See Budget Gem or Budget Bust Test of this amp: ua-cam.com/video/BS8NM_Repr0/v-deo.html Shop for this amp on Amazon: amzn.to/2NMXFsK Boss AR1500 Amp Video: ua-cam.com/video/omK1eyFqc08/v-deo.html See playlist of Budget Car Audio Amps Tested: ua-cam.com/play/PLu98-M_EowHMtCIiCz0v6_2gLnsmdLL0V.html
Hey Big D, quick question I have a single ts-w2502d4 and I just bought the Skar 1200.1D to push this bad boy. How do I tune this amp to best push the sub and how do I wire this sub for the maximum amount of power I can toss at it. Right now it is wired for 2 ohm, I mainly meant the amp has 4 terminals and I don't see it bridged?? Just do far side + and far side - ?
Always enjoy your videos. Would be interesting to see, with the amps that don't meet their advertised power, what happens when you start edging up the fuse amperage.
Jay Fleming yes I have I been running FI audio for like 10-11yrs because of Steve I been following him that long he snaps on people in his comment section 90% of the time for no reason saying the most douche asshole shit when they just asking ?s
I bought two of these amps in 2014 and 2015 and I LOVE this amp for the price. I knew before getting the amp that the wattage was BS but I tried it anyway as I was just experimenting and playing around at the time and OMG!....For $58 (my cost at the time) holy cow it is a GREAT amp! Who cares what the box says or what people think!? I care ONLY about the sound I get for the money I spend (and features too). I just wanted to turn my system on and get 100 or 200 watts worth of boom boom for $60, and with good features and this amp does that very well....and tough as heck too!
I'd buy dual over boss at least you have a chance of getting a korean amp for around the same price. Great content my friend. Wish we had someone like you in the early 90s showing the way for the inexperienced...👍👍👍
Pete Newton yeah that’s me fr like I got this for my birthday and I don’t need a shit ton of bass I just wanted a little more kick to my system and I don’t need anything crazy since I’m just a single cab
I've bought a couple of these amps for two different systems and I LOVE this amp! It is a GREAT "affordable" option for good sound without worrying about your car electrical system being strong enough etc. Great options, fun to use, good down to 2-ohms....An excellent choice for low cost but good sound and power. EXTRA: This amp is not good for people with self esteem issues or high power competitions. Your friends who spend $500+ on Sub Amps may make fun of you. But if you have outgrown such self esteem issues and want good, "Loud Enough" Sub woofer and you cannot afford $500 just for a sub amp (say a Dad with kids etc), this is an awesome amp that will NOT likely burn out and will last a long long time. PS: This is just my own opinion based on my own experience.
I'm not by any means trying to stick up for BOSS AUDIO SYSTEMS by any means because to be honest I straight up went for a Budget friendly build on my car using this exact same amplifier granted I knew their watt ratings are bull but to be honest for how cheap and budget friendly it is I'm honestly impressed with how it preforms the only thing I don't like is the fact it has the tendency to get a bit toasty but otherwise sounds clean and very easy to tune
As an exercise in minimalism I bought one of these and a pyle dvc 10". Built a 6th order tuned to 28/42 hz. It sounds fantastic. My expectations were realistic tho. My first amp was a 1990 model punch 45. It had almost identical specs to this amp and cost $300. That's $300 in 1990 dollars when minimum wage was $3.85 an hour. Will this power a competition setup? Of course not. Will it get a kid with no budget into our hobby? Maybe so.
Exactly, that was how I got into all this. Bought a kit for $130 (this AMP, a RF R1S4-12, box, and wiring kit). now that I have better, that setup was pretty weak in comparison, but the point is it got us youngsters into the scene for an affordable price. This amp has enough power to safely drive the R1S4-12 and still sound okay for a beginner. Won't win any competitions for SPL or SQ/SQL, but that isn't the point. I now have a RF P2 12 in a .9CU ft box running off a RF r500x1d and while I wish I had opted for a vented box, I couldn't be happier with this purchase.
Couldn't agree more. These budget companies need to just own what they are. My friend's son was about to get a boss amp and wanted me to help with the install. I explained to him that for a little more than twice the cost, he could get a Rockford prime 500 that would well over perform. Or he could get a boss that would perform at about 30% of expectation. He did the math, got the Rockford, learned a lesson of things being too good to be true, and is a believer in quality over hype.
honestly not suprized but I love mine. makes my mirrors shake so much they are useless with my 12 inch kenwood sub. super budget build my only complaint is it gets hot
My only Boss amp was purchased back in 2004. Was pushing 3 Fosgate 10" he2's. Sounded pretty damn good. Then I bought an infinity amp, true 1200rms at 2ohms. Holy shit, Infinity changed the game for me! Made the fosgates scream. Will never ever buy Boss again.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, If you want one of the best theft deterrents on the market, put that BOSS sticker on your ride. Not hating on the company. I believe any product can shine in the right circumstances, but that sticker keeps thieves away from your ride🔈🔈🔈
"Steal Me Stickers" are never a good idea. I don't care which company they're from. You'd be surprised what dumbass kids, or crackheads would be willing to steal who don't know any better.
Thanks for your video. I had the amp sent back, ordering the soundstream Picasso nano p1.1000 instead. You did the review on both amps. These are the budget ones on amazon. My 10" eton flat m10 subwoofer is rated 300w rms and for sure this 110w boss riot dont make the cut. The soundstream is doing great pairing with my sub. Keep these videos coming! It helps consumers make informed decisions and not relaying on the bs ratings manufacturers put on their product.
I remember getting one of these, a wiring kit, Rockford P1 subwoofer and box for like $169 back when I first got into car audio. All my friends raved over this amplifier believing it to be an amazing deal, but I watched this video and realized how fooled everybody was. The sad thing is, the shop that installed all this for me not only charged me more than the setup was worth for 1 hour of installation, they also swore up and down that this was an amazing setup. They had the gain, bass boost, everything turned all the way up just so the poor RF p1 would even make noise. The p1 handled it like a champ though, and I later sold the setup to someone else and told them to get a better amplifier ASAP and better wiring kit. Guy threw it in the back of the singlecab truck and AFAIK he loved the setup. "Knocked the socks off my two Memphis 10s" he later told me.
