Price Paid:  $700.00 from Mateo Hi Fi

Summary:
Been thinking about this amp alot lately......had recently decided I needed to move into the 21st century, and started looking into getting some new gear. Decided to sell everything on eBay, and start over. With new, digital ready equipment. Was a little afraid, having gotten so use to my old analog surround system.(Yamaha CX-2 Pre-amp, Fosgate Model 4 Processor, Parasound CSE 6.1 Processor, Marantz Tuner, and a number of amplifiers...all incredible stuff. In fact I still have everything but most of the amps and the tuner....couldn't get rid of them....ya never know....) Loved my old sound, and wrestled with "upgrading" for years. Well, I took the plunge recently, and as I was starting to sell off old equipment, the Fosgate 4100 started to haunt me. How ridiculous it would be to sell this beautiful (on the inside) beast for a few hundred dollars. I thought more about its performance from the past, and what a great perfomer it has always been. Rated at 60 watts a channel (very conservatively)into 4 channels, and bridgeable to 3 or 2 channels.....I used it mostly bridged into 2 channels, rated at 200 watts per channel. It is a beast that just kinda hums along, effortless would be a good description. It has never failed to impress me, no matter what I threw at it. In fact, as alot of us know, some equipment just seems to get better and better with age, and this is a great example of that. So, I decided no way am I selling this monster...I will just get a 5 channel amp instead of a 7 channel amp like I was going to, and use the Fosgate somehow. This amp is actually pretty ugly....just a black box with a power switch. But it has a great sound design and top quality parts from what I recall when researching this amp years ago. Nothing truly innovative, but what you got for the price back then was remarkable. I have seen these sell on certain websites for $200-$300......an incredible bargain. Heck, I got an incredible bargain years ago at $700....It weighs about 40-50 lbs, has a massive power supply, is very quiet and unassuming....all good things for a power amplifier. If you ever happen to see one for sale, and need a versitile amp, this is a great choice. Especially for the money. It is one of the unsung champs of the 90's....Fosgate was truly innovative back then, and their equipment stands the test of time. If you find one, grab it. If I don't get it first!!!!

Strengths:
Massive power reserves, quality engineering, built by a great company in the USA.

Weaknesses:
Not the prettiest amp you will ever see, and getting harder to find.....

Similar Products Used:
Parasound 1500 A.T.I. 1502 Marantz MA700 S.A.E amp Outlaw 755 others....

Summary:
This dumpy-looking, obselete, 4-channel amplifier is the giant-killer you've waited to find.I just bought TWO of them on eBay for a bit over $150/ each, including shipping. Extremely smooth, beautifully detailed, a perfect soundstage, powerful... great all-around. This amp is built like the proverbial TANK & must weigh 50 lb. The 4 X 60 watt rating appears extremely conservative as it never runs out of steam driving my Thiels, which are a complex load especially with the outboard LF equalizer. Bridged, it reveals a little roughess; it's happier bi-amping the Thiels at 4 X 60w anyway. I like the sound considerably more than my current B&K EX-4420. I am posting this because I know nobody will ever read it but if you find one of these old units, you just got REAL LUCKY!

Similar Products Used:
B&K, Aragon, Adcom, Renaissance Signature, other solid state.

Summary:
The previous amp I owned was a Rotel which I enjoyed for years but comparing the two the Fosgate wins out. The music is very detailed with almost a laid back sound which gives the instruments a realistic presence. The attack is very fast too and seems to cary the highs to infinite. This is what I always wanted in an amp and it goes perfectly with the Tannoy's I have. Its a four channel amp,60 Watts into 8 ohms ,100 into 4 ohms. My center channel is bridged to 225 watts which puts a spin on the movies that I watch once in a while. For music the 60 Watts has plenty of high current power for my tastes. Even though the company no longer still exists if you find one on the internet like I did you might consider purchasing it. They go for around $300 to $400. A company that warranties Fosgate has a 25 year engineer from Fosgate Audionics. You can reach them at this address www.rjpc.com.
My other equipment is: Kenwood reciever/pre amp KR-V8540
Fosgate Audionics 4100 Amp
Pioneer six disc player PD-M801
Fisher tape deck
Tannoy sixes series 605 11 Speakers
Definitive Technology PF 15TL Subwoofer
Pheonix Gold 12 Guage Speaker Wire
Pheonix Gold Bannana Jacks