Why OVN1 5500D amp Smoked

[jaydawg 0]

Alright, I just put a new Fi Btl 18 in my 97 dodge ram 2500. It is diesel and has a h/o alternator and duel batteries. I was using a power acustik OVN1 5500D amp. It is connected to a battery with zero gauge wire for both the positive and ground. The gain was only turned up about half way with the BTL running at 1 Ohm. I did not listen to it all that loud, however one day the bass cut out and then the amp started to smoke. I immediately shut off the radio and felt the amp. It was cool to the touch. The amp was only in for a week and had only been used maybe three times.... When I got home I turned the radio back on and the LED indicator came on but no power is coming out of the amp.... I sent it back under a factory warranty. I just wanted to make sure that this is not something that I did. I don't know enough about amps to understand why is started to smoke. The only thing that I can guess is that a capacitor exploded.

Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[johnecon2001 82]

Without knowing what your voltage was at when it smoked, all I can say is "cheap amp"

[jaydawg 0]

How do I measure the voltage? Just put a meter on the battery terminals? I had a capacitor with a digital meter in it that read 12.5 volts unless the alternator was on in which case it was closer to more like 13.4 volts.

The dome lights or headlight never dimmed or anything even when the sub hit really hard.

Edited June 1, 2010 by JustinM

[KU40 173]

That's why the amp is so cheap. Not reliable.

However, just to be sure, you should check the resistance of the sub's coils with a DMM to make sure they're ok. Also make sure all connections are secure and stray wires aren't arcing across the sub terminals, box terminals, or amp terminals.

[Notorious97200 339]

R.I.P. power acoustik !

It's time for you to get a good amplifier for your sub.

Oh no ! sorry; I miss the warranty part. When you receive your amp from warranty, try to sell it if you can.

Before buying a new one, ask for some advice here. You don't want that to happen twice, don't you ?

[jaydawg 0]

R.I.P. power acoustik !

It's time for you to get a good amplifier for your sub.

Oh no ! sorry; I miss the warranty part. When you receive your amp from warranty, try to sell it if you can.

Before buying a new one, ask for some advice here. You don't want that to happen twice, don't you ?

Okay, so assuming that is even fixed and returned under warranty.... Would the Soundstream TRX-2000D or Sundown SAZ-1500D be better? The Sundown amp has an rms lower than the Fi's but I have also heard that it is WAY underrated. The Soundstream is less expensive but at this point that is not longer something I am going to base my decisions on... SO, yes you are absolutely correct, I do not want to have to deal with a crap amp again.

[s_carter 5]

I just bought a Soundstream Rubicon 2500 watt RMS amp for my pair of SSD18's and it is a totally awesome amp for the price. Don't have specific output numbers, but i was using a Kenwood 2000 watt amp before, and this just blows it away!

[mr.sagat 10]

Dude, if your gonna run power acoustik, get the A3000DB. I promise you it's a stronger amp, and it's a lot more reliable than the 5500's.

LOL at people suggesting the Soundstream Rubicon to replace a PA. PA owns Soundstream, and the Rubicon is made on the same assembly line in Korea as all PA amps are. I do think the 2500 Rubicon is a more reliable and a little stronger than the A3000DB but is it a better value? Not even close. You can get 2 a3000db's for the price of one Rubicon.

[s_carter 5]

I'm not here to bash amps or get in a pissing match, I was just saying that I am more than happy with mine so far. As for the price difference, I got mine for $300, so its right in the range of the PA3000DB amp as well.

[mr.sagat 10]

I'm not here to bash amps or get in a pissing match, I was just saying that I am more than happy with mine so far. As for the price difference, I got mine for $300, so its right in the range of the PA3000DB amp as well.

umm, you can get a3000dbs for $169 shipped if you know the right seller But, $300 for your Rubicon is a sick deal, for sure.

[NB50 206]

Dude, if your gonna run power acoustik, get the A3000DB. I promise you it's a stronger amp, and it's a lot more reliable than the 5500's.

LOL at people suggesting the Soundstream Rubicon to replace a PA. PA owns Soundstream, and the Rubicon is made on the same assembly line in Korea as all PA amps are. I do think the 2500 Rubicon is a more reliable and a little stronger than the A3000DB but is it a better value? Not even close. You can get 2 a3000db's for the price of one Rubicon.

Cows make hotdogs, but they also make Kobe steaks.

PA doesnt own Soundstream, the company that owns PA also owns Soundsteam. Which means nothing.

[mr.sagat 10]

Dude, if your gonna run power acoustik, get the A3000DB. I promise you it's a stronger amp, and it's a lot more reliable than the 5500's.

LOL at people suggesting the Soundstream Rubicon to replace a PA. PA owns Soundstream, and the Rubicon is made on the same assembly line in Korea as all PA amps are. I do think the 2500 Rubicon is a more reliable and a little stronger than the A3000DB but is it a better value? Not even close. You can get 2 a3000db's for the price of one Rubicon.

Cows make hotdogs, but they also make Kobe steaks.

PA doesnt own Soundstream, the company that owns PA also owns Soundsteam. Which means nothing.

PA owns Soundstream. PA is also know as Epsilon Electronics which is the parent company. Look on this business page, and you will see that the website for Epsilon is PowerAcoustik.com and in parentheses by the company name it says Power Acoustik electronics.

Epsilon Electronics, Inc - Montebello, California (CA) | Company Profile

Here is the Soundstreams website contact info for

Mexico Sales

PA LAREDO INC

1011 LINCOLN. SUITE 5

LAREDO, TX 78040

Email: palaredo@hotmail.com

It says PA... I wonder what that means?

Here's Soundstreams contact info for the South American sales rep.

Exclusive Venezuela Sales

Dist. El Sonido Srl

pacoustik@hotmail.com

Person of contact: Luis Bello

Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

Wow, look at his email. Power Acoustik? LOL

Contact Us

If PA was not the parent company like you claim, they would be using Epsilon Electronics as contact info, not PA Electronics. What I'm trying to tell you is that PA and Epsilon are the same company, and that company owns Soundstream.

Let's forget they are also made on the same assembly line, by the same people, sometimes using the same components and boards. If you saw A3000DB amp guts compared to the SS Picasso 2000D you'd know it's the same thing. Only difference is that the mosfets on the PA are not at 90 degree angles like the soundstreams are. That's an improvement in the Power Acoustik. I guess the hot dog is superior to the kobe steak in that situation, who would've thought...

Edited June 2, 2010 by mr.sagat