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WTF happened to Soundstream?

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    #1

    WTF happened to Soundstream?

    It's been a long, long time since I cared about car audio . . . I think the last time I put a system together was 1990. Back then listening to a Soundstream system was a religious experience, and so was paying for it

    A few decades later I decide I need a USB-friendly deck in my E30 beater and might as well upgrade the rest of the system while I'm at it. Naturally I look up the old brands I'm familiar with and holy shit, Soundstream is now cheap made-in-China shit with a giant gay fucking spider on it.

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    #2
    All the old school Soundstream stuff have been replaced by the Tarantula branded equipment now.

    You have to dig a bit on eBay to find the older equipment and it is a lot cheaper now compared to back then but still sounds great.

    I've been searching for a mint condition MC500 to pair it up with the one I have now. So hard to find.


    My 1989 e30 s52 Touring... this is Betty

    My 1989 325i vert (sold)...this is Nina

    My 1991 M5 (sold)... this is Veronica

    Photo comparison: OEM vs aftermarket windscreen for a convertible

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      #3
      Welcome to Y2K.
      "I'd probably take the E30 M3 in this case just because I love that little car, and how tanky that inline 6 is." - thecj

      85 323i M TECH 1 S52 - ALPINEWEISS/SCHWARZE
      88 M3 - LACHSSILBER/SCHWARZE
      89 M3 - ALPINEWEISS II/M TECH CLOTH-ALCANTARA
      91 M TECHNIC CABRIO TURBO - MACAOBLAU/M TECH CLOTH-LEATHER

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        #4
        If you wanted to find old school equipment for a built then look here

        http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=234536


        My 1989 e30 s52 Touring... this is Betty

        My 1989 325i vert (sold)...this is Nina

        My 1991 M5 (sold)... this is Veronica

        Photo comparison: OEM vs aftermarket windscreen for a convertible

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          #5
          Lol yeah Its been a LONG time since I was really into car audio too. NONE of the brands that were good back then are not good anymore. They have all been sold to china. PPI, US amps, etc etc. It's a shame.

          If you can find old school stuff hold onto it. My ppi art series amps work like the day they were new. I use them everyday and not once had a problem. There is no way that any of that china stuff would still be working after that long!


          Jay

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            #6
            The new Soundstream Reference is technically better than any of the old classic shit, Hecho en China or not.

            I installed HUNDREDS of SoundStream amps, including an all dynaudio system with 6 of the classic "Class A 50" amps, tri-amped. I won a buttload of first place trophies all over SoCal for SQ in IASCA and CAN (the predecessor of IASCA). I was also a "beta tester" for their products in the mid to late 80's, under Chris Dragon, who was technical director during their glory days. The classis DX series crossovers was the first thing I tested for them, they were happy enough with me to give me 3 amps for my own car, a D200 and 2 D100s. I, being a stupid young waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles, sold them. When they found out, we will just say they no longer brought the cocaine when they came to visit our shop.

            Enough said?

            Now, show me any category of electronics in which todays good shit does not outperform the absolute best of yesterday. Everything is better for the price, but real performance is still gonna cost you less than it did, right?

            Knowing what the good shit is isn't easy.

            Grizz Archer, a guy I have worked with in system design (he was at MTX in those days) since 1986 or so is in charge of development there. He says the new Reference is very good shit.

            If he says it, I believe it.

            If I were buying amps today, the Reference is what I would get. They are huge, heavy and big. They are also sexy as hell IMO, and I know they will be way better reliability than the old shit was.

            YMMV, but there is my opinion on it.

            Of course, there is always Tru Technologies and ARC Audios American made stuff, and Zapco still is no slouch on their American stuff. PPI, ADS and Orion are all Chinese, as is Fosgate, etc...but there are a few American made (hell, check out BRAX, good German stuff) amps out there.

            GL!
            Luke

            August R3VLimited Special: E3012 "V3" box: $225 shipped

            Tutorials: Killer $500 Stereo | E30 Vert Dual 8'' Box Installation | E3010 Amp Rack Installation | Radio Wiring and Amp Bypass

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              #7
              I had 3 Soundstream Class A 6.0's back in the day. I still have my Soundstream MC245. It was good back thn, but there are amps now at 1/4 the price that kill that stuff.

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                #8
                I decided to dump a lot of that in a dumpster a few months back. I might still have an old amp or two sitting in the bottom of a storage box that I didn't see when I tossed the rest. Of course it was excellent for its time and would perform well today, but it just didn't make sense to cart around a bunch of amps that aren't worth anything to anyone but a fraction of the population holding on to not much more than fond memories.
                Das ist nicht nur nicht richtig, es ist nicht einmal falsch!

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                  #9
                  Even Zapco has a line made in china. It is sad. I run mostly all older amps.
                  Custom Made Skid Plates For Sale.
                  http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=111469
                  http://raceskids.com/

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