. Please include AMPERAGE draw on your tests..?? thank you..
How about buying 2 for $100 and getting 2x 184w RMS @ 4 ohms full range with great stereo separation.
Probably be good for center stage full range .
Makes you wonder if the rating was for 1ohm not 4ohm and it was lost in translation!
On another note, modern amps don't seem to put any importance on the damping factor, where as back in the 80's and 90's a high damping factor was a sign of a well designed amp with great speaker control, why is this?
Diamond audio DES1000.1 does dampening factor is 120
Only 120? Not very impressive actually. Good amps back in the day were 200 or better easily
@@miketaylor2197 actually there really impressive and the best amps.i have ever owned have 4 of them dampeninf factor plays a part but it's not the whole picture....They also so 1000 watts RMS with only 60 amps of current draw....Most amps.would be around 100 amps.of current draw to do that 1000 watts
The good companies do mention it still. Look at Arc Audio, Mosconi etc
I am getting one .! Very deep !!!
Might be decent in a little compact pickup or something.
Yo. You should review the Fosi Audio BL20A. Been usuing one for a year now. Pretty good little amps for the money
I GUESS.. like anything else that improves with new tech - they get smaller and more efficient over time. we're both old enough to remember a 19" television that weight 106 pounds LOL!
all the amps i ever had in the 80's were HUGE, for like 55x4 it came in a 12x20" footprint! now i have the same basically output WITH 300w mono channel in a 7x11 package.
how is the sound quality tho?
maybe full range to input other stuff. like use as preamp
That amp would be perfect for a Skar Audio SDR subs.
I wonder if they tested at a higher voltage,just a thought.
Thank you for all the videos, wish some day you can take a look at a amplyfier that i own Hammer Tech Heavy Class HCA 1650.1D would be happy to find out annything about theese hard to get any info on them at all on the web ;) /Cheers from Sweden.
Why does this amp seem so eerily similar to the Sundown Audio SAM-500D? Even certain components on the boards match up. While not a complete copy, it very similar.
This will be good for a motorcycle 🏍️
It looks like same as the Sundown Audio SAM 500D (rated 125/250/500 watt RMS @ 4/2/1 ohm) and the Vibe Powerbox 400.1M-V7 (rated 170/250/400 watt RMS @ 4/2/1 ohm) amplifiers
He tested the Sundown in 2019 - inside is totally different. This one looks cheaper.
How Long Do You Think it would be before thermal degradation set in it is Tiny . No mass for heat soak. I Think they have a printing error on the box.. or the wrong units are in the box..
How are the vocals, would be interested? Maybe using this for a cooler box speaker set up.
How do you think this would live with a 300-500 watt 10". I'm in the market for a cheap setup that won't bother me if it breaks
Why not full range ? If I’m looking at 400 watts and less I’m looking for mids and highs amp !
2:44 whoever was the lone reviewer was not too pleased with it
That little amp look very very beefy on the guts id liked to know what mosfets it uses for power supply side and output .
Think a couple of these could power a set of doors?
You'd think they would realize under rating these amps would make them sell better. Why not sell this as a 200 watt amp? Then when it makes well over 200 watts word would spread
Well it didn’t match it rated power, like most off brands cheap amps. But for the price (price of one of your hoodies) and size (fit under the 🌊 seat or saddle bags), can be a bargain for a upgrade to a stock unit or a motorcycle etc… I have a GM truck with a Bose system. The Bose system is a 150W 5-channel amp that puts out 25Wx4 + 50Wx1 all a 2 ohms.🤔
No heatsink compound for the mosfets to the heatsink case. I can't see this amp lasting long under continuous use
Couldn't find a contact button - but dude, ya gotta check out Taramps latest BASS 3 lines, bro over at Parker Basshead, just measured nearly 8k on the meter for that bad boy, def. worth putting on the dyno imo - yaboooooy!
Ok big D what's the best amp for the money? I'm an old school MECP installer but been out of the biz for years. Looking for a high quality 4 channel for front and rear x 100 at least and a 400 watt RMS for a single 12" sub for my truck.
I just have a quick question when you bumped it on the on the 6-in woofer did you put it on 1 ohm 2 ohm or 4 ohm?
Taramps TL1500 w two 6x9 & one sub.
Hi, what about de BOSS C350 400WX4. I CAN'T FIND ANY INFO OF THAT AMP.
This good for a component speaker set?
Two of those wired to 1 would be great to run the subs in my man cave.😊
I wonder if they make a 4ch version?
I would like to know what is the max input voltage?
What about ground noise? Is there away to measure that?
Replace with a 45A fuse and never have to worry about it. You know if it stops working; it's worse then a fuse.
Really wanna see the Walmart special the power acoustik 2500.1 on this dyno.. 100 bucks.. 2500.. what we got?
That amp has been tested before. The OG version did it's rated power, which it's only rated 650RMS@2 ohms .
The newest version is now rated 1 ohm stable and can manage over 1000RMS@1 ohm. It also has larger fuses than the prior, now having two 50AMP vs two 30AMP, IIRC.
I need your help Big D
I need 5.25" speakers for my bike. I cant find anything good besides Polk Audio. Do you have any recommendations? Im a DB Drag Racer and Demo guy, so id liek something that sounds as good as possible.
Can you test my Power Amplifier!! I got a Crown IT8000w Profesional