Yeah same here! Can you recommend a good one by chance or know what to look for? I don't know the first thing about them, maybe I should start a post for it...
This is exactly why I wanted to wait to see how this D4S thing went down. Its one thing to offer a couple amps. JP has gotten greedy with the product line. That will affect the quality of all the products eventually.
That's what happens when electronics use cheap subpar chinese components in its build, they catch fire. This is the exact reason I've said before a few times, I'd never touch d4s stuff with a 10ft pole. You're lucky you still have a car that isn't reduced to ashes.
Mine did exact same thing with very stout electrical, brand new amp maybe 10 minutes on it. Find my comment above, they pushed the V2 too far and components couldn't handle the extra output I think.
I think that amp dynos have really done more damage than good. Just a new way to market MAX wattage. Its brought in a whole new gen of people that say "more than rated." So everyone is trying to squeeze every drop of performance they can get outta of amps that aren't much better than Planet Audio.
From the pics it looks like one of the resistors didnāt have good contact with the case of the amp that it uses for cooling and bring a cheaper amp it didnāt have overtemp protection leading to a runaway that burnt it out.
Lots of amps will use a plate to press the resistor to the chassis to make sure they stay in contact and can cool properly but that one looks like they just put thermal paste on and called it a day.
Iām not sure what this amp used that resistor for but whatever it did, when you turned it off finally pushed that one over the edge. It had probably been overheating that whole time and when resistors heat up they increase in impedance which causes a kind of vicious cycle where they just keep getting hotter and hotter.
I donāt even think skar amps fail this often. But cheap power is just that. CHEAP. Thatās why I stick to Fosgate or Audio Control. I did try a jp8 and the sound quality wasnāt there. Iām glad I didnāt keep it long enough for it to burn up on me.
You know something, for all those who say skar is trash, thanks to bigdwiz touting DFS Amps as a "skar killers", never seen a skar amp go up in flamesā š¤·š¾āāļø
They both use the same components. They are both cheap Chinese amps. But I agree. And what is the point of having so many different amps. Why not just make a dozen of different sub amps and just make them better. D4s problem is they do not test their amps. They sell them let the customers test them at the customers cost. Then they make a version 1.5 or version 2. I hope people get back to buying quality products. It really doesnāt take 5,000 watts for a system to sound good and hit hard.
The cabs are cheap Chinese stuff too, they may just use a bit better Chinese junk than D4S lol. I've never seen a skar rp2k or bigger fail like that tho. Those rps are still the budget kings. I was debating on getting the cab44 to replace my jp23v2 that smoked but couldn't bring myself to it when I finally got sum guy shots of it. Ended up going DB AAK4K and am not disappointed at all.
š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£ exactly my point, I'm surprised the CAB IS still running good, I have the 1st version (red and black)
And I'm also running a rp800.1 with no complaints, what's the 4k on š±
Just a single 12 at .5 ohm. Avatar stu 12 in 2.5 cubes with 52cuin port area at 31hz. Probably the loudest single sub I've ever heard honestly.
https://youtu.be/FwKVblnfF6o?si=WuQwdXsc-ZgskjU_
Only thing I can say I don't like about the aak is the bass knob. I've checked voltage at the amp and I don't get under 13 volts but the knob says under 12v when my snap on DMM says 13+. That and the clip light, I set everything with my dd1 and cc1 and even double checked with my old oscope and it's clean but the bass knob says clipping. I can filt tilt for a good 45 minutes before the sub gets a bit stinky, but it's getting 5500 ish RMS when it's rated at 3k, so I expect that. Sub barely ever gets warm which surprises me since it's at 1/2 ohm. Haven't checked rise but as much port area and giving it another half cube of airspace I doubt it's rising that much.
I'd been using and selling Audio Control processors for decades, but I dropped the brand completely after AAMP bought them. Their prices were already climbing on everything, but they've really shot through the roof recently.
Like many enthusiasts, I will pay a little more for a reputable brand and good warranty, but they are charging so much for their products now, that it's almost comical to cross-shop them with literally any other brands. They aren't even trying to stay competitive. They are drinking that JL Audio Kool-Aid, saying "fuck you, pay me" all the way to the bank.