I always buy my amps at a pawn shop because they always want get them out the door for great prices on decent amps. Just my 2 cents if you are looking for amps.
The very first amp I bought was a Boss amp. It was a RVA900.1 PEACE OF CRAP! Rated at 1800w peak. Boss loves that word. Peak. Thanks to you Big D. I now own 2 Audiopipe amps. They kick ass. Love your videos. People be aware!! Dont buy BOSS!!!
I just bought this amp, a 10 inch kicker, and 4 Alpine type s speakers. All of it's going in a pickup truck. Still waiting on some of it to come in but I think it will work lol
Remember the Sanyo PA-6100? Rated at 50 wpc and put out closer to 100 wpc? I had a Fosgate Punch for the front and a Sanyo for the 10's, a total of 250+ watts and it sounded great. I don't understand the obsession of so much power you can't turn it up when you're in the car.
The thing is, the price of these amps really aren't that bad for what they give out; if they gave out the proper wattage output, I bet they'd sell just as good, if not better because of a better reputation.
So far away from the heydays of car audio. I remember my first SERIOUS car amp I got new, the old Gold Series HiFonics Titan. It was like 50 W RMS x2 @4 Ohms, and would go down to a 2 Ohm load and put out a crazy 400 W RMS. it was also like $400 back in like 1990-91. I was in my last year of high school. I have had so many good amps, i feel sad I dont have any nowadays. I need something good again. I love your videos dude. Keep it up!
I have seen people take junk equipment and make it sound good. I have also seen people take top of the line equipment and make it sound horrible. I was an installer for 20 years and also a brand junkie. Now I kinda think there is a place for this low level stuff. If a soccer mom wants a little boom and only has a 100 dollar budget, I say why not if it gets the job done. We all can't afford the good stuff or are going to competitions. I just wish the manufacturer would be truthful and just go after that market.
Thanks big D, always can trust you giving accurate readings on these amps. Keep doing what ur doing because you let allot of people who don't have very much money too put into systems and can kinda go off your test...... God bless Joseph from Phoenix, AZ
They don't matter if someone else tested it to have 3 of you guys testing the same amp would be key so that we can get in average from 3 different test stations and that would make more scientific proof of what the ratings are.
As in most all specs for audio equip, the rated output is Per Channel. You see 400 watt car stereos advertised all the time, but it doesn't mean you get 400 watts, it means you get 4 channels at 100 watts each. I suspect Boss is doing the same thing here with this 2-channel amp.
While I agree with the numbers game, this is actually not a bad amp. I got one, knowing full well not to expect much at this price point and was impressed how it drove my Kicker 8" wedge box rated at 300 RMS (43TCWRT82-3). For the price it's worth it for me. The sound is clean overall and I get good bass for my truck cabin. I don't do audio competitions so this fills in nicely where the door speakers drop off. Marketing is marketing and yeah they can be dishonest. But come on, if you buy Boss, you know what you're getting. It exceeded my expectations in my case and I'm good with that.
For most of us it's principle. Why would you give you're money to a bold face liar? You're actually paying them to lie and telling them it's completely ok. I'd rather give my hard-earned money to someone who actually deserves and appreciates it
Warren Stearns I think I hold the same sentiment. I just made a comment about my amp (also a riot series, but it’s the 2 channel “600 watt”). I love it and it’s been reliable for multiple setups throughout 5 years, and even pleasantly surprising with my recent box change to accommodate my new-to-me 1997 blazer. But I know it can’t be putting out what it’s rated for.
I think Boss has their own numbering scheme. The numbers are fine if you only pair them with other boss products. Like I'm sure this amp pushes their 1100 watt subwoofer just fine.
THIS! I've got a Boss Armor "1500 watt" amp, paired with the Boss Phantom "800 watt" subs, bridged & in the correct sized box - it hums very nice for what it is. I don't think I would run a Boss head unit though, I've got a decent Pioneer double din in there instead. Everything works how it should & I've got less than $200 bucks in the trunk, box included.
I’m not gonna lie I bought this amp and ran it on 2 10 inch kicker comps and it blew me away by the performance. Much worth the 60 bucks in my opinion.
@@nonyabusiness7887 I've used mine heavily since 2014 and now my son is using it in his new Mustang. It is a great 200+ super clean watts for $60 or so. "Dollar per Watt" and reliability is what I care about. I see a lot of people crapping on this amp that haven't even used it. I laugh through every song each day I use it (well, my son now days). If it beaks I will just buy yet another, but it has been 6 heavily used years and it won't break.
We played around with boss back in the late 90s. They were dirt cheap and looked pretty cool. We tested them on JL subs against planet audio amps. There was something about them that would throw the subs like crazy, like 1 inch excursion on the same track the planet audio was throwing half inch. But oddly enough the boss was producing half the volume. It was like there was a bunch of infrasonic distortion introduced by these amps. Long story short, we would never sell these to anyone who wanted to actually make SPL. If they wanted a bit of bump in the trunk, like less than 120dB but that was it.
I saw a review on Amazon where a guy was pushing in Orion HCCA sub with one of these claiming that he was "slapping". LMAO. . it's so sad people are taking these ratings on the front of the amp literally
I’ve never really liked boss anyways, even before UA-cam and amp dynos. They never really seemed to sound like they put out as many watts as they always say. Great video. I seen budget gem or budget bust video on this as well, and was wondering if you would ever do a video he has done, u gotta keep your “bass” happy lol. Is fun when you do your videos keep it up man.
I ain’t gonna lie I have several boss amps, speakers and subs. I had them hooked up in a Chevy Camaro, it was decent. The amps never failed, I use the amps now for full range and no subs, it’s kicker all the way for subs.
Thanks Derek for the video. Now I got to give a 100% honest review to the real world user of this amp. I own the "2400" watt version which is 1 ohm stable. I bought it many years ago when I got my first system. It powered 2 pioneer's in a bandpass. It sounded great. At that time I didn't know I was probably only getting 500 watts max! I used that amp forever until I got rid of that car. Now I finally got a new vehicle and just installed a sundown sa12 in a ported and tuned box and decided to dig up this amp to see if it still even worked. Dusted it off and got it hooked up and surprisingly yet again it still works and moves this 12 enough to sound really well. I just ordered an audiopipe 1500 so I can feed this sundown some more power but to this amps credit it is very durable and although way underpowered it does move a sub. I'm probably going to have to bring this thing to my friends ranch and shoot it with my shotgun to kill it. The 2400 watt version is definitely good for the newbie who has but a $100 to spend and no more. Even though it's overrated I think the 2400 watt version is worth the money but yeah, I recommend saving up a little more for a audiopipe or even a pioneer.
