Phoenix Gold Phorum

I went through a stage of owning a few old school PG amps, such as the M25, M100, M44, plus an MS2125. None of the purchases were particularly planned. I just bought prime examples as they popped up. So all were mint or NIB condition.

It was a real buzz uncovering such pristine examples. I think part of the pleasure lay in finding something rare and very well made. But also just looking at a pristine M or MS amp was like being transported right back to my teens and early twenties. That seemed such a golden era looking back at long hot summers filled with fun times.

However I eventually sold my collection after a while. Partly due to the amps being physically too long to accommodate in my planned instal. And partly as I was a little worried about leaving them in my car to be honest.

But now I'm back again. That PG bug didn't go anywhere at all. But this time around I set out to collect a few of my ideal all round amps - the compact MS275. So far I've paid for five of these little puppies. I love the way this amp is only the same size as a little M25, yet packs multiples of the output. I also love the tank like build quality, gleaming white chassis, blue silk screening end details, plus of course the amazing golden circuits that come with any MS amp.

However once I have enough of these amps, in the best possible condition, I think my collecting days will be over. I will simply stop buying and just enjoy them.

So I was wondering, what drives some of you guys to keep on going, buying ever more gear, even larger and rarer amps? Also, what makes some of you end up selling off loads of kit? I think it would be interesting to get a few different view on this and maybe share a few stories...

the bug hit me back in 94, was 18 and uncovered PG while studying in Australia
I was amazed at the build quality, design and sound output.
I've dreamed of owning one ever since.
Then I discovered PG forum as it was some years ago and met a few of the guys that are still here today after 3 forum boards.
Bought my first PG amp 4 or 5 years ago and ever since, money permitting, I've bought every single PG amp that came across that I could afford, but also tried to stay on the M/MS/MPS era with a few exceptions like LE amps (Octane, Reactor ...)
Not sure where it will stop or if it ever will
seeing what AAMP has in store for PG, I propbably never will stop
as I said in another thread somewhere, I'm an PG addict.

There are other brands out there that I like and have bought a few, but none compare to my love of PG

here goes my little story
I'll make an inventory of what I have here in Tahiti and in the US someday .....

It never stops......you say thats your last one then someone puts up a piece and you think , just one more, it won't hurt. I can walk away any time. But you cannot

shaheen wrote:It never stops......you say thats your last one then someone puts up a piece and you think , just one more, it won't hurt. I can walk away any time. But you cannot

same here, now and again i sell a few pieces off but it's always to buy something else i want for the collection! i try not to sell unless absolutely essential though

back in the early 90's owning an LE amp was just a dream and i bought an m50 and m100 brand new and that was me sold. and now i can afford them 2nd hand i'm full filling that dream!!

i have been a traitor for 12 months though using hifonics amps but just because they are so compact for the output they give out and i wanted a stealth install, now i'm saying bollox to it and bringing the big boys out, watch this space

shaheen wrote:It never stops......you say thats your last one then someone puts up a piece and you think , just one more, it won't hurt. I can walk away any time. But you cannot

aint that the truth... I walked away from them after the M/MS Series but obviously that didnt last.

I should have the #11 Roadster66 in a few days... and I know my wife thinks thats the last amp I will "need" for my install, but we both know that the next time an MS comes up close for a good price it will be a long night on the couch.

I must confess, I also wandered off the path and bought a DLS 5 channel amp some time ago. Essentially this is mass produced in China using SMT! Pretty much the exact opposite of everything I loved about PG. But at the time it seemed like the cheap, easy to instal route, as it's so compact. I reasoned that one plus point was that if my car was ever broken into I wouldn't have cared less. Aside from the inconvenience of course. But that's all behind me.

Now I am also thinking sod it. Just put what I really want in the car. This time it won't take up too much space.

Apparently Marko's going to tow a trailer for carrying all his MS goodness around

and what Marko sells usually ends up under my bed !!!!!


he is a bad bad bad man ..........that route is calling my name out...most of my gear either came off here, sound buggy , TalkAudio or Tristan.

I even have a BNIB pair of JL 10W6V1's AE....and I love the Audisons too.

this needs to end.

I had a full set of x3 BNIB JL 12W6V1's AE I bought them for old time sake but never got around to doing anything with them. They're not too hard to find if you keep looking. I find JL *very* entertaining although not as accurate as some options.

@ KUB3:

I just read your sig, and makes me wonder.. Are you going to pull Celestion AD15 with MS275s?

My personal experience is to go for the MS275 when speaking of AD12s, and MS2125 when we speak AD15.

I know my own install is leaning towards MS2125 on AD12s - but that is another story...


Personally I bought my first MS2125 new back in 1993. Expensive as hell, but dream come true... That amp pushed 2xCelestion AD15H for a long time, and did a hell of a job. I still got this amp, which made me love PG for life. I "backed out" from Car audio in the period 1996-2005 (or so..), untill Phonixx (member in here aswell) called me up one day, and since then I have been collecting some MS-amps.

