# new soundstream old school amps



## ace956

Hello, this is Ace956. I’m looking into the possibility of resurrecting older, new school , amplifiers only with technology that wasn’t available when I designed the old Class As and Reference amplifiers, only this time with sealed slide switches. What I am looking for is feedback from you hopefully potential customers and Soundstream fans.

My initial idea is to build three Reference amps and three Class A’s. The Reference amps would be 200, 400, 600 watts and the Class A’s would be 300 , 500, and 700 watts. The amps will be rated at 12 volts with unregulated power supplies so that if you run them at say 14 volts you will get even more power. All models will have AOI, Automatic Impedance Selection; all amps will put out full power at any impedance between 4 and 1 ohms.

Like I said this is just a jumping off point. They could be more conventional. The lower the impedance the more power they will put out. For you SPL lovers they could be like 100 watts per channel but when you run them at 1 ohms bridged they put out 1000 watts.

Should they have built in crossovers or filters or should they be just pure amplifiers. What kind of prices would you like to see on them, remember they will be somewhat custom in the beginning, if they don’t reach a certain volume of them they may stay custom or semi custom at higher prices. Above all I want them to be pure, loud and indestructible.

So tell me what you would like to see in an amplifier. Different power settings, 3 channels, Weird crossovers or filters, greater power, anything you can think of. You can send it too me at DIYMA, private message me or send it directly to my email: 
[email protected]

Thanks allot, I am looking forward to you responses, no matter how strange they may be.

Ace956


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## wes007parks

email sent ace


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## King Nothing

Id love to see amps like the old soundstreams. I dont know if you could sell them at a price reasonable enough to be sustainable. For everyone out there right now running a 500 dollar amp, there are 100 running 200 dollar amps. What kind of price would YOU like to see on the amps, or what kind of price would YOU need to see to make it worth your effort in doing the designs and lining up someplace to build them? I would assume you would do the design and then outsource the build of the amps? I think if you could get prices in the Zed range you could compete with him. I would LOVE to have something like a leviathan without the issues the amp has or the issues steve mantz apparently has


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## King Nothing

Also, I think that if you started a small amp company and you could make it known that you were the designer of some of the OG SS stuff, you could make a go of it. there are ALOT of soundstream fans out there. Id like to see possibly a small (75x2) and a large (150x2) 2 channel, a small (50x4) large (100 or 125x4) and a staggered (75x2 and 150x2) 4 channel, and MAYBE even a staggered 6 channel (something like 50x2, 100x2, and 150x2). All connections/settings on the long side of the amps so they can be mounted side by side and look like one continuous amp. I think you have to have at least a selectable high/low pass and maybe a bandpass on a 6 channel. hope this helped


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## chad

are there 2 threads on this now?


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## 86mr2

I count four, and why is this one in DIYMA Rules?


*There were 15.
Now there is one.

---Brian*


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## capnxtreme

new old school FTW


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## chad

86mr2 said:


> I count four, and why is this one in DIYMA Rules?
> 
> 
> *There were 15.
> Now there is one.
> 
> ---Brian*


Brian,

Were they merged then? and where?

Please add to the thread instead of posting within someone else's post, management and questions becomes a REAL bear.

Voice of experience


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## BigAl205

He deleted the other 14 and gave warning.


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## chad

I'm confizzled.

There was good stuff in there.


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## chad

Dude, Wade's post count went down to like 16 and all his repair and amp threads are gone


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## Ban Hammer

chad said:


> Dude, Wade's post count went down to like 16 and all his repair and amp threads are gone


*That's because they were all the same.
It's called spam.
It's against T.O.U.
A simple bump here and there would have sufficed.

As far as the posting within a post, I actually hit edit instead of quote on accident.

When taking behavioral corrective action, I will at times post within a post, however.*


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## chad

SolemnSinner said:


> That's because they were all the same.
> It's called spam.
> It's against T.O.U.
> A simple bump here and there would have sufficed.


What about the amp repair threads? Or the new production thread that had actual information in it? I understand your frustration, but I don't really think it was malicious. Was he PM'd? I came here from Usenet, this was basically one of my first forums and THE first VB forum, I'll admit that it took a bit of getting used to. I think it's safe to say that Wade is not a forum veteran.



SolemnSinner said:


> As far as the posting within a post, I actually hit edit instead of quote on accident.



LOL I've done that myself, it blows


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## Ban Hammer

*All that spam could have been a one touch ban and clean, but I was lenient and allowed one thread to stay upon further review.
The jury is still out on whether or not this thread alone violates TOU.
He did have over 50 posts, but it was all spam, hence removed.
Now, I can either delete this thread altogether, or show some leniency towards the OP and allow him to get to 50+ again, and move it to the classifieds since he is advertising.
People seem interested in his ideas.
So I think a path of leniency may be in order.*


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## Ban Hammer

> What about the amp repair threads? Or the new production thread that had actual information in it? I understand your frustration, but I don't really think it was malicious. Was he PM'd? I came here from Usenet, this was basically one of my first forums and THE first VB forum, I'll admit that it took a bit of getting used to. I think it's safe to say that Wade is not a forum veteran.


