# need PPI history



## Chuck

It seems like a lot of things have gone on since PPI was founded, and after spinning off some talent and getting bought and traded around by all those corporate holding companies, the company seems to be going through some kind of resurgence. Maybe.

From what I can tell, they blew onto the scene around 1984 (at least thats when their rep showed up at our store carrying some phantom-power, DIN-wired preamps and an amp or two, all in a very pale beige with a shimmering "Precision Power" voltage trace logo. 
Next I knew, PPI got bought up, and their lead people and best engineers spun off and went to found XTant. Of course XTant got picked up by MTX/Mitek and ruined, and the XTant people moved off on their own and started yet another company. 

So... who can provide some details?


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## PPI_GUY

Wow, that is a major gap in the timeline you have there!
The standard series chronology goes like this...
The M series amps and processors were introduced around '86 or '87 as I recall. They continued in production (as the AM series) thru 1992.
1993 saw the introduction of the Art series which continued thru '96.
In 1997 the Power Class series was introduced and wrapped up in 2000 when the PCX replaced them for '01. Not sure when the DCX stuff was introduced as I had lost interest in PPI by the time DEI had purchased the company in 2001.

The Competition or Professional equipment timeline is as follows...
The Pro Mosfet amps were introduced in '89 or '90 and continued thru 1995 when they were replaced by the Pro Art series. All of the "pro" lines were high current "cheater" amps that were low ohm stable and imho some of the finest car amplifiers ever built. 

The recent uptick in popularity of PPI has been primarily due to them being purchased by Epsilon Electronics (also owners of the Soundstream label) in mid or late 2008 and bringing new models to market last year. While no PPI products are now being made in the US, many of their lines have been received with favorable reviews. Specifically the compact Phantom series and the more budget concious Black Ice line have sold well. The Phantoms have sold so well in fact that supply has been an issue. 

Not sure what the future of PPI will be as they recently fired one of their more popular (on this board anyway) product managers in Grizz Archer. Hopefully they will continue to improve and update their product lineup.


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## Chuck

Good info on the model runs... can you tell me anything about the company lineage? I'd like to know where the PPI designs came from, who the brain trust was, what other companies did they pollinate, etc. I think it would be interesting to draw a line from PPI to Xtant to JL and so forth.


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## Darth SQ

PPI_GUY said:


> Wow, that is a major gap in the timeline you have there!
> The standard series chronology goes like this...
> The M series amps and processors were introduced around '86 or '87 as I recall. They continued in production (as the AM series) thru 1992.
> 1993 saw the introduction of the Art series which continued thru '96.
> In 1997 the Power Class series was introduced and wrapped up in 2000 when the PCX replaced them for '01. Not sure when the DCX stuff was introduced as I had lost interest in PPI by the time DEI had purchased the company in 2001.
> 
> The Competition or Professional equipment timeline is as follows...
> The Pro Mosfet amps were introduced in '89 or '90 and continued thru 1995 when they were replaced by the Pro Art series. All of the "pro" lines were high current "cheater" amps that were low ohm stable and imho some of the finest car amplifiers ever built.
> 
> The recent uptick in popularity of PPI has been primarily due to them being purchased by Epsilon Electronics (also owners of the Soundstream label) in mid or late 2008 and bringing new models to market last year. While no PPI products are now being made in the US, many of their lines have been received with favorable reviews. Specifically the compact Phantom series and the more budget concious Black Ice line have sold well. The Phantoms have sold so well in fact that supply has been an issue.
> 
> Not sure what the future of PPI will be as they recently fired one of their more popular (on this board anyway) product managers in Grizz Archer. Hopefully they will continue to improve and update their product lineup.


Well done.

Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## Prime mova

Quoted from show off thread


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## PPI Master

Chuck said:


> From what I can tell, they blew onto the scene around 1984 (at least thats when their rep showed up at our store carrying some phantom-power, DIN-wired preamps and an amp or two, all in a very pale beige with a shimmering "Precision Power" voltage trace logo.
> ?


Do you currently have one of these Beige pieces of which you speak? That's interesting because I always thought their first stuff was black. Like the very first pair of Amplifiers they offerred were the PPI70 and PPI120. They were Black with white graphics.


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## Darth SQ

PPI Master said:


> Do you currently have one of these Beige pieces of which you speak? That's interesting because I always thought their first stuff was black. Like the very first pair of Amplifiers they offerred were the PPI70 and PPI120. They were Black with white graphics.


Don't forget the very first PPI-30s (black with white lettering as well).

Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## PPI Master

PPI-ART COLLECTOR said:


> Don't forget the very first PPI-30s (black with white lettering as well).
> 
> Bret
> PPI-ART COLLECTOR


That's mythical... or pictures ?


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## Darth SQ

PPI Master said:


> That's mythical... or pictures ?


There were less than seven made.
They were just starting production on them when pulled because the people making marketing decisions didn't think 15watts per channel would sell.
Heatsink was the same size as the 70.
It's possible that most of them were gutted, replaced with PPI-70 boards and rebadged.


Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## Chuck

PPI Master said:


> Do you currently have one of these Beige pieces of which you speak? That's interesting because I always thought their first stuff was black. Like the very first pair of Amplifiers they offerred were the PPI70 and PPI120. They were Black with white graphics.