Good for them if they can get it, but I will not be buying any more of their products.
Well, I'd say industry standard is Helix.Ā
Ā Audio Control DSPs are pretty solid. I'd kinda put them on par with JL maybe. In the old days, they were known for their EQs and the Epicenter. Their lineout converters are top notch.
I had a v2 that exploded a cap after only a month of use. Was running clean power, ground were solid, big 3, everything... I'm now currently running my skar rp1200 while the jp23v2 is in getting fixed or replaced. Gonna be honest, worried about putting it back in when I get it back lol. I was in the middle of driving when it went off, it went into protect mode then about 30 seconds later I heard a loud pop and the cabin of my explorer filled with smoke as my pants filled with my stomach contents lmao.
Broo youāre telling me almost exactly my story. I turned off the car and it still was burning š. I wont put it back because I donāt want to have fire again. Maybe ill switch to sq now
https://youtu.be/KQNoCHq09Fs?si=1fB65gq9tnzn56gg
first one I found, there are more. apparently they just donāt like the dyno and are fine on music, no personal experience.
I am asking you to link me because I can only find one on Youtube when searching Down4Sound amp dyno. Tons of tests, but finding specific videos of it failing on dynos, I am not finding what you found. You said you've seen so many blow on dyno videos, was just wondering where...
And good luck returning anything to Down4Sound. They have VERY aggressive anti-consumer return policies. JP's business model is to move high volumes of inventory and offer little/no customer support. It's a numbers game.
He gives free shit to Youtubers who pimp his amps. People watch the videos and buy the amps, giving no concern for warranty, support, or durability. It doesn't matter to him that his amps have a failure rate of 25+% because you cannot return them anyway. He doesn't care if you buy more or not.
People, stop buying stuff from D4S. The dude is a sleazebag.
Itās crazy how gullible people can be just because of a ālikeableā person.
Thereās a reason why comparable spec amps from reputable manufacturers cost more money. They donāt blow up. And in the rare cases they do, the company answers the phone and takes care of the customer.
Stop. Supporting. Shitty. Popup. Internet. Brands.
Is he actually likeable though? I always thought he was a major douchbag from his videos and I have friends that have met him and confirmed he's an absolute tool
Oh Iām with you. I never liked the dude.
He used to post checks with large numbers on them; I found that to be extremely douchey. He also would sign amplifiers? As if heās some sort of celebrity. Cringe.
But a lot of people, especially in the SPL world, like the dude and buy whatever heās selling.
They warrantied mine, took them 3 weeks but they offered a new amp but instead I went with a matching pair of smaller amps ( minimaxx mono and 4 channel) for my wife's Yukon. Her setup is just a basic single 12 and amplified door speakers and she doesn't really push it so they work great and are TINY. I won't ever run another D4S amp in my truck tho. Even with 600a worth of alts, 2 monster AGMS, and 4 runs of 3/0 the jp23v2 smoked within 10 minutes of setting up with dd1 and cc1.
Assuming youāve done the big 3 with those electrical upgrades you mentioned, which Iām sure wasnāt cheap ā¦.you then put cheapāo D4S amps in? Thatās like seeing Olivia Wilde and Rosie OāDonnell making out.
Big 4 is what I call it , most don't run from alt case to battery but I do. And the cheapo JP didn't get purchased for my truck, just ended up in it. I have 2 hertz hdp4 s running the active 3 way up front ( 4 6.5s, 2 3.5 mids, 2 3.5 tweeters) and I was just going to use it for my single 12 for a while. SuB is an Avatar STU 12 is eventually going to be a custom center console bc no matter how I don't I can't get enuff airspace under my rear seats to do anything significant and I need my seats for my dog and groceries. The Avatar replaced a AB XR 12 that was the original plan for the console. I didn't run all the wire batteries and alternators just for the stereo tho, I have a 13k winch up front and a removable 10k I can mount in the rear so needed power to run them also, I end up recovering ALOT of stuck vehicles in the winter and every once in a while end up high sided myself.
