Linear Power 8002SW Amplifier Amplifier Dyno Test Old School AD-1

Early 90's Linear Power 8002SW 800W Mono Amplifier

The Linear Power 8002 was an 800 Watt single channel amplifier optimized for 8 and 4 ohm loads. It was available from 1991-1997 and sold at a MSRP of $1599. Unlike most of the mono amplifiers of today, this 8002 is capable of reproducing the entire 20Hz - 20kHz frequency range. 

We initially ran all of the tests using the 4 ohm power supply taps, which lowered rail voltage and increased current. Amp is less efficient in this mode and also produced less power. After a call with Linear Power, it was suggested I set the amp to the 8 ohm taps to run the 8 and 4 ohm Dyno tests. If you read the original Linear Power manual, they caution against running the amp in 8 ohm mode powering 4 ohm speakers. It is quite evident these amps are overbuilt and are more than capable of handling the additional load without breaking a sweat!

Linear Power 8002SW's Guts - TO-3 Transistors

Specifications according to the 1991 Car Stereo Review Directory (July/Aug 1991):

"1 channel. 800 W x 1. Features biwired output terminals for feedback loop, which keeps speaker wire DC resistance from reducing damping factor; defeatable subsonic filter; soft turn-on/off; fan cooling; metal shroud. FR 19-20,000 Hz. 17 x 3 x 9.5 in - $1,600" (CSR Jul/Aug 1991)

The Linear Power 8002 was also in a battle of "monster" amplifiers in the October 1991 Car Audio & Electronics magazine. Other challengers were the Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 Mosfet, Precision Power 2350DM, Orion GS500 and HiFonics Colossus VII...quite a group of large, powerful, Class AB amplifiers! Since the 8002SW is a mono amplifier, the tester used 2 of these amps in the comparison. It may or may not surprise you, but the Linear Power came out on top. Quite an impressive feat, considering the competition!

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 - 8 ohms - Amp is rated at 800W at 12V
8 ohms - Certified 1% THD - 818W at 13.99V
8 ohms - Uncertified - 819W at 14.05V
8 ohms - Dynamic RMS - 1029W at 14.31V

4 ohms mono - 4 ohms - Amp is rated 800W at 12V
4 ohms - Certified 1% THD - 824W at 13.5V
4 ohms - Uncertified - 855W at 13.48V
4 ohms - Dynamic RMS - 1407W at 14.5V
4 ohms - Dynamic RMS - 1606W at 15.17V



All tests above were at 40Hz. As you can see by the results, this amp is well suited for subwoofers or mid-basses as it has a nice amount of dynamic headroom for those transient peaks. 

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

Rare Old School Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 Mosfet Terminator Edition Amplifier

est. 1990 Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 Mosfet "Terminator Edition" Amplifier designed by Wayne Harris

Let us take a journey back to the year 1989...Car audio had been around for a while, but with amplifiers such as the HiFonics Colossus, Linear Power 8002 and Rockford Fosgate Power 1000, things were really getting serious. Wayne Harris, one of the pioneers of modern car stereos, was hired by Rockford Corporation and was given the task of swapping out his amps in the "Terminator Hearse" with the Power 1000 Mosfets. Wayne was kind enough to send an email describing the beginnings of the 1000C:

"If I recall correctly, I went to work for Rockford in July of 1989. One of my first tasks was to upgrade the equipment I was using in the Terminator. Rockford gave me 6 each Power 1000 amplifiers. Unfortunately, they were too long to fit in my car. I took the sheet metal for each amp to a machine shop and had them cut off the “caboose”. This made the amp about 6 inches shorter. (Now the amps would fit in my amp rack.) I then designed an LED bargraph meter display and installed these displays within the MAIN housing of the amplifiers. The final step was to chrome plate the amp shroud and then apply custom silkscreen.

The VP of marketing (Jerry Cave) saw the amps in my car prior to the 1990 CES show in Las Vegas. He like the amps in my car so much that he decided to make all Power 1000 amps look the same."

