Oh yeah I almost forgot :
Ford F650 - YouTube
Critical MASS this week April 2012 at the NY Auto show
Critical MASS Amps and Speakers.
Ford F650 - YouTube
Critical MASS this week April 2012 at the NY Auto show
Critical MASS Amps and Speakers.
Finally recieved my amps i bought on ebay today, took about 8 or 9 days. opened up the shipping box, and the amps both came in a very flimsy cheap cardboard box, removed amps they had a platic bag over them with a piece of plastic cushion on each end. The instruction manual for each amp is a 4 page photocopy. Written on the side and bottom of each amp in gold mettalic pen is a huge "tested by AL" i assume it says AL because the last 2 letters are like a signature or initials. Also the gold looking logo is more like silver with silkscreened or printed critical mass logo. I emailed critical mass today to verify these are actual critical mass amps because the details dont look exactly like the ones in the pictures. The serial numbers are on like paper stickers, the last 4 digits of the serial numbers are handwritten.
Got email back from critical mass and they assured me the amps are genuine and they also confirmed they were sold to the ebay dealer. Now I wonder if the ebay dealer is actually the critical mass company selling through a different name to avoid a manufacturers warranty. I also did some research after seeing that the ula2500 looks like low quality amps rebadged. It has the exact same case as the American bass PH4000MD which is a 300 dollar amp. But, I looked the amp up on Ebay and it showed a gutshot of the american bass amp, 2 completley different amps internally. The american bass amp is very cheap inside hardly anything on the circuit board, wires running inside the amp, blue circuit board with different layout. The cm amp guts i saw in a different post, Looked to be a pretty decent amp, different layout, different everything on the inside. So I can confirm that even though the case looks exactly the same as the 300 dollar amp, its not even close to the same amp inside. Im guessing they both are either owned by the same company, they both get case from same 3rd party, or american bass just copied the look of a higher end amp.
Well i still havent installed my system yet, still rounding up the last remaining pieces of the puzzle. Plus its going into a 1965 chevelle convertible, so right now im removing the old trunk liner and recoating with por-15 then i will add dynamat extreme and then dynaliner. I will update my progress and give a full review when i finally get it all installed. I still need my subs, thinking about dd9512 or dc lvl 5. of course i am going ot get a 2nd matching sub amp as well, still need extra battery, and possibly i will have 3 runs of 0 guage to rear. So progress is slow but i want to only do it once.
Got my critical mass electronic crossover/ line driver yesterday. I was kind of anoyed because they do not come with instructions at all. So i emailed icontcv and I will see if they can email some form of instruction so I can set it up properly when the time comes. Also have stripped the trunk coating from my chevelles trunk and prepped it, today i painted it with the first coat of por 15. After i finish 2 more coats of por15, i will dynamat and dynaline it bifore i start to make my speaker box.
Critical Mass = JUNK! No matter how lucky someone was with one of there amps! And comparing them to JL isnt going to high up on the ladder either. A JL 1000 = 1000 watts. If the Cm amp is only good for 1800 watts it is not going to be a whole hell of a lot louder than a good 1000 watt rms amp. A pocket sized amp can do 2000 watts these days.
I have always stuck to the old school, they might need caps changed but after that, I enjoy my hand made in USA or Italy amps. As long as there are no user errors you wont have a problem for atleast 10-20 yrs! Buy old school and dont look back. Hell if your reading this, we have 2 of the baddest amp tech guys on this forum! Onemoreamp/Cecil , Perry Babin, if you send your old school amp to these guys your in good hands!
I have always stuck to the old school, they might need caps changed but after that, I enjoy my hand made in USA or Italy amps. As long as there are no user errors you wont have a problem for atleast 10-20 yrs! Buy old school and dont look back. Hell if your reading this, we have 2 of the baddest amp tech guys on this forum! Onemoreamp/Cecil , Perry Babin, if you send your old school amp to these guys your in good hands!
The American Bass amp your referring to is their LOWEST LINE they have. The CM amp your comparing it to is the BEST they offer.
Now to not talk apples and oranges, Take American Bass's high end line, the VFL series and compare them! Youll find there is no comparison, the VFL will walk over 95% of the amps made today, period! And they are built latike a brick **** house!