*All of those threads were the same thing repackaged.
Now, I've pm'ed with the op and he's a super nice fellow.
He admitted what he did was wrong, but didn't know the rules.
So I'm going to take the man at his word that he won't keep reposting the same thread, and work within a single one.
I'm not frustrated at all.
I operate with a level-head at all times.
I think I'm being more than fair here.*


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## chad

SolemnSinner said:


> Now, I've pm'ed with the op and he's a super nice fellow.
> He admitted what he did was wrong, but didn't know the rules.
> So I'm going to take the man at his word that he won't keep reposting the same thread, and work within a single one.



I feel that you are correct in this assumption.



SolemnSinner said:


> I'm not frustrated at all.
> I operate with a level-head at all times.
> I think I'm being more than fair here.


But there were threads with good info in them, that got nuked granted duplicate, but historically around here when there are dupe threads (we had a forum issue once that caused MAD dupe threads inadvertently) people were good about keeping on track of the threads that were most active. as the mods cleaned up to keep things in chronological order.


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## Ban Hammer

chad said:


> I feel that you are correct in this assumption.
> 
> 
> 
> But there were threads with good info in them, that got nuked granted duplicate, but historically around here when there are dupe threads (we had a forum issue once that caused MAD dupe threads inadvertently) people were good about keeping on track of the threads that were most active. as the mods cleaned up to keep things in chronological order.


*
I reinstated one. The level of interest warrants it.*

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/professional-installers/81211-soundstream-amplifier-repair.html
*
So we have one where he's looking for ideas.
And one that has a lot of tech info.

Is that fair?*


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## Ban Hammer

*Ace is now back over 50 posts.
This thread will now be moved to the classifieds.

Please do not spam anymore, Ace. One thread for each topic. If your thread gets buried, bump it. DO NOT author multiple duplicate threads.

Thank you.

---Brian*


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## chad

SolemnSinner said:


> *
> I reinstated one. The level of interest warrants it.*
> 
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/professional-installers/81211-soundstream-amplifier-repair.html
> *
> So we have one where he's looking for ideas.
> And one that has a lot of tech info.
> 
> Is that fair?*


Golden!

Ace, if you have an issue finding posts, etc. let me know, I can help you out. I'll be traveling soon but will have internet access.


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## Ban Hammer

chad said:


> Golden!
> 
> Ace, if you have an issue finding posts, etc. let me know, I can help you out. I'll be traveling soon but will have internet access.


*Ok.
Also, upon request, if you guys would like, I can merge all the duplicates into one thread.
I'm being VERY lenient here regarding TOU as I believe Ace's intentions are good.
/moderator mode.*

*Now I have to run to the bank to deposit money so I can order my new clutch.
Let me know what you would like to see done regarding the merging of duplicate threads. I will revisit this thread in a little while. *


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## chad

LOL you burnt up a clutch. Girlfriend or kid? what made it go?


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## Ban Hammer

chad said:


> LOL you burnt up a clutch. Girlfriend or kid? what made it go?


*Stage 3 ACT racing clutch.

Just from taking it out to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to drag it. It's just worn out. Pressure plate is f-ed.*


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## ace956

wes007parks said:


> email sent ace


wes007parks,
ace956
how much power are you looking for?


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## ace956

King Nothing said:


> Id love to see amps like the old soundstreams. I dont know if you could sell them at a price reasonable enough to be sustainable. For everyone out there right now running a 500 dollar amp, there are 100 running 200 dollar amps. What kind of price would YOU like to see on the amps, or what kind of price would YOU need to see to make it worth your effort in doing the designs and lining up someplace to build them? I would assume you would do the design and then outsource the build of the amps? I think if you could get prices in the Zed range you could compete with him. I would LOVE to have something like a leviathan without the issues the amp has or the issues steve mantz apparently has


KingNothing,
I never received your messages, luckily I foud them online. i saw your comments about ZED audio. I don't know much about the laviathon or any problems and kow nothing about the issues of Steve Mantz. What do his amplifiers typically sell for, does he sell direct or does he have dealers? In small lots my amps would be somewhat expensive. But if we can do some volume, say 800 a month of six or so models we cn keep the cost down and build them in the USA.
We can do the amps with the power and features you mentioned. What kind of price would you like to see on the 75x2, 150x2, 50x4 and the rest of the models you said you would like to see and if you know ho many of each amp do you think we could sell?

ace956


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## ace956

capnxtreme said:


> new old school FTW


capnxtreme,
Sorry, it should have been old new school, I apologize.

ace956


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## ace956

chad said:


> Dude, Wade's post count went down to like 16 and all his repair and amp threads are gone


CHAD
I agree with you but SolemnSinner told me I was breaking the rules, so I told him I was sorry and wouldn't do it again. I plan to have a dialog with him and see what I can do. He mentioned something about running ads, I'm goig to try to find out more about.

