# Soundstream Human Reign HRU.4



## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Got one of these monsters on the way, and I'll be happy to give a review on its performance when I install it.

Also will have a DTR 1.1700 on the way for the sub stage, and will give a separate review for that.

<----- EXCITED!


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## redcalimp5 (Sep 10, 2007)

WOW man, I would be too! Hell, I'd be excited just to have the money to afford one. 

I Google'd the specs, pretty impressive....

Soundstream Human Reign Series 4-Channel Class A/B Car Amplifier 
RMS Power Rating: 
4 ohms: 140 watts x 4 chan. 
2 ohms: 240 watts x 4 chan. 
Bridged, 4 ohms: 480 watts x 2 chan. 
MOSFET power supply 
LED power and protection indicators 
Hawkins Bass Boost (0-9 dB @ 70 Hz) 
STACT (Stabilized Apex Current Technology) reduces power supply stress by 50% 
4-Channel operation 
IDI (Intelligent Distress Indicator) provides visual indication of amplifier protection status 
RUBI (Rapid-Use Branched Impulse) proprietary power supply technology 
Preamp RCA outputs 
Harmonic bass alignment for a cleaner and sharp bass equalization 
Triple darlington output circuitry 
Drive delay II eliminates turn on/off pops 
4-Way protection circuitry (DC, thermal, short, and impedance) 
Selectable balanced inputs for enhanced level of noise reduction 
Heavy duty aluminum alloy heatsink for extreme heat dissipation 
Chrome-plated RCA level inputs 
Chrome-plated screw terminals 
Variable high-pass filter (50-500 Hz, 12 dB/octave) 
Variable low-pass filter (40-160 Hz, 24 dB/octave) 
Subsonic Filter (13-30 Hz, 12 dB/octave) 
Frequency response: 10-40,000 Hz 
THD (Total Harmonic Distortion): 0.005% 
Signal-to-noise ratio: 105dB 
Dimensions: 22-1/8"L x 11-1/8"W x 2-3/4H


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Yep, I am grateful for the chance to try out one of the best amps out there. 

Apparently it has become a reference amp in Germany car audio. I don't speak German so I can't read the publications about it. Basically this is the same exactly HR amp as before, but without the very, very costly face decoration on it. I LOVE the look as it is simple as can be. 

The extremely low noise floor excites me, as I'm going to first try it with a 3sixty.2, and if that doesn't work I'm going to order up a set of miniDSP cards.

Stay tuned!


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## ryan s (Dec 19, 2006)

If you need German help, Deutsch ist meine zweite Sprache 

I'm in for this review


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

I'm also keeping my eye out on the soon-to-be-released (maybe) Acoustic Elegance 6.5" mid-woofer. I haven't seen enough specs on it to determine if it will work well in a car door but I've heard rumors. I've been dying to try some AE but the Alumapros just fell in my lap so I'm going to use those for the sub stage.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Oh yeah, check this out. If you look at Soundstream in Australia, you get more useful info from their website:

You say you want one of the highest regarded amplifiers ever made? You say you don’t want to spend bazillion dollars? You spoke and we listened. Human Reign amplifiers are back! The original were very pricey due to extraordinatry heatsink. The guys are the same, high end parts you loved in the original, but now, at about half the price! Human Reign amplifiers accept low level and balanced line inputs via our BLT Balanced Line Transmitters and the long-biased transistor period yield unparalleled sound quality. With a pre-amp section that is unrivaled by any other brand, the Human Reign amplifiers are the ultimate audiophile products for the ultimate audiophile system… Magazine Review Auto hifi, Germany’s premier autosound magazine had this to say about the Human Reign amplifiers… “The American amplifier blacksmiths, Soundstream, have created a monster to stir up the world with their 2 channel amplifier. They Americans have a top-of-the-line amplifier that has gone into the class of excellence. They let William Boddy hand design the heatsink – a solid chunk of aluminium with a bronzed finish. All the engineering efforts showed well in the laboratory. A signal-to-noise ration of 99dB and a damping factor of 1800 in the bass region are two of the amplifier’s best features. A distortion factor of 0.005% takes second place to nobody. According to the laboratory results, impressing in every aspect, we congratulate the amplifier on being in the Reference Class!” 
---

Should be nice!


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## ryan s (Dec 19, 2006)

ooo yeah, just stepped over to AE's forum and it seems the 6 and 8s will be coming up pretty soon...

The "Unleased" thing on the top of the amp is kinda meh, but the rest is really nice and clean. I like the outside...that's a start :laugh:


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## Guy (Feb 16, 2006)

You're going to have a lot of power to play with. 
They are current hogs in a big way, so be prepared for that.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Guy said:


> You're going to have a lot of power to play with.
> They are current hogs in a big way, so be prepared for that.