I'm just blown away that there's no class action law suit, company's that sell cheap homeowner air compressors had a class action suit about the bullshit ratings, they were rating the cfm at the compressor intake not out the inlet and that is drastically different, they would but a 5 cfm tool and 5 cfm compressor and it wouldn't run the tool very long... They got there's cost the company's alot of Jing...
I love your real world vids. Good stuff. Why can't they just put that it's a 110 watt amp and be done with it. I would respect them more. That's all we want is honesty.
Hey Big D , I think these amps should be thrown in a field in a big oof pile of Horsecrap . They falsely advertise ratings on sooo many amps these days . What happened to the good old days where there were many underrated amps on the market ?? Great review , keep them coming ...
I find it kinda funny a buddy of mine was arguing that his boss 1100 riot was more powerful than my 2 old school Punch 150HDs...i have em running 2 Kicker 12 L7s..I sent your video to him to try and make him see the light and understand they dont make amps like they used to. Needless to say we hooked up one of my punch 150s to his Image Dynamics, now i have him hounding me for one of the 150s!!! Great video!!!
The real rating compared to the advertised rating is horrible... That would be like Toyota claiming that the Camry gets 160 mpg. It would only take people a week or even a day before they filed a class-action lawsuit and won. But when you only charge $50 on a product that many people dont have the equipment to test besides their ears, "Boss" knows they can keep scooping that money without repercussion. As of right now, that same Boss amp costs $81 before tax on Amazon. At it's best, that's almost $1 for every 2 watts. But a Skar 350.1D for only $12 more will push 400 watts of real RMS half the cost of watts per $ without the junky screw/spade terminals. For those who build a system with some extra [usually unused] headspace leftover, the Skar is more efficient... and there's others like it. I'd like to give Boss a compliment for being reliable, but if it can't hit 200 watts it's not generating enough heat to cook itself if the board is smart enough to know how to handle its output once it reaches >1% THD. Back to their marketing claim: If they said "this is a 180 watt RMS amp," it would at least be respectable, but "1100 watts" sells a lot of units and 180 would only sell to a niche consumer.
I wish back 3 years ago when I put together my first car stereo system I had known enough to watch these videos! This amp you just did the dyno on was my first amp powering my first kicker 10in cs shallow mount sub in a truck box. It was still enough power and I'm sure distortion to blow the sub. But yet I still went on to buy a 4 channel amp for my speakers from these guys. The 4 channel amp ended up burning itself up after a year pushing my new at the time kicker ks speakers. By this point I had learned these amps are literally garbage. Now I'm running a skar rp150.4 for my mids and highs and an alpine mrv-m500 for my kicker comp r 12 sub and I've got super clean super loud sound
that's one of the major knocks against boss, their amps are solid for the price but the wattage ratings are always WAYY exaggerated, same can be said for other cheap brands like power acoustik, DHD and pyle, its sad because if they were honest i think BOSS would have a much better reputation in the audio world
Lol pair it with a Pyle Power 15 dual 4 ohm and it'll get down. Puts out more power than any head unit so for a little add on amp with cheap 2 ohm sub, you can get some thump for a fraction of a weeks pay at any entry job. For your money though you get a lot more with a bit more than double the cost (which is still really low at sub $150). The Boss AR4000D for example destroys this amp at 2 ohm even at 12v. Pair that with a Skar audio or American Bass dual 4ohm subwoofer, a setup for less than 150% more money, and you get 5-6x or 250% more output. The Pioneer 9601 you reviewed a while back on a 1ohm load did 1500 watts on your test bench. That amp was around $150 back in the day. You would need to invest a lot more into power the system though to get that out of it in a car.
Totally agree with truth in power. And have since I was in high school in 1990. I was trying to educate anyone who would listen to stop quoting the ‘MAX WATTS’ ( maybe MAX WHATS?) and look to RMS for some consistency. Now I refer them to the CEA numbers when possible. Just goes to show how these companies view their customers, and frankly I don’t like being patronized or thought of as stupid. Thank you Big D for calling BS when you find it!! MUCH RESPECT!!
Big D my wife wants to put power Acoustic overdrive od1 3500 mono block. Amp in her car i keep telling Power Acoustic amp don't have Power u want so she lets ask big D That u think
I'm assuming 85% of people who buy this or majority of budget systems don't care about true output they want "loud" bass. Nothing else matters clean sound, mids, highs, etc They don't care. Hell 90% of them don't even run wires properly. If 65 bucks gets that 12 inch beating and trunk rattling it was worth it to them.
@@VisionSandS Nope not even. They want anything that gets the sub to shake the car.. I see 90% of installs dim the cars head lights when bass hits they don't care.
Class A/B move putting the link to the first test by Budget Gem/Budget bust first on the list. Once again you guys have proven that you can just lop of the last zero of the model of the amp to get in the ballpark of the actual power output. Also THANK YOU for running the final test on the sub at the enclosure tuning frequency! You are improving your game with every vid BigD!
People have to remember that this is a a/b amp. Back in 92, I had 2 kenwood 921 on 4 15's that's basically The same power as this boss. 200 Watts of class a/b is so much cleaner (sq wise) then 400 Watts of class d, that's why this amp sells so well. I have a 1k alpine Mrv 1505, class a/b that I'll put against any taramp 3k or any class d for that matter. They have this new class d transistor technology that suppose to 300x faster, with the sq of a class a/b, but the price is a dollar a watt
And people really think theyre getting 1100 watts. Had to school a guy who had this same amp and thought it made 1100 watts. Then I let him hear my kicker zx 400.1 on his subs and he couldnt believe how much harder my 400 watt amp hit. I explained to him that looking at the fuse rating can give you a decent idea of the max an amp can possibly push under the most ideal conditions.
