Xenon amps are total crap...

Post by **Eric D** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:49 pm

I repaired my X600.1 about a month ago. I found an issue with the power supply and the preamp section. Fixed both and hooked the amp up. It worked great powering a 12" sub to loud volumes.

Today I decided to officially load test it now that I have some large load resistors. I hooked the amp up and powered it on. It blew up in a huge cloud of smoke and sparks. This is before I even had a chance to turn it up and measure anything.

These amps are unreliable crap. The only difference between now and a month ago is my workshop is about 5deg colder.

On a positive note I know my 200A power supply works great. It completely fried the X600.1 without my head unit ever shutting off. I had a 60A fuse on the X600.1.

Post by **stipud** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:47 pm

What failed? Perhaps the impedance detection circuitry didn't like your load resistors?

Post by **Eric D** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:28 pm

stipud wrote:What failed? Perhaps the impedance detection circuitry didn't like your load resistors?

That is actually my guess as well, but this was a 2 ohm load (2.2 on the DMM), not really the limitations of the amp.

All 8 power supply MOSFETs are annihilated. It looks like the 8 resistors driving the MOSFETs are also wasted. The power supply is not related to Xe.load (as far as I know), so this should be a simple repair. To my knowledge the amp has fixed rail voltages and Xe.load adjusts the pulse width of the output signal to lower voltage for lower impedance.

Post by **mhyde71** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:12 pm

when i am drunk I laugh the hell out of your avatar, eric

just had to say that

Post by **ttocs** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 5:15 pm

I thought we had covered this already?

denim · Post by **denim** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 8:46 am

You are making me not want to install my Xenon's.

dwnrodeo · Post by **dwnrodeo** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 9:09 am

I have X200.4 (running strong since October 2008 in my daily driver) had X600.1 that I ran for almost a year with no problems, and a X1200.1 that I got at last years F&F sale that I sold and as far as I know doesn't have any problems.

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 9:37 am

dwnrodeo wrote:I have X200.4 (running strong since October 2008 in my daily driver) had X600.1 that I ran for almost a year with no problems, and a X1200.1 that I got at last years F&F sale that I sold and as far as I know doesn't have any problems.

You my friend are lucky.

Just wondering if you had on the x200.4 both power connectors hooked up? Or did you only have one?

NewOldStock · Post by **NewOldStock** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 10:59 am

So there was a bad (poor solder) run of Xenons right? Is this one of those amps?

When did the problem with them get fixed?

Post by **kg1961** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:00 am

NewOldStock wrote:So there was a bad (poor solder) run of Xenons right? Is this one of those amps?

When did the problem with them get fixed?

yes it is

NewOldStock · Post by **NewOldStock** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:03 am

dwnrodeo · Post by **dwnrodeo** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:19 am

deathcloud wrote:
dwnrodeo wrote:I have X200.4 (running strong since October 2008 in my daily driver) had X600.1 that I ran for almost a year with no problems, and a X1200.1 that I got at last years F&F sale that I sold and as far as I know doesn't have any problems.
You my friend are lucky.

Just wondering if you had on the x200.4 both power connectors hooked up? Or did you only have one?

Only one 4 ga. connection. Although I am not pushing it by any means. 4 ohms for each L and R front channels, and bridged 2 ohm load on the rear channel. Gains turned up a bit due to no linedriver, but no bassboost. I have a 60 amp fuse going to this and have never blown it!

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:49 am

Wow... i swear I used both power connectors and it went into protect mode. I need ur amp bro. DAMN IT! I only had my components hooked up to the front channel and coax to the rears.... not even a sub. And both power connectors hooked up..

I am sorry newoldstock but I would stay away. For less headaches... less worries... less stress... unless u want to burn money in ur pocket.

I tell u what... I LOVE the zx line... I also love the Ti line. Great stuff. Great looks. Just awesome.

My dad is going to give me his zx500 and zx600 to sell. Those are awesome amps. zx500 is black limited edition. I have the zx350 little brother in black limited edition right now.

Post by **ttocs** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 12:36 pm

deathcloud wrote:Wow... i swear I used both power connectors and it went into protect mode. I need ur amp bro. DAMN IT!.

offence man but You need to raise your standards and save a little more cash to get the good stuff. We have all tried to make a great system out of medeocre equipment and learned it doesn't work that way....... At least not well, you get what you pay for in this hobby.

