# Phoenix Gold RSd 1200.1 and 500.4



## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

This will be a part-by-part review of the Phoenix Gold RSd series amplifiers. I picked these after a long deliberation between the Kenwood eXcelon X1R / X4R's, PG Xenons, Cadence offerings, US Amps Merlin series, Pioneer Premier PRS series, and Alpine PDX lineup.

One thing that I try to do anytime I have a tough decision to make is to draft up a pros / cons list of each choice, and try to whittle candidates down to an ever smaller and smaller list. Picking an amp set was no different! Lots of eBay deals popped up here and there on some eclectic choices (like used Zapco's), but nothing really said "shut up and buy me!", so I followed my plan. The PG RSd's kept on the list because of their low cost, good looks (to _me_, we're all different), and good reputation. I think what sealed the deal was the knowledge that the RSd lineup is built by the same guys that have built the old-school PG's most of us would say are EXCEPTIONAL in sound quality and durability. I guess I'll find out for myself once and for all, soon enough!

First, some close-up shots of the 1200.1 that came in 





















































And, since she stole the show while I was trying to take pics, here's my "kitteh", Bristol.



















In case people are wondering what this thing is made of, it appears to be almost 100% aluminum. Some cast parts that have been machined, and some look extruded. The end plates are metal though they look like plastic, and the top plate is metal too. In fact, there is a plexi-plate under that mesh-looking structure, the whole length of the amp. Pretty sweet, if you ask me. I also like the way that some of the connections are at an angle. This seems smart to me, because I hate jamming lots of connections into one side of an amp.

The 500.4 is still on its way in the mail, but it is the same structural size. I'll post results of how they look installed, and of course we'll be talking about how they sound.


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

what made you pick the rsd over the xenon ? curious...although I have never personally ran an rsd amp...I really thought the xenons were better...


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

gentlejax2 said:


> what made you pick the rsd over the xenon ? curious...although I have never personally ran an rsd amp...I really thought the xenons were better...


From what I researched, they Xenons (while excellent) exhibit the same sound quality as the RSd's. For me, the sheer newness of the model and the sleek look (again, in my eyes) made them a better choice. Then there is the issue of power, of course. A 600.1 Xenon costs about what the 1200.1 RSd does. The 100.4 Xenon runs about what the 500.4 RSd does, so those are pretty much a wash. The final deciding factor was that when I was ready to pull the trigger, no Xenons were out there on eBay at a good price. There was only the 100.4 for $237, and no 600.1.


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

I never really cared for the looks of the Xenons unless you were talking about the limited black xenons.....the xenons were from what I remembered a tad more overbuilt but that was the last good amps from PG before they ditched trying to make high end stuff before the buyout..

Xenons can be found cheap but not on a regular basis so that is a drawback. you can once in a while find a 200.4 for less than $300 but the supply is gone...so ....that means you had to find a solution that was readily available ...

good luck with them.....


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

were these off the net? if so no warranty or yes? if not pop off the bottom and lets she whats in there....


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## NOTORIOUS97200 (Dec 11, 2008)

ok thanks for the pics!
I am waiting for your review. 
It is not really a beautiful amp (in MY opinion  ), but I may buy one soon because of its very good price, and its availability.


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## SteveLPfreak (Sep 26, 2005)

I like the cat! He seems to be quite spunky.


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## wu501 (Dec 5, 2007)

I ran the 1200.1 for a while about a year ago. It was a decent amp but nothing real special about it. I might even have gut pics on my home computer.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

gentlejax2 said:


> were these off the net? if so no warranty or yes? if not pop off the bottom and lets she whats in there....


Phoenix Gold RSd500.4
Phoenix Gold RSd1200.1

I would have chose the the x series, from what I have read and heard, these RSD have a pretty high failure rate


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Bristol is a SHE, and yes, she's got spunk. She's quirky as ****!

Ampguts has pics of these already:

Phoenix Gold RSd1200.1









Phoenix Gold RSd500.4









Notice the Xenon box in the bottom picture!


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

BeatsDownLow said:


> Phoenix Gold RSd500.4
> Phoenix Gold RSd1200.1
> 
> I would have chose the the x series, from what I have read and heard, these RSD have a pretty high failure rate



LOL must have beat me to the punch on pics by a minute.

I haven't heard about the failures, and when I asked around everyone seemed to agree that they have the same build quality as the original MS series. Same guy built them. Though I agree oldschool is often the most well-built.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

fourthmeal said:


> LOL must have beat me to the punch on pics by a minute.
> 
> I haven't heard about the failures, and when I asked around everyone seemed to agree that they have the same build quality as the original MS series. Same guy built them. Though I agree oldschool is often the most well-built.


