# PPI Phantom P900.4 review in PASmag



## PPI_GUY (Dec 20, 2007)

PASmag review of the new P-P-I P900.4
I hadn't seen this mentioned anywhere. Those interested in the new Phantom series may find this review helpful. Lots of clean power from this little guy!

PASMAG | PERFORMANCE AUTO AND SOUND - Test Report: Precision Power P900.4 Amplifier

Grizz, are these shipping yet?


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## Darth SQ (Sep 17, 2010)

PPI_GUY said:


> PASmag review of the new P-P-I P900.4
> I hadn't seen this mentioned anywhere. Those interested in the new Phantom series may find this review helpful. Lots of clean power from this little guy!
> 
> PASMAG | PERFORMANCE AUTO AND SOUND - Test Report: Precision Power P900.4 Amplifier
> ...


Ok, I was going to say how did you already get one?
Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## PPI_GUY (Dec 20, 2007)

The only online dealer that came up as stocking the new Phantom series was Thunder and I seriously doubt they have them either. Would like an update from Grizz on when these will actually be available for purchase. The test was written up in June.


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## Darth SQ (Sep 17, 2010)

PPI_GUY said:


> The only online dealer that came up as stocking the new Phantom series was Thunder and I seriously doubt they have them either. Would like an update from Grizz on when these will actually be available for purchase. The test was written up in June.


And the source units.
It's really the only thing holding up my build other than the extra money.

Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## oldno7brand (Mar 15, 2011)

Is it me or did that seem like a really short review

The writer mentions only having a very brief time to listen to it but had a positive reaction to the amp.
(Listened to an hour due to a magazine deadline)...... So why not wait a month to put the review out?

Would have been nice to have a photo of the insides.....Also only barely exceeds stated power 
@ 14.4v.........Hmmmmm

145x4 stated power only makes 113 @ 12.6v but a whopping 150x4 @ 14.4

I am not very impressed and that comes from a current PPI owner.


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## Darth SQ (Sep 17, 2010)

oldno7brand said:


> Is it me or did that seem like a really short review
> 
> The writer mentions only having a very brief time to listen to it but had a positive reaction to the amp.
> (Listened to an hour due to a magazine deadline)...... So why not wait a month to put the review out?
> ...


It was a very short "driveby" review.

Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## rommelrommel (Apr 11, 2007)

oldno7brand said:


> Is it me or did that seem like a really short review
> 
> The writer mentions only having a very brief time to listen to it but had a positive reaction to the amp.
> (Listened to an hour due to a magazine deadline)...... So why not wait a month to put the review out?
> ...


While I agree that the review should have waited, I don't think you can be too upset about an amp of this catagory being appropriately rated.

It's cheap, it's tiny, it's efficient, and it does rated. We can't expect amps like this to underrated by a factor of 1.5 or more all other things considered.


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## PPI_GUY (Dec 20, 2007)

J-L uses the same ratings system on their XD amps (also class D). They do rated power (probably alittle more) at 14.4 volts and alittle less down to 11 volts. No big deal to me as I don't spend alot of time listening in my car with the engine off. Why would you expect P-P-I to be severly underrated? Their stuff from the 80's and 90's was never underrated either. 
The author of the PASmag review says he will post updates regarding this amp on his blog. However, I couldn't find a link to it anywhere on the site.


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## DS-21 (Apr 16, 2005)

oldno7brand said:


> The writer mentions only having a very brief time to listen to it but had a positive reaction to the amp.
> (Listened to an hour due to a magazine deadline)...... So why not wait a month to put the review out?


I like it. It makes me think well of the reviewer.

"Listening" to an amp is stupid. It's just a gain block. Unless it's designed to be a fixed tone control, it will sound like every other amp. So, just measure it and see what it can do. Then throw some speakers to it to make sure there's not something odd in its performance that wasn't captured on the bench. That shouldn't take more than an hour.

Anything more is just gratiutous.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

DS-21 said:


> I like it. It makes me think well of the reviewer.
> 
> "Listening" to an amp is stupid. It's just a gain block. Unless it's designed to be a fixed tone control, it will sound like every other amp. So, just measure it and see what it can do. Then throw some speakers to it to make sure there's not something odd in its performance that wasn't captured on the bench. That shouldn't take more than an hour.
> 
> Anything more is just gratiutous.


I agree, with all the plots shown, you can see if does what it was designed to do. What more do you need. If you need more than the rated power, buy a bigger amp, pretty simple.


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## oldno7brand (Mar 15, 2011)

I wasn't trying to be negative just point out what I felt were some items of note from the review.

As mentioned older PPI made stated power and not much more.
But they were making this power @ 12v.... at least my 97 vintage Power Class amps do. 

I just wish any manufacturer was clear on this. The PPI Website makes no mention of it and in reading the review the Phantoms make stated power at 
14V.

They are tiny and likely affordable and seem to graph nicely.
They seem to do what they are designed for and the review was what it was.... It just seemed like the review was rushed out


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

oldno7brand said:


> I wasn't trying to be negative just point out what I felt were some items of note from the review.
> 
> As mentioned older PPI made stated power and not much more.
> But they were making this power @ 12v.... at least my 97 vintage Power Class amps do.
> ...


Amps are not rated at 12v anymore. Even a 15% increase in power if it was rated at 12v is not noticeable anyways. So its all moot.