be cool, ace956


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## Luke352

ace956 said:


> KingNothing,
> I never received your messages, luckily I foud them online. i saw your comments about ZED audio. I don't know much about the laviathon or any problems and kow nothing about the issues of Steve Mantz. What do his amplifiers typically sell for, does he sell direct or does he have dealers? In small lots my amps would be somewhat expensive.
> 
> ace956


A Zed Leviathan does 6 x 150 continuous @ 4 ohm or 6 x 250 @ 2 ohm and each pair of channels does about 500-550 bridged @ 4 ohm also has a xover section that can do pretty much anything you can imagine and costs about $629 I think. He also has the Kronos that does 2 x 250 @ 4 ohm, 2 x 500 @ 2 ohm or 1000 w continuous bridged @ 4 ohm, I think it's about $450. They are reasonably small aswell with very little heat, so they are Class D. He had a few initial teething problems as he was supplied a batch of high/low side IC driver chips that had a very high failure rate which took a while for them to track down, but now that that's been rectified he has some very happy customers. He sells direct but he does have one online dealer aswell.

Go here for more info http://www.zedaudiocorp.com/Products/leviathan.html the manual is worth a download if you want to get feel for why he decided build this current series.


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## envisionelec

It all makes sense now. I felt I was being targeted, but it appears the epic sig-hammer was released on many people in the past few days. My sincerest apologies to everyone involved. I make virtually nothing on my stuff so I hope my products didn't cause anyone undue stress because if it did...well, I can't afford the lawsuit.


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## alachua

Wade,

I think there is certainly a niche market for high quality amps. I don't know that 800 units/month would be possible in today's car audio market, but that is all just conjecture unless one were to do some serious market analysis. 

There has been some lengthy discussion in the PPI Art thread regarding staying true to old school roots versus using newer technology as well as on shore versus off shore production. Here is a link to the thread, though I will warn you it is approaching 1000 posts, and about a third of them are nothing more than juvenile name calling, but I think it is particularly poignant regarding your thoughts of re-entering the market (it also has many posts by Grizz Archer, the man who is designing the pre-amp section of the new PPI and Soundstream amps).

Personally, and from what I have seen browsing the forum, I think the biggest opportunity markets for amps the following:

Small, multi channel (5-6) digital switching (class d/g/h)
Small footprint high power 4ch amps
"Boutique" A/B amps

The new JL audio HD series hits on the first two, the aforementioned Zed Levithan hits on the first on, products from Zuki Audio, Tru Technology, and others hit on the third.

I think the days of cheater amps and insanely low loads have long since passed in all but the rarest cases (SPL comp vehicles). The PPI thread has shown that the people who have the means, motivation and willingness to buy these amps are typically a sentimental bunch. I am sure there are many people who used your amps in their youth who would love to do so again. Steve from Zed has shown that reputation is a great asset, although he has had some 'issues' with his newest amp line.

Zuki audio is all direct marketed, including some single digit unit production runs and near custom design on select products. I would absolutely suggest going this route if you felt you would have the infrastructure to support it. Having a great person/people on staff to answer questions on forums and via email as well as handling PR with buyers after the sale on the forums would be just as important as having a great website and a solid shipping department to get the products in the people's hands.

If i had a suggestion as far as a basic line of products, it would be something along the lines of: A solid 5ch amp that had a small footprint and delivered 75x2 + 100-150x2 + 500 +/- x1 using advanced switching for higher efficiency and smaller footprint and including a deflatable preamp section that allowed for people to run a high pass/band pass/low pass using just the amp. A standard A/B amp that had 100-200 wpc @ 4 ohm and featured the same full preamp section as the five channel. A sub amp that had similar cosmetics, featured an RCA pass through and delivered 600-1000 watts @ 4-2ohm and had matching cosmetics to the others. I _personally_ am a fan of classic styling. It doesn't need big logos, blue LEDs, odd shapes, nonstandard dimensions or anything else. Just a nice looking rectangular hunk of metal that dissipates heat and fits in as small a space as possible.

Finally, don't be afraid to outsource production. A few members here and elsewhere will tout that they would love to 'buy American', but the great reality is that cost more than anything will determine whether or not the average car audio buyer will purchase an amp. Perhaps have a single amp, like the A/B, that is completely assembled in the USA, since it can be positioned in the premium market price wise.

If you become a vendor here, a great way to guarantee that at least a certain amount of amps will sell is to take advantage of a pre-order group buy one the product is designed and ready to be built. There were a number of group buys run on the first production runs of the new Zed amps that were fairly successful.


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## truckerfte

i know this is a couple of weeks old, but is it possible to package something 600-1000
watts in a heatsink style similiar to the old dII series amps? I dont know how close you could get to that look without getting SS's legal dept in a tizzy...but it would be cool. of course, im prolly the only one that would think so....


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## Q-Authority

I just noticed this thread for the first time, and was really excited to see people discussing a possibiity such as this. I was hoping to see a bit more posting on the subject, but perhaps the threads being merged and moved have something to do with that.