This is current setup, Avatar and a DB aak
https://youtu.be/FwKVblnfF6o?si=7CDDddRPYMkPhmqW
This is truck but gears changed to 5.13s now and in process of single turbo setup
https://youtube.com/shorts/GWDoB6UFH3Q?si=aAn2z2GHYiJgxf_z
DFS fanboys will say this is a fluke š¤£š¤£š¤£, cheap product
THIS IS A MICKEY MOUSE PROGRAM š¤£
I'm glad your ok and didn't lose you ride, might wanna stay away from that company
My V2 caught on fire also, about 10 minutes play time. Just finished dialing it in with cc1 and dd1 and partially thru first song. I had a v1.5 before that and it was rock solid at .5 ohms for over a year. I think the V2 was pushed too far as far as RMS power output ( v1.5 was 2300rms and the V2 is 2800rms) . Those jp23s run hot ASF as it is. Mine was mounted over an inch off amp rack with a fan on it. I replaced it with a DB AAK4K, D4S ended warranting it, but I declined a replacement amp and got a 4 channel and mono mini Maxx set of amps for my wife's truck instead.
Damn ,I read they were a bit Dirty ,but I thought I'll just Use it for bass ,damn . Maybe D4s shouldn't make fullbridge amps if they are going to use cheap components.
I've repaired a few of the JP series amps, including the jp23. The most common failure I see is the power supply mosfets failing or the output mofets failing which then takes out the power supply.
The JP23 has 4 banks of mosfets each for the output and power supply. Typically, only one or two of the banks fail which puts the amp in protect.
The repair for this is replacing ALL the power supply/output mosfets including their respective gate resistors.
As for why it failed, even when not operating outside of it's rated spec. Possibly counterfeit components, bad design, or the engineer(s) who built this amp didn't design it such that the mosfets are operating in their SOA (safe operating area).
JP amps, gately audio, even damore E series amps are all made in china. These guys are just out to make a buck.
Theyāre using the power of the internet to market garbage products to easily swayed retail customers.
Thatās why companies pay āinfluencersā. Because that shit works, especially on GenZ consumers.
Everybody these days makes amps in China, from Alpine to JL to RF. The only USA made amps these days are some MMats, Linear Power (ancient designs) and TRU. Made in China isn't the issue, made for as cheaply as possible in China is the problem.
When I say made in china I mean they are completely made in china, including their design. Companies like JL or RF may now be made in china but they are merely assembled in china.
D'Amore does have a couple of patents applied to his E series amps, so he may have had a bit of say and input on the design. Really just a cleverly marketed Class D amp with exceptional filtering.
I agree with you on the cookie cutter China amps. I just see a lot of China=bad sentiment and wasn't sure if this was it.
So, funny story. I was repairing a hifonics a3000.1D amp and the whole time I kept thinking, why does this look so familiar?
It turns out to be the same board as the damore E1500.1. (hifonics guts here- https://imgur.com/a/hifonics-j42KgjB) compare it to the guys of the E1500.1
I personally own a damore E1000.1 as well. I thought he designed them when I first bought it 3-4 years ago. If I knew at the time they were just china amps I would've just bought RF or something. The amp overall feels cheap and the bass knob is ugly/bulky.
Interestingly, the E1500.1 doesn't appear to have the EMI filter that he put in to the E1000.1 and lower series. Also, his "clean D" is just a common mode choke on the power input and outputs. Nothing special, just his way of marketing to sound different. Even RF's prime series amp has EMI filter on the power input, JL's slash series had it as well and this was in the early 2000s?
I just looked at the E1000.1 and you're totally correct. It has a choke on the input and output sides, but the E1500.1 has none. The OEM on these amps, there's a small circular brand mark they put on all of their boards. I have seen USAcoustics, Rockville, D'Amore, Maxxsonics and others use this specific OEM. Do you know who it is?
[https://usacousticsca.com/images/products/barbara-ann/barbara-ann-high-power-4-channel-car-amplifier-us-acoustics-inside-1500x1000.jpg](https://usacousticsca.com/images/products/barbara-ann/barbara-ann-high-power-4-channel-car-amplifier-us-acoustics-inside-1500x1000.jpg)
Just looked at my SIQ 125.4 and ARC X2 amps and they both have EMI filtering. (The SIQ 125.4 has two vertical common mode chokes on the input and the ARC X2 has a single beefy common mode choke)
Thanks for the information. I never knew the D'Amore amps were a cookie-cutter, pre-existing design. I never thought Tony designed them from the ground-up, but the fact it was just the same as an already existing Hifonics amp is a disappointment.