It is true, there are 10 build houses for amps, and like 200 different brand names. Many share the same boards, but usually what will differ is the quality of the parts they use, which makes a big diff in longevity, and lets not forget look for amps that use 105c rated capacitors!!!
I have only seen like 1 video of anyone ever using a critical mass amp, and that was the dealer truck. I have searched all around and only found 1 post of someone actually using one. So from what ive seen is as long as you keep them at rated ohms and give them a ton of power they should be ok. I bought these amps based on specs: power, thd, dampening factor. If they dont work out ill probably just buy zapco amps because i like that brand.
Im ashamed to admit it, critical mass ul-a2500 is just a pos soundmagus amp rebadged. I was fooled by the hype, the feeling of getting a good deal, and the specs they claim. I have not got my install finished yet but I do have a couple of pictures to show of the ul-a2500 v2 amp and a soundmagus 1800w amp.
thats the critical mass ula2500
and thats the soundmagus 1800w amp
The sound magus is a 285 dollar amp, they didnt even bother to change the color of the zipties. This does depress me a little because I bought 2 of the cm amps, actually 3 counting the 800 watt one. But we live and learn and I wanted to at least post these pictures to keep someone else from making the same mistake i did.
The sound magus is a 285 dollar amp, they didnt even bother to change the color of the zipties. This does depress me a little because I bought 2 of the cm amps, actually 3 counting the 800 watt one. But we live and learn and I wanted to at least post these pictures to keep someone else from making the same mistake i did.
Yes, because Sound Magus is the house brand of the subcontractor for those amps. I posted about them earlier in this thread (post #7)
Its sad how companies can do this (share a design) and while one company keeps it affordable (reasonable) there comes CM with they over-hyped celebrity advertised products that charge (or atleast try to get) 5700.00 for the same freaking amp.
They've been caught, now lets see if they stay in the game any longer now that they've been emberrased. Or should we be?
They should be required by law to fully explain that the board is the same board as "such and such" amps. And IN FULL DETAIL describe why their amplifier is better than the others that have the same board ------can't wait to hear the load of crap CM has up their sleeve with this one, lol. If they fail to do so, they should be liable to be prosecuted as "COUNTERFITS", but I bet they all have an agreement with the ONE manufacture that produces them.
Its sad because all these brands claim something, while the power might be there (2kwatts) it doesnt mean that if you pay an extra 5500.00 you'll get a better SOUNDING amp (especially when its the same board and components shared.
How do you think the ebay CM can sell their so claimed 5.7k dollar amp for 600-1k on ebay? Either way it goes their making a shitload of money off people that dont do their research. This reminds me of AC Shockwave's speakers, lol overhyped overpriced and at the end of the day its still a piece of sh*t.
They've been caught, now lets see if they stay in the game any longer now that they've been emberrased. Or should we be?
They should be required by law to fully explain that the board is the same board as "such and such" amps. And IN FULL DETAIL describe why their amplifier is better than the others that have the same board ------can't wait to hear the load of crap CM has up their sleeve with this one, lol. If they fail to do so, they should be liable to be prosecuted as "COUNTERFITS", but I bet they all have an agreement with the ONE manufacture that produces them.
Its sad because all these brands claim something, while the power might be there (2kwatts) it doesnt mean that if you pay an extra 5500.00 you'll get a better SOUNDING amp (especially when its the same board and components shared.
How do you think the ebay CM can sell their so claimed 5.7k dollar amp for 600-1k on ebay? Either way it goes their making a shitload of money off people that dont do their research. This reminds me of AC Shockwave's speakers, lol overhyped overpriced and at the end of the day its still a piece of sh*t.
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Buyer Beware-as is anything "audio" based.
There are countless products on the market which claim to be much better than a counterpart from someone else, most of the claims cannot be substanciated-"sound quality" is subjective and as such people can sell any sh!t they like with the claim it "sounds better" "imporves sound" etc.
People don't complain that their Armani suit costs 10x more than an equivalent from the high street-"component" cost is the same and you're paying for the brand name and it's associations. In the case of CM you're paying to sponsor all the sports stars/rappers who get the stuff "free" for their association.
