# Old School Orion, which is the best model?



## johanson

Greetings from Spain  sorry if the translator does not understand me well.
In these weeks I tested the amplifiers 225 and 250 competition and Orion 225g4 and have told me they are the best sounding and really impressive.
Today I have heard that the best model of Orion are the NT 100 and NT 200, this is true? if so, they are better than the competition or g4?
thanks


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## minbari

my favorite were the original HCCA and SX line. lots of power and sounded amazing.


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## johanson

I have a question, the amplifier orion nt 200 has XLR balanced input, ¿I can connect from the processor AUDISON Bitone rca to xlr cable? Do I need the 300 nt BIQ or would it take?


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## StockA4

First, I believe you can create a cable to fit just about anything. Just remember you want everything to stay balanced.

Second, I've had all but the GX models and I have to tell you that my favorites lie within the first and second generations. That means the amps that did not have crossovers built into them. I tend to agree with Minbari. SX and HCCA are both amazing lines. And there's nothing like using a big Orion to power your components.

Third, if you're going for numbers on paper and overall SQ, the XTR and subsequent NT models (1995 and 1996 respectively) have ridiculous numbers even when they're loaded down. So in essence, yes, the NT/XTR lines are some of the most amazing amplifiers ever produced.


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## johanson

Thanks for the reply, now I have a 225 amp orion competition for the tweeters, I have 1 orion amplifier 250 for mediums and I have a doubt of 3 amplifier for the woofers.

Orion hcca 2100 competition
Orion hcca NT200
Orion hcca 275g4

Which would be how often and why?

This is the picture of the amps I have now


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## ChrisB

My only word of warning with the G4 series Orion is that you need to watch it because they ran with a slightly higher rail voltage to make more power at 4 ohms stereo. Well, at least the HCCA 250G4 that I owned as well as the HCCA 225G5. As a result, loading them down at 1 ohm could prove catastrophic without the electrical and cooling to back them up. While the G4 was an original amp, I was given the G5 because the prior owner had fried it on his subwoofers and he replaced it with another subwoofer amp while DEI handled the warranty claim.

Now benny is running the 225 on his tweeters and I sold the 250 on eBay a couple of years back.

EDIT: With all of that said, I did like the crossover controls on the G4 and up series as well as the individual gain per channel.


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## johanson

Would not it be necessary to NT200 or NT300 bix BIQ to connect the NT200 amp? Have the advantage NT200 or NT300 BIQ bix?
The NT200 amp would sell me this


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## johanson

more photos


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## johanson

ChrisB said:


> My only word of warning with the G4 series Orion is that you need to watch it because they ran with a slightly higher rail voltage to make more power at 4 ohms stereo. Well, at least the HCCA 250G4 that I owned as well as the HCCA 225G5. As a result, loading them down at 1 ohm could prove catastrophic without the electrical and cooling to back them up. While the G4 was an original amp, I was given the G5 because the prior owner had fried it on his subwoofers and he replaced it with another subwoofer amp while DEI handled the warranty claim.
> 
> Now benny is running the 225 on his tweeters and I sold the 250 on eBay a couple of years back.
> 
> EDIT: With all of that said, I did like the crossover controls on the G4 and up series as well as the individual gain per channel.


amplifiers have said (nt, competition or g4) which would be his choice for amplifying a 4ohm woofers?
with the translator, the things I do not translate well into Spanish, sorry for my insistence


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## StockA4

You have a few options. Personally, when I put a system together I like to keep things looking generational. So you could fit the 2100 into this system seamlessly. You could effectively use any one of the amps you have listed for your subs.

But we need to know what subs you are running, how many voice coils, wattage, etc. That will give us a better idea of what amp to recommend.

Also, just because my Competition 2100 is rated to do 1600 watts at .5 ohms doesn't mean I'm going to do it. Regardless what you read or what people tell you, most of the 2100's didn't really like to be run below 2 ohms. I think I read that somewhere. At this point it's a matter of how long you want your amps to last. So if you are wanting to run your amp at 1 ohm daily; the 275 is made of some pretty stern stuff. The NT models will definitely give you the power you need, but there's so few left these days that I wouldn't risk running it as a sub amp. Not because it can't handle it. But because it won't last forever and these things can get expensive.

You do not need the BIX crossover to run the NT. It comes with a 5 pin din. You do need the BIX if you want to run a balanced signal, taking your signal to noise ratio from 100 to 112dB.

Remember, most of this is just my opinion and or conclusions from running my own equipment. And if I misinterpreted your question about the BIX, ask again.


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## johanson

I do not think I understood, I will explain caraudio all I have.


Tweeters - Bohlender Neo3-PDRW Graebener Planar (Orion 225 HCCA competition)
Mediums - Scan Speak 12M/4631G00 (Orion 250 HCCA competition)
Woofers - Scan Speak 18W/4531G00 (which one to buy? 2100, NT200 or 275G4 ...)
Processor - Audison Bitone
Source - optical fiber CarPC

My set is a 3 way active, I have not subwoofers


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## oscardillo

: O woofers....?