I wish I did. When we got out of the car market in late '84, there were a couple of those phantom powered preamps sitting in a box. I took everything else but had no idea what to do with those. For one, they were DIN wired, for two... I just didn't think PPI was going anywhere. Now that I see what PPI accomplished after that.... 

The color on them was kind of a cross between Apple beige and Apple Platinum, and the PPI logo was the early one, with several horizontal lines, a sawtooth wave, and the "Precision Power" lettering, all done in a brilliant red or garnet color over the platinum skin. Along with their overall box design, their parts looked like an old Eclips surge protector, I'm sorry to say. Very minimalist. 

In all my travels on this forum I've never seen this stuff, and unfortunately it makes me feel like I'm spinning tales to you guys. I wish I had kept the parts, really.


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## Doc ProMos

They were founded in about 1984... and what has me perplexed is what, if anything was produced between 1984 and 1986 other than the PPI-30,70 and 120.... btw I have found a 70 and 30 and have been workin on bringing them home--- thanx for the lead Bret


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## PPI Master

Chuck said:


> I wish I did. When we got out of the car market in late '84, there were a couple of those phantom powered preamps sitting in a box. I took everything else but had no idea what to do with those. For one, they were DIN wired, for two... I just didn't think PPI was going anywhere. Now that I see what PPI accomplished after that....
> 
> The color on them was kind of a cross between Apple beige and Apple Platinum, and the PPI logo was the early one, with several horizontal lines, a sawtooth wave, and the "Precision Power" lettering, all done in a brilliant red or garnet color over the platinum skin. Along with their overall box design, their parts looked like an old Eclips surge protector, I'm sorry to say. Very minimalist.
> 
> In all my travels on this forum I've never seen this stuff, and unfortunately it makes me feel like I'm spinning tales to you guys. I wish I had kept the parts, really.



I believe you as proven by the goosebumps up/down my arm. What a tale. Like Doc said: What did they do the first few years? Seems like the early PPI crew gutted Surge Protectors and convereted them to 15 watt amplifiers !!! Looking around my home I see many Beige electrical 110V outlets, so possibly they didn't even change the color !!! just lay on a quickie lighting bolt logo on top of the existing horizontal logo !!!


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## Chuck

:laugh: I don't think they were that cheap :laugh:

Ok, I spent a long time looking at pics on the web and I'm trying to come up with some visual cues to help you guys see what these looked like.

Take a look at this PAR:










Picture it about half that width. A volume knob, along with one each for bass and treble (I don't remember exactly if there was a mid knob or not). Beige/platinum colored. The logo looks pretty close, though I seem to remember it having a couple more horizontal lines. With a DIN cable plugged in and hanging off the back, it looked like a surge strip missing the outlets.


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## PPI Master

Chuck, You've mentioned a couple times about "Horizontal Lines". Could you be referring to these multiple horizontal wave lines as seen on the first amp they made, err....my bad, I mean the first amplifier they sold?


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## Chuck

No, the font on the PAR Pic I posted was Identical to the font on my mystery preamp. I dig that disco font on your pic though- very 70s. That is Ron Burgundy's amp.


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## PPI_GUY

I'm completely speculating here but, perhaps from '84-'86 PPI was little more than a "garage project"? After all that's how many companies get started. The first few years are spent producing demo models and beating the bushes for investors or financial backing. 
When I first heard of PPI ('87 maybe?) they were making waves in Sound Offs on the West coast. I think I saw some ads and/or product reviews in CSR and their reputation for power and clarity started to grow. In my area Rockford and Orion were already king. In fact my first "system" was a RF/Kicker setup. Honestly, PPI didn't ever make a huge splash here as I and one other guy were the only ones running PPI for quite awhile. 
We had to order PPI stuff via mail order out of New York. Can you imagine what PPI and car audio in general _could _have been in the late 80's and 90's if the internet had been commercialized and readily available???


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## PPI Master

PPI_GUY said:


> I'm completely speculating here but, perhaps from '84-'86 PPI was little more than a "garage project"? After all that's how many companies get started. The first few years are spent producing demo models and beating the bushes for investors or financial backing.
> When I first heard of PPI ('87 maybe?) they were making waves in Sound Offs on the West coast. I think I saw some ads and/or product reviews in CSR and their reputation for power and clarity started to grow. In my area Rockford and Orion were already king. In fact my first "system" was a RF/Kicker setup. Honestly, PPI didn't ever make a huge splash here as I and one other guy were the only ones running PPI for quite awhile.
> We had to order PPI stuff via mail order out of New York. Can you imagine what PPI and car audio in general _could _have been in the late 80's and 90's if the internet had been commercialized and readily available???



I bought my first amplifier setup from Houston Car Stereo in 1991. It was run by two Middle Eastern type brothers and they spoke nothing except "She's CLEAN power man" I was studying the Soundstream and whatever else was on the shelf, but man, Those PPI Black M series really stood out. And we all know they have the Cleanest sound. Pure heaven when I walked out with a 2050M.. Two months later made it back with enough money for the 2075. Then two months again for the 2150M..... those were the days MBQuart singing along with the 15 inch EVs booming.