Personally, I would love to see some specialty sq amps become available, but would prefer models a little on the smaller side than mentioned in the starter post. As for low ohm ratings, which I think someone touched upon already, is there really much of a need for amps that go down to 1 ohm or lower? I lost a lot of interest in the industry when that became such a big fad in the 90's. And since I never ran my amps at those low resistances I would have been forced to by an amp much bigger than I could really use to get the output I needed, plus I would have been forced to pay a considerable extra amount for performance I would never use.

I also know a lot of people want to display their amps, but I have alway been one who preferred to keep them out of sight, and out of temptation, therefore the largest amps that I have generally used have been along the size of something like the old D200II, MC245, Rubicom 204, or the Rubicon 502, all of which were roughly 11x8x2.25 inches.

I'd also vote for built-in xovers, if they could be made of matching quality, or prehaps a matching quality set of separate external xovers.

The idea is great, if the demand is there. Good luck. And I vote for 'New Old School'.


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## ace956

Ban Hammer,
for some reason messages for me and new inquiries are not being forwarded to my email address. did i do something wrong? i have to go online and search nto find people that want to talk to me. also, i have no way to bump my thread anymore. in thread tools it used to say, "detach thread" and then "stick thread on top", it doesn't have that option any more. is there a new way to bump your thread that i don't know about? please contact me about this.
Thank You, ace956


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## Q-Authority

Hope you get a response on this and get things straightened out. It would great to see you on here more often, as I think a lot of people would be happy to hear from you, and be reminded of your current work repairing and creating.

As soon as I can get certain things settled I'll be talking to you about possibly refreshing/modding a couple of D200II's that I have had since new, but never installed, but that I now want to use in a long awaited project. I'll also have some questions about using/refreshing a (NOS) SS DX-7 for its center channel summing capabilities, and possibly refurbing an SS Class A 50 II for use with it.

Keep up the great work!


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## Salami

ace956 said:


> also, i have no way to bump my thread anymore. in thread tools it used to say, "detach thread" and then "stick thread on top", it doesn't have that option any more. is there a new way to bump your thread that i don't know about? please contact me about this.
> Thank You, ace956


The stick thread on top only puts in the top of the forum for that one user, no one else. It just made it easier for you to find the thread. 

Bumping is any sort of reply, which brings the thread up to the top of the particular forum. Like this post. 


I never saw this thread the first time around. Here is what I personally would be interested in. I seriously regret selling my Reference 300 & 500. I would love to see a basic very solidly US built basic amp like the original Reference series. I could wire them to just about any load and get good, clean power in a clean, nice looking package. 2x100, 2x175-200. I would take two of each.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX

slight fan...



















I've given them all up... If only I could find a Continuum... 

Cheers, glad to see you here..


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## JAX

these would sell I am sure. what would you call them? sorry if that was asked. I read this long time ago and saw Aaron had posted. 

I didnt take the time to re read it all over.

just sounded like a great idea if you could do it.

what better place to get a new improved legend than from the maker of the original


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## azvrt

Wade,

If you can make this happen it would be fantastic. There are still A LOT of old school Soundstream fans out there and some models (mainly the Class A's and larger A/B's) still sell for very high prices.

I do hope you make some nice Class A models as not many companies are doing that nowadays (not many did that in the past either). I do not care whether they are high biased A/B's they just sound better.
You wouldn't have very much competition on these models. A/B amps on the other hand can be purchased anytime anywhere.

Personally, but that's just me, I would add fans to at least all Class A models. This way they would last longer. If they are fan cooled you might be able to raise the bias even further. Crossovers are always nice, I do not know whether they degrade sound quality so that's up to you.

Also a model which still sells for very high prices is the Reference Picasso. People love its sound quality. Maybe some kind of similar model but with higher output, and again, fan cooled.

You might want to be careful with those low impedances. I know that's what helped build Soundstream's reputation, but it also destroyed it. With the manual switch some guys made stupid mistakes, and the automatic switch on the s and sx models had huge problems, if I am informed correctly this was especially the case at 'strange' impedances, where the amp could not decide what it should do and kept switching back and forth. But that's just what I've read. If you can make it work, go for it.

Thanks for all amps you've made,
I just discovered old Soundstreams a couple of months ago as I was too young back then and I already have purchased many models. I will soon build a setup with at least two Picasso's and a third Soundstream, or maybe even three Picasso's. Still working on it.

Good luck and all the best !!!

Fred


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## macon

ahhh Class A 50s and Class A 100s!! Sounded just a bit better than a Fosgate PR2100 or PR250 and lasted longer!


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## JAX

got a email today from Mr. Stewart

Unless he can get some funding then it wont happen. sad but not unexpected. 

maybe he can get some current maker to make some new ones to his specs and quality.

looks like a longshot.


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## bkjay

JAX said:


> got a email today from Mr. Stewart
> 
> Unless he can get some funding then it wont happen. sad but not unexpected.
> 
> maybe he can get some current maker to make some new ones to his specs and quality.
> 
> looks like a longshot.


