Is this a good amp?

[evil jose]

Since I've mysteriously lost my Alpine 4 channel amp, I'm in need of something to push my mid's and tweet's when I get around to installing everything (probably be the next project after the supercharger).

What do you guys think of Soundstream Amps? Are they quality amplifiers? Is this a good deal? And would it be enough to push a moderate system in my car. I've been looking into purchasing the following amp.

http://www.dfwstangs.net/hosting/jose/soundstreamp205.jpg


Soundstream P205 5-Channel Power Amp
35W x 4 + 70W x 1 at 4 ohms
50W x 4 + 100W x 1 at 2 ohms
Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, ±0.5dB
High pass: 12dB/octave, 60-240Hz
Low pass: 24dB/octave, 30-120Hz
Signal to noise: greater than 90dB
THD: less than 0.1%
Dimensions: 15"W x 5.5"D x 1.75"H
$149


Would the 4 channels be OK for pushing mid's and tweets at 4 Ohms? Any recommendation for what to do what the fifth channel? Think it's a little to much for a center channel http://64.81.114.233/ubb/smile.gif

The rest of my system consist of the following:


JL Audio Stealth Box
HiFonics Hercules Subwoofer Amp
Sony MDX-U1


I'll be looking for some mid's and tweet's to, so if you have some recommendations for those please post up.

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- Jose
Co-Founder DFW Stangs
http://64.81.114.233/hosting/jose/jose2banner.jpg
http://www.dfwstangs.net

"Is it because I'm Mexican?????"

[mike]

Sound Stream is a good sounding amp,They have always been a great amp for sound quality. I think that should be great for what your doing and the price is right.I would go for it.

Are you putting in a center channel?

[jbullerjr]

Jose,
In the past Soundstream made very good equipment, I have however heard of quality going down recently.
The specs seem in order but, there is no governing body that says that companys have to tell the truth.
The biggest concern is the price, that is way low for a quality 5 channel amp.
There are also alot of fakes out there theese days, we have 2 fake Pioneers and 1 fake Kenwood that we got from customers. The amps were purchased at Traders Villiage and The Sale of the Century (the ones that are held at convention centers), the amps are straight up fakes, we installed one in a customers car on his rear speakers and used the radio to power his fronts. The front speakers were louder than the rears were, WITH the amp.
The rule of thumb used to be "anything under a dollar a watt is suspect". I do not think that is completely true anymore, there are some good amps out there that are not really expensive.
For front stage, there is nothing wrong with using some of the imported amps ie...Kenwood, Alpine or Eclipse. Though not known for lots of power, theese amps are clean and will give you a good power to price value.
I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as too much power, this is even more true in a vert. I would buy as much power as you can afford.
As far as which mids and tweets to use, you have many options. As long as you are dealing with quality product, it really comes down to what you like. Someone trying to tell you which front speakers to buy, is like someone telling you what color car to buy. That being said, I would suggest something a little on the brite side (Kicker Resolutions, MB Quarts, Boston Pros or Alpine DDDrives), to deal with your open top. Focal and Dynaudio have a very good sound but, they are expensive and I don't feel that you would hear the difference in your car (they really shine in very quite cars ie...Lexus or Mercedes).
James

[Sean Park]

Jose -

I've actually got that amp... It's not the Big-Mac I've got in the Supra, but it works pretty darn well. I bought it for my boat and I use it to power a single JL 10" sub, a pair of Bazooka Marine 6.5's and another set of component speakers on my wake tower so you can jam while wakeboarding. The crossover section works well and you could probably use just that amp to run your whole system although I would advise you to put a fan on it. The amp uses the same mil-spec circuit board that SoundStream is known for. True, it's not one of their higher end pieces, but I guarantee you that you'll get more than $150 worth of sound out of it. The quality is good and I think overall you just can't beat it. It's no monster powerhouse, but it can throw down and gets the job done well. I do like the fact that both high pass points and the low pass are all independently and infinitely adjustable as are the gains for each pair of channels.

You know my taste in car audio, so I'm pretty sure you can easily gauge my comments.

SP

[Chopped54]

I was putting a system in a friends truck this weekend and this is exactly what I am looking for. Where can you find that amp for $150?
I'll take 2!

[MidnightRunner]

I have always heard good things about those amps and that price is cheap, be careful though, if it sounds too good, it usually is

[evil jose]

Sorry, I meant to post a response last night but the power went out briefly at the house and I didnt feel like messing around with it afterwards.

