[nubz69]

After reading about the ribbon tweeters that Walmart is now selling I thought I would look if there had been a list of "Giant Killer" products made. There was not so I decided to make one. Now some of you may not know what a giant killer is, a giant killer is a product that out performs similar products costing many times it's price. An example of this would be the t-amp, a $25 amp that has been compared to amps costing 100X it's price. I also feel that this should list should include items that with small mods can be made to be better then products costing many times it price. An example of this, though it isn't car related per se, would be the original xbox. You can purchase an original xbox for about $50 and after a simple mod (softmod + xbmc) it becomes an incredible media player which you would have to spend over $250 to buy a commercial product that performed as well. I am sure that there is a whole bunch of diamonds in the rough that we could all benefit from knowing about.

 

[SQfreak]

Well the first one I can recall was the JBL BP1200.1 JBL BP1200.1

 

[Pseudonym]

totally stole my post. that was the 1st thing i thought of too.

 

[elvisjer]

Lots of recent articles have praised the PS1 with the onboard RCA jacks as an amazing HIFI CD player...weird I know but true. Sadly you still have to use a PS1 controller and video screen to navigate and play music.

 

[Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX]

An example of this, though it isn't car related per se, would be the original xbox. You can purchase an original xbox for about $50 and after a simple mod (softmod + xbmc) it becomes an incredible media player which you would have to spend over $250 to buy a commercial product that performed as well. I am sure that there is a whole bunch of diamonds in the rough that we could all benefit from knowing about.

I'll be using a modded xBox as my front end... No HU for me, optical to my c/h701 combo... I spent more than 250$ on it though, I didn't do the mods and I also got a 500g HDD with it..

I was told the power supply was 120 for it, it all fits in the case and has a "extension" for 12v to the 3.5" external drive... I now want a smaller laptop drive that I could power through one of the controler ports.. I have the case, I just need to buy a drive..

 

[Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX]

For the money, it's hard to go wrong with the Rockford Power 1000 5ch.. I hope I made the right choice in selling mine and buying 2 smaller amps with zero features..

 

[SQ_Blaze]

a giant killer is a product that out performs similar products costing many times it's price. An example of this would be the t-amp, a $25 amp that has been compared to amps costing 100X it's price. I also feel that this should list should include items that with small mods can be made to be better then products costing many times it price.

I agree with this totally. I have the original Sonic Impact T-amp, a complete virgin with zero mods. I have it powering a pair of highly modified Fostex FE126E drivers now referred to as Planet10 HiFi FE126eN drivers. The amp literally has 1000's and 1000's of hours on it from over the past 4+ years of using it.

I have directly compared this amp to a bunch of tube amps including an SE (Single Ended) 300B amp, SE EL84 amp, SE 6V6 amp, PP (Push-Pull) EL34 amp, PP 6L6 amp, PP 6550/KT88 amp. With all of those amps, this little cheap T-amp blew them all away in more than one way. These comparisons were done with either my current FE126eN speakers OR a pair of highly modified (by me) Klipsch Cornwall's with custom crossover networks and Altec Lansing 511B horns with 802-8B drivers (the Cornwall's mids and tweets were totally bypassed) OR a pair of DIY open baffle loudspeakers using the same Altec horn combo with Usher Audio 15HM drivers that stood 7' tall.

A few pics for fun...

And a few pics of some of the tube amps used...

 

[chad]

Did you damp those 511's? Because if not you will hear 630Hz and 1.2K for days! especially ont eh cornwalls like that with no edge damping from even mounting them up. I'd rather have kept the klipsch horns even if they don't have the dispersion characteristics.

 

[SQ_Blaze]

Did you damp those 511's? Because if not you will hear 630Hz and 1.2K for days! especially ont eh cornwalls like that with no edge damping from even mounting them up. I'd rather have kept the klipsch horns even if they don't have the dispersion characteristics.

Nope, didn't need damping on them. They were the later ones that Altec replaced the welds on the 3 vertical fins with beads of silicone as well as the small center brace in the throat being removed by me after a short period of getting them. No ringing at all. A simple thump on the lips of the horns produced a dull thud, that's it.

The Klipsch horns sucked, especially the K-400 horn/K-55 driver combo. It wasn't the dispersion I was concerned about, it was that nasty honky, etchy sound that I couldn't stand. And actually, the Altec's seemed to have much better dispersion, at least in my room.

 

[chad]

Oh yeah, the altecs have a wonderful dispersion, that's what I was eluding to.

So the fins have silicone constrained where they meet in the middle? why did you remove the center bracing? was it for pattern control like the outer fins or for mechanical support?