Thats to bad. I'm with you with all the amps on the market trying to be hi-end I think his name and skill would be a good one two punch.


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## JAX

bkjay said:


> Thats to bad. I'm with you with all the amps on the market trying to be hi-end I think his name and skill would be a good one two punch.


see how well Zed does just based on his past rep. I think Mr. Stewart could make it work. Just dont know if a company is out there that wants the opportunity.

I also dont know if he would want to do it. He was wanting to be the company and not an employee.

strange how there seems to be fewer people in car audio history that actually created the products and are known by name.

Everyone knows who Zed is. but half the time when talking about time periods when amps were produced the actual people who did it are not really known by name.


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## bkjay

Good points!


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## azvrt

Maybe he could team up with the UK brand Genesis. I think they are currently having a hard time as well.


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## carlton jones

best to have dealers who can interact with the customer base and properly represent your amplifiers. that also keeps you from having to answer a lot of tech support phonecalls and weird questions about installs and other weird **** people call about


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX

notice the OP is MIA?


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## Salami

He seems to come and go. Here a lot than disappears for a bit.


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## JAX

probably busy with other things. anyone else here but me hear from him lately? anyone having some repairs done at the moment?


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## arw01

We've been emailing back and forth on thoughts on the hand built amps he tossed out a few months ago.

Stewart needs and angel that believes in car audio.


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## macon

First i'd love to know how you are going to design a nice amp w/o loading down the audio circuits with protection circuits that rob sound quality. I'm all for 25x2 Class A, 50x2 Class A, and say 500 A/B. With switchable protection circuits. If you want over current protection...turn it on. If the listener wanted a 1-2amp buss fuse in the audio line then that would (sort of) protect against an accidental protected component or wire...but you'd have to sell with some kind of disclaimer when the p/s or outputs char coal broiled? I loved the old Nelson Pass designs for home gear that were so simple and inexpensive and i'd love to see circuits like those again for car...like Audiomobile and Soundstream did 30 years ago. Class A big watt amps will have some huge current hungry power supplies needed even in 2011 (right) ? So i'd like to see what you have in mind. I'm still someone that runs tri-amped Nakamich amps PA300II, PA 150 and a YZEN AB 500 watt amp on my sub...the Naks still have the protection on them but the YZen has a stripped down audio circuit where protection is concerned...its was a simple circuit so i chose that amp. I hope you keep us informed.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX

macon said:


> First i'd love to know how you are going to design a nice amp w/o loading down the audio circuits with protection circuits that rob sound quality. I'm all for 25x2 Class A, 50x2 Class A, and say 500 A/B. With switchable protection circuits. If you want over current protection...turn it on. If the listener wanted a 1-2amp buss fuse in the audio line then that would (sort of) protect against an accidental protected component or wire...but you'd have to sell with some kind of disclaimer when the p/s or outputs char coal broiled? I loved the old Nelson Pass designs for home gear that were so simple and inexpensive and i'd love to see circuits like those again for car...like Audiomobile and Soundstream did 30 years ago. Class A big watt amps will have some huge current hungry power supplies needed even in 2011 (right) ? So i'd like to see what you have in mind. I'm still someone that runs tri-amped Nakamich amps PA300II, PA 150 and a YZEN AB 500 watt amp on my sub...the Naks still have the protection on them but the YZen has a stripped down audio circuit where protection is concerned...its was a simple circuit so i chose that amp. I hope you keep us informed.


Do you ever hit enter?? 

And when was the last time you saw the OP in this thread? 

I believe Elvis has left the building.. or something..


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## macon

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Do you ever hit enter??


I can read it...



> And when was the last time you saw the OP in this thread?


Didn't pay that much attention...it was the content regarding circuits I enjoyed. I even disregarded the idiocy.



> I believe Elvis has left the building.. or something..


I don't blame him and i'm with him.


I was told this was a good forum for autosound, but I see it's a childish waste of bandwidth.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX

macon said:


> I can read it...
> 
> 
> Didn't pay that much attention...it was the content regarding circuits I enjoyed. I even disregarded the idiocy.
> 
> 
> 
> I don't blame him and i'm with him.
> 
> 
> *I was told this was a good forum for autosound, but I see it's a childish waste of bandwidth*.



Whatever dude, learn to ****ing type...


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## Speakers4Weapons

I think the Class A amps should have NO crossovers. Nothing except an input that is balanced to reduce noise and a volume pot with a power LED and Clipping LED. I think the connections should all be on teh same side of the amp with the power being a bit separated from the speakers connections like the Old SoundStream. A fan should be installed on each side similar to the Old Xtant and Adcom where an air tunnel is created and the mosfets are screwed to the sides of the air tunnel. The fan would need to be inaudible becuase Adcom suffered from loud fans. I wouldnt bother doing a low ohms capability with the Class A amps. Id like to see Class A just for the amps that DONT play bass. Getting full wattage at 4 ohms is important because there arent many 2 ohm mids or tweeters. For Bass amps Id go Class G or H. Class D sucks. And Id most definetly install a subsonic filter to eliminate the lowest bass when small subs, vented subs are used. I wouldnt bother installing any other crossover. Just the subsonic filter which would be at least 24db per octave and variable from 10 to about 30hz. Make sure the filter can be turned on /off. Id also install a feature than is similar to the epicenter that AudioSource makes. It is an awesome little circuit allot of bass fans play with. That can also be turned on/off.