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## StockA4

Sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying about the woofers. It looks like your midwoofers take 70 watts rms. And taking into account what Chris B. said about the g4 having a higher rail voltage at 4 ohms, the 275 might be a bit much for your needs. (I believe he wrote elsewhere something to the effect of Orion wanting their cake and eating it too). A 2100 would be pretty cool. (I'm going to do something like that myself). You just have to be careful pumping all that power into your Scanspeaks. Sadly, I'm not familiar with the Scanspeaks. They may take more than rated to get the most out of them, (some speakers do). 

The NT200 sounds like the amp for the job here. I believe it's also the cleanest of the bunch.

But as with any musical undertaking, my top recommendation is that you take the time to audition these amps yourself before you commit. Because your taste is your own. You may end up hating the NT series. That's not humanly possible, but I'm just trying to make the point that the final decision of what sounds good is entirely up to you.


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## johanson

I've seen that sell an amp Orion GSX300, I read that only 7 units were manufactured in the world and I see if a possible scam, if it is not a scam you can tell me what this amp?


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## StockA4

johanson said:


> I've seen that sell an amp Orion GSX300, I read that only 7 units were manufactured in the world and I see if a possible scam, if it is not a scam you can tell me what this amp?


I don't know why my phone comments aren't working.

If someone is trying to sell you a GSX300, it is probably not a scam. The scam is where someone states there were only seven made. There have been more than seven spotted at a single competition. The seller is misinformed. Also, if there were only seven made, the price would probably reflect that.


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## johanson

Good morning, I bought an Orion amplifier nt 200 and I have a problem.
The amplifier comes without a connector for the speaker output, does anyone can tell me every arrow color output is? left channel, right channel, +, - and remote


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## MCLSOUND

green = acc power
yellow=L sp -
red=L sp+
blue=R sp-
black=R sp+

I would use the NT on your front mids/midbass and the 2100 on subs
the NT is the best frontend amp of the bunch


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## johanson

MCLSOUND said:


> green = acc power
> yellow=L sp -
> red=L sp+
> blue=R sp-
> black=R sp+
> 
> I would use the NT on your front mids/midbass and the 2100 on subs
> the NT is the best frontend amp of the bunch


Thank you very much, when I get the amp and try comment on my impressions, why nt series is considered the best? Is there any test that compare with the other series?


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## MCLSOUND

HCCA-THD .03
NT- THD .003


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## johanson

MCLSOUND said:


> HCCA-THD .03
> NT- THD .003


From where I can download the manual and 250hcca 225hcca competition amplifiers? I have the 200 nt amp manual says thd 0.005.

Does the NT200 is HCCA amp (high current)?


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## johanson

I think that would have to see if it is typical or maximum that the manual is not clear


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## StockA4

The best thing for you to do is exactly what John said, and use the NT200 on your mids. that .0005 THD will hold until you start halving the impedance. Anytime you load an amplifier down past 4 ohms you start losing your "sound quality" numbers. So at 2 ohms your THD will no longer be .0005.

And again, none of these numbers mean anything if it doesn't sound good to you. If you're just looking for numbers on paper i.e: bragging rights, go buy an Audison Venti, or HR100.


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## johanson

StockA4 said:


> The best thing for you to do is exactly what John said, and use the NT200 on your mids. that .0005 THD will hold until you start halving the impedance. Anytime you load an amplifier down past 4 ohms you start losing your "sound quality" numbers. So at 2 ohms your THD will no longer be .0005.
> 
> And again, none of these numbers mean anything if it doesn't sound good to you. If you're just looking for numbers on paper i.e: bragging rights, go buy an Audison Venti, or HR100.


I agree that numbers mean nothing, I'll try the 200 nt when I get to the other amps that I have orion to see if it really is better than the competition


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## johanson

I have the amp NT200 and my first impressions are good  voices are clearer than with the 250 HCCA competition, has a great power.
How would you bridge?


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## StockA4

There is a mono button. Press it.

That is a very nice amp. I am currently looking for another one myself.


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## johanson

Where would you place the subwoofer positive and negative?apart to give the mono button ....


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## StockA4

If you have a factory plug, Orange +, Yellow/Black -


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## StockA4

You have to clear both sides of your box. In and out.


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## johanson

I had the full Inbox, tell me now


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## Gwen Longstreet

johanson said:


> Greetings from Spain  sorry if the translator does not understand me well.
> In these weeks I tested the amplifiers 225 and 250 competition and Orion 225g4 and have told me they are the best sounding and really impressive.
> Today I have heard that the best model of Orion are the NT 100 and NT 200, this is true? if so, they are better than the competition or g4?
> thanks


Hi , everyone . I have to commit on this . In 1993 I had Orion hcca 225 with Orion duel voice coils 2 12 in subs in a 1991 Pontiac Grand Am 4 door . I had a tv in my dash and that was rare as it wasn't the time for TV in cars . I had a VCR and yes Sega video game . Installed by me . I could play anything and sound wonderful. Didn't rattle but I'd say for the money Orion hcca 225 was the best plus you could phantom power other Orion subs . I believe the first to use phantom power . I miss my old school sound sub and amp . Sounds great and US amps also had a great sub back then . I got me sight on buying old school Orion hcca amps


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