For what it is worth the more expensive the gear is the better it will sound-provided you know it is more expensive; the brain has very poor aural memory and is very easy to "fool". If I, or any other skilled salesman, wanted to could do an A/B demo of the Soundmagnus and Critical Mass amplifiers we could easily get you to "hear" the CM as superior. This technique is likely as old as selling audio...
Audio Myths Workshop - YouTube
There are countless products on the market which claim to be much better than a counterpart from someone else, most of the claims cannot be substanciated-"sound quality" is subjective and as such people can sell any sh!t they like with the claim it "sounds better" "imporves sound" etc.
People don't complain that their Armani suit costs 10x more than an equivalent from the high street-"component" cost is the same and you're paying for the brand name and it's associations. In the case of CM you're paying to sponsor all the sports stars/rappers who get the stuff "free" for their association.
For what it is worth the more expensive the gear is the better it will sound-provided you know it is more expensive; the brain has very poor aural memory and is very easy to "fool". If I, or any other skilled salesman, wanted to could do an A/B demo of the Soundmagnus and Critical Mass amplifiers we could easily get you to "hear" the CM as superior. This technique is likely as old as selling audio...
Audio Myths Workshop - YouTube
May I add this...... Audiophoolery , the last 2 mintues of the vid is the most important part regarding the subject.
Hi mates,
I was very impressed by CM amplifiers firstly. Even their prices were/are/will be extremely high.
Now I think quite the opposite - it is not a worth!!!
I bid on one of these amplifiers a few months ago. I put $400. The auction ended at $600+. Suddenly I received a second chance offer from seller after the end of auction that I was able to by the amplifier for $400 ... whilst the same amplifier was selling at $2500 as buy it now.
A few days ago I decided to do the same, placing $300 bid .... How did you think ... did I receive a second chance offer for $300 again? The answer was predictable - YES.
It is very easy to realize that since they are willing to sell the UL800 amp for $300, these amps are far away from the Hi-End HiFi car amps.
Of course there is some possibility that CM put components of better quality, but I doubt. More over, the ferrites for toroidal transformers are at the same prices ... MOSFET power transistors (Chinese and quality ones) are almost at one and the same price as well ... it is not a worth to put fake Chinese component.
As someone stated above - it would be much better option to purchase old school amps and had their capacitors replaced than purchasing newer amplifiers. I have 2 x Nakamichi PA-301, 2 x Nakamichi PA-302, and 1 x US Amps USA-2000X. I replaced all capacitors and now they drive 6 x Hybrid Audio Technologies Legatia speakers and 2 x iDMax12D2 subwoofers the best way - there is no distortion, no faults, extremely low heating dissipated.
From everything written in this topic and some other forums - do not count on CM ... for such amount of money you can buy much more reliable stuff. It looks that they are pieces of junk.
Greetings from Bulgaria!
Mike
I was very impressed by CM amplifiers firstly. Even their prices were/are/will be extremely high.
Now I think quite the opposite - it is not a worth!!!
I bid on one of these amplifiers a few months ago. I put $400. The auction ended at $600+. Suddenly I received a second chance offer from seller after the end of auction that I was able to by the amplifier for $400 ... whilst the same amplifier was selling at $2500 as buy it now.
A few days ago I decided to do the same, placing $300 bid .... How did you think ... did I receive a second chance offer for $300 again? The answer was predictable - YES.
It is very easy to realize that since they are willing to sell the UL800 amp for $300, these amps are far away from the Hi-End HiFi car amps.
Of course there is some possibility that CM put components of better quality, but I doubt. More over, the ferrites for toroidal transformers are at the same prices ... MOSFET power transistors (Chinese and quality ones) are almost at one and the same price as well ... it is not a worth to put fake Chinese component.
As someone stated above - it would be much better option to purchase old school amps and had their capacitors replaced than purchasing newer amplifiers. I have 2 x Nakamichi PA-301, 2 x Nakamichi PA-302, and 1 x US Amps USA-2000X. I replaced all capacitors and now they drive 6 x Hybrid Audio Technologies Legatia speakers and 2 x iDMax12D2 subwoofers the best way - there is no distortion, no faults, extremely low heating dissipated.
From everything written in this topic and some other forums - do not count on CM ... for such amount of money you can buy much more reliable stuff. It looks that they are pieces of junk.
Greetings from Bulgaria!
Mike
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