 

[bigabe]

Rockford Fosgate Punch 150HD

Digital Designs SS1

 

[GlasSman]

Lots of recent articles have praised the PS1 with the onboard RCA jacks as an amazing HIFI CD player...weird I know but true. Sadly you still have to use a PS1 controller and video screen to navigate and play music.

Any links?

I have one of those for playing Tetris and my OG Tomb RAider games...few others too.

Can't go wrong with Pandemonium and Medeival.

 

[SQ_Blaze]

Oh yeah, the altecs have a wonderful dispersion, that's what I was eluding to.

So the fins have silicone constrained where they meet in the middle? why did you remove the center bracing? was it for pattern control like the outer fins or for mechanical support?

Oops... I misread what your wrote. I see now that you meant that the Altec's had better dispersion.

The throat bracing was for mechanical support to help prevent ringing, but when Altec replaced the fins' welds with silicone, they also removed that throat brace, but not until later down the road after the silicone trick. So some 511B horns made it out of the factory with the braces still installed.

 

[Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX]

I agree with this totally. I have the original Sonic Impact T-amp, a complete virgin with zero mods. I have it powering a pair of highly modified Fostex FE126E drivers now referred to as Planet10 HiFi FE126eN drivers. The amp literally has 1000's and 1000's of hours on it from over the past 4+ years of using it.

I have directly compared this amp to a bunch of tube amps including an SE (Single Ended) 300B amp, SE EL84 amp, SE 6V6 amp, PP (Push-Pull) EL34 amp, PP 6L6 amp, PP 6550/KT88 amp. With all of those amps, this little cheap T-amp blew them all away in more than one way. These comparisons were done with either my current FE126eN speakers OR a pair of highly modified (by me) Klipsch Cornwall's with custom crossover networks and Altec Lansing 511B horns with 802-8B drivers (the Cornwall's mids and tweets were totally bypassed) OR a pair of DIY open baffle loudspeakers using the same Altec horn combo with Usher Audio 15HM drivers that stood 7' tall.

Man, I can't say anything about your HA stuff, i'm just not a HA guy (yet) but I sure do love those carvings... !!! That is one thing I do have in common, I love wood carvings and have a bunch from various cultures..

I'm trying to gain some culture, i'm simply american, I feel and don't have a "homeland" culture to fall back on...

Last thing I need is to fall back on a pile of beer cans and cigrette butts, with my "culture" i've got... lol...

 

[SQ_Blaze]

Man, I can't say anything about your HA stuff, i'm just not a HA guy (yet) but I sure do love those carvings... !!! That is one thing I do have in common, I love wood carvings and have a bunch from various cultures..

I'm trying to gain some culture, i'm simply american, I feel and don't have a "homeland" culture to fall back on...

Last thing I need is to fall back on a pile of beer cans and cigrette butts, with my "culture" i've got... lol...

Thanks. The one on the left my friend gave me. IIRC, it came from the Bahama's. The one on the right came from my grandmother. That one dates back to the late 1950's. Not sure where it came from though.

Here's a better picture of them for ya...

 

[chad]

where is the one in the middle from?

 

[SQ_Blaze]

You mean the Victorinox LED flash light? Got that at the local Ace Hardware.

 

[nubz69]

Not to long ago I would have said that the adire audio Shiva and Tempest or a TC sounds TC2+ should be on this list. You couldn't beat those subs for 2-3X's the price. The problem is that Adire is now gone and TC sounds doesn't sell the tc2+ anymore. Has any new company stepped up to replace these great products with something currently available?

 

[icu812]

I would have to say Punch 45 that was one cheating A$$ amp
and Dayton Audio use to make a set of ultra small tweeters the model was TLM something use to get them for $9 a pair

 

[Patrick Bateman]

After reading about the ribbon tweeters that Walmart is now selling I thought I would look if there had been a list of "Giant Killer" products made. There was not so I decided to make one. Now some of you may not know what a giant killer is, a giant killer is a product that out performs similar products costing many times it's price. An example of this would be the t-amp, a $25 amp that has been compared to amps costing 100X it's price. I also feel that this should list should include items that with small mods can be made to be better then products costing many times it price. An example of this, though it isn't car related per se, would be the original xbox. You can purchase an original xbox for about $50 and after a simple mod (softmod + xbmc) it becomes an incredible media player which you would have to spend over $250 to buy a commercial product that performed as well. I am sure that there is a whole bunch of diamonds in the rough that we could all benefit from knowing about.

Computer speakers from Cambridge Soundworks.

I've long marvelled at how $100 computer speakers are generally more "hifi" than most speakers that cost five times as much. The CSW are an excellent example of this. No bells, not whistles, just a lot of solid engineering.

Henry Kloss, who basically changed the speaker industry at Acoustic Research, founded CSW.