Well sir you're uploads and actual dyno tests are great help to us who is looking to get a new amp i hope you naver get tired of doing what you're doing looking forward to more upload from you thanks
How do these companies get away with blatant falsifying their output ratings? Yeah, you get what you pay for but quit advertising insanely outrageous outputs... ridiculous. Edit: Yes I know they base their ratings off PEAK power but these damn things don't get anywhere near the PEAK rating no ways.
I really appreciate videos like this and I have to say I have learned a lot just watching your dynos. Since getting serious about car audio this channel and the legends of car audio Facebook page have been valuable resources. thank you sir.
anybody that's spent more than a month being serious about car audio should know what they're getting by now when it comes to budget gear, and that's ok if they have to go that route. what bothers me is that these companies know that and don't care what we think as long as they can continue to look impressive to high school kids, midlife crisis boomers, and well meaning (grand)parents and keep getting those sweet sweet shekels. any subwoofer at all sounds impressive when you've never had one so of course the target demographic are going to think we're just being salty muddying the waters more. i hate saying it, but i really feel like we really need a regulating body to keep consumer electronics companies honest.
Boss has been trash as long as I can remember back in the early 2000s I had a punch 160a2 it hit so much better than my buddies 1000 watt boss . I bought some subs from him and he tested with his system then we hooked them up in my car and he was amazed so much louder and cleaner.
first off great job Big D. I feel the same way about Boss. I have four AR 4,000 and I bought them because of your vid about he Boss Armor. I figured for $100 bucks and getting around 1,400 watts dynamically a person really can't go wrong so I strapped 2 amps together. I must say that the amps really really push the two audiopipe TXX BDC 4 15 inch subs really really well. I honestly could not BELIEVE how well the two amps strapped pushes these subs. I Do like the product and the way it looks and from what you said on your video about the amp guts it really does seem to be made very well. I just wish Boss wouldn't mislead people about how many TRUE WATTS their amps really do put out. thanks Big D for helping us really know the bang we are getting for our buck. keep up the good work and I look forward to more TRUTH in regards to other products that you do test 👍 !!!!!!!
Also while showing people the fuse math between 14.4v and a 65% efficiency of amps, I've always just multiplied the fuse by 10. It's not perfect but it's a pretty close approximation that anyone can do in their head real quick.
Can someone explain how this is legal? Looks to me like it's clearly false advertisement on basically every single amp..... time to win some money boys
If you believe this amp can do rated you've either been living under a rock, or you just got into car audio yesterday. In all honesty, it would be a decent amp to rock a small efficient sub, a set of coax's or a set of tweeters. Just don't expect those outlandish ratings. Lol Great video BigD!! 👍
I bought a 03 grand prix sedan and it had the 2 12 dual illuminite bandpass with a 1100w riot boss amp, the previous owner had it all installed at best buy and for being in a closed trunk the setup puts out phenomenal amounts of bass, I've beat the brakes off the system for a year and it still performs exactly as when I first purchased the car, the bass can be heard from at least 2 blocks away just the factory speakers are lacking quite a bit to keep up
The amp is good for the money, but I would never buy it simply because of the fact that they are lying to me, the customer. Another great video, D. Thanks.
See Budget Gem or Budget Bust Test of this amp: ua-cam.com/video/BS8NM_Repr0/v-deo.html
Shop for this amp on Amazon: amzn.to/2NMXFsK
Boss AR1500 Amp Video: ua-cam.com/video/omK1eyFqc08/v-deo.html
See playlist of Budget Car Audio Amps Tested: ua-cam.com/play/PLu98-M_EowHMtCIiCz0v6_2gLnsmdLL0V.html
Question: for a single channel on a 4 channel amp would you divide the watts by 4?
Big d. Do you ever sell any of your old school amps?
Do the American bass hd 1500 watts
Hey Big D, quick question I have a single ts-w2502d4 and I just bought the Skar 1200.1D to push this bad boy. How do I tune this amp to best push the sub and how do I wire this sub for the maximum amount of power I can toss at it. Right now it is wired for 2 ohm, I mainly meant the amp has 4 terminals and I don't see it bridged?? Just do far side + and far side - ?
Always enjoy your videos. Would be interesting to see, with the amps that don't meet their advertised power, what happens when you start edging up the fuse amperage.
Who else watched this video because this guy is the best and tester on UA-cam
You never heard of Steve Meade I guess!?
Jay Fleming yes I have I been running FI audio for like 10-11yrs because of Steve I been following him that long he snaps on people in his comment section 90% of the time for no reason saying the most douche asshole shit when they just asking ?s
Yeah but can Steve Meade ride wheelies...
@@williamkillingsworth2619 Yeah, Not to be mean but instead of living in the past, he should get his rear back on a bicycle.
Me watch this video because best guy and cool
Even if the amp was already reviewed id still watch your videos because of the amount of information they provide.
Thanks brother 🤙
"you will need spade style connectors for proper wiring" me shoving bare wire into the terminal, "what?"
😂😂😂
😂
Definitely nothing wrong with it😂 it only becomes a problem when you connect and disconnect more than usual the strands will start to break off
Not me splitting the wire into a fork, twisting both prongs and jamming it both sides of the screw
😂😂😂😂👍🏿
The 1100 means 1.100
1x100w
1100 stands for 1-100watt amp... 😉 Great dyno video as always my friend!
Thanks brother!
Yeah I realized that after I study different boss amps some of them well, alot of them are overrated 😂
I bought two of these amps in 2014 and 2015 and I LOVE this amp for the price.
I knew before getting the amp that the wattage was BS but I tried it anyway as I was just experimenting and playing around at the time and OMG!....For $58 (my cost at the time) holy cow it is a GREAT amp!
Who cares what the box says or what people think!? I care ONLY about the sound I get for the money I spend (and features too). I just wanted to turn my system on and get 100 or 200 watts worth of boom boom for $60, and with good features and this amp does that very well....and tough as heck too!
same here, it kicks ass with my cheap pioneer sub
I'd buy dual over boss at least you have a chance of getting a korean amp for around the same price. Great content my friend. Wish we had someone like you in the early 90s showing the way for the inexperienced...👍👍👍
Dual is actually another level compared to Boss. Good choice!
General rule of thumb with boss amps.. just remove the last number and that's the wattage lol. 1100m = 110 watts rms lol
I was thinking the same exact thing, but you beat me to it. "Boss Watts" are apparently 10x less than everyone else's watts.