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## Speakers4Weapons

JAX said:


> probably busy with other things. anyone else here but me hear from him lately? anyone having some repairs done at the moment?


I had a SoundStream 10.2 fixed. He did it fast and sent it back with a rebirth sheet signed! I was impressed. I highly recommend Wade. If you dont hear from Wade here Im sure he is fixing an amp.


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## azvrt

Speakers4Weapons said:


> I think the Class A amps should have NO crossovers. Nothing except an input that is balanced to reduce noise and a volume pot with a power LED and Clipping LED. I think the connections should all be on teh same side of the amp with the power being a bit separated from the speakers connections like the Old SoundStream. A fan should be installed on each side similar to the Old Xtant and Adcom where an air tunnel is created and the mosfets are screwed to the sides of the air tunnel. The fan would need to be inaudible becuase Adcom suffered from loud fans. I wouldnt bother doing a low ohms capability with the Class A amps. Id like to see Class A just for the amps that DONT play bass. Getting full wattage at 4 ohms is important because there arent many 2 ohm mids or tweeters. For Bass amps Id go Class G or H. Class D sucks. And Id most definetly install a subsonic filter to eliminate the lowest bass when small subs, vented subs are used. I wouldnt bother installing any other crossover. Just the subsonic filter which would be at least 24db per octave and variable from 10 to about 30hz. Make sure the filter can be turned on /off. Id also install a feature than is similar to the epicenter that AudioSource makes. It is an awesome little circuit allot of bass fans play with. That can also be turned on/off.


Sounds good to me.
I think Wade is indeed very busy lately, it takes a while before he finds the time to reply to emails as well. No problem to me. Hopefully he is working on this project


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX

Speakers4Weapons said:


> I think the Class A amps should have NO crossovers. Nothing except an input that is balanced to reduce noise and a volume pot with a power LED and Clipping LED. I think the connections should all be on teh same side of the amp with the power being a bit separated from the speakers connections like the Old SoundStream. A fan should be installed on each side similar to the Old Xtant and Adcom where an air tunnel is created and the mosfets are screwed to the sides of the air tunnel. The fan would need to be inaudible becuase Adcom suffered from loud fans. I wouldnt bother doing a low ohms capability with the Class A amps. Id like to see Class A just for the amps that DONT play bass. Getting full wattage at 4 ohms is important because there arent many 2 ohm mids or tweeters. For Bass amps Id go Class G or H. Class D sucks. And Id most definetly install a subsonic filter to eliminate the lowest bass when small subs, vented subs are used. I wouldnt bother installing any other crossover. Just the subsonic filter which would be at least 24db per octave and variable from 10 to about 30hz. Make sure the filter can be turned on /off. Id also install a feature than is similar to the epicenter that AudioSource makes. It is an awesome little circuit allot of bass fans play with. That can also be turned on/off.



Another that can't hit ****ing ENTER..


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## azvrt

I'd rather have people not use <enter> on this forum than people use the 'F' word.
If you don't mind.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX

I do mind, suck it up buttercup. I wanna say we are all adults here... Well, except for the ones that never learned how to hit ENTER in school..


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## azvrt

Well please consider the fact that some of us are from the pre-'computers at school era' and never were tought how to use a keyboard properly


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## Ban Hammer

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> I do mind, suck it up buttercup.* I wanna say we are all adults here*... Well, except for the ones that never learned how to hit ENTER in school..


*Maybe you should start acting like one then...*


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## bkjay

Speakers4Weapons said:


> I had a SoundStream 10.2 fixed. He did it fast and sent it back with a rebirth sheet signed! I was impressed. I highly recommend Wade. If you dont hear from Wade here Im sure he is fixing an amp.


Please tell, what did that bad boy put out.


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## Speakers4Weapons

bkjay said:


> Please tell, what did that bad boy put out.


The 10.2 put out over 1000 watts! But it does it like no other amp Ive heard.
To give you an idea of the control it has on the subs. We are talking about 36 mosfets! LOL That is insane! Im not sure how the mosfets are connected but they are in some kind of special push pull I think. It gives a certain sound that I can tell you, really pushes the amp into high end levels. Id be very interested in knowing more about the configuration of the amps. Like the way they are built. All I know for sure is that its not just a powerful amp. Its a SQ amp that can be used to push mids and highs as well. At 4 ohms it does only 25watts x 2. But that doubles and triples every time you drop the ohms load to it.The 10.0 is almost the same exact amp but the 10.2 has a better powersupply in my opinion. A 10.2 is among the rarest of the SoundStream collection.


