Soundstream Rubicon 302

Price Paid:  $400.00 from yellig radio

Year / Model Reviewed:
 2000

Strengths:
strong running stereo at 2 ohms

Weaknesses:
when briged it distorts and turns off its junk when briged out cant handle 1 ohm like the box says

Summary:
good amp if your only running it stereo turns off when briged and turned up at 2ohms

Price Paid:  $249.00 from crutchfield

Year / Model Reviewed:
 rubicon 302

Strengths:
reliability, drove a sub pretty well

Weaknesses:
stolen!!!!!! wiring 'sheath' sometimes annoying

Summary:
i'm writing this after mine was stolen. had it driving one jl w3d2 12 inch and it did pretty well. on hot summer days, sometimes it would shut off, but would repower shortly. overall, I was satisfied, could have used maybe the rubicon 500

Similar Products Used:
pioneer, jbl

Price Paid:  $300.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 1999

Strengths:
Compact size, easy installation, sounds good if used with right speakers.

Weaknesses:
Sometimes overheats or if its cold outside has to warm up first to kick on.

Summary:
Its an alright amplifier. I''ve had it for about 3 years and its still working pretty good. Nice compact size, easy to install. Has some weaknesses though.

Price Paid:  $250.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Rubicon 302

Strengths:
Strong performance, transparent sound, stable into 2-ohm mono, nice features and small size.

Weaknesses:
Blue...not my favorite color for an amp, not compatible with Soundstreams's remote bass control (although I hear that the 2001 models are compatible).

Summary:
I've had my Rubicon 302 running an Alumapro Alchemy 12 (at 4 ohms) for about 1.5 years now and I'm very happy with it. It's rated at 75x2 or 300x1, has high pass and low pass crossover filters, subsonic filter and a bass boost circut. All the connections are set screw type and seem to be of high quality. The unit is very small and easily mounted anywhere. It also comes with Soundstream's "front spoiler" to hide the wiring.

The amp puts out lots of clean power and is very transparent. I like the features and size of the amp, it makes installing and setup easy. I also like the fact that it is stable into 2-ohms mono. It dosen't produce any more power in 2 ohm mono than 4 ohm (it is tightly regulated), but allows you wire various sub configurations. As far as how it compares to other amps, It offers the same excellant performance as other high quality, high end brands (Kicker ZR/ZX, Fosgate Power, PPI, etc...). It definatly has advantages in power and clarity over lower quality amps. Overall, I recommend it highly.

Similar Products Used:
Kicker ZR/ZX, Rockford Fosgate Punch Power, MTX Thunder, Various Kenwood and Pioneer amps.

Price Paid:  $250.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 1999

Strengths:
compact size, solid connections, mean power output

Weaknesses:
none

Summary:
Solid amp. Running it to a pair a crystal 6 1/2 components and man do they scream!! Running at 4 ohm stero the amp stays ice cold and the power output can't get any cleaner. Connections are very simple and the crossovers are excellent. For a price tag of $250 get this amp. worth every penny!!!

Similar Products Used:
MTX 280 (good amp)