I ran one of these with a single boss 12 inch sub. It actually sounded pretty dang good and had more than enough bass for what I wanted.
Pete Newton yeah that’s me fr like I got this for my birthday and I don’t need a shit ton of bass I just wanted a little more kick to my system and I don’t need anything crazy since I’m just a single cab
I've bought a couple of these amps for two different systems and I LOVE this amp! It is a GREAT "affordable" option for good sound without worrying about your car electrical system being strong enough etc. Great options, fun to use, good down to 2-ohms....An excellent choice for low cost but good sound and power.
EXTRA:
This amp is not good for people with self esteem issues or high power competitions. Your friends who spend $500+ on Sub Amps may make fun of you. But if you have outgrown such self esteem issues and want good, "Loud Enough" Sub woofer and you cannot afford $500 just for a sub amp (say a Dad with kids etc), this is an awesome amp that will NOT likely burn out and will last a long long time.
PS:
This is just my own opinion based on my own experience.
I'm not by any means trying to stick up for BOSS AUDIO SYSTEMS by any means because to be honest I straight up went for a Budget friendly build on my car using this exact same amplifier granted I knew their watt ratings are bull but to be honest for how cheap and budget friendly it is I'm honestly impressed with how it preforms the only thing I don't like is the fact it has the tendency to get a bit toasty but otherwise sounds clean and very easy to tune
I wish all amp companies would be honest!
You and me both!
As an exercise in minimalism I bought one of these and a pyle dvc 10". Built a 6th order tuned to 28/42 hz. It sounds fantastic. My expectations were realistic tho. My first amp was a 1990 model punch 45. It had almost identical specs to this amp and cost $300. That's $300 in 1990 dollars when minimum wage was $3.85 an hour. Will this power a competition setup? Of course not. Will it get a kid with no budget into our hobby? Maybe so.
Exactly, that was how I got into all this. Bought a kit for $130 (this AMP, a RF R1S4-12, box, and wiring kit). now that I have better, that setup was pretty weak in comparison, but the point is it got us youngsters into the scene for an affordable price. This amp has enough power to safely drive the R1S4-12 and still sound okay for a beginner. Won't win any competitions for SPL or SQ/SQL, but that isn't the point.
I now have a RF P2 12 in a .9CU ft box running off a RF r500x1d and while I wish I had opted for a vented box, I couldn't be happier with this purchase.
Couldn't agree more. These budget companies need to just own what they are. My friend's son was about to get a boss amp and wanted me to help with the install. I explained to him that for a little more than twice the cost, he could get a Rockford prime 500 that would well over perform. Or he could get a boss that would perform at about 30% of expectation. He did the math, got the Rockford, learned a lesson of things being too good to be true, and is a believer in quality over hype.
Great suggestion 🤙
Thank you for buying Rockford! Last of the surviving old school brands out there. The mono bD amps are insane, just like Audio Control amplifiers.
Time for a $100 Williston Audio Labs brand amp
honestly not suprized but I love mine. makes my mirrors shake so much they are useless with my 12 inch kenwood sub. super budget build my only complaint is it gets hot
With these cheaper amps nowadays you really gotta watch videos like this to know the power your getting to pair it right to a speaker.
My only Boss amp was purchased back in 2004. Was pushing 3 Fosgate 10" he2's. Sounded pretty damn good. Then I bought an infinity amp, true 1200rms at 2ohms. Holy shit, Infinity changed the game for me! Made the fosgates scream. Will never ever buy Boss again.
Honesty goes a long way
That amp brings back memories of the old pyramid amplifiers & EQ’s LoL
Yes it does the PB 600 back in the good old days 👍🔊
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, If you want one of the best theft deterrents on the market, put that BOSS sticker on your ride. Not hating on the company. I believe any product can shine in the right circumstances, but that sticker keeps thieves away from your ride🔈🔈🔈
"Steal Me Stickers" are never a good idea. I don't care which company they're from. You'd be surprised what dumbass kids, or crackheads would be willing to steal who don't know any better.
Thanks for your video. I had the amp sent back, ordering the soundstream Picasso nano p1.1000 instead. You did the review on both amps. These are the budget ones on amazon. My 10" eton flat m10 subwoofer is rated 300w rms and for sure this 110w boss riot dont make the cut.
The soundstream is doing great pairing with my sub. Keep these videos coming! It helps consumers make informed decisions and not relaying on the bs ratings manufacturers put on their product.
I remember getting one of these, a wiring kit, Rockford P1 subwoofer and box for like $169 back when I first got into car audio. All my friends raved over this amplifier believing it to be an amazing deal, but I watched this video and realized how fooled everybody was. The sad thing is, the shop that installed all this for me not only charged me more than the setup was worth for 1 hour of installation, they also swore up and down that this was an amazing setup. They had the gain, bass boost, everything turned all the way up just so the poor RF p1 would even make noise. The p1 handled it like a champ though, and I later sold the setup to someone else and told them to get a better amplifier ASAP and better wiring kit. Guy threw it in the back of the singlecab truck and AFAIK he loved the setup. "Knocked the socks off my two Memphis 10s" he later told me.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
The general rule of thumb for Boss products is to knock off a 0.
I always buy my amps at a pawn shop because they always want get them out the door for great prices on decent amps. Just my 2 cents if you are looking for amps.
The very first amp I bought was a Boss amp. It was a RVA900.1 PEACE OF CRAP! Rated at 1800w peak. Boss loves that word. Peak. Thanks to you Big D. I now own 2 Audiopipe amps. They kick ass. Love your videos. People be aware!! Dont buy BOSS!!!
Got mine from a thrift shop for ten bucks I think. Wasn’t expecting much. Respect your review for its “opposing viewpoints” type stance.
This amp and one Kicker Comp 12 in a large ported box would be a damn good extreme budget bass build 🔊
That’s what I got but in a 10
I just bought this amp, a 10 inch kicker, and 4 Alpine type s speakers. All of it's going in a pickup truck. Still waiting on some of it to come in but I think it will work lol
Remember the Sanyo PA-6100? Rated at 50 wpc and put out closer to 100 wpc? I had a Fosgate Punch for the front and a Sanyo for the 10's, a total of 250+ watts and it sounded great. I don't understand the obsession of so much power you can't turn it up when you're in the car.
