My "Holy Grail" Two very rare oldschool Soundstream MC-500 Amps cracked open, hooked up & played
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ค. 2024
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An old friend of mine called me up one day and said he had 2 Soundstream MC500's for sale and would give me a good deal on one. Of course i said yes and to bring them by. Back in 1989, i JUST graduated High School, my parents moved away and i didn't have but a wooden nickel to my name. I couldn't even come close to something of this caliber at that time. Anyway, when he told me he really needed the money i figured it was my duty to make him an offer he couldn't refuse and try to get both of them. . I couldn't help it, as soon as i saw them i knew i had to at least try. He took my offer and they are both mine. They have been sitting on the shelf ever since. My shop got busy and I sort of forgot I had them. Well here they are. Lets hook them up for the first time (since I got them) and see how they sound. Thanks for watching if you did!
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What is your "Holy Grail" amp?
Have a small collection of old fosgates A/D/S and ppi art amps
Wish I could find some I had but sold them and regretted it ever since, OG 1995ish MMATS 2025x & 2050x in white.
US Amps
HIFONICS SERIES 7 COLOSSUS
Phoenix Gold MS1000
I had the limited edition chrome plated soundstream continuum back in the day. It was a 5 channel running high end and an Orion XTR 15. Still have some old school soundstream 10’s. Love my old soundstream.
Nice pick up! These take me back. Thanks for the vid.
When i see Nichicon caps in anything i get a warm fuzzy.
Holy Grail for sure! Them guts are amazing
Owned almost all of the Soundstream VGA Van Gogh series amps, loved them! VGA1600.2, VGA 500.4, 320.4, 400.2, 800.2, 800.5, Some of the truly amazing handbuilt units from Cali - just amazingly powerful (huge) and clean!
Probably why old school amps seem to sound cleaner, No processing. Wish amp manufactures would leave "sound signatures and processing" out of amps and focus on higher grade amplifying components.
There are a couple but they are very expensive. The audison thesis amps are built with extremely high quality components but you pay dearly for them. Sound absolutely fantastic though. Definitely on the same level as these or what Mcintosh was making 20 years ago
@@gen-X-trader Stereo Integrity are straight amps. They're a little more budget friendly but still by no means "cheap".
Old 200 watt 15s and a 400 watt amp sound louder than a set of 3" coil subs on a thousand on each with a new amp.
@@Sneakdisscommentbelow there's a reason for that. Those old subs were like 90 DB at one watt one meter. Some of these new subs are like 84. It takes three times the power to get the same SPL even if, and some of the cases the new subs are capable of out more output, they require a lot more power to get there
@@gen-X-trader sounds almost like a communist China move to make us buy batteries and alternators 🤣
Loved Soundstream back in the day.
sounds awesome even in the video can only imagine in person
An MC500 on 2 M&M Godfather 18's basically hooked me into car audio.
I grew up in Fullerton, and started my first little car audio install company in 1993. We installed several Soundstream amplifiers and they sounded super clean. I didn't know they were made in Fullerton back then! Early 90's it was all about Soundstream, Orion, Phoenix Gold, MTX, Rockford Fosgate, etc... Made in USA actually meant something, they are just not the same anymore. I remember a few years later I took a job working as an installer at The Good Guys, and JL audio was the hot setup in the late 90's, their subs sounded so clean.
That’s why I prefer oldskool amps still cause they clean , I have my alpine v12 amps still and never get rid of them .
Them V12 Amps are spectacular. I have a few of them.
Soundstream was the shit back in the 90's along with the eclipse deck. Great stuff Steve 👍
Man i got a whole soundstream setup way back in 97-98ish. A friend of mine’s family owned a pawnshop and i got some big ass SS 12” subs and a couple SS amps for $300 bones on the homie hookup. I wish I still had all the equipment Ive had over the years.
I had a buddy that had a 5 channel Soundstream that looked like that. Hooked up to 2 SPL 12s in a 80 Cutlass. Way back in the day. That system was amazing.
I had one I used in my 98 Taurus SHO it woke that car up super clean wattage.
All the classics songs from highschool. Hell yeah brother.
Old school build for sure. You gotta do it.
Those SoundStream Amp and the A/D/S Power Plates where true audiophile quality amps . I wish stuff like that was still made today and sounded as good as they did , they were pure CLASS-A !!!!!
About the caps inside the amps.