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## MikeT1982

Thanks guys for the info, this is very interesting and sets home how long/experienced some of you guys are. I feel like a real youngster getting into audio in 96'. At least I always admit although I'm a fan of the oldschool audio I was just lucky enough to catch the end of the grand era


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## Topdown

back in the day PPI worked fast and loose... they came up with ideas for projects in the morning and by the end of the day had proof of concepts running in their environments. The only thing slowing them down was their imagination. I know a few of the engineers that build the the Art Series, PowerClass (muffler) amps and subs, and were there when they built and toured with Alma and the Bronco... 

Each of the PPI guys I know are dedicated to sound on a level that I envy. I honestly believe that what we know as car audio would pale in comparison if not for the contribution of every one of them.


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## Darth SQ

Topdown said:


> back in the day PPI worked fast and loose... they came up with ideas for projects in the morning and by the end of the day had proof of concepts running in their environments. The only thing slowing them down was their imagination. I know a few of the engineers that build the the Art Series, PowerClass (muffler) amps and subs, and were there when they built and toured with Alma and the Bronco...
> 
> Each of the PPI guys I know are dedicated to sound on a level that I envy. I honestly believe that what we know as car audio would pale in comparison if not for the contribution of every one of them.


Great post and agreed!
Maybe you could get those few engineers to join DIYMA and participate?
I think they would be surprised to see what we're doing here and I am sure they would have some great stories and comments to pass on.
Make sure they know CHY is already on here with us. :thumbsup:

Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## Topdown

Already working on getting them in here...  they are both headed to china right now and wont be back for a few weeks. Which is only bothersome since my pro650 is sitting on the workbench naked!


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## BumpaD_Z28

Epic thread ! 

... Spent most of the day replacing a bad RCA cable in my truck to my A404.2 ... Now beers, and tunes from the sweet art series amp, while I post from the garage


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## Chuck

Can anyone here throw some light on the connections between PPI, Xtant, and JLA? Is it all just Jeff Scoon and what he has in his head, or is there more to it than that?


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## Cobra 19 & 54

Sorry for coming late to this party, but PPI Was founded in 1981. By I thought it was 3 guys, Boland, Lemay, and Someone else (not sure of the name ). Scoon came in later I think. LeMay and Boland spun out in late 83, and opened up Orion in 84.


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## Chuck

Orion came from PPI???

I think it would be interesting to do a breakdown of just how intermarried all the mobile audio companies really are. I think I'd lose my mind trying to followup on just what Rockford bought back in the 90s. They were truly the Mr. Gasket of audio companies.


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## Cobra 19 & 54

AZ was a hotbed of Car Audio in the late 80's. I love listening to the stories from those guys. Several of the names listed in this thread are friends of mine and the stories they tell make seem as though we had a happening spot here. Now,,, not so much. But there may be some shocking news from here soon, keep posted.


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## Darth SQ

Cobra 19 & 54 said:


> AZ was a hotbed of Car Audio in the late 80's. I love listening to the stories from those guys. Several of the names listed in this thread are friends of mine and the stories they tell make seem as though we had a happening spot here. Now,,, not so much. But there may be some shocking news from here soon, keep posted.


You drop a bomb like that and run off?
I hate that.


Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## WRX/Z28

Chuck said:


> Can anyone here throw some light on the connections between PPI, Xtant, and JLA? Is it all just Jeff Scoon and what he has in his head, or is there more to it than that?


Bruce MacMillan too... and I think one or 2 others.


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## Hextall 27

Chuck said:


> Can anyone here throw some light on the connections between PPI, Xtant, and JLA? Is it all just Jeff Scoon and what he has in his head, or is there more to it than that?


Jeff Scoon who is now the VP of Electronics, was the CEO of PPI before he had a falling out at PPI with partner, Ted Gunther and started xtant. Scoon was the "face" of PPI, i.e. marketing and sales. He eventually sold xtant to Lloyd Ivey owner of MITEK which produces MTX.

Carrolyn Hall Young did all the art work including magazine ad's, amp graphics and trade show booths. She did the same with xtant.

Bruce Macmillan, Kieth, Don Ciarduloo, and Sam Zamora (along with 10 other peole) went with Jeff to xtant and did all the in house design and engineering work and prototype assembly. Nothing was subbed out. Everything was new, nothing carried over from PPI except for the brains.

Fast forward to 2000 when Jeff Scoon assumed the newly formed position of VP of JL Audio's Electronics Division. Bruce Macmillan and David Kirch (also from PPI & xtant) were hired and set up shop in Arizona Where they led the design team for the JL Slash amps and everything since. The Slash series is sort of the logical progression from the M, AM, Pro MOS, DM (the original R.I.P.S !), DX, 93-94 Art (not the .2 bc they were gone by then), and what they did at at xtant. There is a straight line of lineage from those original ideas and designs from PPI in the 80's to the HD amps of today.

Something else you'll notice is that the alliance between JL Audio; Lucio Proni (the 'L' in JL Audio) & Manville Smith, MB Quart; Dr Kurt Mueller and PPI; Scoon & Macmillan in the mid 1990's has congealed together in the current JL Audio product. Look at the high end JL speakers, those baskets look familiar to Quart fans I bet.

I should also point out that a friend who is a film student has been looking for ideas for a documentary. Could this be just what he's looking for???


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## Cobra 19 & 54

PPI-ART COLLECTOR said:


> You drop a bomb like that and run off?
> I hate that.
> 
> 
> Bret
> PPI-ART COLLECTOR


Sorry, as soon as I'm allowed to say something I will. But it's going to be AWESOME. I'm truly bursting at the seams to say something though...


