# PPI and SS updating TN and Phantom amps



## PPI_GUY

Saw some mention of this in a couple of Facebook groups. It looks like Soundstream and PPI are updating their standard bearer TN and Phantom amp lines that share the same internals. The Phantoms and TN's are already discontinued on Sonic Electronix. 
The SS website shows several new TN models with different heatsinks and new nomenclature that hints at "max wattage" claims. But, still lists the older models as well. That might be something that only remains in place till all the old models are sold off. 
Tarantula Nano | Soundstream

Meanwhile the PPI website still has the Phantoms listed but, inventory seems to be low or OOS on many retailers sites. 
They are introducing a new batch called the TRAX Series. Not sure if these are meant to replace the Phantoms or what. Very little info beyond power ratings. The mono-blocks do appear to only be 2 ohm stable though. 
TRAX | Precision Power

Leave it to Epsilon to ruin the two best lines they had going.


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## GEM592

It doesn't look real good, but you are a sage for keeping up with it - thanks.


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## sjr033

There is a little more info in their 2018 Catalogs.
http://www.soundstream.com/downloads/catalogs/Soundstream-2018-Catalog-HiRes.pdf
http://precisionpower.com/img/PrecisionPower-2018-Catalog-HiRes.pdf


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## AAAAAAA

Those boards have been around a long time now. Seems normal to move away from them.
They are so good though, feels like just changing cosmetics a bit would be enough. they are hard to beat and as we know many used them (at least the Phantom line), polk, hertz, nvx and perhaps focal is using a variation.. but I can't be sure.



That TRAX line is much bigger footprint. The atom line seems like the one more inline with phantom in size and power ratings.


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## mitchell0715

A little off topic, but still related..

Does anyone else get irked by the stupid aesthetic ******** they put on some of their product?

Makes me want to puke, how about you get rid of that **** and put the money saved into higher quality components and ideas that the community wants


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## Bayboy

Agreed on it being time for something aesthetically new since the original Phantoms & Tarantula nano's have long settled down. They had a good ride with a loyal following so I think Epsilon did well there despite a few complaints. 

I won't speak for Soundstream.. their offerings look very bleh but, PPI's TRAX amps look very nice to me. Have a distinct, but also nostalgic look reminiscent of their old school amps like the 2050M. Much better than Soundstream has repeatedly tried to pull off on later renditions of their signature blue amps. That got old real quick. The TRAX amps are large by current standards which is odd. I'm sure that's going to raise questions in what's actually underneath the heatsink. Boasting about overbuilt power supplies sounds good, but hopefully they can back it up on the dyno. I'd hate to see them make another blunder. As for now, pics of the end plates aren't too appealing. Lack of Tiffany style jacks, and old style screw terminals doesn't tell the whole story, but I hope better money was put into the guts.


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## soundstreamer

I hate what they did with the Tarantula Nano amps as they look horrible now. But the TRAX amps don't look to bad. As has been stated though they are larger than the Phantom amps so that is a little bit of downer. I'm really interested in the TRAX5.2200D as it has decent power to the sub channel. Just hopefully it will do rated power like the Phantom amps.


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## Bayboy

I'm still intrigued to what kind of class D boards could be under such a larger footprint amp than what they've been putting out. Maybe it's a misprint, but hopefully it's nothing recycled from a sibling brand like Power Acoustik either. If they were smaller like iON/Picasso nano size or slightly bigger then that would really be slick.


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## PPI_GUY

mitchell0715 said:


> A little off topic, but still related..
> 
> Does anyone else get irked by the stupid aesthetic ******** they put on some of their product?
> 
> Makes me want to puke, how about you get rid of that **** and put the money saved into higher quality components and ideas that the community wants


Good Lord those are hideous! Who buys that crap???
And a further question...why the spider-bling? 
I have a bit of arachnophobia so, even if I didn't mind buying equipment with dollar store toys attached, you'd never see anything with a spider on it in any of my rides!