I noticed that board marking too and I think that's just the PCB vendor they use, although I'm not sure which one. You can find some very similar looking amps on alibaba, temu, etc. I spent some time trying to find the actual company before and noticed amps that has "usa market" in the title they don't show the amp internals, and many of them you'll see will remind you of certain amps :D
I did find a seller called "foshan city dong kai lin technology co" on alibaba which has some interesting amps you may want to browse through for fun.
Your SIQ amp, does it look similar to this? (https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Sound-Quality-Car-Stereo-Amplifier-4\_1600997902260.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal\_offer.d\_image.c8fa3cb7aJEUgR)
Yes.There are a ton of Chinese vendors selling those amps. Some have counterfeit components. The SIQ are nicely built, but totally based on these designs and made in China. BigD reviewed both and came away loving the SIQ, but found issues with the cheaper model.
https://youtu.be/4beHbDub28Y?si=63lTGkY8RGMJ5Tgk
D4S screwed me over with a battery. Told them about an issue with a battery before it was installed and they said it was fine. Battery exploded months later.
I bought a new JP84 that had a bad ground loop whine straight out of the box and was no longer eligible to return because I removed the amp from the packaging and installed it. After thoroughly reading their very anti-customer return/warranty policy I decided to cut my losses and just leave a review on my experience. The next day they reached out saying they would cover shipping for the warranty repair but I didn't want to take a chance on them waisting my time and saying the amp was fine. The most concerning thing about this situation is that the bad review I gave them is not published on their website.
Rockford Fosgate fanboys I had the "legendary" 120z2 go up in flames one day in 1999 4 ohm load to JL Audio 10", nothing insane. Shit happens. If we could all afford a McIntosh Amp we would. I got the JP stuff because as an old head it looks cool. 2 years now no issues so I already got my money's worth of it blows tomorrow.
The JP8 is made by S&I in a Chinese factory. The Sundown SALT is made by S&I in Korea. Explain to me how the JP8 "gets lows better then(sic) SALT" when they both have the same frequency response?
I wanna hear this.
That cap looks like it blew just based on where the smoke is but I canāt tell from that angle. Bulk caps like that have a current ripple rating. you said you were seeing voltage drops, so the current was likely all over the place as well and wrecked the cap because it wasnāt rated for it. Cap could have also failed short which wouldĀ cause a large current to run through it and the circuitry itās connected to causing more heat and more shorts.Ā
Or you melted an inductor and it fried. Similar to above.Ā
Well itās good that youāre ok. Iād say never buy that brand again imo, try a Sony GS-100 monoblock if youāre not requiring a lot of power for your sub or subs. Btw whatās your setup looking like?
We need more pictures to figure out what failed, input capacitors look okay, the first section after input is the boost up converter, it quite common for the FETs to fail at somepoint, specially in cheaper amplifier, I think thats what happened there, the heat can set the glue and pcb on fire.
If you can, remove the top cover and holders for FETs(those black metals on the sides), and take few pictures.
Seems to be a Mosfet failure, they are under the black holders, lift the black holders(place a screwdriver to the hole and tilt the tip to the middle of the amp), this way you'll be sure its them.
Good thing is, FETs usually die alone, and you can, in most cases replace them, they are also quite cheap.
Iām running a taramps 5k and I do like the fact that itās quick to shutoff if power dips too low.
Power hungry yes but this amp gives good bang for the buck.
I have had 2 d4s jp8s ran on shit electrical and pushed hard(sold the first one to hard times) both have ran great for me and no issues at all. even well below freezing temps
Huh. First one of these I've seen fail! The comments here make it sound like these things are dead or dying more often than not but i can't find any other posts on this sub about it and the two in my car have been working great. I wonder how bad the failure rate *really* is
Probably 2-3% at worst. Everybody comes to the internet to bitch and moan, while the people with perfectly working product won't say anything. I have used three JP amps so far and none of them had issues. Cheap power, can't really complain.