That was my first amp !
I have one in my kitchen. I used it to fortify the rat whole underneath the sink. Does a fantastic job.
SoggyFries 🤣
Don't worry about it. Budget Gem guy did a very good job and so did you.
The thing is, the price of these amps really aren't that bad for what they give out; if they gave out the proper wattage output, I bet they'd sell just as good, if not better because of a better reputation.
If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Why in 2019 are people still falling for Boss and their fake claims?
So far away from the heydays of car audio. I remember my first SERIOUS car amp I got new, the old Gold Series HiFonics Titan. It was like 50 W RMS x2 @4 Ohms, and would go down to a 2 Ohm load and put out a crazy 400 W RMS. it was also like $400 back in like 1990-91. I was in my last year of high school. I have had so many good amps, i feel sad I dont have any nowadays. I need something good again. I love your videos dude. Keep it up!
Watching this amp try to hit half an OHM with a 40 amp fuse could have been.....kewl?
I run mine at 1 ohm with no problems. I beat the s**t out of it as well.
How do these companies get away with false advertisements?
Not a clue. Every time i see a amp now i see the fuses and go ok x15. So no more than amp x 15 then
I have seen people take junk equipment and make it sound good. I have also seen people take top of the line equipment and make it sound horrible. I was an installer for 20 years and also a brand junkie. Now I kinda think there is a place for this low level stuff. If a soccer mom wants a little boom and only has a 100 dollar budget, I say why not if it gets the job done. We all can't afford the good stuff or are going to competitions. I just wish the manufacturer would be truthful and just go after that market.
Thanks big D, always can trust you giving accurate readings on these amps. Keep doing what ur doing because you let allot of people who don't have very much money too put into systems and can kinda go off your test...... God bless Joseph from Phoenix, AZ
They don't matter if someone else tested it to have 3 of you guys testing the same amp would be key so that we can get in average from 3 different test stations and that would make more scientific proof of what the ratings are.
I think they forgot a decimal point. Should be 110.0 instead of 1100.
As in most all specs for audio equip, the rated output is Per Channel. You see 400 watt car stereos advertised all the time, but it doesn't mean you get 400 watts, it means you get 4 channels at 100 watts each. I suspect Boss is doing the same thing here with this 2-channel amp.
WanSolve it’s not a 2 channel amp, it’s a single channel amp
sohaib mahmood yeah I just noticed that. Thanks!
While I agree with the numbers game, this is actually not a bad amp. I got one, knowing full well not to expect much at this price point and was impressed how it drove my Kicker 8" wedge box rated at 300 RMS (43TCWRT82-3). For the price it's worth it for me. The sound is clean overall and I get good bass for my truck cabin. I don't do audio competitions so this fills in nicely where the door speakers drop off. Marketing is marketing and yeah they can be dishonest. But come on, if you buy Boss, you know what you're getting. It exceeded my expectations in my case and I'm good with that.
For most of us it's principle. Why would you give you're money to a bold face liar? You're actually paying them to lie and telling them it's completely ok. I'd rather give my hard-earned money to someone who actually deserves and appreciates it
@@Winglessflight97 good for you. Feel good for yourself and move on.
good thing you test amps. I would have never thought stereo system companies have incorrect ratings on their equipment.
Thank you! hehe! ;)
I agree, boss seems to be durable stuff and I would just like to see them be honest about the numbers
Maybe they will change?
Warren Stearns I think I hold the same sentiment. I just made a comment about my amp (also a riot series, but it’s the 2 channel “600 watt”). I love it and it’s been reliable for multiple setups throughout 5 years, and even pleasantly surprising with my recent box change to accommodate my new-to-me 1997 blazer. But I know it can’t be putting out what it’s rated for.
@@Genesis385 lots of people have tested boss and if it's rated at 600 I'd be surprised if it's putting out 200 RMS
Warren Stearns same here. It’s rated for 225x2 @ 2 ohms which is what I’m running it at right now. Doubt it’s making that much.
@@Genesis385 yeah half that if your lucky probably more like a quarter of it
I think Boss has their own numbering scheme. The numbers are fine if you only pair them with other boss products. Like I'm sure this amp pushes their 1100 watt subwoofer just fine.
true. im using a boss phantom 5000 to power 2 kicker comp r's and i love it.
THIS! I've got a Boss Armor "1500 watt" amp, paired with the Boss Phantom "800 watt" subs, bridged & in the correct sized box - it hums very nice for what it is. I don't think I would run a Boss head unit though, I've got a decent Pioneer double din in there instead. Everything works how it should & I've got less than $200 bucks in the trunk, box included.
You mean they lie about true power output and capabilities 😂😂
I’m not gonna lie I bought this amp and ran it on 2 10 inch kicker comps and it blew me away by the performance. Much worth the 60 bucks in my opinion.
That’s cool 😎
It’s good for 1 day , shit amp
@@nonyabusiness7887 I've used mine heavily since 2014 and now my son is using it in his new Mustang. It is a great 200+ super clean watts for $60 or so. "Dollar per Watt" and reliability is what I care about. I see a lot of people crapping on this amp that haven't even used it. I laugh through every song each day I use it (well, my son now days). If it beaks I will just buy yet another, but it has been 6 heavily used years and it won't break.
We played around with boss back in the late 90s. They were dirt cheap and looked pretty cool. We tested them on JL subs against planet audio amps. There was something about them that would throw the subs like crazy, like 1 inch excursion on the same track the planet audio was throwing half inch. But oddly enough the boss was producing half the volume. It was like there was a bunch of infrasonic distortion introduced by these amps. Long story short, we would never sell these to anyone who wanted to actually make SPL. If they wanted a bit of bump in the trunk, like less than 120dB but that was it.
Bruh this guy sounds like Dr phil
I saw a review on Amazon where a guy was pushing in Orion HCCA sub with one of these claiming that he was "slapping". LMAO. . it's so sad people are taking these ratings on the front of the amp literally
The ratings sucks specially when they not correct thanks Big Dee for checking these amps out
I’ve never really liked boss anyways, even before UA-cam and amp dynos. They never really seemed to sound like they put out as many watts as they always say. Great video. I seen budget gem or budget bust video on this as well, and was wondering if you would ever do a video he has done, u gotta keep your “bass” happy lol. Is fun when you do your videos keep it up man.
