Build Quality and power output

Had to cut my box

Replaced an NHT MA1 amp that powered an NHT SW2P subwoofer. I was a little skeptical at first because I had to cut the box a bit, but wow what an improvement over the NHT. Much more dynamic and powerful. Great upgrade

Similar Products Used:

NHT MA1

been working on electronics since 1975, mostly repair, impressed with the construction of unit, large x-former, clean circuitry

none

i am using the amplifier to replace an amplifier that was installed in a subwoofer that just didn't quite drive the speaker supplied well enough. running it on a 15" subwoofer with a 2" voice coil, drives the subwoofer 2x better than it's OEM amplifier. no problem with any type of hum from the unit, used 3 connector computer supply cable. as stated in the strength's section, i am empressed with the power supply for the unit (hopefully will give many years of service), and with cleanliness of the circuitry and place ment of the power x-istors on the heat sink. good control of the crossover (don't use output though) and the power down is almost to the second as stated in the literature avaliable on madisound's web site (around 3min, 27sec.)

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many.......

good vaue for the money

auto on and off

I just read the other two reviews on this product. I have not had any noise using the standard power cord. I have had very good luck with it. My brother also purchased one with the same good results. I'm very pleased with its performance.

When it worked it was OK.

Loud hum when anything connected to RCA's

When I first bought it, I plugged it in and a VERY loud hum with nothing but power plugged in. Most sub amps do this until you get a 3-to-2 prong power plug adapter...so no big deal.
It worked OK for a few months, although the timeout for it turning off when no signal is given is very short and not very sensitive. I found when watching TV it would turn on and off alot if the show had no real bass. But that is no big deal either.
Then I noticed it never turned off, and on closer inspection, I found it hummed softly when RCA plugs were in use. This got louder over time. It now hums loudly when just RCA cables are attached (with nothing on the other end). I tried everything, line conditioners, different outlets, unplugging everything else. I even put it on a UPS so it was totally disconnected from even standard outlet power. Still a hum.
The worst part is, there is no place to call to have it replaced. The documentation that it came with was a photocopied single page with absolutely no information. I guess that is what you get for $175. Maybe the fact that the hole you just cut out for this amp doesn't fit anything else is the worst part, there are just so many bad features to choose from.
I've ordered about $2000 worth of stuff from Madisound, and it is always quality. I really don't know why they sell this kind of product. This product really doesn't reflect well on a good company like Madisound.

Similar Products Used:

JVC subs, Carver, Adcom.

200 watts total power (haven't used all). High quality connections.

Poor (no) documentation, and a 3-2 prong adapter should be given free with this amp

Just got this amp last week, after I finished building a second sonotube subwoofer (subwoofer uses Peerless 10 inch woofer). When it came I was impressed with it's look and solid build quality, but no documentation was a bit of a disappointment. However, I knew how to hook it up anyway, so that didn't really matter.
Without any audio signal, this amp fed a continuous hum through both woofers (that are connected in series) when connected to it's line-level inputs. However, when connected at speaker level, and with the cross-over bypass switch set to on, there was no hum. But, sometimes I like to test my subwoofer with only the bass on, so this type of connection did not allow me to turn the speakers off, and leave the woofers on.
Bought a 3-2 prong adapter, and voila, no hum. Just some deep bass. Hasn't given any trouble yet, but I have to hurry up and build a box to hold it.