Heyy... I even bought some M-amps, just to make an art-full wall of M-amps in my livingroom...

Im glad Im going to trade school and have no "play money" to speak of, otherwise Id be in big trouble

The collecting will never end............................as long as I stay single

Hi Pedi,

That's a coincidence. In my first ever instal I had a Celestion AD15H. It was £300 in the UK back in '94/95 My instal wasn't very good and I hardly made the most of it's potential back then! My biggest error looking back was expecting it to play too higher frequencies. I was over compensating the sub to pad out my under powered mid-bass at the time. But even in my poor setup it did certain things extremely well. Namely dropping very deep, with a musical accurate reproduction, all while hardly using any power! Just one filled the entire cabin with effortless deep sonics

In my next instal it will be very different. I plan on using two subs in IB. I also think due to the overall high sensitivity of two units the gains will be set rather low. I imagine each driver will hardly have to move, relying purely on cone area to give me a subtle foundation to the music.

With regards to my four amps to be installed I had planned this:

MS275 - x2 trebles
MS275 - x2 CDT ES06 mid-bass
MS275 - bridged to x1 Celestion 4ohm
MS275 - bridged to x1 Celestion 4ohm

I also used to have an NIB 2125. But one reason I really like small amps is it gives me many more instal options. For example, I am toying with the idea of having very short cable runs and *maybe* having the amps up front in the car. Maybe even under a false floor with plexi windows so you can see the circuits. But I have other ideas too...

I love MS275 and I love MS2125... Those are my favorite MS-amps...

BUT... I still think the MS275 is too small for the AD15H. Ofcourse, just my opinion, you can drive those subs if you want to with the MS275s...

I'll see how it goes first. However I do have a habit of trying out loads of different subs anyway. In my last car I had all these sealed, just in the summer: image dynamics 10", DLS iridium 10", CDT ES 8". I have never tried IB, so that is my next experiment. If I think it has potential I may look into how to maximize it's full potential.

We'll see... maybe I will keep an eye out for a mint 2125

KUB3 wrote: We'll see... maybe I will keep an eye out for a mint 2125

Mint? I have one that is like new, with box...



But that is the one that I bought new back then in 1993... And I will never sell it. Sorrry...

I can't really afford it at the moment as I just bought loads of stuff. But feel free to send me some high resolution pics of all sides and a price...

s_worksair@yahoo.co.uk

yoor ms275's should be plenty for the ad15's especially in an IB configuration..

Look at my avatar.....
Since I won the European SPL contest in 1996 with four MS2125's and 8x 15 inch cerwin-vega's, I could not refuse buying those I was offered, again and again, and.....
Going back to a golden time, attending shows, soundoffs, and winning most of them with only 1.000 Watts RMS [PG's watts proved to be highly underrated time after time]
Now I have some [ ] MS amps all the time, refurbishing them, and giving the abused ones a second life.
Sometimes I sell one or more to people who appreciate them Paul!
For me there's only one series of PG-amps.
[at the moment three MS2125's in stock, one mint, one NIB. and one not mint].
A little porn for you as well..

Nico-- did you add the "Phoenix Gold" lettering to the top of that plexi on the top amp? Haven't seen one like that yet. My plexi is like the one below that one.

marko wrote:yoor ms275's should be plenty for the ad15's especially in an IB configuration..

That's what I initially thought. From memory they are 97db efficient each, so x2 should be 100db @1w roughly? That is extremely sensitive! Plus with the large cone area it won't need many watts to reach sensible normal listening levels (I don't ever boom, or play bass discs, or show off. It's only for normal music and normal levels)

But, having said all that, it's always interesting to discover what works and what doesn't, so I'm open minded.

Nico, yes that is porn. But you know what, my favorite looking amp of all time will be in Marko's boot x3! For me the 2250 is amazing looking. It's just still too big for me though, like many of the top PG amps! This is why I don't think I will ever want the largest most impressive looking ones

I came back (all of a sudden) from work yesterday - some of the work I am going to do is postponed one week. So as I went home for a week off, my GF had serious plans for me. I had to make 2 bedrooms out of the childrens livingroom - and take the old master bedroom in use as the new "kids tv-room".

So in that matter, I had to move the boxes that I had stuffed in a corner of the old livingroom, into the new "livingroom" - as the old storage (closet) was full.... It was more than I could remember, hehe..

Have a sneak peak here of some of the stuff I found - just to show you that collecting equals with addicted:

Your girlfriend is more understanding than mine! That;s a lot of Franks!

My stash changed a lot over the time but at some point i took this picture! Just in case u wondered where my avatar came from.

joerg and Ivar have bought all the FAS or SOFAs that have come up fo rsale in the last 6 months or so ....

Nutters! HAHA, love it.