The arrow is actually pointing on the 100 not the 1100
My grandp just bought this amp I think his old ears will be happy😂👍🏾
😂👍
I ain’t gonna lie I have several boss amps, speakers and subs. I had them hooked up in a Chevy Camaro, it was decent. The amps never failed, I use the amps now for full range and no subs, it’s kicker all the way for subs.
Thanks Derek for the video. Now I got to give a 100% honest review to the real world user of this amp. I own the "2400" watt version which is 1 ohm stable. I bought it many years ago when I got my first system. It powered 2 pioneer's in a bandpass. It sounded great. At that time I didn't know I was probably only getting 500 watts max! I used that amp forever until I got rid of that car. Now I finally got a new vehicle and just installed a sundown sa12 in a ported and tuned box and decided to dig up this amp to see if it still even worked. Dusted it off and got it hooked up and surprisingly yet again it still works and moves this 12 enough to sound really well. I just ordered an audiopipe 1500 so I can feed this sundown some more power but to this amps credit it is very durable and although way underpowered it does move a sub. I'm probably going to have to bring this thing to my friends ranch and shoot it with my shotgun to kill it. The 2400 watt version is definitely good for the newbie who has but a $100 to spend and no more. Even though it's overrated I think the 2400 watt version is worth the money but yeah, I recommend saving up a little more for a audiopipe or even a pioneer.
I'm just blown away that there's no class action law suit, company's that sell cheap homeowner air compressors had a class action suit about the bullshit ratings, they were rating the cfm at the compressor intake not out the inlet and that is drastically different, they would but a 5 cfm tool and 5 cfm compressor and it wouldn't run the tool very long... They got there's cost the company's alot of Jing...
Big D.. Test CT sounds stuff.. Thanks
Great video as usual big D as for my opinion I think that these companies should be sued for false advertising
I love your real world vids. Good stuff. Why can't they just put that it's a 110 watt amp and be done with it. I would respect them more. That's all we want is honesty.
That little Dual amp u tested destroys that amp for about the same price. Boss stuff is horrible
How long till it dies?
that dual amp at walmart is 65.00, near twice the wattage!!!
Thanks will check that out
Hey Big D , I think these amps should be thrown in a field in a big oof pile of Horsecrap . They falsely advertise ratings on sooo many amps these days . What happened to the good old days where there were many underrated amps on the market ?? Great review , keep them coming ...
I find it kinda funny a buddy of mine was arguing that his boss 1100 riot was more powerful than my 2 old school Punch 150HDs...i have em running 2 Kicker 12 L7s..I sent your video to him to try and make him see the light and understand they dont make amps like they used to. Needless to say we hooked up one of my punch 150s to his Image Dynamics, now i have him hounding me for one of the 150s!!! Great video!!!
An advertised 1100 watt amp doesn't hit 200 watts rms, that's a riot...
The real rating compared to the advertised rating is horrible... That would be like Toyota claiming that the Camry gets 160 mpg. It would only take people a week or even a day before they filed a class-action lawsuit and won. But when you only charge $50 on a product that many people dont have the equipment to test besides their ears, "Boss" knows they can keep scooping that money without repercussion. As of right now, that same Boss amp costs $81 before tax on Amazon. At it's best, that's almost $1 for every 2 watts. But a Skar 350.1D for only $12 more will push 400 watts of real RMS half the cost of watts per $ without the junky screw/spade terminals. For those who build a system with some extra [usually unused] headspace leftover, the Skar is more efficient... and there's others like it. I'd like to give Boss a compliment for being reliable, but if it can't hit 200 watts it's not generating enough heat to cook itself if the board is smart enough to know how to handle its output once it reaches >1% THD. Back to their marketing claim: If they said "this is a 180 watt RMS amp," it would at least be respectable, but "1100 watts" sells a lot of units and 180 would only sell to a niche consumer.
😬👍
The price to lies ratio is outstanding on this amp!
I wish back 3 years ago when I put together my first car stereo system I had known enough to watch these videos! This amp you just did the dyno on was my first amp powering my first kicker 10in cs shallow mount sub in a truck box. It was still enough power and I'm sure distortion to blow the sub. But yet I still went on to buy a 4 channel amp for my speakers from these guys. The 4 channel amp ended up burning itself up after a year pushing my new at the time kicker ks speakers. By this point I had learned these amps are literally garbage. Now I'm running a skar rp150.4 for my mids and highs and an alpine mrv-m500 for my kicker comp r 12 sub and I've got super clean super loud sound
Boss uses a WLS (When Lightning Strikes) rating on all of their amps.
that's one of the major knocks against boss, their amps are solid for the price but the wattage ratings are always WAYY exaggerated, same can be said for other cheap brands like power acoustik, DHD and pyle, its sad because if they were honest i think BOSS would have a much better reputation in the audio world
Lol pair it with a Pyle Power 15 dual 4 ohm and it'll get down. Puts out more power than any head unit so for a little add on amp with cheap 2 ohm sub, you can get some thump for a fraction of a weeks pay at any entry job.
For your money though you get a lot more with a bit more than double the cost (which is still really low at sub $150). The Boss AR4000D for example destroys this amp at 2 ohm even at 12v. Pair that with a Skar audio or American Bass dual 4ohm subwoofer, a setup for less than 150% more money, and you get 5-6x or 250% more output.
The Pioneer 9601 you reviewed a while back on a 1ohm load did 1500 watts on your test bench. That amp was around $150 back in the day. You would need to invest a lot more into power the system though to get that out of it in a car.
Totally agree with truth in power. And have since I was in high school in 1990. I was trying to educate anyone who would listen to stop quoting the ‘MAX WATTS’ ( maybe MAX WHATS?) and look to RMS for some consistency. Now I refer them to the CEA numbers when possible. Just goes to show how these companies view their customers, and frankly I don’t like being patronized or thought of as stupid. Thank you Big D for calling BS when you find it!! MUCH RESPECT!!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Companies should be sued for false advertising.
It's not false just misleading. It probably can put out those numbers.... Right before it catches on fire
Big D my wife wants to put power Acoustic overdrive od1 3500 mono block. Amp in her car i keep telling
Power Acoustic amp don't have
Power u want so she lets ask big D
That u think
02:31 _that_ "yea,right" LOL
4:35 Amp dyno turns on.