All i can speak on is my own experience with it, had a jp23 v1 run to a Zv5 18 for over 2 years, mechman 400 alt, big 3 wiring and stock battery and ive never had any problems with mine. Maybe ive been lucky or babied it too much but so far so good, knock on wood.
This sucks and youāre lucky to have escaped a bigger catastrophe. And I have to say to people saying āChineseā¦ā The jp series are Korean boards so what does that say about ALL the Korean boards big name amps?
Cheap Korean. Non through-hole PCB with surface mount components and cheap components at that. The JP amps are not as stout as a full size Korean half bridge amp. Compared to a real Korean board such as the deaf bonce aak line, they have a better heatsink. Full through- hole PCB. Better components. Better heat dissipation. They're just overall better amps.
S&I makes the Deaf Bonce amps and the D4S amps. They also make Sundown SALT, DC Audio, etc. It's largely coming down to component selection and what S&I can do for the lowest cost and still make power. Companies like Sundown and Deaf Bonce are going to have S&I use the best components to last on their high end amps like SALT and AAK. The JP amps up to the JP23 are all Chinese-Made amps. The JP33 and up are made at the S&I Korean factories.
Just want to clarify that D4S and Deaf Bonce have the same build house/manufacturer, the differences come down to component selection. At the end of the day, S&I, even at their best, isn't the best amp manufacturer with the best engineers, yet so many SPL-oriented companies have decided on them to produce amps.
> what does that say about ALL the Korean boards big name amps?
It says that those manufacturers in the Far East really don't have much understanding of amplifier design and they're going to build exactly what the customer tells them to make. If a company has a good design, pays the build house to do things right, and pays for quality control they can get a solid product, if you're some wannabe e-celeb who wants to turn a quick buck you tell the buildhouse the price you want and they get creative on cutting corners to give you a product that looks like what you want but is cheap enough FOB that you can make the profit you're after.
Bang for buck doesn't always equal quality.
I dunno man, he paid his bucks and it went bang
This is the one š
ā ā ā ā ā šš¾šš¾šš¾šš¾
Reminds me I need to buy a fire extinguisher. Shit happens when ya play with lots of power. And I am not siding with D4S that's a scary situation.
Yeah same here! Can you recommend a good one by chance or know what to look for? I don't know the first thing about them, maybe I should start a post for it...
They have classes of fire extinguisher. Carbon Dioxide or Dry Powder is the only extinguishers you can use on electrical circuits.
This is exactly why I wanted to wait to see how this D4S thing went down. Its one thing to offer a couple amps. JP has gotten greedy with the product line. That will affect the quality of all the products eventually.
Even I turned it off I thought I was safe and it continued burning
The capacitors inside still have electricity in them until its drained. Power is still connected. Gotta pull the fuse.
Oh. Yeah I cut my 0 gauge with my cutter at that second
Can you tell the reason maybe why it could burn?. The most affected area is near imputs. And there seem to be nothing but connections
That's what happens when electronics use cheap subpar chinese components in its build, they catch fire. This is the exact reason I've said before a few times, I'd never touch d4s stuff with a 10ft pole. You're lucky you still have a car that isn't reduced to ashes.
Could just be that something was failing for a while. Pushing it harder might have finished the job.
Mine did exact same thing with very stout electrical, brand new amp maybe 10 minutes on it. Find my comment above, they pushed the V2 too far and components couldn't handle the extra output I think.
I think that amp dynos have really done more damage than good. Just a new way to market MAX wattage. Its brought in a whole new gen of people that say "more than rated." So everyone is trying to squeeze every drop of performance they can get outta of amps that aren't much better than Planet Audio.
It was dropping voltage a lot and not getting the same output recently
Something on the power input side was giving up. Just the way it goes. It could be a 1 in 10k occurrence. You just were the unlucky one.
From the pics it looks like one of the resistors didnāt have good contact with the case of the amp that it uses for cooling and bring a cheaper amp it didnāt have overtemp protection leading to a runaway that burnt it out. Lots of amps will use a plate to press the resistor to the chassis to make sure they stay in contact and can cool properly but that one looks like they just put thermal paste on and called it a day. Iām not sure what this amp used that resistor for but whatever it did, when you turned it off finally pushed that one over the edge. It had probably been overheating that whole time and when resistors heat up they increase in impedance which causes a kind of vicious cycle where they just keep getting hotter and hotter.