Yeah, I kinda thought of that after I ponied up for it.

However, its only for the front stage, and an efficient (and to me quite a nice sounding) D-Tower sub amp. Since the front will be a tweeter pair and a woofer pair, I figure there won't be all that much draw. 

The factory alt on my car (99 TL) isn't too hot, but I have heard that you can go the the parts store and buy a Honda Odyssey alternator which fits the car exactly but outputs 20-30 amps more or so. I think it costs less at the auto store, too.


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## ryan s (Dec 19, 2006)

Ya, the Ody alternator is a direct swap in J series Honda V6s. 110 or 120A output, if I remember right.


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## godfathr (Jun 22, 2009)

Guy said:


> You're going to have a lot of power to play with.
> They are current hogs in a big way, so be prepared for that.


Big time power hungry. The worst thing you can do is not feed these things current. I have had both the HRU2 and HRU4 in my car since last year. (Getting ready to take them out and they will be for sale!) Send me private message if you are interested in buying! 
I have 2 Stinger 2150 batteries to feed these hungry monsters, so I do recomend you supply more than enough current to these bad boys if you want them to perform! I really enjoyed them and my car is currently 5th in the country in MECA overall score in master class.

check out pics here:
Audio - Xperts Gallery :: 2006 Scion XA SQ System

gf


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

OK, it ships Thursday, I'll probably have it Fri or Sat.

I'll do gut shots of it if it doesn't have a warranty sticker to break. If it DOES, I'll do the best I can otherwise.

I have heard these are identical internally compared with the originals, just the covers have been simplified to reduce cost. And so far that sounds like a good thing.

There isn't much data out there on the web unless you speak German, apparently.


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

godfathr said:


> Big time power hungry. The worst thing you can do is not feed these things current. I have had both the HRU2 and HRU4 in my car since last year. (Getting ready to take them out and they will be for sale!) Send me private message if you are interested in buying!
> I have 2 Stinger 2150 batteries to feed these hungry monsters, so I do recomend you supply more than enough current to these bad boys if you want them to perform! I really enjoyed them and my car is currently 5th in the country in MECA overall score in master class.
> 
> check out pics here:
> ...



Having heard and judged Vince's car I'll GLADLY comment. Those amps supply TONS of clean power. ZERO noise floor and very dynamic. Of course the incredibly high level install and top gear used throughout make a huge difference, but the amps are on par with the rest of the gear used IMHO.

Zach


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

My system won't be high end all around, but hopefully it will be on par or better compared with what I'm used to. 

So far its:

HRU.4
DTR1.1700 
Pioneer AVH-P3200DVD
3sixty.2 (this might be the weak link)
3x Alumapro MX 10" 6ohm DVC woofers
Dayton RS150 (waiting on AE TD6's when they come out, and if they'll fit)
Dayton 3/4" tweets


I was tossing and turning last night in bed, trying to solve the problem of fitting the gear in my trunk in a stealthy manner. I came up with a possible solution just before falling asleep. I think I'll build a standing amp rack that houses the DTR and HRU amps, as far deep in the trunk as possible, with the backside of that rack housing my 4 point distribution block which will be accessible via the ski-hole pass through in the interior. To hide these amps, I'll make a front hide cover with the same carpet as the trunk and make it match all the contours of the trunk, and snap it on with those parts express pop clips I picked up a while back. So if the trunk is open it and you haven't seen a TL's trunk before, it should look stock still. For the subs, the only thing I could think of is to pull the spare and fiberglass the suckers in, as a trio in a sealed configuration, as large as I can manage for the spare tire well. With rough pi*r^2*h calculations, I figured I'll get around 2.5 cubic feet, which seems acceptable for the pack of subs.

Its all got to fit a stroller or whatever else life throws my way, which is a departure from my typical car builds.


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## ihartred (Jun 1, 2009)

which dayton tweeter?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

ihartred said:


> which dayton tweeter?



Parts-Express.comayton ND20FA-6 3/4" Neodymium Dome Tweeter | tweeter nd20fa-6 soft dome tweeter dome tweeter neodynium dayton audio dayton loudspeaker dayton daytontweets090109

Based off Zaph's review they appear to be very clean 3.5K and up, and the reviews of parts express buyers seem positive as well.


