Phoenix Gold Phorum

Hey guys,

Just got an original soundstream ref 700sx in the mail today. Kinda excited about it!!!!

Couple questions for u guru's.

First i opened her up to look thru the guts to see if anything outta the normal happened to it and i found two things.

Theres 3 switches, one for connection mode ie bridges, stereo, and mixed mono.

Crossover mode.

And then theres this little guy.



It says "airbass" and has either out or in for the switch direction. Whats the purpose of this switch?

Then i noticed this lil dude all toasted, im sure its a resistor but for one of the channel daughter boards. Does this indicate anything seriously wrong?





Any help and info guys would be greatly appreciated!

Nevermind about the airbass, its basically an option for q control of the amp for sub applications

it was a cool wireless option
it look like a alarm remote

Well damn, i hooked up the amp and it powers up but no sound! Damn it man! Ive been dying to have a good SS forever!

I think im sendingf this back cause i paid $179 for it. What makes it worse is that its in pristine condition @ least a 9/10! Damn!

Interested in any trades for it and the memphis?

That sucks sorry to here it

Id be interested in trading them weaklink, but id at least like to make sure i got my $180 worth outta the ss since thats what i paid for it the memphis would be a "freebie" lol, pm and we can discuss it

That amp is probably a simple fix. I have fixed a lot of SS amps, and they don't seem to die horribly like some others do.

On many SS amps, those switches are half the problem. They get corroded and start working poorly. Moving them back and forth many times works the crud off a bit, enough to get them working again.

Also, sometimes having the switches in the wrong positions (depending on the amp model) will make it not put out any sound. Certain combinations of switch positions send the signal nowhere.

That burned resistor is a pretty clear sign of one failed channel. The failure may not be extreme though.

When you tried the amp, did the power LED light up?

Hey eric, yea the high power light came on, but also if i wiggled the wires in the holes i would get a lil flash but also a lil thump from the subs.

Any other advice u could tell me to maybe help get this going, i am so dying to have this amp work

JandRelectronix (Jaime) has those FEB boards on ebay. If there are not available on ebay contact Jaime and he will sell you a pair for around 13-15 each. This is the "go to" guy when it comes to SS. He has most OEM parts. Good luck.


Check the Darlington outputs.....(TIP102/107's) good chance they are toasted/shorted and will need replacement.

Thanks ricky, ill give yall an update once i get home and further diagnose it

You can start with replacing that driver board, but be sure to not damage the main board when you remove the driver board.

I can't really give too much advice without being able to actually look at it myself.

I can say this, those are great amps, and worth repairing. Especially if in good shape.

Great little amps when they work, I have a 1000sx on my repair bench right now. Lol

FEB board failure killed a Continuum that I never got working again, and even after finding original replacement parts it still just didnt want to play nice.
If you are VERY comfortable repairing electronics, id go for it. Otherwise your best bet would be refund or barter for a partial refund from seller.
The amp is def worth something, just not $180.

I figured Wade Stewart would be the go to guy on these....

I just scored a USA305 totally overhauled by Wade. Should have it Monday. My first SS amp. Wade was repairing SS amps and doesn't charge much at all. I can get you his info if you'd like.

Btw, Wade designed and his company built these amps.

What was all of that drama on diyma with wade and not sending people their amps back. I wasn't involved but I was reading that thread about getting the amps returned and I'm not sure I'd refer anyone to him.

Edit: I went and read the main thread on wade, it looks like he did poor job of repairing them too. Good luck smgreen, I hope everything works out with your amp.

I look at it this way, we all go through down times in life. We also all deserve a break or forgiveness when it happens. If it keeps happening then ok, but his isn't the case and he's trying to do right to correct the situation. He's still a good guy and until I see him do wrong I will continue to offer encouragement.

I'm confident my amp will be ok. I've got pictures of it inside and out and he'll warranty it for a year but this probably won't get used as it's also being signed/personalized to me.

Hey I won't tell you what to do with your amps, but we also have some great techs around here that are more than capable of doing the job who don't have a checkered past.

I also make it a habit of not referring anyone else to someone who might be sketchy, whether if trust them or not.

Yes most people deserve a chance to start over. Heck, I have done a few of those in my life, but when it comes to a trust issue, the consumer shouldn't be the one taking the risks, he should do something to prove himself without people having to take the risk and send him their amps.

Sorry I got on my soap box. I could see all of the trouble caused on the forums from him taking in many amps, cashing checks for the repairs, and hen disappearing. It hits close to home for me since I've been a victim of theft recently.

Not sure with soundstream I have only. Bought two old school in my time both had problems so I will never buy another

The switches are the main problem.

I know there's a few people here that can fix amps too, I also know a few others that aren't here. Eric D would be my first choice here, outside of here Ray Rayfield.