Crystal CAM 300.2

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Rio Grande Lock & So

Year / Model Reviewed:
 CAM 300.2

Strengths:
It pumps out clean, raw power. It sounds very transparent. It's also very efficient. I can leave the engine off and pump the bass loudly for many, many minutes and the battery will not get weak. I am talking over ten minutes. Try that with a Kicker ZR or XS series amp. My ZR600 and my XS50 used to drain my Optima Blue in a short while.

I currently have a cheap Autocraft Silver battery charged by my stock (and weak) alternator and it's enough to run my car and this amp at the same time. Headlights will dim just a little bit. I am telling you. It's surprisingly efficient for its size and power output. It gets hot but will never shut down. It requires two 40 amp fuses, which scares you into thinking it will need a separate battery to have it sound decent, but it doesn't. It will do fine running from the car's battery, but obviously will sound better using a dedicated battery.

Weaknesses:
Sound-wise, I haven't seen any, so I'll complain that the finish is very weak and will get stained or scratched off easily, which is a bummer for such a clean-looking amp. Also, the switches for the crossover, bass EQ boost and remote barely protude from the case, which makes it very hard to work them with your fingers. The screws for the speaker outputs require a thinner Philips screwdriver than the rest of the other screws, so you would need two screwdrivers to work on this amp. Oh, it's VERY heavy, specially for its size. Keep that in mind if you're just bolting it to the backrest of your rear seats.

Summary:
I purchased this amp almost a month ago and I didn't hessitate to get it when I saw the Crystal badge. I've had previous experience with Crystal equipment and I've had nothing but good out of them. Anyway, I'm using it to power two Coustic CF1244 dual voice coil subwoofers in individual enclosures. What can I say? It wants to destroy those subs. The bass EQ boost is a great feature that pumps out a particular bass frequency you select up to 18 decibels. The results are outstanding. The crossover has an awesome filter. I was impressed. Best built-in crossover I've ever heard. Overall, I'm pleased by it 110%.

Similar Products Used:
I haven't used anything similar to this amp. Get one if you can find it. I lucked out. People around here think that Interfire is the only worthy brand of amps and they steer away from these powerhouses.