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## ihartred (Jun 1, 2009)

I've built two sets of these, and it is a very impressive tweeter, at least afaik with the passives designed for those speakers.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Nice home audio project! Yeah, I think they'll do really well. I was stunned when I saw the graphs zaph did.. looked better than the ~$150+ tweets.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

godfathr said:


> Big time power hungry. The worst thing you can do is not feed these things current. I have had both the HRU2 and HRU4 in my car since last year. (Getting ready to take them out and they will be for sale!) Send me private message if you are interested in buying!
> I have 2 Stinger 2150 batteries to feed these hungry monsters, so I do recomend you supply more than enough current to these bad boys if you want them to perform! I really enjoyed them and my car is currently 5th in the country in MECA overall score in master class.
> 
> check out pics here:
> ...




what are u gonna replace then with????


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Hey guys,

Look what came in the mail today:










Now, this is a bit more interesting









This is getting better and better









This is nice, a welcome thing to see on modern amps. Not many birth sheets these days, right?










HOT!









Balanced inputs. Anybody got any BLD's?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

And enough with the introductions, let's pop it open. Since it doesn't have any sticker on the back plate to void the warranty, it only makes sense to see what's up.



















































So, that's as far as I can take it apart comfortably. I did notice enough fingerprints and whatnot. It doesn't bother me because the amp doesn't have a plexi-top or something that would let me show off the guts. I can only suspect that the amp guts were once handled directly by techs, but I'm not sure. As long as the amp performs, I don't care but it is interesting.

And here's what I bought to amplify the sub stage:

















I have to say for people who haven't seen the D-tower amps...they are absolutely beautiful.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Oh come on, I post amp guts and nobody comments? lol.

BTW, the thing weighs in at right under 30lbs.


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## PorkCereal (Nov 24, 2009)

Defintly a bad ass looking amp inside and out. Ive been eyeing those dtowers amps also, they would stand up nicely behind my seats.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

PorkCereal said:


> Defintly a bad ass looking amp inside and out. Ive been eyeing those dtowers amps also, they would stand up nicely behind my seats.


I LOVE the D-towers. I picked up a DTR 4.500 and 1.1400 for my brother-in-law's build, but the 1.1400 was red-lighted out of the box. So minor strike against them for DOA, but Soundstream manned right up and sent out another one ASAP. I'm sure the next one will be just fine. 

And the 1.1700 for me is just overkill, but you never know what the future holds for a system so I figured I'd buy high and simply watch the volume knob like a responsible idiot. lol.


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## PorkCereal (Nov 24, 2009)

Aww ur no fun. crank it up!!!


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Well my vehicle, the one with the DTR 1.1700 will be working with a trio of Alumapro Alchemy MX subs, which can handle 300WRMS each, conservatively. Its more about SQ (hence the expenditure of the HRU.4 vs. just a basic amp), hopefully I'm making the right decisions. 

My next vehicle will likely be either a 2004-2008 Acura TL, or 98-99 LS400 (or possibly an early LS430 w/o nav), and in THAT vehicle I will go all out and then some. Because of this Acura TL's known trans issue (knock on pressed wood that makes up my desk at work), I am hesitant to put a TON of effort into the car. Because of that, I'm probably going to keep it a simple 2-way without major fiberglassing work or anything of the sort. Believe it or not, the stock front speakers are exceptional, so I'm actually concerned about lowering the quality from the front stage by using DIY drivers. I know that sounds retarded, but once the factory Bose "EQ" box was bypassed, the factory HU replaced with the Pioneer AVH-P3200DVD, and a little DIY wiring done so the factory subwoofer mates up to the pre-outs of my HU, and WOW...the thing sounds great.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

fourthmeal said:


> Oh come on, I post amp guts and nobody comments? lol.
> 
> BTW, the thing weighs in at right under 30lbs.


I wanna hear how it sounds!!


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## ryan s (Dec 19, 2006)

Those angled resistors are something else :surprised: Looks like a really orderly layout. Are the transistors on the bottom of the board where the screw heads are on top?



mmiller said:


> I wanna hear how it sounds!!


Uh oh... :wideeyed:


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

mmiller said:


> I wanna hear how it sounds!!


Me too!

I still need to order another distribution and ground block, and then start constructing something decent and worthy of the amp. I'm also going to make it VERY steal-resistant. This I am pretty good at.


I'm debating carpeting all my stock trim pieces in black carpet, just to make it more plush and new looking. Still stock, just better. From there, I can then carpet the whole thing in black and make things hide. Otherwise, I'm forced to use the gray-heather matched carpet I picked up and make it work.


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## tdiantonio (May 8, 2007)

Let us know how they sound...my wife has 2007 TL-Type S and I am trying to convince her of the benefits of a new SUV or Minivan while I take her car as a swap....

I love the look of the HRU and would love to use them....just was hoping the prices on them would come down a bit...I may have to bite the bullet...