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## PPI_GUY

sjr033 said:


> There is a little more info in their 2018 Catalogs.
> http://www.soundstream.com/downloads/catalogs/Soundstream-2018-Catalog-HiRes.pdf
> http://precisionpower.com/img/PrecisionPower-2018-Catalog-HiRes.pdf


No mention of the Atom series amplifiers anywhere in that PPI catalog. Could they be discontinued as well? Their cosmetics certainly leave a lot to be desired. 
If I had to guess, I'd say the Trax amplifiers might be rebadged Power Acoustik's. That top end 3-way comp set and maybe the Ion amps are really all that are interest to me. They've both been available for some time.


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## Bayboy

I looked over the P.A. site and while there's a couple of suspect amps that might share with both Soundstream & PPI, I saw nothing class D comparable in size with the Trax amps. May be off the shelf from a build house, but I'm not going to continue speculating before the amps have a fair chance to be proven. Heck, there's not even a price available so I'm going to be fair as possible. 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


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## PPI_GUY

Bayboy said:


> I looked over the P.A. site and while there's a couple of suspect amps that might share with both Soundstream & PPI, I saw nothing class D comparable in size with the Trax amps. May be off the shelf from a build house, but I'm not going to continue speculating before the amps have a fair chance to be proven. *Heck, there's not even a price available *so I'm going to be fair as possible.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


I found 16 listings on eBay under the search "Precision Power Trax". Woofers Etc. has some listed among others. Looks like they start around $70 for a simple 2 channel. At that price point I'd say they are definitely off-the-shelf boards.


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## Bayboy

Interesting..... I notice Online Car Stereo is advertising a MSRP of $175, though you have to register to see what they're actual going for. Quite a big discount if $70 is the average compared to the iON & Picasso nano 2 channel prices that averaged around $90- $109 with 10 less watts per channel 4 ohm. I'm sure the Trax amps are close to their bottom tier, but that price does make them seem fishy at the moment

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


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## rton20s

I saw the updated catalogs the other day when someone mentioned it in one of the PPI facebook groups. To me, this is nothing more than a continuation of the downward spiral that Epsilon has been on with the two brands since they let Grizz Archer go. 

And now, there is no one left at the company left to communicate withe enthusiasts like ourselves. Good and bad, I guess. It sucks not to have a conduit into the company, but who cares at this point? All that person would be tasked with doing is justifying how last year's "also rans" (Ion, Rubicon Nano) are this years "flagship." They've been doing that for several years now. Including slapping a "reference" badge onto some of their lower tier amps for other markets. 

At this point, I wish the brands would just die or be sold off to someone who actually gave a crap. And, I am with everyone who has complained about the spiders. I've been complaining about it for years when Epsilon actually had people there that listened. They always justified it by saying it helped sell to their target demographic.


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## vwguy383

I'm 99.9% sure the answer, but these are class D amps? Right? Why on the box does it say class a/b. I HATE yhe spider thing too! I understand that they have a target group amd maybe the spider thing is cool, but give it a break on some of your stuff already.

I do feel like they did try and make a come back with there second reference retry. I did like that amd thought it was an honest try at old school comeback. Must not of sold well to there target audience. ???


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## Bayboy

If they're A/B amps then the size and price would make more sense although they're probably boards from another series and sibling brand

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## PPI_GUY

I just don't understand why they want to retire the Phantom, TN boards? Sure, they have been around a few years but, they are still a viable base for a couple of successful lines of amplifiers. Just update the cosmetics and maybe tweak a few minor concerns (mounting screw locations and power lugs) then you're good for another 4-5 years minimum. No need to reinvent the wheel. Besides, class a/b technology has been with us forever. Using decades old tech and simply repackaging it won't fool anyone. 

Honestly, the Ion's are really the only amps from PPI that interest me anymore. But, only as a low cost solution for a daily driven beater.


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