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## edouble101

Cobra 19 & 54 said:


> Sorry, as soon as I'm allowed to say something I will. But it's going to be AWESOME. I'm truly bursting at the seams to say something though...


Wonder of it can top the Elite.2 and .4


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## rton20s

Hextall 27 said:


> I should also point out that a friend who is a film student has been looking for ideas for a documentary. Could this be just what he's looking for???


Hextall,

As I was reading this and the "Showoff" thread all I kept thinking was, man I wish someone would produce a documentary on the history of car audio. Start with the companies and individuals leading the industry today and tracing it all the way back to it's roots. PPI and all of the Arizona connections are awesome, but I would love to see an expanded documentary on the entire industry (at least within the U.S.). 

It would be awesome if someone out there has the time opportunity and equipment to pull something like this off.


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## Hextall 27

Equipment isn't the issue. It's money, flying to Florida, California, Arizona, and who knows where else would be the problem. That takes capitol. You could do something like Skype but unless the person being interviewed had an HD camera it would look like hell transferred to professional video. 

I told him to do it just on PPI because if you were to try and do something about the history of this entire deal it would be 10 hours long. Focusing on one company makes it more manageable. PPI seems to have the largest following besides Phoenix Gold. But you esily do something on Linear Power, Orion, Rockford Corp., Alpine etc.

The fact that these products are still relevant is a testament to the build quality, the brains behind them and let's admit it, a little nostalgia. I'm 34, I was in high school in 95-96 when I got my first job in car audio installing at a Best Buy. I had two A600's, a Kicker C12a, and a FRX-322 before I had a car of my own, LOL. It took me another 3 months to save up for Quart components and an Alpine 7939. So when I look at everyone's stash it brings back good memories. LOTS of people got there yards cut so I could buy my gear.


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## Darth SQ

If they do it look for a 25% bump in our equipment value and forget about finding anything good for a reasonable price. :thumbsup:


Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## Doc ProMos

Call me a skeptic, but I can't imagine there is anything that would be that surprising... short of the original team from PPI getting back together and purchasing the company back (yeah right) it will probably have little impact on car audio as it stands in complete disarray.... IMHO


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## Cobra 19 & 54

oh Doc,,,, Ye of little faith. Even a PPI lover will love this news. And oddly enough you are partially right, but mostly wrong.


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## Doc ProMos

I would suspect the partly right portion is that current car audio is in complete disarray ... lol


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## Doc ProMos

this is the third time Tapatalk has double posted, then I must make up something to say so it's not redundant...


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## PPI_GUY

Hextall 27 said:


> Jeff Scoon who is now the VP of Electronics, was the CEO of PPI before he had a falling out at PPI with partner, Ted Gunther and started xtant. Scoon was the "face" of PPI, i.e. marketing and sales. He eventually sold xtant to Lloyd Ivey owner of MITEK which produces MTX.
> 
> Carrolyn Hall Young did all the art work including magazine ad's, amp graphics and trade show booths. She did the same with xtant.
> 
> Bruce Macmillan, Kieth, Don Ciarduloo, and Sam Zamora (along with 10 other peole) went with Jeff to xtant and did all the in house design and engineering work and prototype assembly. Nothing was subbed out. Everything was new, nothing carried over from PPI except for the brains.
> 
> Fast forward to 2000 when Jeff Scoon assumed the newly formed position of VP of JL Audio's Electronics Division. Bruce Macmillan and David Kirch (also from PPI & xtant) were hired and set up shop in Arizona Where they led the design team for the JL Slash amps and everything since. The Slash series is sort of the logical progression from the M, AM, Pro MOS, DM (the original R.I.P.S !), DX, 93-94 Art (not the .2 bc they were gone by then), and what they did at at xtant. There is a straight line of lineage from those original ideas and designs from PPI in the 80's to the HD amps of today.
> 
> Something else you'll notice is that the alliance between JL Audio; Lucio Proni (the 'L' in JL Audio) & Manville Smith, MB Quart; Dr Kurt Mueller and PPI; Scoon & Macmillan in the mid 1990's has congealed together in the current JL Audio product. Look at the high end JL speakers, those baskets look familiar to Quart fans I bet.


The info contained in the above post is extremely important. 
Many of us have long dreamed that the PPI flag would proudly fly again. I even admit to being caught up in the "new PPI" as being pushed by Epsilon. And I suppose compared to other modern incarnations of famous legacy brands, it's a pretty fair imitation. They have produced some good (even slightly innovative) products. 
But, the real, original heart and soul of PPI is alive and well. They simply labor under the flag of another name. JL Audio is such a polarizing brand nowadays. Seems you either hate 'em or you swear by them. However, there is little doubt of the impact that company has had on car audio. Look no further than the people running the company to know why. Many of them helped give car audio the kick in the ass it needed. I for one am extremely grateful for what those folks have given us.

On the whole, I agree with Keith (Doc). Car audio is in pretty dismal shape it would seem. The market seems to be flooded with alot of junk. However, a few companies are still trying to be innovative. Enough to give me alittle hope. 

p.s. i don't know what Cobra is hinting about but, my interest is certainly piqued.


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## PPI_GUY

Cobra 19 & 54 said:


> oh Doc,,,, Ye of little faith. Even a PPI lover will love this news. And oddly enough you are partially right, but mostly wrong.