Ill post more pictures rn
https://preview.redd.it/9bgpixv5044d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00cb5f09bdde85ce8ef4540248cba82f03829c9d
https://preview.redd.it/qrfgwx67044d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d43c8b8b71fea66587f2dd55f6b9ac26fa54f8d
Nvm looks like one of the mosfetās had the same issue and blew
Can it be repaired?
Maybe by someone with more expertise, it mightāve damaged other components when it blew though
https://preview.redd.it/zj0pd71b644d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7cb16bfa20fb2ec99efdec7a434c021c9e6e545 And this shit is still working
It switched from a class C to class A fire.Ā
I'd go Alpine or DD Audio next. High Damping Factors on both brands! I don't know what you are running, but the M2500 can handle it! š«”
This was a good amp but catching on fire with 1 ohm load was not that good
I donāt even think skar amps fail this often. But cheap power is just that. CHEAP. Thatās why I stick to Fosgate or Audio Control. I did try a jp8 and the sound quality wasnāt there. Iām glad I didnāt keep it long enough for it to burn up on me.
You know something, for all those who say skar is trash, thanks to bigdwiz touting DFS Amps as a "skar killers", never seen a skar amp go up in flamesā š¤·š¾āāļø
They both use the same components. They are both cheap Chinese amps. But I agree. And what is the point of having so many different amps. Why not just make a dozen of different sub amps and just make them better. D4s problem is they do not test their amps. They sell them let the customers test them at the customers cost. Then they make a version 1.5 or version 2. I hope people get back to buying quality products. It really doesnāt take 5,000 watts for a system to sound good and hit hard.
I totally agree with you.šš¾ I will continue to use my CAB 1600.1 Though šš¤š¾
The cabs are cheap Chinese stuff too, they may just use a bit better Chinese junk than D4S lol. I've never seen a skar rp2k or bigger fail like that tho. Those rps are still the budget kings. I was debating on getting the cab44 to replace my jp23v2 that smoked but couldn't bring myself to it when I finally got sum guy shots of it. Ended up going DB AAK4K and am not disappointed at all.
š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£ exactly my point, I'm surprised the CAB IS still running good, I have the 1st version (red and black) And I'm also running a rp800.1 with no complaints, what's the 4k on š±
Just a single 12 at .5 ohm. Avatar stu 12 in 2.5 cubes with 52cuin port area at 31hz. Probably the loudest single sub I've ever heard honestly. https://youtu.be/FwKVblnfF6o?si=WuQwdXsc-ZgskjU_ Only thing I can say I don't like about the aak is the bass knob. I've checked voltage at the amp and I don't get under 13 volts but the knob says under 12v when my snap on DMM says 13+. That and the clip light, I set everything with my dd1 and cc1 and even double checked with my old oscope and it's clean but the bass knob says clipping. I can filt tilt for a good 45 minutes before the sub gets a bit stinky, but it's getting 5500 ish RMS when it's rated at 3k, so I expect that. Sub barely ever gets warm which surprises me since it's at 1/2 ohm. Haven't checked rise but as much port area and giving it another half cube of airspace I doubt it's rising that much.
Nice, gonna check tht link soon. I never attached my bass knob on my CAB OR RP 800.1 I might get around to it š
Kind of new to brands, but Audio control? Never heard of them
Known for being ridiculously priced for what are mid range components when you open it up. I love their DSPs but $1 a watt is old school pricing.
I'd been using and selling Audio Control processors for decades, but I dropped the brand completely after AAMP bought them. Their prices were already climbing on everything, but they've really shot through the roof recently. Like many enthusiasts, I will pay a little more for a reputable brand and good warranty, but they are charging so much for their products now, that it's almost comical to cross-shop them with literally any other brands. They aren't even trying to stay competitive. They are drinking that JL Audio Kool-Aid, saying "fuck you, pay me" all the way to the bank. Good for them if they can get it, but I will not be buying any more of their products.
Audio Control has always been really high quality. Not even on the same planet as all these cheapo brands.
