# OS Soundstream Reference Class A questions



## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

I've got one of these for my subs. Soundstream Class A 5.0 

I've got one of these for my mids. Soundstream Reference Class A Picasso

I have a set of OS MB Quart Separates. I also have an Alpine 9887 Head unit. My questions are:

1. Should I build my system around these old Soundstream amps? I know class A amps are inefficient, but how bad are these? Are they true class A, or are they more AB? By looking at the low impedance power output, they seem to be AB. MANY years ago (early 1990's), probably back when these amps were new, they were some of the best sounding amps I'd heard, along with the old PPI amps. I hear scary things around here about Soundstream amps. I just got these OS amps, and my D60II has been with me since the early '90's. I wonder about these "newer" shiny ones, though. Should I be fearful? Does anybody suggest I dump these and find something better?

2. I'm not a HUGE fan of the MB Quart separates, but the price was right, and IIRC, the tweets are a little harsh, but livable with some tuning. I've considered dropping them and going totally DIY with some Vifas, Scans or Morels or something. The only problem is, I'll be totally blind (deaf), as I've never heard these drivers, unless they were wearing somebody else's badges. 

3. My Alpine 9887 has quite a bit of processing capability and Imprint, and I'd considered dropping the passive networks and TRI-AMPING! I like the idea of nothing but wire being between my amps and my drivers. This brings me to my next question. Should I bridge the Picasso and send lots of juice to my mids and use my old, trusty Soundsream D60II or my Soundsream Granite 60 on my tweets, or should I run the mids and tweets on the Picasso? I think the Class A really shines on tweets, but I want the power on my mids.

4. Anybody know where I can find a good dual 2 ohm 12" subwoofer? The Reference Class A 5.0 is pretty weak until you get the load down in the 1 ohm mono range. I've looked at a few choices, and I'm not sure. I understand that this is all subjective. This is also going in the trunk of my '00 Jetta TDI, and of course, I want maximum performance without losing any trunk space. I've also got some perf mods and suspension in the works, and as much as I LOVE music, I also like a fun driving car, so a 100lb enclosure is out. I like the looks and reviews of the DIYMA 12" but it's just 4ohm. I will probably go ported. I've been modeling quite a few subs with winISD.

I'm not a total NEWB, or I don't think I am. I was an installer decades ago in high school and college and have moved on. I've always had a system of some sort in everything, but it has always been over the counter stuff, and the last one I built was 7 years ago. I'm just out of touch with the industry. I recognize many of the names of new equipment, but they just don't look or feel the same for some reason. That's why I picked up a few items that I'm familiar with. I am a SQ kind of guy 80% of the time. Most of my music is Rock/Metal. I'm normally somewhere between Pink Floyd and Rush to Dream Theater, Slipknot and Opeth. Every once in a while some Bela Fleck or Flim & the BB's makes it in, too.

Thanks in advance. I have searched and read quite a bit here, but didn't find answers to my specific questions.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

From what I have been told is that they are not true class a amps but biased class a amps, works in A to a certain volume and then switches to A/B


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

That's what I'm thinking. That was why I'm torn about running them on my highs. They'd probably stay in Class A territory all the time on those channels. Does anybody know if the whole amp switches to AB or just the channels that need to? If the whole amp is switching, I guess I'll run 3 amps.


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

There is nothing wrong with early SS amps. They are bulletproof. I'd buy more of them all day and all night. It's only the Reference S and SX series that had problems because SS downgraded the power output to save money.

Class A does shine on tweeters. Use the Picasso there and get a Class A 6.0 for your mids. It's good for about 125w x 2. With the exception of HSS and Monolithic, all class A amps are really class A/B but with a class A bias. SS amps have a pretty good bias I think, but I couldn't tell you what it is. My guess is it's somewhere around 10w before it goes to A/B which makes it good for tweeters.

Ditch the Quarts unless you like having your ears bleed. I can't stand Quart tweeters.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

If that were the case, shouldn't I get the 6.0 or another 5.0 for my highs, and run the Picasso bridged? The Picasso bridged would give me a solid 100X2 @4 on my mids. I'm not running rear fill. I'm also going to run out of room for amps. I'm already pushing space boundaries. I could run passive networks off of the bridged Picasso, but I want this thing to sound GOOD and from my understanding, even the best passive system is not as good as an active system. My Alpine lets me set levels and slope etc. 