First of all, thanks for the response everybody. The amp is sold by a reputable online retailer that Sean pointed me to and has good sucess with (thanks man!). Check out Sound City's (http://www.imall.com/stores/soundcity/) website for other great deals. I just wished they carried more products from different manufacturers. I'm pretty happy with what I'm hearing about the amp so I'm going to look into getting it in the next couple of weeks.

mike, I wasn't thinking about running a center channel but the thought has crossed my mind since if I do the setup the way I planned the Soundstream amp would have the fifth channel not being used. Not sure if that would be to much power for a center channel speaker. What would adding a center channel require? And is it worth the trouble?

James, I agree with what you are saying about manufacturer provided specifications. And I agree on you get what you pay for. But I'm inclined to go with Sean's first hand experience since he stated that he has this amp and has purchased it from the same place. Wish me luck http://64.81.114.233/ubb/wink.gif I will be posting up again soon to look for specific recommendations on the mid's and tweet's to get. I'll probably be more inclined towards either the BA's or the Quart's. The Focal's and Dynaudio's are just a little rich for my blood. Now would you just suggest going with a front setup or should I also be looking for some rear fill?

Sean turned me onto the Soundstream. He also is the one that showed me the Sound City's (http://www.imall.com/stores/soundcity/) website which has some great prices but (IMO) limited products from different Manufacturers. I guess I just wish they sold Alpine or Sony. Sean, since you have personally experience on the amp I'm interested in... Do you think it could push a set of mid's and tweet's along with the Stealth Box? Or should I just stick with running the Stealth Box with my Hercules?



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- Jose
Co-Founder DFW Stangs
http://64.81.114.233/hosting/jose/jose2banner.jpg
http://www.dfwstangs.net

"Is it because I'm Mexican?????"

[jbullerjr]

Jose,
Knowing someone that has personal experience with a product is by far the best way to get an opinion.
I wish you the best of luck with the amp.
I personally think that rear fill is either not very important or completely unnesesary. I would concentrate on the rest of your system first.
I will be glad to help anyway I can. Best of luck on your system.
James

[evil jose]

Well this will be my next project after the blower goes on. I'll probably by the amp in a couple of weeks once I get the credit card down a little bit (just bought an Anderson PMS and enrolled in summer school).

If anybody know's how my project goes it will drag on for quite a while and I'll probably be posting a lot more on here once I get closer to actually doing the install. Thanks everybody for there thoughts.

------------------
- Jose
Co-Founder DFW Stangs
http://64.81.114.233/hosting/jose/jose2banner.jpg
http://www.dfwstangs.net

"Is it because I'm Mexican?????"

[yonson]

I've used a few SoundStream amps in the past, and was very pleased with them all, I have friends that have run their new stuff with no problems, but I haven't heard their systems first hand.

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Chris Johnson
http://personal.ayrix.net/~johnson/sig.jpg
85 Merkur XR4Ti
93 Mustang Lx 377
97 F-150

http://personal.ayrix.net/~johnson/

Speed is my drug, there is NO cure!!!

[Chopped54]

I put a soundstream reference in my ex's del sol and was very surprised by the sound. 2 10WOs and 1 reference think 150..
If I could get a couple of those amps at $150 a piece I would jump on it.

[Sean Park]

Do you think it could push a set of mid's and tweet's along with the Stealth Box?
Absolutely. I just got home and obviously have to be coherent at work tomorrow, so just give me a call this weekend.

SP

[Chopped54]

Damn, thanks Jose.
More then likely will have the amp ordered and installed within the next week so I will let you know how it works out....

[Chopped54]

For Alpine, Sony check these out: http://www.onlinecarstereo.com http://www.thezeb.com

[Chopped54]

and here is the manual for that soundstream amp if you want to read more about it. http://www.soundstream.com/owners_manuals/usa2035.zip

[evil jose]

trigen, you might also check out the link on the top of the Sound City website that it labeled shop the outlet center (http://www.soundcityoutlet.com/homepage.htm). There are some great deals on the Open Box merchandise if you are willing to take a little bit of a risk on what you are buying.

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- Jose
Co-Founder DFW Stangs
http://64.81.114.233/hosting/jose/jose2banner.jpg
http://www.dfwstangs.net

"Is it because I'm Mexican?????"