When I read the failure rate thing it was shortly after they came out, maybe they worked out the problem, but I remember there were abounch of refurbs on Ebay, I havent seen any lately tho, so who knows


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## SteveLPfreak (Sep 26, 2005)

Sorry about calling Bristol a he. A closer look and she has the obvious female face. Pretty cat. Yes, I'm a cat lover and no, I'm not gay! Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I ran the PG RSd 1200.1 for a short time. It worked fine for me and look better than the Xenon's (I hate the blue lights and bling) but I think the Xenon's are a little better performance-wise. I could get the RSd into protection easier than the Xenon's. I've beat the crap outta a 600.1 and 1200.1 for a few months now and those things just keep on truckin' and stay cool doing it.

With that said, you'll probably be fine with the RSd series.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Well I sold my PPI DCX 300.4 and 500.1 to my bro-in-law and installed them in his car for a fair price, so I wanted a slight step up from those. I wonder if I should have gone for the Merlins from US Amps instead sometimes, but I think its a crap-shoot on eBay anyway. I have never killed an amp before or had one die on me personally (but have as an installer), so I guess I'm just not privvy to failure issues.


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

gentlejax2 said:


> what made you pick the rsd over the xenon ? curious...although I have never personally ran an rsd amp...I really thought the xenons were better...





fourthmeal said:


> From what I researched, they Xenons (while excellent) exhibit the same sound quality as the RSd's.





gentlejax2 said:


> the xenons were from what I remembered a tad more overbuilt but that was the last good amps from PG before they ditched trying to make high end stuff before the buyout.





BeatsDownLow said:


> I would have chose the the x series, from what I have read and heard, these RSD have a pretty high failure rate





fourthmeal said:


> I haven't heard about the failures, and when I asked around everyone seemed to agree that they have the same build quality as the original MS series. Same guy built them. Though I agree oldschool is often the most well-built.





BeatsDownLow said:


> When I read the failure rate thing it was shortly after they came out, maybe they worked out the problem, but I remember there were abounch of refurbs on Ebay, I havent seen any lately tho, so who knows


Well, from reading all of those quotes one can figure out why Phoenix Gold dropped off the radar....No one knows for sure who they are and what they do!

Anyway, before I bought Zenons and then later considered the RSd amps I did a lot of research and much of the info is the same as what was posted here but differers with the rest of it.

XENON 
1.) The XENON amps are over built and have extra's like the Xe circuitry built in. The design is triple Darlington like many of the classic PG lines.
2.) There was a high failure rate with the very first production products but was resolved with later products.

RSd
1.) The amps are similar to the XENON amps in terms of the design but are less overbuilt and don't have as many features. The design is still Triple Darlington like many of the classic PG lines and has dual power supplies.
2.) Supposable the designer of the M and MS series amps worked on these and the sound is supposed to be as good or better than the Xenon amps. One ex PG engineer stated that the RSd's were superior.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

WLDock said:


> Well, from reading all of those quotes one can figure out why Phoenix Gold dropped off the radar....No one knows for sure who they are and what they do!
> 
> Anyway, before I bought Zenons and then later considered the RSd amps I did a lot of research and much of the info is the same as what was posted here but differers with the rest of it.
> 
> ...


That was the data I picked up on too. IMO, I doubt they are superior enough to actually hear a difference, but it was reassuring to know they were designed by the same guy. That's a good thing, we all know.


The 500.4 is still WAY out there in the midwest on a truck or a train somewhere, but is supposed to be on my doorstep tomorrow. We'll see.

The install will come shortly thereafter, and I will do my best to document it. I'm bad with that because I tend to just rush through things and not take pics along the way. Mostly because I don't want to ruin my camera with stuff on my hands.


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

I dont know if they are superior but I really dont care as I am not buying the rsd anyhow...

do the RSD have the same internal parts? not just quantity but quality? there were high end parts in the Xenons....sanken outputs and more stuff I cant remember...

I really should ask my PG engineer and see what he thinks of it...

but anyhow...........

if PG wanted to sell any RSD stuff I wouldnt expect them to say anything less than "the RSD is superior to the Xenon" ....

is the RSD stable to the same loads as the Xenons? 

anyway...if your happy that is all that matters....

being a die hard PG fan I spent lots of time on the PG forums until recently

but I am now back in the saddle and will be running a mint MS275 with Burr Brown upgrades.....

oh and by the way...

if you look at any MS or ZPA amp then there is no way an RSD is going to sound better...I just dont see it....but thats just me


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## stereojnky (Mar 17, 2008)

Any updates? I'm curious to see what you think of the RSD's.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Love 'em! I can't reach their clipping limits w/ my system currently (my speakers distort first) and the RF processor puts out enough volts for the pre-amp input stage on the RSd's, so I'm pretty pleased.

I wish they were quite a bit smaller, but that's really the only disadvantage I can see.