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## DS-21 (Apr 16, 2005)

oldno7brand said:


> It just seemed like the review was rushed out


It probably was. Deadlines and such.

However, we should thank the reviewer for prioritizing the sometimes annoying and tedious stuff (bench testing) over the more fun but pointless stuff (let's listen to my music and make up new ways to say that it sounds the same as other amp).

I say thumbs up to Grizz, et al., but for one thing: it seems to have grown a quarter-inch fatter. I was thinking about them when they were 6.5" wide. At 6.75" wide, no dice.


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## oldno7brand (Mar 15, 2011)

DS-21 said:


> It probably was. Deadlines and such.
> 
> However, we should thank the reviewer for prioritizing the sometimes annoying and tedious stuff (bench testing) over the more fun but pointless stuff (let's listen to my music and make up new ways to say that it sounds the same as other amp).QUOTE]
> 
> Agreed :laugh:


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## PPI_GUY (Dec 20, 2007)

If these little amps sound as good as the reviewer claims and the testing backs it up, J-L is gonna feel a hit to their class D sales. This Phantom series rocks on price point alone.


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

oldno7brand said:


> ...
> Would have been nice to have a photo of the insides.....Also only barely exceeds stated power
> @ 14.4v.........Hmmmmm
> 
> ...


I hate amps that arent accuretly rated... why woudnt you want it to make rated?


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## King Nothing (Oct 10, 2005)

477x2 bridged. This would be a GREAT amp for a simple system. Components on the fronts and a sub on the rear bridged. So its not underrated. Would you rather they called the same amp 600.4 and rated it at 75x4? You should not expect more than rated


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## zhp43867 (Nov 2, 2009)

Could anyone explain to a noob what the reviewer meant when talking about the input voltage? He said 280mV was needed to cause the amp to clip with gains maxed, such that it'd be preferable to have a head unit with 4V output. 

I'd be using this amp with the MS-8, which has 2.8V outputs, translating to 2800mV; would this work okay? Would I experience the "problem" he is speaking of?


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

You should be be fine as far as input voltage. However, I can see these being amps that some might use a line driver with.


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## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

Nonetheless, I am still confused with that statement. It said: "About the only minor gripe I had was the amp didn’t have quite as much gain as I might have liked, requiring about 280mV of input to drive it to clipping with the gains maxed. "

If I am reading this correctly, with gains maxed, it is easy to drive the amplifier into clipping. But, input sensitivity pretty much requires that gains are set to high with a low voltage input, right?


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

On average many amps have an input sensitivity of *200mV*(Gains MAX) to *8V*(Gains MIN). All he is saying is that this amps input sensitivity requires a minimum of *280mV*.


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## Defaalarm (Jul 11, 2013)

Bought this, the two channel and mono, based on this review, price and brand.


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

I guess you haven't read the bad/issues these have.


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## Jagged Corn Flakes (Sep 10, 2013)

TrickyRicky said:


> I guess you haven't read the bad/issues these have.


....or the fact that PASMAG never gives a bad review for any product. Absolutely pointless reviews.


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

Jagged Corn Flakes said:


> ....or the fact that PASMAG never gives a bad review for any product. Absolutely pointless reviews.


Pretty sure they get paid for advertising when doing reviews.


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## Defaalarm (Jul 11, 2013)

TrickyRicky said:


> I guess you haven't read the bad/issues these have.


Like what?


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

Search "issue/problems with phantom p900.4" and there are a few out there. Mostly noise issues after a few months of use, lol.


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## Defaalarm (Jul 11, 2013)

TrickyRicky said:


> Search "issue/problems with phantom p900.4" and there are a few out there. Mostly noise issues after a few months of use, lol.


Crap... Well well... Better cross my fingers then, and hope it doesn't happen to me...

And I bought the 600.2 and 1000.1 too


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## Darth SQ (Sep 17, 2010)

Defaalarm said:


> Crap... Well well... Better cross my fingers then, and hope it doesn't happen to me...
> 
> And I bought the 600.2 and 1000.1 too


I haven't heard any concerns with the last two.


Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## Defaalarm (Jul 11, 2013)

PPI-ART COLLECTOR said:


> I haven't heard any concerns with the last two.
> 
> 
> Bret
> PPI-ART COLLECTOR


Well, hopefully all will work perfectly.


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## Defaalarm (Jul 11, 2013)

Bought a Phoenix Gold Ti210 Subwoofer, is that crap too?


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Jagged Corn Flakes said:


> ....or the fact that PASMAG never gives a bad review for any product. Absolutely pointless reviews.





TrickyRicky said:


> Pretty sure they get paid for advertising when doing reviews.


The one thing I do count on them for in the reviews is the power ratings/testing. Listening impressions, etc... not so much.


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## ndramountanis (Apr 23, 2013)

How is the sq? Any owners out there running them hard? I was thinking of slapping a set of these on some Tower horns (Wet Sounds Rev 10)


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## Jagged Corn Flakes (Sep 10, 2013)

ndramountanis said:


> How is the sq? Any owners out there running them hard? I was thinking of slapping a set of these on some Tower horns (Wet Sounds Rev 10)


It's a budget amp and you get what you pay for.


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## ndramountanis (Apr 23, 2013)

Jagged Corn Flakes said:


> It's a budget amp and you get what you pay for.


That's what I thought..Ill stick to my KS arc stuff..


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