1993 Rockford Fosgate 200 DSM vs SMD AD-1 Amp Dyno - Impressive!

1993 Rockford Fosgate Punch 200 DSM Amplifier

The 1993 Rockford Fosgate Punch 200 DSM was one of the most well regarded amps of it's time. Here's a quote from a May/June 1993 Car Stereo Review test of the Punch 200 DSM, "In terms of design, construction, aesthetics, and sonic purity, Rockford's Punch 200 easily stands among the best power amplifiers on the market today...If you're driving your system with something else, chances are you're listening to something inferior." (Ken C. Pohlmann)

We knew based on the previous tests of the Punch 200 this amp was powerful and dynamic, however we were unaware of the hidden "dynamic power" within this amp. Back in 1993, this amplifier retailed for around $600 US and replaced a legend, the Punch 150HD. It was no small feat for Rockford engineers to create a superior amp to the tried and true Punch 150, but trust me...they were successful! 

Watch the video and see the results obtained from this 20yr old car audio amplifier. Nothing short of spectacular!

Here are the results from my test with the SMD/D'Amore Engineering AD-1 Amp Dyno:

8 ohms mono = 4 ohms stereo x 2
8 ohms - Amp is rated at 200W at 12V (or 100W x 2 at 4 ohms)
8 ohms - Certified 1% THD - 258W at 12.85V
8 ohms - Uncertified - 262W at 12.87V
8 ohms - Dynamic RMS - 262W at 12.83V

4 ohms mono = 2 ohms stereo x 2
4 ohms - Amp is rated 400W at 12V (or 200W x 2 at 2 ohms)
4 ohms - Certified 1% THD - 421W at 12.53V
4 ohms - Uncertified - 423W at 12.51V
4 ohms - Dynamic RMS - 459W at 12.93V

2 ohms mono = 1 ohm stereo x 2
2 ohms - Amp is not rated at 2 ohms mono or 1 ohm stereo
2 ohms - Certified 1% THD - 573W at 13.06V
2 ohms - Uncertified - 856W at 11.87V
2 ohms - Dynamic RMS - 890W at 12.97V

All tests above were at 40Hz. We re-ran the tests at 1kHz and the only notable differentiation in results was the 2 ohms Dynamic RMS test where we obtained 920W at 12.79V. We have determined the difference was related to voltage and believe provided the proper voltage (14.4V), the amp would have measured over 1000W Dynamic RMS at 40Hz also. Not bad from a 200W amp!

Watch the video in full 1080P HD Here >>

Or embedded below:


More Amp Dyno AD-1 tests coming!

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Check out these other cool car audio channels:
http://www.youtube.com/CarAudioFabrication
http://www.youtube.com/meade916
http://www.youtube.com/SoundManCarAudio
http://www.youtube.com/DAmoreEngineering

For more information about Rockford Fosgate equipment, please visit:
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com

3840W Custom Power Resistor Bank for Testing Amplifier Power

Yes, I know, if you guys watch my YouTube videos, then you've probably seen my old resistor bank (aka "Fred Sanford" - Big Dummy). This resistor bank was comprised of (16) 50W resistors for a resulting load of 800W at either 2 ohms or 8 ohms. It was a great starter resistor bank, but in testing amps such as the Orion XTR-2250 and Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 Mosfet, I needed not only more power capability, but also configurations for 4 channel loads at 2 ohms.

Before I get too deep in the discussion of the new resistor bank, let me digress and explain my use of the resistor bank. In this case, I use the wirewound power resistors for testing audio amplifiers power output (in watts). Many people use speakers when attempting to calculate amplifier wattage output, but fail to account for the fact a speaker is a reactive load and other factors must be calculated to obtain wattage. When using resistors, the wattage calculation can be more easily obtained using Ohm's Law. We use a Velleman HPS-50 o'scope/True RMS Volt meter, Fluke 85III True RMS Volt meter, Steve Meade Designs/ D'Amore Engineering DD-1 (aka SMD DD-1) along with our resistor bank to calculate continuous (RMS) power output from the amplifiers we test. For more information on how I test my amplifiers, see this video (to be updated soon).

I recently invested in (32) 120W 16 ohm wirewound resistors so I could test a wider variety of amplifiers. See the result below:

Custom 3840W Resistor Bank made from PC Tower

The OldSchoolStereo.com 3840W Power Resistor Bank has the following features:

- Custom PC Gaming Tower
- (8) Separate 480W 4 ohm loads
- Supports 8 channel amps down to 1 channel monoblocks
- (3) Internal 12V fans in push/pull configuration for maximum air flow
- 12VDC 600mA AC Adapter for powering the fans
- capable of testing 4 channel amps with all channels driven at 2 ohms (960W each)
- configurations for high-current amps at 1/2 ohm mono (3840W)
- multiple configurations for 1 ohm and 2 ohm loads (both stereo and mono)
- safely test amplifiers silently at various test tone frequencies
- Acrylic window showing off my lackluster wiring skills

Rear view of the 3840W Power Resistor Bank

Stay tuned for an upcoming video overview of the 3840W Air-Cooled Power Resistor bank.  We also have MANY amplifiers to test in the upcoming months, so stay tuned for updates, tests, overviews and more!



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