Did someone call me?
Is JL negotiating to buy and bring back another great brand from the past?
Any time table on this "AWESOME" news being announced?


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## Darth SQ

Come on Cobra......spill it before the meteors start hitting this afternoon.


Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## Cobra 19 & 54

Announced at a certain electronics show coming up, there will be a new company with some old school goodness inside with an old PPI owner at the helm. Now don't go assuming Scooner is reopen ing PPI, cause that isn't happening. But American made A/B goodness will be back on the market featuring a familiar name. Nuff said.


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## edouble101

I am looking forward to a new old school brand. As of now Phoenix Gold is hard to beat with their Elite amps.


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## PPI_GUY

Cobra 19 & 54 said:


> Announced at a certain electronics show coming up, there will be a new company with some old school goodness inside with an old PPI owner at the helm. Now don't go assuming Scooner is reopen ing PPI, cause that isn't happening. But American made A/B goodness will be back on the market featuring a familiar name. Nuff said.


Pleeeeeze tell us that someone has wised up and bought Orion back from those cheesy South Americans????


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## Doc ProMos

I must say I'm intrigued... skeptical but intrigued....


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## PPI_GUY

New company?
Familiar name?
Former PPI owner at the helm? 

The first two items seem to be in opposition to each other. How can you open a "new" company with a familiar name?
Again, I'm REALLY hoping JL has bought the Orion brand. Even if they simply changed the name on their current JX series and just stamped them "ORION", I'd be happy. 'Cause I'd know Americans once again owned that legacy brand and good things would be forthcoming!

I'll also add that there seems to have been a solid case made by Epsilon for purchasing original standard-bearer brand names (SS, PPI) and reviving them. That formula seems to be a successful one.


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## Darth SQ

Cobra 19 & 54 said:


> AZ was a hotbed of Car Audio in the late 80's. I love listening to the stories from those guys. Several of the names listed in this thread are friends of mine and the stories they tell make seem as though we had a happening spot here. Now,,, not so much. But there may be some shocking news from here soon, keep posted.


WTF ever came of this?
It's 2013 now. :mean:


Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## PPI_GUY

PPI-ART COLLECTOR said:


> WTF ever came of this?
> It's 2013 now. :mean:
> 
> 
> Bret
> PPI-ART COLLECTOR


Yeah, thinking it may have been b.s. Guy said an announcement was coming at CES. Anybody heard anything???


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## Darth SQ

PPI_GUY said:


> Yeah, thinking it may have been b.s. Guy said an announcement was coming at CES. Anybody heard anything???


Well, it started today and ends on the 11th.
Hopefully something soon......maybe?

Otherwise, SHENANIGANS!!!!!


Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## msmith

Chuck said:


> It seems like a lot of things have gone on since PPI was founded, and after spinning off some talent and getting bought and traded around by all those corporate holding companies, the company seems to be going through some kind of resurgence. Maybe.
> 
> From what I can tell, they blew onto the scene around 1984 (at least thats when their rep showed up at our store carrying some phantom-power, DIN-wired preamps and an amp or two, all in a very pale beige with a shimmering "Precision Power" voltage trace logo.
> Next I knew, PPI got bought up, and their lead people and best engineers spun off and went to found XTant. Of course XTant got picked up by MTX/Mitek and ruined, and the XTant people moved off on their own and started yet another company.
> 
> So... who can provide some details?


The Xtant people (Bruce Macmillan, Dave Krich and eventually Jeff Scoon) went to work for JL Audio after they left Xtant.


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## msmith

Hextall 27 said:


> Jeff Scoon who is now the VP of Electronics, was the CEO of PPI before he had a falling out at PPI with partner, Ted Gunther and started xtant. Scoon was the "face" of PPI, i.e. marketing and sales. He eventually sold xtant to Lloyd Ivey owner of MITEK which produces MTX.


The above is accurate. Jeff was not a founder of the company, but he did have ownership, along with Ted Gunther in the late 80's, early 90's. 



> Carrolyn Hall Young did all the art work including magazine ad's, amp graphics and trade show booths. She did the same with xtant.


Also accurate.



> Bruce Macmillan, Kieth, Don Ciarduloo, and Sam Zamora (along with 10 other peole) went with Jeff to xtant and did all the in house design and engineering work and prototype assembly. Nothing was subbed out. Everything was new, nothing carried over from PPI except for the brains.


Keith Harbaugh did not go to Xtant as far as I can recall. He was involved in the Esoteric Audio amplifier project, which eventually became absorbed by another company. Keith now works in JL Audio's engineering dept. as well.



> Fast forward to 2000 when Jeff Scoon assumed the newly formed position of VP of JL Audio's Electronics Division. Bruce Macmillan and David Kirch (also from PPI & xtant) were hired and set up shop in Arizona Where they led the design team for the JL Slash amps and everything since.


Bruce and Dave joined JL Audio more than a year earlier than Jeff Scoon. They were already pretty far along with the Slash amps when Jeff came on board.



> The Slash series is sort of the logical progression from the M, AM, Pro MOS, DM (the original R.I.P.S !), DX, 93-94 Art (not the .2 bc they were gone by then), and what they did at at xtant. There is a straight line of lineage from those original ideas and designs from PPI in the 80's to the HD amps of today.