I agree with you about Quart Highs. The mids sound great to me, but the highs are harsh. I have heard them tuned to reduce the ringing, and they weren't as bad. I might drop them in and Imprint the system to see how it sounds, then go from there. 

Anybody run new Boston subs? Back in the day, they were pretty good. Crutchfield has buy one get one free. I think I prefer some of the boutique drivers I read about here. It just looks like alot of these drivers are rebadged equipment, and comparable equipment can be had for more reasonable prices. I'm not hung up on names, for sure. I like what I've read about some of the Dayton and Peerless stuff. These are names I'm familiar with from home audio days when I was too young to drive. I used to drool over Parts Express and Circle sound catalogues in Jr. High. I still have Great Sound Stereo Speaker Manual from David Weems. I read it 10 times when I was a kid. I digress...

On another note: I've been reading about IB setups. This sounds great, but back in the day, IB was a big no-no. I do, however, remember Richard Clark's GN running IB, and annihilating IASCA or something. My memory is a little foggy now. I wonder if I could put a couple 12" in my rear deck running IB. I would be bassless if I dropped the back seats to carry something large, huh?

My roomate and I were just reflecting on his old a/d/s PQ20 and PH15. Those sounded good.

Thanks for the input. I do like this place.


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## imjustjason (Jun 26, 2006)

This dude's got a dual 2 Arc...

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-d4-199-99-ea-shipped-conus-stupid-cheap.html


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## mfenske (Feb 7, 2006)

I'd say use the Soundstreams. If your electrical system will support it, go for it. For the sub I'd suggest the Image Dynamics IDMAX 12D2. I have one and LOVE it!

Mark


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

The old SS rubicon and older roughly are great amps, I'd try them in any good system. IMO they always had a more cold and precise sound, in particular compared to linear power amps that have a more tube sort of sound. Most newer amps are precise sounding. Anyway SS make great power and are very clean, the old ones are durable. Some say never ones are cheaper, I've never used one newer than a rubicon I.

The class A stuff was marketing. There were only a very few real class A amps made for auto use that I ever heard about, and they are low power. You have to run full power in a class A, so if it is 2x30wrms it will take the power a class AB uses at max output 2x30...the class A will use 100% off the time. It will produce that much heat 100% of the time. A larger one will heat a car in the winter. All you have to do is measure the idle amp draw of an amp to know how much class A it is. Most class AB are under 2A. Should not be able to hear a difference from a good class AB anyway that is why nobody bothers with them.

I'd consider a class D for your sub, but that is up to you. I have been running class D on subs over about 300rms and saves me some wiring....can't hear a difference. I like old amps but rarely bother to run big power on subs with them anymore.


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## Hispls (Mar 12, 2008)

Not class A, but awesome gear either way. 

If it were me I'd be hunting the FS section here and eBay for an old SS sub to match them up with. Those were sexy as hell and sounded great. Downside is I don't think they made low impedence or DVC versions.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

I hear ya on the class D. I have an MTX class D. It's been under the seat of my F350 for 6 years. It's bulletproof, and makes more power than my 10" subs can take, or that I care to feed them. 1146 RMS is what the sheet said. Perhaps the 5.0 on the Highs, and the Picasso bridged on the mids.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Keep 'em comin'.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Yep, not a true Class A but biased heavily that way. They also got hot as f*ck because of that. They will require a lot of ventilation or fans. 

Quart tweeters are not harsh. Anyone that says so can't tune their way out of a wet paper bag. They are bright, no doubt, but not harsh. I've heard a lot of very, VERY good sounding cars running Quart tweeters.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

If you have the time try them and see, that is how I do all my own systems. I've had lots of amps that worked nice in one car and not as good in another, but then I used to not run EQs either so much of that was the 'sound' of the amp and not a quality issue. I would think if they are working right any of those SS should do the job well.

