I purchased this amp to temporarily replace my Clarion DPX1001.2 while it’s in the shop. I didn’t want to spend over $100 and I needed around 1000 watts RMS to keep my Audiobahn A1206T happy. The sub is a dual 4ohm voicecoil model rated at 1100 watts RMS and 2000w max. I found a refurbished 2500M for $85 shipped, not a bad deal and it looks new.
Something to keep in mind with newer cheap amps like this SSL/Soundstorm amp and others like Power Acoustik or Planet Audio is that you’re never going to touch that max rating and it’s not a continuous/RMS rating so ignore it. The figure you’re looking for is what the amp can do RMS at 4 ohms and that’s what the wattage is for your amp. In this case, about 1000 watts RMS, SSL’s website rates it at 1250 RMS. Both are generous figures for a $100 amplifier but let’s just say that’s what it can do at 4 ohms. It might be able to push more power at 2 ohms but then you start adding more stress on the amp and that’s where these amps start going downhill.
I have my amp set up for a 2 ohm load because it’s a single channel amp and my sub is a dual 4 ohm. Obviously, I wouldn’t dare run a cheap 1000 watt amp at 1 ohm because you’re just asking for thermal protection to kick in if it plays at all. So, 2 ohm load on this amp with the gain set at just over half because that’s what I got before I started getting audible distortion out of the sub. I played it for about 20 minutes with some rock and hip hop music. I tested some older tracks which are bass heavy but don’t stress the amp too much.
The tracks I tested with were:
Deftones-Change
Bambu-Like us
8 Ball & MJG ft. DJ Quick- Buck Bounce. You can listen to them on YouTube.
These tracks provide bursts of bass but really don’t stress the amp too much even at a 2 ohm load, the amp barely got warm. I was surprised. At 2 ohms you can get some pretty serious power, at least 1100 watts RMS because it hit just like my Clarion(which is an Arc Audio rebrand) which is rated at 1000 watts RMS x 1 @ 4 ohms. I have to give this amp my approval at 2 ohms. As long as you keep it reasonable it’s going to play loud and hard.
Then I got a little curious and started listening to some Bass Mekanik. The album is Sonic Overload and the track is called “Rule the Universe”.
After about 20 to 30 minutes of solid bass lines and 30hz tones the amp never gave up or went into thermal protect. I was honestly surprised since I cranked the gain up a little. I’m not sure how much longer it could have gone and I’m glad I didn’t try to test that out because when I opened the trunk and touched the amp, it was really, really hot. Bass music or anything with a long bass tone should be kept to a minimum. Bass heavy rap like 2 Chainz or whatever people listen to these days might also fall into that category depending on the track.
I don’t listen to much bass music anymore these days but every once in a while I like to exercise my subs with some Bass Mekanik nostalgia. I’m happy with this amp and for $100 it gave me the 1000 watts RMS that I was looking for. It’s pretty heavy and will take up some trunk space, it’s built pretty decent and really didn’t shut down for about an hour straight at 2 ohms which is what surprised me the most. This amp can go fairly hard at 2 ohms on dynamic music. Bass music, not so much but as they say you get what you pay for. 1000 watts RMS for just under $100 is a steal considering in the 90’s, we payed an arm and a leg for 1000 RMS watts.
PROS:
Cheap
Heavy/big heatsink
Plastic side panels. Good for keeping from shorting out on wiring.
Seems like about 1100 watts RMS @ 2ohms
Stays fairly cool at 2 ohms with dynamic music
WOW, actually 2 ohm stable
CONS:
Not CEA-2006 compliant but expected in this price/power range
Weird angled connects
Lame MAX WATTAGE printed on front of amp
Gets REALLY HOT under stress
Cooling fan would have been nice
Don’t expect more than 1100 RMS watts @ 2 ohms or you’ll be disappointed
2500 watts MAX….LOL
UPDATE: I’ve had the amp for a week now and have been using it mostly on my 25 minute drives to and from work. I haven’t had a chance to test it out any further than that yet but I am really amazed at how well the amp is holding up so far @ 2 OHMS. I’m giving it a beating to and from work, the amp does heat up but never shuts down and stays pretty clean. I’ve been listening to a track called Stop It by Juicy J and it’s really giving the sub/amp a workout. I don’t have any kind of testing equipment to get real numbers but it seems like the amp is putting out some really solid numbers. I’d rather be running it at 4 ohms to keep it cool and under less stress but I’ll have to wait until I get another sub. For now, this amp is surprisingly good. I’ll try to keep updating this review as long as I am still running the amp.