# OLD SCHOOL SOUNDSTREAM REFERENCE 1000S 2-CHANNEL AMP



## vrdublu (Apr 13, 2009)

What does everyone think of this amp, and this series of amps as far as reliability and a general comparison to todays brands of amps watt for watt? I used to love the old school Soundstream stuff when I was a kid especially since I sat inside an old delta 88 iasca SQ winner years ago and got hooked. I just don't want to fall into the nestalgia trap as I see so many do.


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## low2001gmc (Aug 27, 2008)

last one i heard was around 1999 in a ford ranger extended cab that belonged to a good friend. he had pioneer's top of the line deck, audio control crossovers, a 500s pushing some mb quart 3 ways and the 1000s pushing 3 jl audio 12w6s in custom enclosure. it was parked just outside a home 2 car garage. i walked inside from the garage directly into the kitchen and the kitchen cabinets were slightly shaking from the thunderous bass. i was in debelief. the clarity was awesome. around 2001, he sold the ranger due to starting a family. 

he still has the soundstream amps to this day never having used them since then. awesome amps that were quality built. as we all know quality pretty much went down with most companies being bought out, new ownership going overseas to built their gear. 

then there was a return to quality and technology is awesome but there were some amps that were ahead of their time. how much depends on each individual's assessment. however, in this case, just this week, i was checking one of soundstream's new reference amps on ebay and in one of the ads it stated someting to the effect of how the new reference line was designed to perform up to the standards of the old ones. then scrolling down, the features were practically the same as the old line. 

so are the new any better, i cant really say cause i havent heard them. got to factor in cd deck and speaker technology as well in all fairness. i guess what i am trying to say is the only way to really know is compare a system with the only change being the amps all other remaining the same and then conclude.

in my opinion, the old ss refs were ahead of their time just as some old phoenix golds and their sq was excellent then with lesser speakers than what is available today. i think if you were to hook up two jl audio 12w6sv2 which have more xmax and handle more rms power, the ss ref 1000s would push them just as good as it did the three jl 12w6s in my buddy's ranger. best opinion i could provide. hope it helps and makes some sense.


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## vrdublu (Apr 13, 2009)

Thanks for the reposnse, that's exactly what I mean though. All our experiences with these amps are now at least 10 years old, and I can't remeber that far back on how good something sounded, just the feeling it gave me listening to it. Hopefully others will chime in with a little moe experience on the ins and outs of these amps.


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## FartinInTheTub (May 25, 2010)

I feel that the 1000s and the 1000sx were great to run a component set! beautiful in fact... BUT when it comes to running subs I felt that they fell short. I ran a CDT Eurosport 3-way set with a 1000sx and it was fantastic.


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## vrdublu (Apr 13, 2009)

What you mean "they fell short"? They are rated to do 1000W @ 1ohm, my autotek does that now and it's plenty for me. Are you suggesting they don't put out rated power?


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## FartinInTheTub (May 25, 2010)

One of the major problems with the S and SX series is the Autoswitching from high power to high current... sometimes the switching fails and these will go up in smoke. That being said, I believe that they do put out their rated power... But I have used a 1000sx on sub duty and wasn't impressed. I'm not a soundstream hater by any means... look at my sig! I LOVE SS. I just prefer the original Soundstreams. I distinctly remember using an Arc Audio 2500CXLR then switching to the 1000sx and feeling like, WTH??? And please understand that if you run that 1000s at 1ohm it is going to pull some serious current and get hot as hell! But man... The 1000sx was sooo nice for my comps... just awesome.
One more thing... I switched out the 1000sx with a Reference 500 and felt that the 500 outperformed it on sub duty. These are just my opinions... Give the amp a try! You may love it.


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## vrdublu (Apr 13, 2009)

That's what I thought about the heat issues this amp may have. I've become so accustomed to the class "D" amps of today and forgot about the George Forman grill of yesteryear, lol. Thanks for the replies.


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## kmarei (Nov 13, 2009)

I'm using old school spundstreams in my car
Love them
I've used the JL XD600/6
Very nice amp
But the soundstreams sound much better
I'm using a reference 405s for center, rear, and underseat subs
Using my precious Class A50II for fronts
Mighty fine sounding amp


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