Yeah I can't beat a class d. I guess if you are going retro/old school then you want an old one on the sub too. I had a 300 rubicon on a single 12 a while back and it seemed to go pretty loud, but I could not fit a large enough box to tune it like I wanted. Then I put IB subs in and a 5ch.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

Therein lies the problem. I wanted to put them in the cabin for climate control, but they're not going anywhere, unless I build a false rear deck with fan cooling. I have considered this approach. They might not like the trunk of a Jetta in the hot Georgia sun.

I did like those tiny Alpine amps with I.C.E. Hrmm... what to do.

I'm going to throw the Quarts in. I've heard them sound terrible, and I've heard them sound OK. Does anybody around Atlanta have the Imprint module for a 9887 that I can borrow? If not, I'll buy one then anybody else around here can come over and tune their systems. I think I'm going to put a 9887 in both of my other cars, too. I love this unit.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

I ran a PC fan on my amps right off the remote wire for a long time, but now they say don't with newer HUs. I'll put a relay in. But yeah might not get as hot here, about low 90s is max for normal weather. A lot of the amps I ran were old and got hot, I had this alpine in there at 2 ohms it would have cooked. Got a manual for it and found it is not even rated for 2 ohms, lol. I have run a pipe back to the amp with a fan, from the lower seatbelt area in back. Some cars make that difficult though. If I had a dark color car I'd think about a metallic insulation on the deck lid, to reflect the heat, that might help. I also try to mount the amps lower in trunk but same thing not its always possible. The kicker I have now is all sink on the bottom too, I mounted it on pads so the bottom can cool. It runs pretty cool compared to others I have.


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

Gearhead51 said:


> Therein lies the problem. I wanted to put them in the cabin for climate control, but they're not going anywhere, unless I build a false rear deck with fan cooling. I have considered this approach. They might not like the trunk of a Jetta in the hot Georgia sun.


To me the SS Class A just sounded better than other well respected amps on my tweeters. They had more life, more shine, more soul. I replaced my SS Class A with a modified Linear Power 2.2 and disliked the sound. After a week I put the SS back in and regained the sound I like. Specs on the LP were better than the SS and it made twice the power. It SHOULD have sounded better or at least been indistinguishable. It wasn't. Maybe it's just the SS amp and not the fact that it was a class A, but I have run several other old SS amps and the Class A 6.0 is by far my favorite. 

That being said, you do not want to run SS Class As without ventilation. Mine is just running a pair of 6 ohm tweeters so it doesn't get that hot, but if you put any kind of load on them, they will get extremely hot. That's why I think the bias must be pretty decent on them. I had a smaller Class A 3.0 running my old components and it would get hot enough to sizzle water just running 4 ohm comps. Do not consider an all SS Class A system without lots of fans.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

The place I worked at way back then; we used to often run SS D60/100 on tweeters and LP on mids/midbass. Sometimes a SS on mids. They SS was clear and clean, the LP has more body to the sound below mid frequencies. Don't ask me why, it just worked out best that way. The LP tended to have more power for lower frequencies too, worked great on subs. I also like the old 35xx alpines on highs and they get hot as well.


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## Hispls (Mar 12, 2008)

12" SOUNDSTREAM SS12 SUBWOOFER BY EV ELECTROVOICE [email protected] 2 - eBay (item 270319050007 end time Dec-21-08 23:46:20 PST)


This is like destiny or something.


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## GlasSman (Nov 14, 2006)

quality_sound said:


> Yep, not a true Class A but biased heavily that way. They also got hot as f*ck because of that. They will require a lot of ventilation or fans.
> 
> Quart tweeters are not harsh. Anyone that says so can't tune their way out of a wet paper bag. They are bright, no doubt, but not harsh. I've heard a lot of very, VERY good sounding cars running Quart tweeters.


I've always run Soundstream and *QUART tweeters* and I've _*never*_ heard a harsh one yet...


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

I saw that link on Ebay. I used to have a pair of SS12's back in good ole... '94 I think it was. Great subs. Big box. 4Ohm coil. I guess it would work if I wanted a big box and decided to change my mind on my sub amp.

Glasman, I've heard more Quarts sound bad than good in cars. Perhaps it's lunatics with treble knobs in my neck of the woods. OTOH, there are Quart towers, Quart center, and Quart rear channels in my home setup. They sound pretty damn good. Hence my willingness to give their car audio equipment another go.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Gearhead51 said:


> They might not like the trunk of a Jetta in the hot Georgia sun.


