12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
Clean quality, excellent value
Date of Review: Apr 18, 2004
The Bottom Line: If you have an aftermarket deck and need clean power and reliability, look no further. I've been a 3 year owner and a 3 year fan of this amp.
If you're considering a US Acoustics amp, kudos to you, as not very many people have heard of them and as such are cautious. However, one needn't be cautious here, as this amp is of an excellent quality and value, if it suits your needs. So here we go examining:
INSTALLATION/CONFIGURATION
Setup is relatively simple, with gold-plated screw in terminals accepting all wiring and gold-plated RCA inputs accepting the signal. There is a pass-thru for daisy-chaining amps if you so desire as well. However, there are no speaker level inputs on this deck, not a concern usually if you have an aftermarket receiver but if you have a factory deck most do not have outputs. If this still ends up being the amp you want, dont worry, as electronics dealers (like Crutchfield, see bottom) sell signal reducers you can use for around $20-$30. Configuration on this unit is particularly nice, with each pair of channels (F/R) providing an individual hi and low pass, to help protect your speakers and/or subs. The level only goes up to 200hz, but its enough to filter out lows to protect your main speakers. This amp is also tri-way capable, so a single amp could power 4 speakers and subs while routing the correct frequencies (requires an additional unit, again about $30).
POWER/SIGNAL
This is why you're reading and this is why you are considering US Acoustics. The clarity of the signal is unmatched, improving all sound clarity and giving you the volume you crave. With reasonably sensitive speakers (I have 4x6 infinities up front, 6.5" pioneer 3-ways in back) this amp can stay relatively low and cool and pump out real freeway volume. Unfortunately, if you have high powered subs you may desire more power, but if your sub is 100-200RMS or close to it, it should be powered nicely and superbly cleanly. Myself, I also have this amp to power my sub and the clarity is higher than one would expect for my subwoofer. Overall, more than ample power for most main speaker, enough power for moderate subwoofer, but EXTREMELY clean signal.
BUILD/WARRANTY
For this reason alone (if not for many others) I would suggest buying from Crutchfield (www.crutchfield.com): US Acoustics gets a *3 YEAR* warranty from them -- definately a plus, and it definately says something about the quality. I've goofed before and touched a screwdriver to the amp and power led (in case you don't do the installing, this is generally not good ;) ) and I thought I blew it. Not on your life, and this amp has seen many a road trip and never complained. I trust this baby to keep me happy for a while. There is also a protection circuitry, but that is becoming more standard on amplifiers.
OVERALL
If you have a factory deck, or need to power a couple of subs, you may need more power or an amp w/ high level inputs. But if you are low on cash and demand a high-quality and high-clarity unit, give US Acoustics a try and you won't be disappointed.