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## azvrt

That's some nice information, thanks.
Although I must disagree on one thing,. I think the Renoir is way more rare than the 10.2
But I do not have the exact numbers ;-)
No seriously, I see a 10.2 occasionally, but the Renoir is a whole different story.


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## Speakers4Weapons

azvrt said:


> That's some nice information, thanks.
> Although I must disagree on one thing,. I think the Renoir is way more rare than the 10.2
> But I do not have the exact numbers ;-)
> No seriously, I see a 10.2 occasionally, but the Renoir is a whole different story.


True.... I saw an odd auction on ebay months ago where just the amp (Renoir) without the heatsink went for about $100. It was like new and tested but they couldnt turn it up due to no heatsink. That would have been an awesome deal if someone has a way of making a new heatsink or even finding one for it.


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## azvrt

I purchased all of the very last batch of the Class A boards and I am currently building several custom amps.
I will build two custom Reference Picasso's and I will have two extra spare boards.
Also I will build a custom 10.0 and have two spare boards.
Also I will build a custom 5.2 and have one spare board.

I also have a Renoir, Class A 3.0, Class A 6.0 and Ref 500 board. As I do not have spares of these I might not build amps for them, then again I might. It is A LOT of work to build custom amps. Also it's quite expensive. As soon as my setup is ready I will have some pictures.

Because of the fact I will be using my custom amps and their spare boards until the end of time I will soon have my regular Soundstream amps for sale, three kick-*ss sets to be precise.

First set will consist of original Refs:
Ref 200, 300, 500, Class A 3.0 and Class A 6.0
All but the 300 in extraordinary condition, 300 in very good condition.
200 and A 6.0 with original box. Manual for 200/300/500.

Second set will be next generation Refs:
A 200s, 644s and one or maybe both 500sx, maybe also a matching blue BLT4 with two brand new 5 meter DIN cables.
These are in magnificent condition as well, like new. Benefits of built-in crossovers, 5 volt gains, balanced inputs, line-outs.

Third set will be my Renoir and one or both of my 10.2's
Renoir and one 10.2 in very good condition, second 10.2 in good condition.

The custom amps I won't sell as it truly is a horrible amount of work to build these, and costly as well. Will be nice though to have my own amps.


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## Speakers4Weapons

azvrt said:


> I purchased all of the very last batch of the Class A boards and I am currently building several custom amps.
> I will build two custom Reference Picasso's and I will have two extra spare boards.
> Also I will build a custom 10.0 and have two spare boards.
> Also I will build a custom 5.2 and have one spare board.
> 
> I also have a Renoir, Class A 3.0, Class A 6.0 and Ref 500 board. As I do not have spares of these I might not build amps for them, then again I might. It is A LOT of work to build custom amps. Also it's quite expensive. As soon as my setup is ready I will have some pictures.
> 
> Because of the fact I will be using my custom amps and their spare boards until the end of time I will soon have my regular Soundstream amps for sale, three kick-*ss sets to be precise.
> 
> First set will consist of original Refs:
> Ref 200, 300, 500, Class A 3.0 and Class A 6.0
> All but the 300 in extraordinary condition, 300 in very good condition.
> 200 and A 6.0 with original box. Manual for 200/300/500.
> 
> Second set will be next generation Refs:
> A 200s, 644s and one or maybe both 500sx, maybe also a matching blue BLT4 with two brand new 5 meter DIN cables.
> These are in magnificent condition as well, like new. Benefits of built-in crossovers, 5 volt gains, balanced inputs, line-outs.
> 
> Third set will be my Renoir and one or both of my 10.2's
> Renoir and one 10.2 in very good condition, second 10.2 in good condition.
> 
> The custom amps I won't sell as it truly is a horrible amount of work to build these, and costly as well. Will be nice though to have my own amps.


So your making the heatsinks? 
I had a 644sx. I had it on 2 SoundStream T4 tens. Lord! Super Loud and o so clean. BUT like the reast of the SX series this one ran into a problem and literally had a melt down. I saved it just in time. When I opened it the fuse was literally melted to the board and heatsink. The metal part was barely a millimeter from shorting out everything. I smelled the plastic from the fuse burning so I pulled over and quickly disconnected the main fuse from the battery. These amps are notorious for sucking up huge amounts of current., They are light dimmers. Thats one big dislike I have but it isnt a bad thing if I can get a Power conditioner like the USamps brand or Accuvolt made. I cant turn up the 10.2 without everything in my car goin black LOL.. And I am sure it hurts the sq of the amp.


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## azvrt

I purchased some heatsinks which happened to be approximately the right size for the Picasso's. Then I had to do some calculations and measuring and order aluminium cut in the right dimensions so I can build the surrounding and bottom cover.

For the Class A 10.0 boards I have purchased an irrepairable 705s which will be heavily modified to fit the 10.0 board. Also I will sand the blue heatsink and use heat resistant paint to match the aluminium color of my custom Picasso's. I will use a fan on each amp for additonal cooling by the way.