Nichicon is one of the most prestigious capacitor manufacturers on the market. The company's components are characterized by excellent parameters and are popular - especially among manufacturers of electronic equipment focusing on the quality and durability of their devices. In recent decades, however, electronic circuits have become more widespread in new fields (e.g., automotive) and, at the same time, the requirements for their energy efficiency and durability have increased. This is the result of a constant technological development - especially in the field of capacitors. On the one hand, they remain a key component of many circuits (such as power supplies or converters), and on the other: for years they have been considered the most failure-prone passive components. Today the TME catalogue is full of compact elements with extended service life and excellent characteristics. What's more, there are completely new technological solutions on the market that meet the high requirements of modern electronics. Nichicon capacitors are at the forefront of development - and you can always find the brand's latest solutions at TME
Unfortunately the capacitors in these amps are almost impossible to find
He poked the leads straight through the wire 😂😂😂 I love it
I still have my Soundstream 1002. Chrome model. Sitting in my closet. Had it for about 20 years
☝️😎💯 like wise my A6.0 new still in plastic wrap In sealed unopened boxes 📦 guess that makes me a collector‼️ 3 other SS AMPS
@@eurekaakerue4649 I had a Class A 6.0 but it got stolen years ago....sucks.
I has one back in the day. They were a beast of an amp!
My dream amp was the Orion HCCA and the long purple US Amp
Those are sick. I always wanted the ZED Audio Minotaur and Leviathan for my rides. Last Class D amps Zed Audio made.
These old amps just look like they mean business. I still love the old stuff and would love to see an old school build with these.
There is just something about that old school sound. So clean and controlled. Awesome amps.
Niiiice... They remind me of the old school ADS amps from the layout.
I had a pull out Sound Stream tape player with Alpine 4 channel, Audio Control 2Xs and D200 powering 2 12 inch MM Godfathers seat pushed all the way up Nissan hard body standard cab PU back in the early 90's. Great memories..
A Soundstream D200II, and three Class A 50s driving two Soundstream SS10s, a/d/s 320is components, and a pair of MB Quart 4" "plates" I had modify to work as rear fill. That was 1991.
Aaaaah....these oldschool amps a great, too 😉👍🆙️
"Touch too much"....... OG call right there! Amps sound clean as hell
I have 1 they are 7.5A factory.
I have the Orginal box and paperwork as well.
I will be up north in September. I will drop it off at the shop
ahhh shit good lookin out on that.
I power my shop system with my beloved MC500. It powers an anchient pair of Peavey "Black Widow" PA monitors. It plays at least 10hrs/day, almost every day. And has for many years. Sounds fantastic. I have three holy-grail amps. The MC500, Adcom 4702, and Audison HR100.
Love these and back then not many amps had insert terminals for speakers, power, etc so wiring these up was really clean. Another thing to note is how HUGE the fins are on these amps...can't really tell via video have to see them in person. I'm glad you found these and enjoy them, that's what it's all about! Also, thanks for the shout out!!
Anything old school RF, alpine, and of course orion from the late 80's early 90's😊 I really miss those days❤
I really didn't know much about anything else back then. Lol
I miss the 2 pyramid see thru clear 12's I had in my room (94'). Those things sounded awesomein my bedroom😂😂
Before I did my big old school PPI install in 96-97 I ran 4 soundstream MC500s in custom 1986 F250 Super Cab 2 of them were pushing 4 CV Stroker 15 the other 2 ran 2 M&M 8" mid base, 4 M&M 6" mids, and 4 Orion Super Tweeters in each door. Super Fucking Loud and clean 😊 those were the best days of my youth.... Talk about Hair Tricks! I had all the chick's in the Hood wanting to RIDE!
That's beautiful
Killer! My buddy had a soundstream amp pushing 3 12w6's just under 2 ohms I believe, it was back in 95'-96' in the back of a new for the time ford probe. That thing hit! It wasn't one of these bad boys, but a younger brother product
mine is the sony xplod xm-d1000p5 monoblock. still have 1 brand new in the box. and for the subs i recently found which i couldnt believe my eyes when i found them is the sony xplod xs-l1290p5 found brand new. i just loved them when i was still in school grade 5, im 32 now and finally found something ive always wanted. was like a dream come true for me. for me they look amazing
Cleanest sounding power amplifiers in the 90s
Maaaan thats a classic forsure! The OG SOUNDSTREAM WIT TEH BIG FINS !!!