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

I'm more than a little worried about current draw, myself. Not full-power draw, but IDLE draw. These are what some classify is a very high bias Class A/B, so I am a little unsure. 

Anybody know?


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

Not sure about idle current but I have this: 
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=17929&stc=1&d=1272691575 

Enjoy! 
Kelvin


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Thanks for that pdf, that's off the German test they did on the amp. I wish they would have gone into more detail but I guess if it got into the reference class, that's good as-is.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

yea, that thread leaves a lot to desire..


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

mmiller said:


> yea, that thread leaves a lot to desire..



I will try to assist here. My system certainly isn't world-class, but I'm hoping to give this amp a good, well-designed home to play in. 

I'll try to give my listening impressions where applicable. 


I know this, I just completed an install using D-towers for my brother in law (its in the build thread sub-forum), and man those things are great. They are surprisingly quiet even with a 3sixty.2.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

any progress yet????


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

mmiller said:


> any progress yet????



Waiting for a few install parts to make their way through the mail. I also have to order a sub, because the Alumapros ended up being used by my brother in-law's system. I've decided on an Acoustic Elegance AV15-H, 2ohm DVC. I've got to save up to buy it, and it will then take some time to get built and sent to me. 

btw if anybody knows where all the dimensions for the AE AV15H are, just let me know. Can't seem to find much info, other than the fact its 7" deep.

I'm most likely going to install the whole system as if it had a sub, then add it when it comes in. But to do that I must have precise numbers.


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

And to think that I used to like you...................


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

freemind said:


> And to think that I used to like you...................



que?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

freemind said:


> And to think that I used to like you...................



srsly did I make you jealous? lol. I can't "read" you.


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## stryke23x (Jun 22, 2007)

fourthmeal said:


> btw if anybody knows where all the dimensions for the AE AV15H are, just let me know. Can't seem to find much info, other than the fact its 7" deep.




Here's a link to the pdf of the dimensional drawing for the AV15.

http://www.aespeakers.com/pdfs/AV15-dimensional.pdf

John


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

fourthmeal said:


> srsly did I make you jealous? lol. I can't "read" you.


To be concise, yes I am jealous.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

freemind said:


> To be concise, yes I am jealous.



I feel fortunate to be able to own something like this, and I'll do my best to document how it performs. 

I'm sure you've owned gear that would turn me green w/ envy too. haha.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

stryke23x said:


> Here's a link to the pdf of the dimensional drawing for the AV15.
> 
> http://www.aespeakers.com/pdfs/AV15-dimensional.pdf
> 
> John


Thanks, John. I saw a copy provided by Simon5 on your forum as well. I'm sketching up a decent scale model in Google Sketchup so I can figure out a box that works. The difficulty is that my trunk's internal height behind the ski-pass is only 15 1/2" tall. This means I need to use a severe angle to make a 15" fit at all. Then I need to create a seal that ensures the front wave of the speaker can only reach the seatback and ski-pass opening, and not get bunched up in the trunk. To do that, the modeling part comes in because there are so many variables to get it right.

Does the AV15H sound equally good inverted? Any pole vent noises, etc?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

OK, so I braved the 60+ mph gusts of wind and finished a rough install of the HRU amp and accompanying gear. 

For the moment I just took a spare wood board, and carpeted it so it didn't look too ghetto-fab. I also threw in the 12" sub box I had lying around with a Lanzar closeout sub in it.

This all happened very late in the evening, so I'm sure I haven't got everything tuned perfectly yet..but... 

It is fantastic! I will say that a 3sixty.2 takes a LOT away from the system in the form of hissss... I've bitched about this before but it bears repeating. I think I'm going to either pony up for an MS8, or a pair of MiniDSP boards (which sounds more appropriate to my needs.) I can tell the amp isn't to blame for the noise though. I was able to coax a relatively low floor out of the system by cranking the 3sixty.2 gains WAY down, and the amp's gains up quite a bit, to around .8v sensitivity. This isn't normally a smart thing to do, but with this amp in this situation, it made the least amount of background hiss. 

I tuned with a couple A State of Trance episodes from AVB, some Markus Schulz, and lastly I stuck in The 5th Element and went from there. 

The front stage is the pair of Dayton ND20FA 3/4" mounting on the A-pillar, and (you won't believe me but it is true) the factory Bose 6" woofers mounted in the door, untouched from stock. And it sounds fantastic, as I said before. I decided to try a cross point of 4k, 24dB/oct, and highpass the woofers at 75hz. I didn't bother to measure delay, just played with the settings until I felt a solid coherence in the center of the car, with the acoustic image spanning the A-pillars and running a height right around where the windshield meets the dash, or maybe 5-6" above. I still need to fiddle with phase/polarity a bit for the perfect combination, but then again it was late and I was exhausted.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

I'll throw up some pics of the installed mess soon, lol. IMO, not bad for a temp install.


