Possibly the Ultimate 50 Watt Cheater Amp from the 90's?

Yes, I know, if you guys watch my YouTube videos, then you've probably seen the Lanzar Opti 50c. But wait, is it possible another "50 watt" amp may give the Lanzar a challenge for king of the 25x2 amps? Well, yes, specifically the U.S. Amps VLX-50. I recently came across a near MINT 1996 model in the "Mirror Polish" finish which looks nearly chrome. See the pics below:

1996-1998 U.S. Amps VLX-50 Ultra-High Current Cheater Amp

The VLX-50 has the following ratings:


2 x 25W at 4 ohms (12V)
2 x 31W at 4 ohms (14.4V)
2 x 62W at 2 ohms (14.4V)
2 x 125W at 1 ohm (14.4V)
2 x 250W at 0.5ohm (14.4V)
2 x 500W at 0.25ohm (14.4V)
1 x 1000W at 0.5 ohm bridged (14.4V)
THD: less than 0.006%
External 120A Fuse Required

VLX-50 Inputs and "Vari-Loud" controls

The U.S. Amps logo is laser etched on the heatsink and it surprisingly took me several days to prove this was actually a VLX-50. For some reason, U.S. Amps didn't put any markings on the end plates or even on the circuit board indicating the model of some of their amps (this one included). I was able to get confirmation from U.S. Amps this was indeed a VLX-50, based on the serial number. I even posted a thread over on DIYMA to get some info and got some great info in the archaeological dig.


So, the best part about having an amp rated at 50 watts total put out 1000 watts is the "cheater" factor. Back in the 90's, you could have two of these and still compete in the 100 watt and under competition class (as they rated amps by their 4 ohm output power). Thus the "cheater" status as you could have up to 2000 watts if these amps were properly loaded down. Orion really started the cheater amp category with the 225 HCCA, which was introduced in the late 1980's. Also, as a response to ultra-cheater amps like the VLX-25 and VLX-50, Orion developed the "1-watt" Concept 97.3 back around 1997. The cheater amp era basically ended around the early 2000's as most manufacturers were competing to see how high they could rate their amps (by using MAX power) instead of underrating amps. Another reason why I prefer the car amplifiers from the 80's and 90's...

VLX-50 Power / Ground / Speaker Terminals

Get ready for the long awaited 25x2 cheater amp shootout. As soon as the temps cool and I complete my additional resistor loads, we'll see how the VLX-50 competes against the monster Lanzar 50c. I don't believe the Orion 225 HCCA, Rockford Power 50x2, MTA 225HO or Audio Art 50HC have a chance against the VLX-50 or 50c, but who knows? We all may be surprised!




See my video overview of the U.S. Amps VLX-50 below.




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Watch the video on YouTube in 1080P or embedded below:

OldSchoolStereo.com Updates - May 2012

Thanks to everyone who visits the website, leaves comments, sends emails and subscribes to my YouTube Channel! The past several months have been extremely busy in my personal life and I haven't had the time to dedicate to the website. I hope you understand this is still a passion of mine, just had to take the back burner for a while. I'm hoping to be back in full force in the upcoming months and have TONS of planned videos, demos, tutorials and other goodies. In the meantime, anyone who has pictures of old school installs (they have taken or have rights to) or do any videos on old school car audio, please let me know and I'll be glad to link to them from here. You can reach me at oldschoolstereo (at] gmail dot com. It may take me a few days to get back with you, so please be patient.

As many of you know, I've been talking about the 1990's 25x2 cheater amps for almost a year now. Well, I recently came across two new additions for the shootout and will hopefully have time to test them soon. I actually have an unboxing video and will post below for one of the amps...MTX Thunder 225 HO. It is rated at 25x2 at 4ohms, but has 90A, yes 90A worth of fusing!!! The epitome of cheater amp status! It may be the amp to beat in the group, we'll see...

MTX Thunder 2300 (left) and MTX Thunder 225 HO (right)

See the video of me unboxing the MTX Thunder 225 HO and comparing it physically to the earlier generation Thunder 2300:





I also recently found a really neat Rockford Fosgate LED sign for the OldSchoolStereo labs. You can see it in the background of the MTX amps above, but also below in an unboxing video:





Thanks as always for visiting OldSchoolStereo.com and please bookmark this page and sign up on the right side of the page for email alerts when a new article is posted. I look forward to your participation in the forums and keep it Old School!

-BigD