Yes, Bruce Macmillan's fingerprints are all over all of these designs.



> Something else you'll notice is that the alliance between JL Audio; Lucio Proni (the 'L' in JL Audio) & Manville Smith, MB Quart; Dr Kurt Mueller and PPI; Scoon & Macmillan in the mid 1990's has congealed together in the current JL Audio product. Look at the high end JL speakers, those baskets look familiar to Quart fans I bet.


Any similarity is unintentional. Kurt Müller & Co. is a German supplier of cones and suspension parts for speakers. They don't make baskets or any hard parts and they do not assemble complete loudspeakers. They sell their soft parts to a large number of clients around the world. At one time, MB Quart and PPI used Müller parts in their speakers. JL Audio still does. 



> I should also point out that a friend who is a film student has been looking for ideas for a documentary. Could this be just what he's looking for???


The Rockford/Orion/PPI soap opera in the early and mid 1980's would be a fun topic to explore. There was lots of intrigue involving dumpster research, fights over heat sink tooling, engineering, etc...


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## msmith

PPI_GUY said:


> Did someone call me?
> Is JL negotiating to buy and bring back another great brand from the past?


No. We are focused on only one brand: JL Audio.


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## PPI_GUY

msmith said:


> No. We are focused on only one brand: JL Audio.


Thank you for clearing this up. Obviously the guy was b.s'ing us. For what purpose, who can say? 
Also, thanks for clarifying the history. I'd like to see that documentary of the PPI/Orion/RF early days. A niche project certainly but, fascinating nonetheless.

Continued success to JL Audio, that new 1200 Slash looks like a real beast!


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## OldOneEye

Wasn't there a Stephen Leigh involved in the PPI Art Series stuff at one porint or another (who I think was involved in the Esoteric amp program and ended up at PG I thought before going into pro/home/other audio).


Juan


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## msmith

OldOneEye said:


> Wasn't there a Stephen Leigh involved in the PPI Art Series stuff at one porint or another (who I think was involved in the Esoteric amp program and ended up at PG I thought before going into pro/home/other audio).
> 
> 
> Juan


Stephen Leigh came to PPI to take charge of their speaker designs when they decided to branch out into loudspeakers. This was around 1994-95, IIRC. Leigh was not involved in the Art Series development. That was mostly Bruce Macmillan.


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## Topdown

msmith said:


> Stephen Leigh came to PPI to take charge of their speaker designs when they decided to branch out into loudspeakers. This was around 1994-95, IIRC. Leigh was not involved in the Art Series development. That was mostly Bruce Macmillan.


Correct. the Alma Gates Bronco, the "muffler" amps, etc...


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## OldOneEye

Interesting how they talk about the people but not the ownership (which changed quite a bit). Would love to see a chronology of ownership and sister companies (not too much detail).


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## Chuck

Thats what I'm talking about. I'd like to do one of those gigantic wall charts that plots the path of every notable figure in mobile hifi through every company they started/designed for/consulted, etc. There's plenty of info on people in home hifi like Bongiorno, Carver, Polk, and David Hafler, but what do we really know about the car market? Most of the attention is on whatever Jim Fosgate touched, so I'm enjoying all the info you guys have contributed here.


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## Pulse_GTO

PPI-ART COLLECTOR said:


> WTF ever came of this?
> It's 2013 now. :mean:
> 
> 
> Bret
> PPI-ART COLLECTOR


It's 2015 now. What was this big announcement?


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## wagonmaster

Carrolyn Hall Young was the daughter in law of MTX owner Loyd Ivey as told to me by Loyd himself at the 2002 USACi finals

Tim


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## 1styearsi

i was told that DIAMOND AUDIO was some of ppi's best leaving again to start a new company?? is that true?
Diamond Audio D7-104 (d7104) D7 Series 4-Channel Amplifier
either way i had a chance to get a few of these and didn't i'm still kicking myself in the ass.


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## rton20s

Weren't the D7 amps just rebadged Esoteric amps? Or was it the other way around?


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## sldghamr

I was excited when I found this thread, I realize it's old but I too would love to see (or even help with) some sort of documentary about the golden years of car audio, which spends a good chunk of time in the Phoenix area in the late 80's/early 90's.
Even a limited-run podcast culled from phone calls with any of the pioneers would be awesome to do or at least hear.
I'd love to hear about how electronics technologies converged to make the PWM power supplies possible which largely fueled the much larger amps that began to be built in the late 80's.
I lived in Phoenix the first half of 1988 doing car audio installs, and made multiple trips to PPI, and toured the facilities of "The Big 3" - both PPI's locations on Pierce St and the building they built new, I think it was 28th Street or some such?
Specifically in regard to JL Audio, PPI OEM'd some of their early amps, we sold them at our store. They had a heatsink similar to Crutchfield's only it was gold.
After Phoenix I moved back to Minnesota and worked at a Team Electronics store, I soon got them into Special Edition (another PPI OEM for Car Stereo Distributors "CSD") PPI, Kicker and MTX.

So, has anyone gotten anywhere on such a documentary?


