Having purchased many less than top of the line amplifiers, I was not expecting this one to exactly go above and beyond the call of duty. And to be honest, it hasn’t. It has however met my expectations in most areas in disappointed me in at least one.
To begin, I have this amplifier pushing one 10" Pioneer Champion Series Pro (800RMS@2OHMS)(3,000MAX@2OHMS).This amplifier advertises a 1000 RMS rating @ 4 Ohms, so you must think i’m crazy, but anyone with experience in budget amplifiers can tell you that the advertised ratings often don’t relate to reality. I haven’t measured it, but know that at most this amp could power 2-mid level 10’s or 1 high-level 12 at most. 2 12’s would definitely be pushing it. Now let me break things down a little bit.
Appearance, definitely 5 stars here, the brushed metal finish is very nice, I did notice however that it is relatively easy to scratch.
Sound Quality, 4 Stars, not blow you away kinda jams but if you tune it properly you can make it sound top notch.
Heat Displacement, 3 Stars, the heatsinks on this thing look nice and are pretty large, but many does this thing get warm to the touch. After playing music at around 85% volume for an hour this thing is almost hot to the touch. I’m using it at 2 ohms which it’s rated for, but it still worries me a little bit as I know some amps will fail if the heat becomes to great. (You should also know this is a class A/B amplifier, which means it is not as efficient with the power it consumes(as opposed to a D Class amp), which means it produces more heat.)
Overall, 4 Stars, I know the people who are looking at amplifiers at this price level are budget-conscious of their purchases like I am (18, college student), but amplifiers are the kinda thing where it’s YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Simple as that to be honest, don’t expect the world for >$100.
Happy Bumping!
Brian.