Im from 916 Sac. Born & raised. it was a point of pride that soundstream was rite down the road in Folsom California.
These amps were so Bulletproof you could replace the fuse with a bolt and use the speaker wires to weld with
Man, I love the content you put out but I got to be honest this old school amp content is freaking bad ass.
I recall that brand. I usually ran Fosgate or Precision Power amps. I had buddies that ran Orion amps all the time. It's cool to see these old brands.
They sound amazing
Very nice Steve. I saved and saved and bought my dream amplifiers back when they were new Monolithic. $1500 for a dual class A 50. I still have them. I'm glad you got your dream amps.
You have personally changed the way we listen.
This is when Soundstream was unbeatable. I still have all my OG 90's Soundstream amps and a pair of OG SPL 12's and SPL 170's along with my OG Nakamichi headunit. After Soundstream started their decline, I jumped aboard with Planet Audio.
Super cool, I wasn’t even a twinkle in my dads eye when these were built and they still look and sound phenomenal
My favorite Amps. I had 2x reference 1000s and 2x 500s. Wish I meet parted with them. ❤ The channel man. You got me back in car audio after 20 years. Putting together an SQ team for IASCA. I got a system that's gonnaake Waves. Full studio and RTA setup running on a custom water cooled PC with full XLR in and out . Custom hifi DAC for output and inputs. Even thinking about water-cooling my front stage punch p8002.
Good for you Steve. I never had a shot at the soundstream big boys. I ran the white Phoenix Gold ZX amps with JL 12W6 and various different components trying to find the right sound quality.
I always wanted one of the old rockford power amps with the chrome shroud with the fan. Don't know where those rank today, but they were what everyone wanted back in the early 90's.
I have a 650 and a 300 :)
Nice man love this
As always a class act.
Thanks for sharing i love old school amps there just built to last
This is a good video seeing the old school amps nothing like it bre it’s back memories growing up🔥🔥🔥
I'm getting ready to do a full CT Sounds build. I'm glad you're endorsing them.
1993 in high school I had a 15" sub from an electric bass guitar cabinet in a home made box (no specs) connected to an amp from the flea market with 200w. I was working at taco bell in the drive thru, I thought I was the man! lol. Soundstream was amazing but for me I always wanted a beautiful Precision Power man those were cool amps in 1995. I loved going to the audio shop and bothering the store manager with every question on the planet. He knew I could never afford to buy anything but still took the time answering all my questions. 30yrs later and I'm teaching my 14yr daughter how to build a new box this weekend :)
amazing amp 🔊
I remember that awesome amp. One of my local shops had one on display for years and he wouldn't sell it. I believe it was in 1998 when I was buying my soundstream 702 and little wonder that I talked to him about it. He said he wouldn't sell it because he thought it would be worth more money in the future. He said, "this amp is going to be a rare collectable". He was all about collecting car audio. About 5 years later the shop closed down. I wonder what he did with that amp and everything else he had. He also had a pair of 15" and a pair of 18" cerwin vega strokers. He was a car audio hoarder lol.
Those are sweet I can’t believe how far amps have come from back then😮Steve I got my dd1 all the way in Knoxville Tennessee in 2 days I wish other companies shipped that fast
Love the shout out to Big D Wiz. I know you are in contact, but its nice seeing my favorites talk to each other 😊
I’m so old school that I have 4 unopened RF Power 1000c amps😂. For years I’ve said I was going to another build, I’m in my 50s now so maybe my grandson will once old enough 😁
Amp guts look fantastic 💯
My favorite amp design of all time.
I used to own an MC-245 and I still own a D200II, D100II, and 3 D60II Soundstream amps. I haven't had the MC-245 for quite some time, but man, I loved that amp back in the day! When I was running one of my systems with the MC-245, I had no idea that they also made an MC-300 and MC-500. I have my DII series packed away in my closet waiting for a cap replacement someday soon, hopefully!
I still have my Dad’s Davinci and Tarantula. I’d love to build an SQ car with these in his honor one day.
They are two very sweet very rare amps. Your a lucky man
Old school soundstream was my favorite.
Had a reference 500 on 2 soundstream spl 12's wired to 1 ohm and they slammed.
I had a MC300 and a D200II. The worst thing I did was sell them. I will buy both of these from you now.
Good stuff bro!
