# Audio Art - what's the story?



## ARH (May 26, 2009)

I found this on eBay and looked up some internal shots on Ampguts, they look pretty serious. Anybody know the story? How do they sound? Where are/were they based out of?

AUDIO ART REFERENCE SQ 340.6 XE 6 CHANNEL ~ RARE AMP! - eBay (item 170520173983 end time Aug-04-10 12:20:22 PDT)


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## stills (Apr 13, 2008)

the amps are great.
that's a little much for a used one in my opinion.


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

Audio Art went out of business about 15 years ago. There is some cheap Chinese company that uses the name now, but the real Audio Art has been defunct for a long time. 

That amp was from their golden years. They were highly respected in their day, but it's still a 20 year old amp and old amps can be noisy from my experience.


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## timmay77 (Jun 21, 2010)

The original Audio Art = UNREAL POWER

I used them in the late 90's when I was competing in the IASCA Novice class. The 100HC and 50Hc were killer amps. I ended up selling them for parts due to failing components. They lasted me almost 10 years though. Be sure you can fix them if you pick up an amp that old.....


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

They made good equipment, but that price sucks for that.


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## jimmy2345 (Jul 12, 2010)

Some of the best amps from the 90's. They were built like tanks and to prove it....you rarely see them for sale broken like alot of other old school amps. That price is about as much as you would want to pay for one in MINT condition.

FYI for MOOBLE - No noise from these amps....and quite an ignorant generalization I might add.


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## [email protected] (Oct 21, 2009)

I competed in USAC using two Earthquake Magna's run off oh 1 Audio Art HC100 in the late 90's. Loved that amp, wish I could find one new now.


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

jimmy2345 said:


> Some of the best amps from the 90's. They were built like tanks and to prove it....you rarely see them for sale broken like alot of other old school amps. That price is about as much as you would want to pay for one in MINT condition.
> 
> FYI for MOOBLE - No noise from these amps....and quite an ignorant generalization I might add.


No noise from a 20 year old amp? I've owned dozens of old school amps for nostalgia's sake and they just can't compete with even a reasonably priced new amp as far as noise floor. Caps wear out. Connections corrode. I can't tell you how bad some of my old school amps sound when you adjust the pots. It is worse than a spastic snap, crackle, and pop. Like many people on the forum, I've come to realize that nostalgia is worse than beer goggles. Maybe if it was never turned on and sealed in an air-tight container since George Sr was Pres, it would still be as quiet as the day it was new, but that's not likely.


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

I can't think of one old school amp that is better than a newer, more efficient, cheaper modern amp. And if anyone doesn't think so, I hope you drive a 1990 Chevy Baretta that does 0-60 in 9.5 seconds and gets 16 mpg.


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## jimmy2345 (Jul 12, 2010)

89grand said:


> I can't think of one old school amp that is better than a newer, more efficient, cheaper modern amp. And if anyone doesn't think so, I hope you drive a 1990 Chevy Baretta that does 0-60 in 9.5 seconds and gets 16 mpg.


....


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## timmay77 (Jun 21, 2010)

jimmy2345 said:


> FYI for MOOBLE - No noise from these amps....and quite an ignorant generalization I might add.


I have to agree with MOOBLE, my amps Audio Art amps did display quite a bit of noise. I also had an enormous turn off pop, but that was more than likely the install, which they solved with some capacitors.


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## MACS (Oct 3, 2007)

I have a 50HC, 100HC, and 400.2. Mine have no noise problems or turn off thumps. Audio Art are good amps, but most would consider them collectors items at this point.


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## wadejg (Apr 20, 2007)

89grand said:


> I can't think of one old school amp that is better than a newer, more efficient, cheaper modern amp. And if anyone doesn't think so, I hope you drive a 1990 Chevy Baretta that does 0-60 in 9.5 seconds and gets 16 mpg.


 How 'bout a '94 RX7 that makes 310hp at the wheels and will surely spank what 99.9% of the cars made today in any performance parameter. That same RX7 that is filled with car audio from the time (xtant, soundstream, and JL) would sound better than than the same 99.9% of cars on the road. One shouldn't make such generalizations, since they aren't true IMHO

And I saw that amp earlier as well. I would certainly buy it over any currently made brand new $270 amp.

Regards,
Justin


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

wadejg said:


> How 'bout a '94 RX7 that makes 310hp at the wheels and will surely spank what 99.9% of the cars made today in any performance parameter. That same RX7 that is filled with car audio from the time (xtant, soundstream, and JL) would sound better than than the same 99.9% of cars on the road. One shouldn't make such generalizations, since they aren't true IMHO
> 
> And I saw that amp earlier as well. I would certainly buy it over any currently made brand new $270 amp.
> 
> ...



You're comparing apples to oranges. Said RX-7 is EMTREMLY modified and UPGRADED and while it may "spank" many of the cars on the road I'd be willing to bet you it wont spank 99.9% of them, in fact I bet it wont spank 50% of the cars on the road today with the amount of technology that has gone into today's cars. You are including all the super cars, high horsepower road cars and even something along the lines of a Tesla that is battery powered and does 0-60 in less than 4 seconds. 

The Audio Art amp is not and shouldnt be compared to a modern amp, they are great amps for what they were but shouldn't be compared to a new piece of equipment.


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## Kpg2713 (Feb 10, 2008)

wadejg said:


> How 'bout a '94 RX7 that makes 310hp at the wheels and will surely spank what 99.9% of the cars made today in any performance parameter. That same RX7 that is filled with car audio from the time (xtant, soundstream, and JL) would sound better than than the same 99.9% of cars on the road. One shouldn't make such generalizations, since they aren't true IMHO
> 
> And I saw that amp earlier as well. I would certainly buy it over any currently made brand new $270 amp.
> 
> ...


You seriously want to compare an rx7 in this? 1, they don't make 310hp stock at the wheels. 2, we aren't talking about modded amps, so why a modded car? 3, 99% of the newer cars on the road are more reliable, and nearly as many are as fast or faster. I mean really, a new mazda 6 has nearly that much horsepower now. I'm sorry but this comparison is terrible. 

Regardless, I ran an old audio art 6 channel a couple of years ago that actually looked a bit beat up but never had any noise or on/off pop issues.


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## Kpg2713 (Feb 10, 2008)

Damn, chefhow. You beat me.


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## coffee_junkee (Jul 13, 2006)

RX-7 = Beautiful machine, terribly unreliable.

It's hit or miss on old car audio equipment. Not one of my dozens of PPI amps has a noisy pot, or any other odd sounds at turn on/off. Credit the sealed ITT pots used in them since the Mosfet Power Series was introduced. Even the Sedonas had them! What I have seen a few times is a center RCA input pin loose that causes a channel to crackle or cut in and out. A simple repositioning of the pin with an angled pick cures that in a jiff.

Sort of a poor generalization on behalf of Mooble that all old stuff is noisy and useful only as a paperweight. I would challenge any PDX or PRS owner to a noise floor showdown with my 16 year old ProMOS 50. It's damn silent over RCA and dead silent over DIN with an equally as old PAR-225 at the other end.

Not to say that some new stuff isn't good, JL XD's and HD for instance are outstanding. They are dear from a price perspective, but much better than others in the same range.


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## electrafixion (Oct 14, 2008)

Back to the original topic...anyone know anything about the original Audio Art company? I know the amps were badass, I had three in my old school collection until recently, but I never knew anything about the folks that made them.


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