Audiocontrol Epicenter

toy4x said:
Favorite amps- besides Mcintosh

-My absolute favorite amps I ever owned were the old school Soundstream Reference series ! Soundstream just came out with a new reference amp 760.4, they went back to the old school, just sick! (pic is reference 1000)
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old school I loved:
-Zapco
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a/d/s
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Rockford Fosgate:
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-Precision Power Art Series:
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Phoenix Gold- cant forget them, always make great amps.
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-Orion- HCCA was SOOO under rated....I never really saw them used for an SQ set-up... saw them mostly used for SPL.
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Wow I remember most of these amps, Orion was a beast in its day. I haven't been up on any of the new stuff like the cobalt or H series suff . but I'm sure they are still puting out amps with good power. Sound stream for me was always a solid piece, but IMO just got to hot for me and because of that I wouldn't use it in a system. Now I'm a big PG fan, I'm running the Titanium series still. Then they came out with the octane series crap, since there transition after the titanium series amps I haven't brothered much. They have moved on and changed the name of the company but still use PG as a familiar brand that most people know. their RS series has changed since 04 cosmetically so I'm not sure if it's improved. if anyone could find the old outlaw version I'd jump on it.

The PP art series I remember the art work but not really the amp, but it looked nice. and Rockfords, wow you are a audio sound junky. Do you still have all these amps. what are you using now? Nice collection, it brings back memories.
 

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I got a collection of those old school rockfords, a few power 650's, a few power 300's & I think a 150 or a 100.... those are awesome amps...

I also have a collection of those ppi art series amps, also very good stuff, a little gaudy, but aweesome amps...

the old soundstreams were ok, the original ads amps were awesome to, old zappco's & orions, original PG's... really nice stuff.. is that your collection?
 
Yes, sir I have the PG's they are great pieces, I love the over output and balance I get out of them, I have 4 PG's, 3 I'm using now. two titanium 600.2, and 1 500.4. w/blue LED's along with the PG Tit Elite 12" sub, which was really made for competetion SPL, I increase the size/air volume of the box just to soften up the pound that the sub puts out. But now I'm looking for something else that doesn't require as much power, so JL may be the next choice for me, and when I get some time I can redesign what's in the rear of my FX now. I just wish I had more tools to do what I'd like in finished products, but with additional cost and just doing fabrication once in a blue may not be worth it in the long run. but who knows...
 
My favs were hiFonics....."Power from the Gods"
I heard theyre pretty shitty nowadays though.
 
Orion made some clean amps! I loved them but they had a tendancy of heating up.
btw you forgot to mention Highphonics =)

I agree about the new digital amps not haveing that warmth, at least the alpine pdx series. The JL is supposed to sound better but I personally have not heard them, only the alpine's. I'll probably end up with some alpines some day only because of their tiny footprints, along with some Focals.

As for the stock system, if it's got no highs and it's got no lows, it must be Bose.
I'm sure you other audiophiles out there have heard this saying.
 
orion & hifonics were great bass amps, had a pair of hifonics zeus amps on a pair of 18's back in the day in a riviera convertible, talk about induced vomiting, anyone who sat in my back seat for any length of time was a victim :tongue:

since jb couldn't do much with the epicenter now he left it with me,... I'll see when I get a chance to play with it
 
turbocad6 said:
orion & hifonics were great bass amps, had a pair of hifonics zeus amps on a pair of 18's back in the day in a riviera convertible, talk about induced vomiting, anyone who sat in my back seat for any length of time was a victim :tongue:

since jb couldn't do much with the epicenter now he left it with me,... I'll see when I get a chance to play with it
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I was running a Zeus also....those things were great!
 
heh, i'm running a zeus and a boltar in my tacoma. I have not touched that setup since I installed it and it still sounds good to me.
 
speedracerer said:
Can some one just get to what improvements work with our systems......lol
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they are working on it.
if oyu want to stay stock but want to improve it, there isnt tha tmuch out htere. most guys throw in an aftermarket setup.

patience,,,,,
 
If I were to improve the audio, when that day comes I'm thinking JL 13TW5 in a sealed fiberglass encosure where the spare tire is, Focal components up front with all new wires and Apine PDX amps. There's much better amps out there but the PDX series are pretty tiny and I don't want any of it to be visable. Rear door speakers would get disconnected and maybe replaced with focals lower end coaxials.

Take this idea and run with it, let me know how it turns out =)
 
Funny you should mention the JL 13TW5. I ordered one last week to replace my spare. However with the new screw drive in the tire episode, I'm not too sure. I might not get it after all. I was looking at the PPI 500.1 but it maybe too weak for it. I might go with the Hifonics.
 
john you mentioned it's funny what people think sounds good and that is so very true!
When I was looking to buy the FX the guy at the dealer thought the sound was the greatest. He turned it on and turned it waaaaaay up!!
i'm sure to him it was good clean loud music but all I heard was distortion and made no comment, I think I just grinned

I've got my eyes on a pair of Focal 165KPS, look around every now and then and drool. I'm pretty much set on those but still not sure about what amp or amps to power everything since i'm not sure about sub or subs yet either. I carry two dogs in the back from time to time so the spare tire location is ideal for me. For this reason i'm leaning towards the JL 13tw5. I think the 13" would be enough but who knows. Audio equipment adds up really fast though & I don't have that budget right now.
 
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turbocad6 said:
my center channel speaker has been unplugged since day one :smile:
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Even though I don't post much on this forum, but I do read alot.

And I usually trust what turbocad6 have to say on many topics. So I unplugged my center channel speaker today to feel the difference. I truly do feel my music sounds more rich. I can't explain it but it does sound alot better than before.

BTW I have Infiniti Kappas on all four doors, Boston S35 in the tweets and Infiniti sub mated to Hifonics. :)

Out of topic but, there many amp/speaker install kits out there. Ranging from 20 bux to 100+. I was cheap and bought some 30 dollar kit. Do they really make a difference???
 
I realize this is an old thread but it sparked a thought in my head. I dug through all my old stereo crap and found my Epicenter from the 90's and got all excited. I'm (at this point) keeping the stereo all stock and adding a GROM unit so I can play music off of a thumb drive. I've always had issue with the stock stereo quality and disconnected the center channel awhile ago but want a little more base especially from some of the older songs I play with the flashdrive. In reading Turbo's suggestions I would like to add the Epicenter using the signal from the front speakers so I can turn down the back speakers a bit. Seeing as the BOSE amp is a mono input would it be better to pull the signal from the FL+ and FR- to get a mono signal or just tap the left and right for the left and right input to the Epicenter then just use 1 output to the bass amp? I'm afraid that the second scenario will give a stereo bass input to the Epicenter but since it's only got one output it would be receiving the left(or right, whichever) signal. Another idea although I'm not sure if it's doable either is front left and right stereo inputs to the Epicenter then for the output connecting left+ and right + to bass+ and left- right- to bass-.
Anyone able to shed some light for a proper connection?
 
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