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## sldghamr

Just a little Nit on the timeline, not looking to argue, just retracing history as best I can recall it. The ART _paint scheme_ debuted in 1989 at CES IIRC as I was there and have video footage of the PPI display (and the dash of Jeff's Toyota Supra that was a demo on the display, which I'll post frame-grabs from tonight), the ART _series_ came out in '92 IIRC because I left the industry in June '92 and they were already out. The M series debuted in late '87 early '88 again IIRC as they were new when I was introduced to PPI which was Jan 1988. The Sedona line debuted in '89 or '90, a little fuzzy on that one, but we had the Sedona Astro demo van (with JL 10" subs) at the store for a weekend in spring 1991. The Sedona series was similar to a number of the PPI OEM's - namely lacking the current doubling when bridging into 4 ohms and no power supply regulation IIRC. PPI also OEM'd some amps for Clarion for their "Audia" series. I used the smallest one in my first system, 20 wpc @ 4 ohms. They also had a 40 wpc IIRC. Regretably I have no photos of that system.


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## sldghamr

I knew there was an "8" in there... PPI was at 4829 S. 38th St., not 28th.


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## sldghamr

PPI also OEM'd amps for Sansui and G&S Designs, photos of such from CES 1989 will follow.


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## sldghamr

The sawtooth logo is based on a Pulse-Width-Modulation (PWM) waveform, PWM is the core technology of the power supply enabling car amps to produce more power than 12 watts RMS per channel using a basic BTL IC output design (the majority of late 70's and early 80's "booster/EQ's" were BTL designs).


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## sldghamr

Frame grabs from video I shot at the 1989 CES 1 of 2.
Top left - Kicker/Linear Astro demo van
Top Left 2 - G&S Designs (PPi OEM amps)
Top Center - Special Edition amps (PPI OEM amps)
Top Right 2 - Sansui Mustang (PPI OEM amps)
Top Right - Orion Chevy Van
Bottom Left - Orion Chevy Van
Bottom Left 2 - Orion Aerostar
Bottom Center - Jeff Scoon's Toyota Supra, PAR-224 and RCM-1000
Bottom RIght 2 - 2350 MOSFET amp
Bottom Right - 2075, 2150, 2200, 2300 ART colors scheme


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## sldghamr

Frame grabs from video I shot at the 1989 CES 2 of 2.
Top left - "Ghostblasters" Herse featuring all PPI electronics
Top Left 2 - "Ghostblasters" Herse featuring all PPI electronics
Top Center - "Ghostblasters" Herse featuring all PPI electronics
Top Right 2 - Linear/Kicker Astro van
Top Right - Linear/Kicker Astro van
Bottom Left - Linear/Kicker Astro van
Bottom Left 2 - MTX IROC Z Camaro with PPI electronics 
Bottom Center - PPI display 2030, 2050, 2075, 2150
Bottom RIght 2 - PPI display
Bottom Right - "Ghostblasters" Herse featuring all PPI electronics - PAR-224's


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## Darth SQ

sldghamr said:


> Frame grabs from video I shot at the 1989 CES 1 of 2.
> Top left - Kicker/Linear Astro demo van
> Top Left 2 - G&S Designs (PPi OEM amps)
> Top Center - Special Edition amps (PPI OEM amps)
> Top Right 2 - Sansui Mustang (PPI OEM amps)
> Top Right - Orion Chevy Van
> Bottom Left - Orion Chevy Van
> Bottom Left 2 - Orion Aerostar
> Bottom Center - Jeff Scoon's Toyota Supra, PAR-224 and RCM-1000
> Bottom RIght 2 - 2350 MOSFET amp
> Bottom Right - 2075, 2150, 2200, 2300 ART colors scheme


I was there too.
It was all quite a sight back then and we never thought it would end.
The golden days of car audio.


Bret 
Darth SQ


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## 1styearsi

i was reading tru and i saw the g&s designs mention but not the mtx terminators mta225/mta250 https://youtu.be/7v2GMZ_SJ4M
off topic.....back in 1994 thr mtx rep told me the thunder amps were designed buy the same a guy that left rockford,and the rockford rep said it was true and "the guy took the HD technology". anyone know abut that? 
crazy how company's employees/founders spread.


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## sldghamr

Pretty sure, again IIRC, the first gen "Terminator" amps were PPI OEM's (I seem to remember someone form PPI commenting on them) - and look at the speaker connector in the YouTube video.


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## sldghamr

The Orion Chevy van was using Sony 8mm video as a source, playing sections from "Top Gun" and a Lee Ritenour concert - I remember seeing the portion where he was playing a SynthAxe.


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## dallasneon

sldghamr said:


> PPI also OEM'd amps for Sansui and G&S Designs, photos of such from CES 1989 will follow.


Honestly, i haven't been this excited about anything on this forum until your post.....I love old pics of car audio....


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## sldghamr

Thanks,, if ONLY I would have had a real camera back in the day. I have no photos of most of my systems, only bits and pieces of one.


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## sldghamr

Things are going to take a turn towards ghetto briefly, only in the name of displaying old school car audio. This is from 1987. My brother was an electronics tech and interviewed at Rockford but never made the cut. On a budget, he refused to be outdone and made modifications to the Pyramid PB-300's to invert one channel so he could bridge them (this is before amps came with one channel already inverted ala the PPI pre-"M" series.) On the front side of this cabinet are 6 - 12" Pyramid woofers, side panels with 2 - 6" midbasses and IIRC like 4 dome tweeters each. The electronic subwoofer crossover is the grey box under the dash - hand-built.


