Old School Stereo: 2014

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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Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 Mosfet

Those who know car audio from the 80's and 90's know the Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 Mosfet. A beast of a four-channel amp, costing close to $3000. The model shown above is a later generation "Terminator Edition". First gen models were 6" longer with a caboose to help hide the wiring and they also had no LED meter like the later "Terminator Edition" and 1000c models. Understand, not all chrome Power 1000's with LED's are Terminator Editions. Internally, they appear to be the same amp, yet Rockford Fosgate gave appreciation to Wayne Harris' design of the shortened 1000 with the LED meters and made a limited run of Terminator Editions. Read the earlier article about this amp here.

While working on the full Amp Dyno test of the Power 1000, I thought the results were interesting enough to post a short video showing the 2 ohm bridged output using the Dynamic RMS Power mode. This mode adheres to the IHF-202 standard for testing dynamic power

Watch the video in full 1080P HD Here >>

Or embedded below:

Pages

Sunday, December 28, 2014

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

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 Mosfet Amp Dyno Test 2 Ohms Bridged Dynamic IHF-202 Certified