# PPI Atom 1000.4 review



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Since it didn't look like anyone else was going to get one to try one out I decided to buy one to play around with. My first impressions are somewhat positive, somewhat negative. The amp itself looks to be very solid. The phoenix plug for the power, ground, and remote doesn't seem like such a great idea and feel one of the plugs like what was used on the recently discontinued PC amps would have been better for that. I stuck 4 pieces of 14g hookup wire in each hole for power and ground. Hopefully that will be enough for this amp since they're only about 2' long. I was really afraid of stripping out the set screws. These plugs look like they would be much better suited for low current applications. I can live with them for speaker connections though. DO NOT twist the ends of the wires before inserting them into the phoenix plugs. You want the wire to crush all it's going to crush to prevent the connection from coming loose later. I would have rather had wires hardwired into the amp olskool style but then you have to worry about people doing the old twisty tapey. My buddy works for a used car lot and has told me some stories about audio stuff they've found in their repossessions. Twisty-tapey is considered a "good" connection compared to some of the stuff they've seen.

Anyway, stay tuned for listening impressions. It will be going in place of my Mosconi One 120.4 that's running my 2" Scanspeak fullrange speakers in the dash so how the amp "sounds" will be pretty obvious. This little Atom has some mighty big shoes to fill!


----------



## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Subscribed


----------



## oliussw (Sep 9, 2014)

Finally!!


----------



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Got it installed and making noise, but need to go to Rat Shack for another Y-adaptor. You for sure need to feed all 4 rca inputs when you bridged to get full output. Didn't really matter with my Mosconi because it was doing nearly double the power at 8 ohm bridged. This little guy I'll have to drive all the inputs as well as possibly boost the levels on my processor. The Mosconi was super dynamic with all the extra headroom so I'm not expecting this amp to run with it or top it but do expect it to come close.


----------



## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

Subscribed.

BTW does it have any fuses on the panel? If so how many and amperage.


----------



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

It has a single 30a fuse (the tiny kind you see in cars...can't think of the name of the size smaller than an atc lol).


----------



## vwguy383 (Dec 4, 2008)

Maxi fuses.


----------



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

They are indeed maxi fuses but for sure the smallest size they come in.

Anyway, the amp had a short residence in my truck due to its grainy sound. For the size it's a great option if space is hard to come by but just didn't cut the mustard for me. I'll put it up and keep it for a spare. In short, it's not good enough for my install but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its place in the "right" install.


----------



## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

There's never been an amplifier that puts out more output than what it pulls (current x volts). If it has a 30amp fuse then there is no way this amp can put out more than 430watts RMS w/dummy loads and sine wave (considering its 100%efficient which it isn't) with all channels combined, so I don't understand the 1000watt rating or model number. Unless thats the peak power which many amps now a days seem to like to establish.

Grainy SQ. hmmm, so would you say its about the same quality of a 100 dollar Boss or Pyle amp?

The size is just too good to be true. I guess if your in a budget and don't care much about SQ then it would be a win win, especially for its size.


The fuse size is "mini" ATM.... no way you could fit a maxi fuse in there.


----------



## vwguy383 (Dec 4, 2008)

TrickyRicky said:


> There's never been an amplifier that puts out more output than what it pulls (current x volts). If it has a 30amp fuse then there is no way this amp can put out more than 430watts RMS w/dummy loads and sine wave (considering its 100%efficient which it isn't) with all channels combined, so I don't understand the 1000watt rating or model number. Unless thats the peak power which many amps now a days seem to like to establish.
> 
> Grainy SQ. hmmm, so would you say its about the same quality of a 100 dollar Boss or Pyle amp?
> 
> ...


I just dont get these companies. It seemed like they were going back into some respectable territory with there product and now they are putting this crap out. I will keep my old school stuff. Tired and true that puts out what it says it puts out! And probably even a little more than that! Never seen that micro/ mini low profile fuse. Thats small.

Thanks for the review
Justin


----------



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Never heard Boss or Pyle amp so can't compare. I think it would be fine as a tiny sub amp or straight up midbass amp. It seemed to have plenty of gonads for what it is. I just wouldn't use it for anything over about 500hz. I'm running an original pdx5 on sub and midbass and it does the job fine. These amps weren't known for sounding great back when mine was new either. I'm just a firm believer in putting the best amp you can afford on your mids and highs.


----------



## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

New ventures by most companies always seem to be sketchy at first. Perhaps if was a higher tier company they would fare better right out of the gates, but I would expect cost to be quite higher as well. Pretty much the same routes as the early day class D amps started out with. Maybe later designs will be better. Thanks for the review anyway.


----------



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

If I had the money I'd be running three of these (fixing to add tweeters to the sails for a 3-way front)GZPA Reference 2T (tube) and one of these GZPA Reference 2 with a 300a alty and a couple extra batteries to support the electrical strain


----------



## BIGMIKE (Jul 6, 2012)

Wow, those amps are B..E..A..utiful. Thanks for being the guinea pig for the Atom amp, i wasnt sure if anyone was ever going to give em a shot. I thought about using them in wifeys car but it would seem spending the extra few dollars on the phantoms makes sense. Foot print isnt that much different, nice xovers, and they seem to perform well. Thanks again for the review.


----------



## vwguy383 (Dec 4, 2008)

Can you take some internal shots? Or do they have a sticker on the screw?


----------



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Sticker on the screw but you can see the guts at Home page


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

To have the amplifier described as "grainy" would be an instant no for me. For around the same money, I would pick up a Pioneer GM-D8604 PPI Phantom P900.4, with a slightly larger footprint. 

If you absolutely have to have a really small footprint amp, I'd probably be more willing to give the MVPA4 a try.


----------



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

It may sound like I'm trashing the Atom but really I'm just giving my thoughts with a straight-up SQ install in mind. Someone just wanting to make their cheap coaxials louder would never know the difference between the Atom and an amp that's pure sq. I hope "grainy" is the right word. The top end was really what sunk the ship for me. Just way more distortion than I could handle. My buddy might be interested in the Atom for his subwoofer. Would sure beat trying to find a place to mount the cow he has now that does about the same amount of power. Man amps sure were big 10 years ago!


----------



## saridi (Nov 8, 2014)

sub'd has been bookmarked.


----------



## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

actually thought of a reason for the sound you described..tell me what you think

Most class d amps are designed to work with specific impeedences, four or two ohm. Could it be that running it at eight ohm presents a load out of tolerance for some kind of internal component in the amp? I know old tube amps would exibit weird behavior with the wrong ohm load on them.


----------



## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

I've often wondered that, but figured that was a thing of the past since class D has improved much. No?


----------



## fcarpio (Apr 29, 2008)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Got it installed and making noise, but need to go to Rat Shack for another Y-adaptor. You for sure need to feed all 4 rca inputs when you bridged to get full output. Didn't really matter with my Mosconi because it was doing nearly double the power at 8 ohm bridged. This little guy I'll have to drive all the inputs as well as possibly boost the levels on my processor. The Mosconi was super dynamic with all the extra headroom so I'm not expecting this amp to run with it or top it but do expect it to come close.


How did you setup your gains?


----------



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

The amp was bridged so the 4 channels would have been at 4 ohms on 8 ohm speakers correct? Gains were set by ear as always. I know they weren't too high. Maybe turning the gains way up to match up with my .9v dsp outputs caused an issue? Had to turn them down quite a bit to get rid of hiss. Regardless, even at low volume I had that grainy sound.


----------