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## sldghamr

Alright, now back to (mostly) our regularly scheduled program; my brother's second system in a 1988 Mazda B2200. 2 - PPI 2300M's (driving 4 - 12" Pyramid woofers, later replaced by Collins' 12's), a 2075M driving 2 - 8" Collins midbasses, a 2050 driving a pair of AFS Kricket 4 - 5 1/4 midbass/mids and a 2030 driving some Peerless domes I think. Fed by a Sansui CD mechanism (the slave to the GTX-7000) into a PAR-224 to an OMX-232 and EPX-222 IIRC. The sub box was huge and lived in the bed of the truck (he cut our the back wall of the cab and front of the bed) covered by a SnugTop. This is spring 1988.


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## sldghamr

Still have 3 of these new in the box (it was a desperate grab for some vintage PPI gear, what can I say). The BGM-100 was a necessary accessory before the "M" series because until then, their amps didn't have a (the right) channel phase inverted so they were bridge-ready out of the box.


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## sldghamr

Few more from CES 1989, G&S Designs amp and a Cerwin Vega/Orion Mustang with 16 - 12's.


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## GEM592

sldghamr said:


> Alright, now back to (mostly) our regularly scheduled program; my brother's second system in a 1988 Mazda B2200. 2 - PPI 2300M's (driving 4 - 12" Pyramid woofers, later replaced by Collins' 12's), a 2075M driving 2 - 8" Collins midbasses, a 2050 driving a pair of AFS Kricket 4 - 5 1/4 midbass/mids and a 2030 driving some Peerless domes I think. Fed by a Sansui CD mechanism (the slave to the GTX-7000) into a PAR-224 to an OMX-232 and EPX-222 IIRC. The sub box was huge and lived in the bed of the truck (he cut our the back wall of the cab and front of the bed) covered by a SnugTop. This is spring 1988.


Ahhh the snug top ... that takes me back


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## GEM592

sldghamr said:


> Still have 3 of these new in the box (it was a desperate grab for some vintage PPI gear, what can I say). The BGM-100 was a necessary accessory before the "M" series because until then, their amps didn't have a (the right) channel phase inverted so they were bridge-ready out of the box.


I use the Orion version of that to this day. Nothing wrong with a little inversion between friends.


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## sldghamr

The SnugTop


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## GEM592

sldghamr said:


> The SnugTop


That's the 2200 or something wow I'll have to look at that again.


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## GEM592

I thought I saw a for sale sign


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## sldghamr

The photo is from 1988, sorry :~)


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## GEM592

sldghamr said:


> The photo is from 1988, sorry :~)


well come on


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## sldghamr

Modern photos of some vintage PPI accessories. I'll never forget the first time I heard the PAR-224, never had I heard an EQ like it, even in the pro sound world, it made the system sound amazing - the bass was so tight yet deep and the highs smooth but effective. I even used it in my home system years ago with a Dynaco 416. This unit still has the anodized faceplate, they later went to a powder coated finish that didn't fade in the sun (serious issues with that in Phoenix!) I had mine replaced 3 times IIRC, the last time they sent me the powder coated version. I bought this unit off a former customer along with the OMX-232 and DPX-222.


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## GEM592

sldghamr said:


> Modern photos of some vintage PPI accessories. I'll never forget the first time I heard the PAR-224, never had I heard an EQ like it, even in the pro sound world, it made the system sound amazing - the bass was so tight yet deep and the highs smooth but effective. I even used it in my home system years ago with a Dynaco 416. This unit still has the anodized faceplate, they later went to a powder coated finish that didn't fade in the sun (serious issues with that in Phoenix!) I had mine replaced 3 times IIRC, the last time they sent me the powder coated version. I bought this unit off a former customer along with the OMX-232 and DPX-222.


Nice! I still use three PAR-225s for line level and on the fly tuning.


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## GEM592

I have a couple copies of the 224s and the crossovers. Cool stuff.


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## sldghamr

In my last system I had the 225 as well, loved it, they finally put the fader on the front :~)


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## sldghamr

More photos as promised. Several ART series: ProMOS-25, 4100AM, 2150AM, 2050AM, PAR-245, late rev OMX-232 (note newer style knobs). Photos compliments of a friend and former co-worker from Team Electronics.


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## sldghamr

Some PPI OEM's
Special Edition 2100 (made for Car Stereo Distributors "CSD" in Phoenix and I think San Diego 1987 - 1992 for sure). 100 x 2, 165 x 2 @ 2 ohms, 330 mono @ 4, not regulated IIRC (requires 14.4V for full power.)

Crutchfield CR-4X50P 4 x 50 @ 4 or 2 x 100 @ 4, also not regulated IIRC.
And one group shot for scale on the units.

Photos compliments of a friend and former co-worker from Team Electronics.


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## GEM592

Ha I had the Special Edition A2200 on 2 15s in High School ... sold everything to buy it. Pretty good, no bridging though. That amp is long gone.


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## sldghamr

The 2200 was a modified PPI 2125 board internally IIRC. Bet it made some good noise on those 15's :~) I had a very temporary setup with one running some MTX OEM'd "Special Edition" branded 12's.


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## sldghamr

Couple of a 1993 PPI A404 compliments of a friend and former co-worker at Team Electronics, he later worked for Hanson & Associates rep'ing PPI, Kicker etc..


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