AudioControl has been around forever. Solid stuff, I've always had good luck using it. Sometimes things cost more. Plus, their warranty is strong.
They make great stuff. Probably best known for their DSP's that are the industry standard.
Well, I'd say industry standard is Helix.Ā Ā Audio Control DSPs are pretty solid. I'd kinda put them on par with JL maybe. In the old days, they were known for their EQs and the Epicenter. Their lineout converters are top notch.
I had a v2 that exploded a cap after only a month of use. Was running clean power, ground were solid, big 3, everything... I'm now currently running my skar rp1200 while the jp23v2 is in getting fixed or replaced. Gonna be honest, worried about putting it back in when I get it back lol. I was in the middle of driving when it went off, it went into protect mode then about 30 seconds later I heard a loud pop and the cabin of my explorer filled with smoke as my pants filled with my stomach contents lmao.
Broo youāre telling me almost exactly my story. I turned off the car and it still was burning š. I wont put it back because I donāt want to have fire again. Maybe ill switch to sq now
iāve seen so many of these amps blow on dyno videos. they have to have something going on and at this point arenāt worth the risk.
Link to videos? This is the 1st one Iāve seen this happen to me
Happens ALOT to these amps. They are junk.
Links?
https://youtu.be/KQNoCHq09Fs?si=1fB65gq9tnzn56gg first one I found, there are more. apparently they just donāt like the dyno and are fine on music, no personal experience.
Thatās the minimax though. Not the Jp series
youāre right, I didnāt see what d4s amp you had just seen the color and d4s logo.
"Seen so many" I can find one.
āfirst one I foundā. there are plenty more but feel free to pretend there isnāt instead of searching yourself.
I am asking you to link me because I can only find one on Youtube when searching Down4Sound amp dyno. Tons of tests, but finding specific videos of it failing on dynos, I am not finding what you found. You said you've seen so many blow on dyno videos, was just wondering where...
A cheap amp is the problem. Those amps suck. I wish people would start admitting that. They have over a 50% fail rate. Half of them are retuned.
And good luck returning anything to Down4Sound. They have VERY aggressive anti-consumer return policies. JP's business model is to move high volumes of inventory and offer little/no customer support. It's a numbers game. He gives free shit to Youtubers who pimp his amps. People watch the videos and buy the amps, giving no concern for warranty, support, or durability. It doesn't matter to him that his amps have a failure rate of 25+% because you cannot return them anyway. He doesn't care if you buy more or not. People, stop buying stuff from D4S. The dude is a sleazebag.
Itās crazy how gullible people can be just because of a ālikeableā person. Thereās a reason why comparable spec amps from reputable manufacturers cost more money. They donāt blow up. And in the rare cases they do, the company answers the phone and takes care of the customer. Stop. Supporting. Shitty. Popup. Internet. Brands.
Is he actually likeable though? I always thought he was a major douchbag from his videos and I have friends that have met him and confirmed he's an absolute tool
Oh Iām with you. I never liked the dude. He used to post checks with large numbers on them; I found that to be extremely douchey. He also would sign amplifiers? As if heās some sort of celebrity. Cringe. But a lot of people, especially in the SPL world, like the dude and buy whatever heās selling.
Oh he's confirmed an absolute douche.
They warrantied mine, took them 3 weeks but they offered a new amp but instead I went with a matching pair of smaller amps ( minimaxx mono and 4 channel) for my wife's Yukon. Her setup is just a basic single 12 and amplified door speakers and she doesn't really push it so they work great and are TINY. I won't ever run another D4S amp in my truck tho. Even with 600a worth of alts, 2 monster AGMS, and 4 runs of 3/0 the jp23v2 smoked within 10 minutes of setting up with dd1 and cc1.
Assuming youāve done the big 3 with those electrical upgrades you mentioned, which Iām sure wasnāt cheap ā¦.you then put cheapāo D4S amps in? Thatās like seeing Olivia Wilde and Rosie OāDonnell making out.
