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Pyramid Power Amplifier - Opinions??

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A lot of Pyramid stuff is pretty cheesy with inflated specs, but that one doesn't seem too bad. I've never heard one.
 
89grand said:
A lot of Pyramid stuff is pretty cheesy with inflated specs, but that one doesn't seem too bad. I've never heard one.
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Okay, it's pretty hefty - 31lbs, still need to listen to it ... I would imagine it would be okay in a HT environment though.
 
One of my friends uses a small Pyramid car amplifier using 12v power supply for a pair of DIY subwoofers along with Pyramid crossover and works great.
Not sure how that'll sound for main speakers.
 
That amp shows up under a few names, including Radio Shack/Realistic/Optimus. Standard Chinese OEM stuff. Never heard one myself but I gather isn't too bad considering, especially if you can get it for cheap.

Check it for DC offset and give it a listen...

TP
 
I have considered converting to 12V for my home audio because Pyramid has such awesome deals for car audio amps rated at a kilowatt or so for very little money; lightweight and don't use a lot of power, either. Michael could toss out the big, heavy Thresholds and drive his QLS-1s with them just fine, I'm sure. Too bad the amp referenced above does not seem to closely share more attributes with their car stuff, I guess. Oh well, can't have everything. I will continue to consider the move indefinitely.
 
the specs are likely pretty inflated.i'm fairly certain that Radio shack sold this as a 100w/ch amp for many years[and even that might be a bit optimistic]...i tried one once when it was on sale about 20 years ago...i returned it,not that it was terrible or anything,it just wasn't any better than what i already had and i couldn't justify keeping it.it's definately more of a consumer grade type of amp than a true pro design but if the price is cheap enough,its actually not bad for what it is...
 
I had one of those back in 1999-ish, to be completely honest... it is a piece of garbage. That 1000 watt rating isn't even close, it didn't even do the 175 watts RMS x 2 into 8 ohms like it said it'll do. I bridged the amplifier to a 8 ohm-nominal subwoofer and turned it up until the clipping light started to flash, I measured the output voltage and did some math and came out with 157 watts TOTAL without clipping. I know the subwoofer is a reactive load but the same sub with a Bogen HTA-125 or my old Technics SU-V8X sounded much louder and cleaner. At least the case is somewhat nice (I think the bottom plate is plastic tho) and the analog meters look cool but it's all show no go.

I will never purchase any pyramid audio products again, their modern stuff is often worse than the stuff sold in Walmart.
 
Garbage ... I tried it last night, lights don't work on the meters, left channel is scratchy, sound quality is not there, did a comparison with my AudioEngine N22 Desktop Amp, huge difference. I will be returning it for a refund.
 
Interesting to read the reviews, all good and no drawbacks. Paid reviewers? Parts Express must have gotten the message:


Pyramid Power Amplifier PA1000X Rackmount
This item has been discontinued
 
Yeah and get this... I bought mine new and spent $245 shipped from Parts Express :no: , I was using it to power some really efficient subwoofers at first (I think they were over 94dB 1w/1m) so I really didn't know until about a year after when I switched up the subs and got other amps to compare.

0/10 would get beaten by any cheap 100 watt per channel receiver.
 
Pyramid was a wal-mart special that cost a few dollars more than roadmaster.
Unless i could return it with the shipping paid by partsexpress, i doubt i would try it.
 
Gentlemen, not all speakers and amps were made for each other. My father/mentor was a drummer/bass player from 1965-2018. He explained to me like this, the Amp is the engine and the speakers are the transmission, so the kind of low end response you may be attempting to accomplish with a pyramid Amp may be what it was never designed for. Consider what the Amp was built for, the kind of speakers/enclosure that it was meant to match with, and work from there. Yes, pyramid was infamous for inflating specs, but in the 70's -80's solid state amps were notorious for that, literally all of them except the Hi end Hifi home audiophile listeners, and musicians, who usually used tube amps. Many dj's do not play instruments, their record/cd/mp3 player is their instrument, so their idea of specs back then was theoretical, and somebody bench tested an Amp and the specs were off, they trashed it. Radio shack used to be one of the largest wholesale buyers of JBL and other big names. All in saying is so your homework on each Amp speaker or piece of gear, and understand that 150 watts into a speaker that matches in the right enclosure is a lot, and can sound amazing. Good luck, keep and open mind, and remember - not all amps are door stops
 
9 year old thread but I had a Pyramid car amp rated at 500 watts with no THD listing whatsoever.

Some guy gave it to me and when I connected it to a very high efficient pair of speakers, it sounded thin and hollow. My 100 watt Sony amp had more oomph than this thing so guess what I found when I opened it up to see what was inside? A steel plate weighing about 20 pounds and a single microchip.

There were no transformers or transistors mounted to heat sinks and no circuit board to speak of. Now maybe not all Pyramid amps were like this but the one I had was.

It just reminded me too much of those thin and small EQ boosters that said 100 watts per channel. Haw haw, yeah right.

That was the 80's. Technology has definitely changed in 40 years. Now they have these little tripath amps that don't sound half bad.
 
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