As many of you old schooler's know, Wayne Harris' Terminator Hearse is a legend in car audio. If you haven't seen it, take the time to view the video of this beast from 1985 from dBDragUSA's YouTube channel...can you say 30" subwoofer?

Sorry for the side track, I'll try to stay on subject here. The Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 Mosfet "Terminator Edition" (from now on we'll refer to as the 1000C) was a step forward in design from the original Power 1000 Mosfet, which was introduced around 1987. The internals were identical except for the LED meter and removal of the "caboose". The 1000C's chrome appearance and $2650 US MSRP meant this amp was not for your average 16 year old getting a new stereo....it was for serious competitors and those who got had the means to buy such an expensive amplifier. Many Rockford dealers had one or more of these amps in their demo vehicles and most of us could only dream of owning such an amp.

RF T1000 vs. Orion Concept 97.3

The 1000C is a four-channel, class A/B amplifier with no internal crossovers. See detailed specs below:

• Power Ratings 2 Channels (Bridged): 500 watts x 2 channels from 20-20,000Hz with less than 0.1% THD
• Power Ratings 4 Channels: 4 Ohms: 150 watts x 4 channels from 20-20,000Hz with less than 0.05% THD; 2 Ohms: 250 watts x 4 channels from 20-20,000Hz with less than 0.1% THD
• Frequency Response: 20-100,000Hz +0.5dB, -3.0dB
• Damping Factor: At circuit board: Over 200 (referred to 4 ohms); At speaker fuse: Over 50 (referred to 4 ohms)
• Signal to Noise Ratio: Over 80dB Unweighted
• Instantaneous Peak Output Current: Over 100 Amperers 
• Protection: The Power 1000 is protected by analog computer output protection circuitry and a 100A fuse. A thermal sensor shuts down the amplifier in case of overheating
• Dimensions: 22.75" L x 7.4" W x 3.75" H
• Weight: 21lbs
• MSRP: $2650 US (1991)

Here is an informational email I received directly from Rockford Fosgate when I inquired about the 1000c Terminator Edition amp:

“The T1000’s went from the black painted and silkscreened ones with the caboose (that covered the 6ga B+ & Gnd terminal block), then to the black painted and silkscreened ones that no longer had the caboose and just had the one B+ and two GND cables hanging out of it.  Then it migrated into a chrome fan shroud.  That’s about the time that Wayne Harris came on board with designing the LED output meter for the T1000’s.  Then probably in ’92-’93* is when the Terminator Edition hit the market with the special screening and LED display.  It was a very limited run….I think maybe only 100pcs or so.  I think Wayne had 10 of them for himself.”

(* I think the year range was '90-91 - BigDWiz)

See the unboxing and overview video below. More information coming as soon as I get the amp repaired and fully functional...

Make sure to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel to stay updated of my latest videos. You can also follow me on Twitter @oldschoolstereo.


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

Unboxing Old School Car Audio Gear

I will be the first to admit, unboxing videos do not appeal to me. Why? Mainly because people do unboxings for things like cameras, camcorders, computers, etc. and there is no excitement factor there. Now, take a plain brown box (with unknown goodies inside), open this up on camera and share your excitement with the world! This is how BigDWiz does unboxings at the OldSchoolStereo labs!


First off, I must say not all of the unboxings I do on my YouTube channel are from purchases. Many are from trades and barters for other gear. This is a part-time gig for me and I don't have unlimited funds to buy all of this cool, old school equipment. Well, since I know opening these packages is exciting for me, I thought you guys might enjoy the experience?

OldSchoolStereo.com Mystery Box!

Finding nice, old school car stereo gear is exciting in itself, but opening a package with unknown contents (well, unknown to you) is fun for all. Those of us who enjoy the old school gear also love to see "timeless classics"...the amps, speakers, head units, etc. that have either been babied or unused all of these years. I still find it amazing to see the condition of some of my 25+ year old equipment.