They'll be fine as long and they're not enclosed. A trunk doesn't get as hot as you'd think.


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## Hispls (Mar 12, 2008)

Gearhead51 said:


> I saw that link on Ebay. I used to have a pair of SS12's back in good ole... '94 I think it was. Great subs. Big box. 4Ohm coil. I guess it would work if I wanted a big box and decided to change my mind on my sub amp.


Downside 4 cubes ported.... up-side they're very high sensitivity so you can run your amp @ 4 ohms and get plenty of bang out of them and it'll be much easier on the amp.

You'll likely find most of the small box format drivers are a bit behind in sensitivity to the 94 claimed by the SS, and I find SQ slightly improved running A/B amps at higher impedences (could be just psycho-something or other). IT definitely helps with heat issues and is easier on the amp. All things being equal the difference between running that amp at 4 ohm and 2 ohm is < 2.5 db.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

Exactly. 4 cubes ported will never work. Isn't sensitivity measured at 1,000hz @ 1w/1m or 1,000hz 2.83v/1m? I don't really care what the sensitivity is at 1,000hz. I'd rather model them in winISD and see what the response is where I'm going to use them. That said, I'll run a curve on a SS12 for the heck of it.


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## Hispls (Mar 12, 2008)

Gearhead51 said:


> Isn't sensitivity measured at 1,000hz @ 1w/1m or 1,000hz 2.83v/1m?


Therein lies the problem with that statistic. I do suspect that it is a bit more efficient than any modern stuff that's designed to be shoehorned into 1/2 a cube.


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## briansz (Feb 5, 2008)

I seem to remember that the older Class-A badged Alphasonik MA-series amps were designed by Nelson Pass and supposedly used some sort of phase inversion/switching scheme to gain a higher efficiency than would be expected while remaining in true Class A operation. 

Don't see many of them anymore, the one I had was quite good. Maybe not as good as my Rubicon Picasso, but then it wasn't as pretty either.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

The Picasso just showed up in the mail. It is actually a Rubicon Class A Picasso with the red board. The description showed the blue board Reference Class A. Stupid me and stupid Ebay. Should I raise a stink about the difference? It doesn't match my other amp because the heatsink is different. Are the Rubicon Class A amps any good? I bought it under the impression it was a Reference. This one already has a warranty sticker on the corner. I'm thinking it has already been repaired.

Edit: I'm about finished with Ebay. I've had great luck with it for years, but the last few items I've bought seem to be all wrong. Well, perhaps not ALL wrong, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and mistakes like this make me mental.


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## briansz (Feb 5, 2008)

I was under the impression (after reading discussions here) that the Rubicon has a superior power supply section to that of the Ref Picasso. Mine is a Rubicon with the red board and it sounds fantastic.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

Ok. I guess I need to find a negative terminal screw, then The amp came with one missing. I'm a bit miffed that it doesn't match my Ref. 5.0 in the heatsink, but I think it's going to be hidden with tons of forced air cooling.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

Ok, well, I got a Rubicon when a Reference was advertised and it was missing a ground screw. The seller basically told me to take a long walk off a short pier. Does anybody know where I can get the correct gold plated set screws? I'm REALLY tired of Ebay. Next time, I'm buying from here.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

Ebay and there is a place on the net that sells screws, or a tech if they will give them up. Car Amplifier Screws & Amp Crossover Screws is one place.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

These Soundstreams use a recessed set screw instead of a clamp type setup. Thanks, though. I have an old MTX amp that needs some screws that those will fit.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

McMasters has normal allen setscrews but don't think they have gold ones, just SS and black, etc. Seems like they could be found someplace, otherwise if you can find a cheap amp with the same size, but hard to do. Maybe a pawn shop where you can look that them is all I can think of.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

Yeah. I already looked at Mcmaster. I found a guy on Ebay that has Phoenix Gold screw sets, and 2 of them are set screws. I need him to tell me the size and pitch, and I might be in business. The guy that sold me the amp said I could pick up screws at any Radio Shack. Riiiight. I'm going to go look because I need some other things, but I don't expect to find anything.