Also I have a Continuum, I sold its board to someone who needed it more than myself. Some guy who thinks of himself as a technician had tried to 'repair' this Continuum before I bought it in its malfunctioning condition, and he really made a mess. It would have taken us too much time to repair it so I sold its board to someone who is willing to invest the time to repair it.
The Continuum might be made to fit the Class A 6.0 AND 3.0 board and I was planning to sell it to an acquaintance in this form, but I am having second thoughts as my Class A boards give me a boner. Well not really, but you know what I mean.

A bad batch of parts was delivered to Soundstream at some point and that caused the high failure rates of the sx series as well as the Class A 10.0
A large percentage of the sx series died the first time when powered up, another percentage had problems during its lifetime. Those alive today are perfectly fine, and are as reliable as any good quality 15 year old amplifier.
Beware though when buying a new in box sx it can die on you right away. Same for new in box 10.0, it could start burning while you are enjoying your music. Again, units who have been used all these years and are still alive are great amps. It really was bad luck with that bad batch of parts. Your 644sx must have been a bad one.


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## Speakers4Weapons

azvrt said:


> I purchased some heatsinks which happened to be approximately the right size for the Picasso's. Then I had to do some calculations and measuring and order aluminium cut in the right dimensions so I can build the surrounding and bottom cover.
> 
> For the Class A 10.0 boards I have purchased an irrepairable 705s which will be heavily modified to fit the 10.0 board. Also I will sand the blue heatsink and use heat resistant paint to match the aluminium color of my custom Picasso's. I will use a fan on each amp for additonal cooling by the way.
> 
> Also I have a Continuum, I sold its board to someone who needed it more than myself. Some guy who thinks of himself as a technician had tried to 'repair' this Continuum before I bought it in its malfunctioning condition, and he really made a mess. It would have taken us too much time to repair it so I sold its board to someone who is willing to invest the time to repair it.
> The Continuum might be made to fit the Class A 6.0 AND 3.0 board and I was planning to sell it to an acquaintance in this form, but I am having second thoughts as my Class A boards give me a boner. Well not really, but you know what I mean.
> 
> A bad batch of parts was delivered to Soundstream at some point and that caused the high failure rates of the sx series as well as the Class A 10.0
> A large percentage of the sx series died the first time when powered up, another percentage had problems during its lifetime. Those alive today are perfectly fine, and are as reliable as any good quality 15 year old amplifier.
> Beware though when buying a new in box sx it can die on you right away. Same for new in box 10.0, it could start burning while you are enjoying your music. Again, units who have been used all these years and are still alive are great amps. It really was bad luck with that bad batch of parts. Your 644sx must have been a bad one.


I need some new plastic inserts for the 10.2
The plasttic things that go around the connectors. Those white things. I want to redo the 10.2 I found someone who will powder coat it to whatever color. I just need some new plastic thingys cause the ones I have look oldish.


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## azvrt

Speakers4Weapons said:


> I need some new plastic inserts for the 10.2
> The plasttic things that go around the connectors. Those white things. I want to redo the 10.2 I found someone who will powder coat it to whatever color. I just need some new plastic thingys cause the ones I have look oldish.


Send me an email with your email address. I know where to get those, but I need to send you some 10.2 pictures indicating several parts so you can confirm which of these you need. I need to be 100% sure.


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## slickone

I would love a non switching class a that will do about 20wpc and pure mono blocks that will do 3-500w range..straight gain...no x/o..no boost..etc..just a gain knob/s..ability to do balanced and non balanced to say 8v..

IF they can be on the same level as the D series and Original Reference Series, I would gladly pay up to $2/watt and higher for the class A.

This may be more to ask than what can be offered...but you asked Wade and i'll tell you MY needs...if this can't be done, I can still be happy with the Streams I have now


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## envisionelec

arw01 said:


> We've been emailing back and forth on thoughts on the hand built amps he tossed out a few months ago.
> 
> Stewart needs and angel that believes in car audio.


So do I, but they don't exist. I'm a lot younger, so I have more time to putz around on meaningless tailspins like new car amplifier designs.


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## envisionelec

slickone said:


> I would love a non switching class a that will do about 20wpc and pure mono blocks that will do 3-500w range..straight gain...no x/o..no boost..etc..just a gain knob/s..ability to do balanced and non balanced to say 8v..
> 
> IF they can be on the same level as the D series and Original Reference Series, I would gladly pay up to $2/watt and higher for the class A.
> 
> This may be more to ask than what can be offered...but you asked Wade and i'll tell you MY needs...if this can't be done, I can still be happy with the Streams I have now



You and six other people. Tell ya what - I'll do it for $10/watt. Just for you.


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## envisionelec

azvrt said:


> It really was bad luck with that bad batch of parts. Your 644sx must have been a bad one.


Wow. Which?


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## Bampity

Just adding my 2¢...

Take this.

Add something like this.

And double the output at 1Ω.

With 4 and 5 channel versions.


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