That’s cool , I saw Soundstream and that signature blue caught my eye. I have a mint Soundstream Reference200 that I took out from underneath the dash of a higher end sport boat of all places. Had been under there perfect since the 80’s. Like you say back in the day I could never afford them. I remember looking at them at the one stereo shop that carried Soundstream. It was rare to see in my small town , Or anywhere. I had to go get it out of storage and look at it. Man are they ever well made amplifiers, and hand crafted in USA. 🇺🇸 it’s a little jewel 💎
These are my holy grail too. Acquired a minty one probably 15-18 years ago. It’s still in my current system. MC500 on 2 Kicker 12’s, MC300 on front stage of Kicker Resolution 6.5’s and ND25a soft dome tweets and a D100II on rear kicker 6.5 coax. Eclipse head and an Audiocontrol 4.1. Alpine active x-over.
Grew up around cars and I'll always remember the "Casper" truck from my childhood with 2 Soundstream SPL170s running on Phoenix Gold amps. Not to mention it was a walkthrough with an LT1 swap. Fun times.
@meade916 Hell yeah man, old school Soundstreaem! Nice to see you visited the Registry too.👍
I always wanted a pair of these back in the day for my first serious SQ build but being in the UK they were so hard to get and so expensive too. Went with Genesis dual monos in the end with the newly released (back then) Mission Components. Great times!
They look so nice side by side
Love the blue whale. Had 1 on these and 2 D100's and 2 D50's. Loved that system.
MEADE BROTHER!!These Old school amps were popular back in our younger years WOW! U remember GODFATHER SUBS?? Same era roughly. I had 2 18s & a kenwood amp hooked up to them BOOM BABY BOOM!!
EXOTIC EXPRESSIONS our car club name!! Thanks 🙏 for sharing Brother 👍😉. Blessings 🙏🌸🌺🌼
I Used To Own That Amplifier Back in The Day Wow its Awesome To See This Model Again
A old school build with some Cerwin Vega Strokers would be epic!!!
Always wondered what to get a man that has everything.
❤🎉
Its like oldschool hotrodding! Love it!
Do an old school build homie!!
Hit us with AC/DC! Gotta love my grandfather for blessing me with decent music knowledge from when he was growing up, ac/dc, Led Zeppelin, list goes on, my grandmother was more country but she listened to Lynyrd Skynyrd along with Guns N’ Roses, my mom was more so Metallica, then linkin park, some country and more metal and older rock, my aunt was more edm, techno etc then I grew up with all of it being surrounded by my family plus having the internet at some point helped with music genres discovery like dubstep and other forms of edm!
It was great to hear something other than rap. Seems like that's all anybody listens to now. I still dig some good old school hip hop, though.
Wow I am the same way dreamed of having SoundStream amps. If I recall the sound is nice and clean.
Questo si ché un bel vedere, mamma mia quanto ne ho installati. Suono spettacolare, vecchia scuola e componenti interni degni di essere chiamati così
The Rockford Fosgate T15K was pretty sick Steve!
Siiiiik!
Them amps and Two Reference 12s in a SoundStream Reference Bandpass Box, Dope!
good stuff!
That's the dream right there!
Found this Memphis belle 16 mch600 really old school big ass channel amp like I’m talking a surfboard
Badass amps 😊
Nice design of the PCB s
Rubicon 9002 was my favorite 🤩
Can’t go wrong with Soundstream. Best amps ever made. JL comes close, but never heard better. You may not agree, but you can’t please everyone so you got to please yourself. Cheers guy! Do I envy you!
My gosh Steve, I looked for a long time 9 yeara ago for one of these.
Fantastic acquisition of your holy grail amplifiers. I'm happy for you.
I've been a big Soundstream fan since the Reference series amps were released, but they were out of reach for me as a broke kid.
I had a ref300 late 90’s early 2000, still buying soundstream subs but not amps switched to Rockford
Soundstream was a very good amps back in the days the did a 1.4 oms with no problems
Both Two $hort and these amp are Gettin IT! These are class AB yes? And the models before the reference series came out?
I still run my Soundstream Rubicon 702’s I’ve had since the early 2000’s. They’ve been bullet proof so they have just moved from vehicle to vehicle over the years.
Can confirm. I have a rubicon 405 that I got last year, still in sealed Box. Might not be very powerful, but definitely the best sounding car amp I ever listened to