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## daywalker (May 30, 2008)

I picked up an extra bag of those gold screws from J and R Electronics on ebay
a while ago. I don't think Jamie is selling parts or repairing amps anymore:sad: I'll see if I have an extra one laying around.


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## GlasSman (Nov 14, 2006)

briansz said:


> I was under the impression (after reading discussions here) that the Rubicon has a superior power supply section to that of the Ref Picasso. Mine is a Rubicon with the red board and it sounds fantastic.


Rubicon v1 1998-2001 is a solid amp and and VERY WELL designed.


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## GlasSman (Nov 14, 2006)

Gearhead51 said:


> Yeah. I already looked at Mcmaster. I found a guy on Ebay that has Phoenix Gold screw sets, and 2 of them are set screws. I need him to tell me the size and pitch, and I might be in business. The guy that sold me the amp said I could pick up screws at any Radio Shack. Riiiight. I'm going to go look because I need some other things, but I don't expect to find anything.


Only JAimie from J & R has the gold set screws.

I've looked everywhere...no one has them.

The current Power Acoustik owned SS still uses those screws in all the amps....so they're still being made....somewhere.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

Wow. What a forum. daywalker mailed me a screw for my Rubi Picasso. What a guy... bailing out a newb like me. Thanks Daywalker!


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

Most of that stuff is made in China/etc because they build the amps there. This is what happens when you lose your manufacturing base; you can't get stuff. I talked to a tech that said a lot of new ice and other class D are hardly repairable because you can't get the parts here.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

Yeah. I think I'm going to stick with "boutique" items made in the USA from now on. Looks like we can get some pretty good stuff at decent prices from vendors on this site. I'll support them.


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## willtel (Dec 18, 2008)

Gearhead51 said:


> Yeah. I think I'm going to stick with "boutique" items made in the USA from now on. Looks like we can get some pretty good stuff at decent prices from vendors on this site. I'll support them.


Let me know if you want to sell that Rubicon you picked up. I am in GA as well.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

I'll let you know. I'm a bit torn about running these old non matched Soundstreams or some Sundowns or something.


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## willtel (Dec 18, 2008)

Gearhead51 said:


> I'll let you know. I'm a bit torn about running these old non matched Soundstreams or some Sundowns or something.


Well no one wants to be seen with mismatched heatsinks!


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

I could usually get better SQ running mismatched amps, always PO'ed me but then again I often didn't care about looks when it came down to it....for my own stuff.


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

Well, I was wanting to do a nice looking install, and I'm a bit particular. I'll probably run them if they have no issues. It just peeved me that I didn't get what was advertised, and Ebay/Paypal has horrible customer service in my opinion. I also have a set of Konig wheels that I can't/won't use because they were damaged and too wide. No real recourse... unless I wanted to spend $150 to ship them back to the guy to POSSIBLY get my $500 refunded.


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## cox-nox (Oct 8, 2008)

the soundstream reference picasso classA is a really great amp for mid and high, i get this amp on my old utopia mid/high(tn51/4W2) and it's sound really great.


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## SQfreak (Feb 13, 2007)

I ran a SS Rubi Class A Picasso for 10 years. Great amp, great unregulated power supply. I would run it again in a heart beat! Don't get rid of it man, just try it out and be wow'ed.


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## ace956 (Aug 28, 2009)

BeatsDownLow said:


> From what I have been told is that they are not true class a amps but biased class a amps, works in A to a certain volume and then switches to A/B


beatsdownlow,
the soundstream class A's were biased class A's but what that did is eliminate the chance of any crossover distortion which is whats so beautiful about class A's.
the designer.


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## ace956 (Aug 28, 2009)

Gearhead51 said:


> That's what I'm thinking. That was why I'm torn about running them on my highs. They'd probably stay in Class A territory all the time on those channels. Does anybody know if the whole amp switches to AB or just the channels that need to? If the whole amp is switching, I guess I'll run 3 amps.


gearhead51,
the soundstream class A's were biased class A's but what that did is eliminate the chance of any crossover distortion which is whats so beautiful about class A's.
the designer.