Most of these videos will just show the unboxing process, but in some cases, I may hook up and test the contents. Honestly, it just depends on how I'm feeling at the current time (and how much space is remaining on my iPhone's internal storage!). This brings up another interesting point....some of you may wonder what equipment I use to record and produce these short videos. Well, I have two words for you; iPhone and iMovie (we won't count "and" as a word!).


Recently, I've discovered making videos with the iPhone 4, is not only a simple process, but also gives a pretty good output video for viewing online. I also ensure use of the included ear buds / mic combination to get better audio, while still leaving both hands free to tear open the boxes. Once I capture the segments on my iPhone 4, basic editing is handled by the iMovie app for the iPhone. This $5 app turns your iPhone into a VERY powerful hand-held editing machine. If there is any interest, I may show the process I use to capture, edit and upload my videos to YouTube. You guys just let me know by making comments here or on my YouTube Channel.


While you are visiting, please Subscribe to my channel so you can get notification when I upload a new video. My intentions are to upload a new video every few days. As I've mentioned before, the more subscribers, comments, likes, etc. I have, the more videos I'll put up. I appreciate your enthusiasm as being an "old school nut" is addictive!


Unboxing Old School Car Stereo Gear
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Unboxing Old School Car Stereo Gear #2
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Unboxing Old School Car Stereo Gear #4


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Old School PPI Pro Mos Amps - Precision Power!

Most of you old school car audio fans know the early 1990's was a time when aftermarket car audio was getting extremely popular. At this time, it was rare to find a factory CD player and the factory speakers were weak at best in most cases. Manufacturers such as Rockford Fosgate, Linear Power, Precision Power (PPI), Autotek, Orion and Soundstream (to name a few) were some of the very popular aftermarket car audio brands at the time.

The competition between the manufacturers was intense and each one was trying to best the other. Orion's HCCA series amps, released in the late 1980's were extremely popular and had an edge power wise on most other amps with their rating and ability to handle extremely low ohm loads. These low-wattage rated / low ohm handling amps came to be known as "cheater amps". The cheater amps could put out as much as 8x their rated 4 ohm power rating at lower loads. PPI hit the "cheater" market in 1990 with the Pro Mos 2050. Pro Mos was short for Professional Mosfet. This first gen Pro Mos amp was rated to handle loads down to 1ohm and would provide 4x it's rated 4ohm power at 1ohm. Cough up around $800 for a 50x2 amp, and get a 400x1 monster when loaded down. Interestingly enough, Orion's 25x2 "cheater", the 225 HCCA was stable down to 1/2 (some even say 1/4) ohm loads and would put out in excess of 400 watts and cost less than $600.

I've shown a comparison of the Orion 225 HCCA and the PPI Pro Mos 25 in a previous posting and video. You can see my preliminary power output results HERE.

PPI Pro Mos 2050 (top), Pro Mos 12 & Pro Mos 25 - Image (C) OldSchoolStereo.com

These Pro Mos amps were available up until around 1995, adding additional models including the Pro Mos 12, 24 and 50 (replacing the 2050) beginning in 1991. They also released 4 channel models; the Pro Mos 425 and 450. These Pro Mos amps were no frills, offering no internal crossovers or bass/treble controls. They offered a DIN connection for powering a PPI pre-amp or crossover in addition to the standard RCA input jacks. The Power and Ground connections were made via 8 or 10 awg leads and the speaker/remote connection was made by an infamous molex connector. I say infamous because this connector has been a huge failure throughout the years. The wires don't stay inside the connector and the molex connector itself breaks very easily. Many people created terminal strips or soldered the leads to the circuit board.

The Pro Mos amps you see in the photo above are the "art series", finished in white including a unique design by an artist. These amps were also available in black with red lettering.

See the video demo below:

Also, visit YouTube and subscribe to my channel for more exciting OLD SCHOOL car audio gear!

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