Are you really going to keep throwing the dice on a line that has already proven to you what it is worth? keep them as a nice remember and use them as paperweights........

Maybe this time you will get one of the half-good ones........ Maybe...

Post by **stipud** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 1:12 pm

Mediocre equipment?

Clearly deathcloud's got a lemon, but PG is going to fix it since they didn't do it right the first time. If he would have tested it after he bought it at the F&F sale, it would have been fixed for free as well.

Even with my non-mediocre MADE'N'MERCA amps I have had to send several back to PG for a second repair. In fact, only one thing I sent to them came back working the first time. Sometimes the original cause of the problem is missed, and they fix all the collateral damage.

And we have no idea why Eric's amp failed yet. Let's not jump to conclusions or call other people's amps crap based on anecdotal evidence...

Post by **Rold Gold** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 1:19 pm

I too have to disagree with Eric's statement as I know of 3-600.1 and 2-200.4's that are running great and have been for almost 2 years. While I'd agree that some units seem to have issues, overall I'm happy with the line and plan to run a 600.1/100.4 in my stang.

bogart · Post by **bogart** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 1:40 pm

wtf....what about the m amps fuzzy? I like the x amps but am weary of the issues after having two 200.2s die on my bench...one flamed out and scared the shit out of me. I owned the entire line and only had issues with the 200.2s though. I felt the 1200.1 was weak compared to the ti and tantrum 1200's, but the 200.4 is a bad ass amp imo...when my a4kdn died I ran two 12inch solo x's on the amp for a couple weeks just to play with it and see what the subs would do so grossly underpowered and it run the fuckers quite well considering....

man fuzzy...I was looking forward to seeing the stang running the custom m amps.....

Post by **ttocs** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 1:50 pm

yes mediocre, a quick definition(and spelling

) search shows

1. of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
2. rather poor or inferior.

With the risk of getting one of the bad runs of amps I will stick to the old stuff.

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:18 pm

Yea true basically I spent about 200 + 250 on the x1200.1

That is 450 bucks I could have spent on something probably better yes... but if I would have known about this issue then I wouldn't have done it.

Its life. Ill get over it. It hasn't hindered my preference for PG. I blame Korea. Hahaha.

Post by **Bfowler** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:37 pm

bogart wrote:I felt the 1200.1 was weak compared to the ti and tantrum 1200's,

what input voltage were you giving them? xenon amps DO sound weak if you arent giving them >8volts

Post by **Rold Gold** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:52 pm

bogart wrote:
man fuzzy...I was looking forward to seeing the stang running the custom m amps.....

It will..........but I need better sound now and can always swap out amps.

The M's need caps and still need to get the cases done before I'll use them. That's a month or 2 off still.

Post by **Eric D** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:52 pm

My X600.1 was one that PG redid and then resold. It should not have any cold solder problems. I bought it direct, not from eBay.

So far I have...

X600.1 up in smoke for the second time
X200.2 fan on full speed all the time, but amp plays music fine
X100.4 two channels work great, other two do not and show no signs of abuse or damage.

I had an X100.4 which worked great for a year and I then sold.
I currently have an X200.4 which works great, but based on all my other issues I don't trust it at all.

Anyone with one of these amps that is still working should consider themselves very lucky. The amps are junk and don't last.

Post by **Eric D** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:56 pm

deathcloud wrote:My dad is going to give me his zx500 and zx600 to sell. Those are awesome amps. zx500 is black limited edition. I have the zx350 little brother in black limited edition right now.

I am looking for both a ZX500v2 and ZX350v2 (no more shitty Xenons for me). Send me a PM if and when you plan to sell them.

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:00 pm

Will do. These amps are beasts! I want to keep them so bad but I have to pay off my credit cards

dedlyjedly · Post by **dedlyjedly** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:08 pm

It is definitely an unwelcome experience to have any electronic equipment fail on you especially when it appears to happen without cause. I'm certain its extremely frustrating for Eric as he's much more familiar with amplifiers than most of us and yet it still seems inexplicable. Let's not overreact with blanketing statements and claims though, many of us including Eric have been very impressed by the performance and design of the xenon series. Unfortunately there are some troubled amps out there that continue to surface but hopefully Eric can make the most out of a bad situation and shed some light on the situation for us after further investigation.

Xenon amps are total crap...

Xenon amps are total crap...

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