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## ace956 (Aug 28, 2009)

gearhead51,
there is no problem operating any kind of tweeter, mid or sub wit soundstream class A's. class A's are are the same eficiency as clas a/b at full power they just run a little warmer at idle.
ace956


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

Well, now I need to decide if I want to bridge the Picasso and run through the passives, or run active. Then I have to decide if I want to listen to the old school Boston Pros or the old school MB Quarts every day. 

I bought a foreclosure, so the audio system has been waiting.


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## ace956 (Aug 28, 2009)

Gearhead51 said:


> Well, now I need to decide if I want to bridge the Picasso and run through the passives, or run active. Then I have to decide if I want to listen to the old school Boston Pros or the old school MB Quarts every day.
> 
> I bought a foreclosure, so the audio system has been waiting.


gearhead51
it will always sound better going active. all passive crossovers have phase shift at different frequencies and also present different loads to the amplifier. There is no real problems going active.
enjoy your system, ace956


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## Gearhead51 (Nov 19, 2008)

I just know I'll get a bit more power bridging. I'll run active and see if it's enough juice.


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## ace956 (Aug 28, 2009)

Gearhead51 said:


> I just know I'll get a bit more power bridging. I'll run active and see if it's enough juice.


gearhead51,
i used to have a soundstream showcar and i ran the hi-freq. drivers with 100 watts apeice. tyhe tweets were soundstream drivers, in fact everything in that car from the deck, cd changer, speakers, crossovers everything was soundstream. 2800 watts, 2 15" subs, 2 midbass 8",4 5" mids and 4 tweets. it was one of the loudest cars i ever heard and yet it still had clarity. ah, reminissing. i'll let you go now, i'm sure youve heard enough.


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## ace956 (Aug 28, 2009)

emin007 said:


> they dont make them like they use toooo...!


the ones i have access are surplus from old production if your talking about the brass screws. if that isn't what you were talking about then i don't know.


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## ace956 (Aug 28, 2009)

Gearhead51 said:


> I've got one of these for my subs. Soundstream Class A 5.0
> 
> I've got one of these for my mids. Soundstream Reference Class A Picasso
> 
> ...


gearhead51,
hello gearhead, the class a 5.0 and 10.0 are class A but only for part of the power i'm giving you this to expliain.
An explanation of Class A. A real Class A design dissipates the maximum output all the time. That's why most amps are Class A/B. At Soundstream we had a special bias scheme designed into our Class A amps. Our Class A amps run in Class A for a percentage of the output signals, eliminating any possibility of crossover distortion, which all Class A/B amps have. Even Class G and H still have crossover distortion. Anyway, our Class A runs in Class A at low power where crossover occurs, average output power at listening level is only about 12%. At higher power levels it runs in Class A/B. The amplifiers runs a little warmer at idle but there maximum heat and output power is identical to the Class A/B design. The end result of all this is an amplifier that sounds much warmer and sweeter. 
Now to explain the 5.0 and 10.0. at the time there was a big thing going on for SPL in IASCA the sanctioning body that ran soindoffs from coast to coast with with a national soundoff each year where they would award each winner in each catagory. the 5.0 and 10.0 were only 12,5 watts per side and 50 watts per side respectively. but at extreme low impedence 1/2 ohm bridged they put out 500 watts and 1000 watts. so lets say you have two 10.0's in your car that puts you in the 100 watt class, but your producing 2000 watts. good chance your going to be the winner. i don't know if you have an owners manual but i will send you one.

thanks, ace956


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## ace956 (Aug 28, 2009)

gearhead51,
Heres your owners manual.

ace956


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

So can you tell me this.

If I were to hook up a soundstream reference class A 10.0 to my compression horn drivers is this the same as running a fully class A amp on them? I will never use more then a few watts on them so I would assume so but I could use some confirmation on this.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

It's possible. I don't remember when they switch over to Class B but I want o say it was somewhere around 5 watts. Someone else might know for sure.


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## Hispls (Mar 12, 2008)

nubz69 said:


> So can you tell me this.
> 
> If I were to hook up a soundstream reference class A 10.0 to my compression horn drivers is this the same as running a fully class A amp on them? I will never use more then a few watts on them so I would assume so but I could use some confirmation on this.



Pretty much, yes. IIRC these are baised to run A up to 5 or 10 watts.


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