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## bkjay (Jul 7, 2009)

Pics up yet........Just J/k lol!
can't wait to see.I love those amps.


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

Nice amps! Looking forward to the build, and the new car.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Link to the build thread:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...999-acura-tl-simple-build-ss-high-end-ae.html


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## EricP72 (Mar 23, 2008)

fourthmeal said:


> Link to the build thread:
> 
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...999-acura-tl-simple-build-ss-high-end-ae.html


Hey fourth meal have you listened to the sound stream dtr4.500 u installed in your brother inlaw's car? Was thinking of going with amps more trunk friendly than my jbl got amps. I would try to locate a hru amp but the cost is too high for me right now.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

manish said:


> Hey fourth meal have you listened to the sound stream dtr4.500 u installed in your brother inlaw's car? Was thinking of going with amps more trunk friendly than my jbl got amps. I would try to locate a hru amp but the cost is too high for me right now.



I like the DTR series very much. One I had was defective out of the box, but the replacement was perfect. Typical of Chinese amps..they either work or they don't. 

I would consider selling my HRU.4 in exchange for an MS8 processor and a small amp (or maybe cash, ... but I want real money for the thing.


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

are you still running this? I am considering this for a all in one small system....


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

JAX said:


> are you still running this? I am considering this for a all in one small system....


The HRU.4 is usually not for "small" system  

Kelvin


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

subwoofery said:


> The HRU.4 is usually not for "small" system
> 
> Kelvin


my system is small....2 speakers and a sub...I didnt mean amp size..ha ha..I know its a large amp


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

Yeah, I got that by small you mean simple, right Jax?

And what about the Adcom/JBL system?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Yep, still running it. I find it a really great amp if you have the space. I'd trade for an MS8 and a small amp but otherwise, I'm happy.


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

ReloadedSS said:


> Yeah, I got that by small you mean simple, right Jax?
> 
> And what about the Adcom/JBL system?



I am waiting on the adcom to arrive. I got my 500.1 BPX in the car today. just right now I now have or am awaiting the arrival of 4 amps and really could do what I need with one very good 4 channel....instead of 11 channels in various brands and sizes..


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

JAX said:


> I am waiting on the adcom to arrive. I got my 500.1 BPX in the car today. just right now I now have or am awaiting the arrival of 4 amps and really could do what I need with one very good 4 channel....instead of 11 channels in various brands and sizes..


Ah, well played, then. The Human Reign would serve you well, I think. They look sexay, and FourthMeal has great taste in electronics.

I'm sitting on nine channels of amplification; I could power two systems. Shockingly, this is less amplification than I've had in the past sitting in a closet...


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

got 2 amps in car..sold 2 amps and have 2 amps in route. Its hard doing all this without woman knowing it....

would be so nice if 1 amp was all I had and ever needed...well...and a spare in case #1 dies


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

fourthmeal said:


> Yep, still running it. I find it a really great amp if you have the space. I'd trade for an MS8 and a small amp but otherwise, I'm happy.


You just installed it and now you want to sell it? Did you not like it that much?I have a 3sixty.2 installed running off my stock deck and the only hiss I hear are from bad recordings. I am just trying to understand if you liked the amp or not.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

bitperfect said:


> You just installed it and now you want to sell it? Did you not like it that much?I have a 3sixty.2 installed running off my stock deck and the only hiss I hear are from bad recordings. I am just trying to understand if you liked the amp or not.



I've had it in there a while now. Its not so much that the amp is not awesome, its more that I'd prefer to have a smaller amp (more room for a stroller) and an MS8 instead of my 3sixty.2. 

As far as the amp itself goes, it is fantastic. It is definitely being under-utilized in my system though. Looks pretty poking through the ski-pass though!



















I'll tell you this though, I like the amp a whole lot more now that I replaced my battery with a new one. I bought the car in the beginning of the year, and I had no idea the battery that came with it was 8 years old. It looked a lot newer and the build sticker wasn't readable so I just left it when I bought the car. The thing is, I had no idea it was so weak until I replaced it with a new one. This in turn also affected the confidence I had with this amp, because engine-off listening time was dismal until I swapped the battery. I just thought it was the amp being a power hog. It may still be, but the new battery allows me to sit and listen without fear of being stranded, thus making the amp a little more lovable.


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

I got a adcom thats much smaller..he he...but I am sure dying to try one of these myself..I am holding back


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