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

So, would you say that the PG buy over in "Hot Deals" should be something I should jump on? I'm still wavering on final system design, but looking at those prices, I might not be able to resist...

And maybe it's my poor reading skills not seeing this already, but did you mention what you'll be running with these amps?

I'm considering quite a few amps (including several you were looking at) but the price might just do it. That, and other positive reviews, of course.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

are you talking about the amazon.com ones?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

If I could do it again, I'd heavily consider the Clarion ones people talk about, and/or keep my eyes open for other steals on the classifieds. I was a few minutes away from doing old-school Zapco when I bought mine... what separated it was when the Zapco deal went from BIN at ~600 for the whole set to much, much more than that due to someone starting a bid war.


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

BeatsDownLow said:


> are you talking about the amazon.com ones?


Yup, those ones. Huge discounts; I don't think I can find anything comparable. 



fourthmeal said:


> If I could do it again, I'd heavily consider the Clarion ones people talk about, and/or keep my eyes open for other steals on the classifieds. I was a few minutes away from doing old-school Zapco when I bought mine... what separated it was when the Zapco deal went from BIN at ~600 for the whole set to much, much more than that due to someone starting a bid war.


The Clarions don't do much for me visually, but they look solid spec wise. I stay away from bidding wars as all they tend to do is turn something from undervalued (Old School audio gear) to overvalued. 

I mean, I'd love to have, for example, Old School limited edition Soundstream gear, or Old School Phoenix Gold but the prices on those get ridiculous.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

What does bing cashback got going on? I love free money.


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

fourthmeal said:


> What does bing cashback got going on? I love free money.


Doing a rough search, looks like the most bing cashback is offering at the moment is 15%, and I can't find these products there. Then again, my internet-fu isn't all that strong.

That being said, let's assume a 15% cashback on internet pricing. If you could find Bing cashback, some of the deals are still good:

RSD 600.1
$190 on internet, assume 15% cashback = $161.50
Amazon=$170

RSD 300.4
$150 on internet, assume 15% cashback = $127.50
Amazon=$110(!)

RSDC 10-4 Sub
$119 on internet, assume 15% cashback = $101.15
Amazon=$70(!)

RSDC 12-2 Sub
$135 on internet, assume 15% cashback = $114.75
Amazon=$80(!)

Those are just some quick comparisons, and mind you, that's assuming you can find the bing cashback on those items. I am so tempted to pick up a ton of stuff, it's not funny. But then it would gather dust for awhile with my other gear. Not good.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Yep, nice prices. Remember, if you get lucky, you can sometimes get Cashback to work on eBay, which is SWEET. 

Also don't forget that RSd gear is just like Xenon gear with their pre-amp stage being particularly sensitive to pre-amp voltage. Make sure your pushing plenty of volts to them, in other words. My RF processor can do 5v, but more is better if you have it.


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

fourthmeal said:


> Yep, nice prices. Remember, if you get lucky, you can sometimes get Cashback to work on eBay, which is SWEET.
> 
> Also don't forget that RSd gear is just like Xenon gear with their pre-amp stage being particularly sensitive to pre-amp voltage. Make sure your pushing plenty of volts to them, in other words. My RF processor can do 5v, but more is better if you have it.


Too true re Cashback. It sometimes is a matter of luck, or being on the right internet sites. But great upside. In all fairness, I'd rather take a good deal w/out Bing, but savings are savings.

I'll remember to bump up the voltage if I get those amps - might need a line driver to do so.

Also, I asked before about the gear you're running...ah, now that I can read your sig, I wish to retract said question.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

And I threw my build log on the site finally. Feel free to peruse...


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## Aaron Clinton (Oct 17, 2006)

*Thanks for posting your input. As I have Xenon's, but still want to try the RSD's. Might consider selling my Orions for the RSD's due to the smaller foot print and a few other little things.*


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

The Clarions just are soo good right now, I think that's the golden ticket. Robert Zeff build, high efficiency, CHEAP...

If I could do it again, I'd go with them. A LOT of them. But, that's now and not then. Back then (just a few months ago), these were the best priced high power amps I could grab.


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## nick777 (Jun 4, 2009)

Does anyone have a rsd 600.1 kicking around? I'm looking to repair one and I need help identifying 2 of the resisters and 1 of the transistors as they have melted. I would be forever in your debt if you could either take a pic of the spot I need, send me a pic you already have, or just detail the parts for me...they are Q309, R329, and R337.


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## jimp (Jul 12, 2009)

bump for an update on these PG amps??


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## aphexacid (Oct 24, 2009)

I bought one a couple months ago. Still havent hooked it up to my SPG555 yet. It should technically make it sing, but i dont have time.

Any more reviews on this thing? 

Im considering grabbing a JL 1000/1v2 and calling it a day unless this thing is that much of a beast


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