Boss Amp: Oh boy, here we go...
I'm assuming 85% of people who buy this or majority of budget systems don't care about true output they want "loud" bass. Nothing else matters clean sound, mids, highs, etc They don't care. Hell 90% of them don't even run wires properly. If 65 bucks gets that 12 inch beating and trunk rattling it was worth it to them.
No, 90% believe that it really is producing the claimed power
@@VisionSandS Nope not even. They want anything that gets the sub to shake the car.. I see 90% of installs dim the cars head lights when bass hits they don't care.
Class A/B move putting the link to the first test by Budget Gem/Budget bust first on the list. Once again you guys have proven that you can just lop of the last zero of the model of the amp to get in the ballpark of the actual power output. Also THANK YOU for running the final test on the sub at the enclosure tuning frequency! You are improving your game with every vid BigD!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
People have to remember that this is a a/b amp. Back in 92, I had 2 kenwood 921 on 4 15's that's basically The same power as this boss. 200 Watts of class a/b is so much cleaner (sq wise) then 400 Watts of class d, that's why this amp sells so well. I have a 1k alpine Mrv 1505, class a/b that I'll put against any taramp 3k or any class d for that matter. They have this new class d transistor technology that suppose to 300x faster, with the sq of a class a/b, but the price is a dollar a watt
These things sold like hotcakes, Boss didnt just Gotteem, They Got A hell of a lot of eems.
And people really think theyre getting 1100 watts. Had to school a guy who had this same amp and thought it made 1100 watts. Then I let him hear my kicker zx 400.1 on his subs and he couldnt believe how much harder my 400 watt amp hit. I explained to him that looking at the fuse rating can give you a decent idea of the max an amp can possibly push under the most ideal conditions.
Rather buy legacy or pyramid at least there honest about there junk😂😂😂
I had an old set of pyramid super pro amps back in the 90's that had PPI boards in them. They were pretty decent amps.
Well sir you're uploads and actual dyno tests are great help to us who is looking to get a new amp i hope you naver get tired of doing what you're doing looking forward to more upload from you thanks
You are AWESOME! Seriously, this girl needs to know this shiz in order to do my own audio! ❤️
How do these companies get away with blatant falsifying their output ratings? Yeah, you get what you pay for but quit advertising insanely outrageous outputs... ridiculous. Edit: Yes I know they base their ratings off PEAK power but these damn things don't get anywhere near the PEAK rating no ways.
I'm here because I just saw a Craigslist listing for this amp...someone wants $1000 for it.
lol
I saw 392 watts right before the 7m mark lol
I really appreciate videos like this and I have to say I have learned a lot just watching your dynos. Since getting serious about car audio this channel and the legends of car audio Facebook page have been valuable resources. thank you sir.
anybody that's spent more than a month being serious about car audio should know what they're getting by now when it comes to budget gear, and that's ok if they have to go that route. what bothers me is that these companies know that and don't care what we think as long as they can continue to look impressive to high school kids, midlife crisis boomers, and well meaning (grand)parents and keep getting those sweet sweet shekels. any subwoofer at all sounds impressive when you've never had one so of course the target demographic are going to think we're just being salty muddying the waters more. i hate saying it, but i really feel like we really need a regulating body to keep consumer electronics companies honest.
@Jeffrey Barton i think that statement might be true for all audio enthusiasts :D
I’m officially changing my channel to “Mid Life Crisis Boomer”. 👈😜
@@wal your logo can be you popping a wheelie on a tricked out rascal.
Boss has been trash as long as I can remember back in the early 2000s I had a punch 160a2 it hit so much better than my buddies 1000 watt boss . I bought some subs from him and he tested with his system then we hooked them up in my car and he was amazed so much louder and cleaner.
first off great job Big D. I feel the same way about Boss. I have four AR 4,000 and I bought them because of your vid about he Boss Armor. I figured for $100 bucks and getting around 1,400 watts dynamically a person really can't go wrong so I strapped 2 amps together. I must say that the amps really really push the two audiopipe TXX BDC 4 15 inch subs really really well. I honestly could not BELIEVE how well the two amps strapped pushes these subs. I Do like the product and the way it looks and from what you said on your video about the amp guts it really does seem to be made very well. I just wish Boss wouldn't mislead people about how many TRUE WATTS their amps really do put out. thanks Big D for helping us really know the bang we are getting for our buck. keep up the good work and I look forward to more TRUTH in regards to other products that you do test 👍 !!!!!!!
Also while showing people the fuse math between 14.4v and a 65% efficiency of amps, I've always just multiplied the fuse by 10. It's not perfect but it's a pretty close approximation that anyone can do in their head real quick.
Yes with Class D that’s pretty close. These are A/B which are less efficient
Can someone explain how this is legal? Looks to me like it's clearly false advertisement on basically every single amp..... time to win some money boys
Lol
They have been doing this for decades. You really think a few lawsuits are going to bother them? Nah.
You could do math until you fill a chalk board and not get to the rated 1500W rating.
Not bad for $50.
Boss truly is a 4 letter word. I can think of others....
If you believe this amp can do rated you've either been living under a rock, or you just got into car audio yesterday. In all honesty, it would be a decent amp to rock a small efficient sub, a set of coax's or a set of tweeters. Just don't expect those outlandish ratings. Lol Great video BigD!! 👍
@calee4nyaboy Yeah I kinda realized that after the fact. Lol Just buy a second one and there goes your stereo.
@calee4nyaboy It's a full range mono with selectable crossover. Not sure if there's a high pass. But yeah, I'd look elsewhere too. Lol
11-21-2021 amp now priced at 88 dollars two years after this video, nasty inflation..
Thank you. I almost bought this pos
I bought a 03 grand prix sedan and it had the 2 12 dual illuminite bandpass with a 1100w riot boss amp, the previous owner had it all installed at best buy and for being in a closed trunk the setup puts out phenomenal amounts of bass, I've beat the brakes off the system for a year and it still performs exactly as when I first purchased the car, the bass can be heard from at least 2 blocks away just the factory speakers are lacking quite a bit to keep up
The amp is good for the money, but I would never buy it simply because of the fact that they are lying to me, the customer.
Another great video, D. Thanks.
I think boss should be fined for lying.