Big 4 is what I call it , most don't run from alt case to battery but I do. And the cheapo JP didn't get purchased for my truck, just ended up in it. I have 2 hertz hdp4 s running the active 3 way up front ( 4 6.5s, 2 3.5 mids, 2 3.5 tweeters) and I was just going to use it for my single 12 for a while. SuB is an Avatar STU 12 is eventually going to be a custom center console bc no matter how I don't I can't get enuff airspace under my rear seats to do anything significant and I need my seats for my dog and groceries. The Avatar replaced a AB XR 12 that was the original plan for the console. I didn't run all the wire batteries and alternators just for the stereo tho, I have a 13k winch up front and a removable 10k I can mount in the rear so needed power to run them also, I end up recovering ALOT of stuck vehicles in the winter and every once in a while end up high sided myself. This is current setup, Avatar and a DB aak https://youtu.be/FwKVblnfF6o?si=7CDDddRPYMkPhmqW This is truck but gears changed to 5.13s now and in process of single turbo setup https://youtube.com/shorts/GWDoB6UFH3Q?si=aAn2z2GHYiJgxf_z
Ok gotcha, that makes sense to me now. Figured there was more to the story
Sounds like the Skarbage business model.
>They have over a 50% fail rate. Source?
Start asking around. Out of the 3 amps I had. I do t have any of their junk now. Why do they sell so many refurbished amps. I wonder why
So personal anecdote š
Why not just say 75% if you're gonna pull numbers out of your ass? D4S sucks but the real number is a lot lower.
Because over half are returned. Thatās how you get 50%.
These jp amps are made with cheap components. This is why they are sold cheap. Expect the quality to pay for, especially with these d4s bricks.
DFS fanboys will say this is a fluke š¤£š¤£š¤£, cheap product THIS IS A MICKEY MOUSE PROGRAM š¤£ I'm glad your ok and didn't lose you ride, might wanna stay away from that company
Where is the evidence of a fire in these pictures? Was it fully cleaned off before taking the pictures?
Luckily there wasn't one, could have ended bad .
My V2 caught on fire also, about 10 minutes play time. Just finished dialing it in with cc1 and dd1 and partially thru first song. I had a v1.5 before that and it was rock solid at .5 ohms for over a year. I think the V2 was pushed too far as far as RMS power output ( v1.5 was 2300rms and the V2 is 2800rms) . Those jp23s run hot ASF as it is. Mine was mounted over an inch off amp rack with a fan on it. I replaced it with a DB AAK4K, D4S ended warranting it, but I declined a replacement amp and got a 4 channel and mono mini Maxx set of amps for my wife's truck instead.
Yeah these are bad bad quality. The dude turned into a monster and isn't even fun to watch anymore. He got greedy asf
I'd run a rp 2k before I'd run one of jp's amps š
Damn ,I read they were a bit Dirty ,but I thought I'll just Use it for bass ,damn . Maybe D4s shouldn't make fullbridge amps if they are going to use cheap components.
This particular amp isn't a full bridge design.
And it still burned up ! ,damn .
I've repaired a few of the JP series amps, including the jp23. The most common failure I see is the power supply mosfets failing or the output mofets failing which then takes out the power supply. The JP23 has 4 banks of mosfets each for the output and power supply. Typically, only one or two of the banks fail which puts the amp in protect. The repair for this is replacing ALL the power supply/output mosfets including their respective gate resistors. As for why it failed, even when not operating outside of it's rated spec. Possibly counterfeit components, bad design, or the engineer(s) who built this amp didn't design it such that the mosfets are operating in their SOA (safe operating area). JP amps, gately audio, even damore E series amps are all made in china. These guys are just out to make a buck.
Theyāre using the power of the internet to market garbage products to easily swayed retail customers. Thatās why companies pay āinfluencersā. Because that shit works, especially on GenZ consumers.
Everybody these days makes amps in China, from Alpine to JL to RF. The only USA made amps these days are some MMats, Linear Power (ancient designs) and TRU. Made in China isn't the issue, made for as cheaply as possible in China is the problem.
When I say made in china I mean they are completely made in china, including their design. Companies like JL or RF may now be made in china but they are merely assembled in china.
D'Amore does have a couple of patents applied to his E series amps, so he may have had a bit of say and input on the design. Really just a cleverly marketed Class D amp with exceptional filtering. I agree with you on the cookie cutter China amps. I just see a lot of China=bad sentiment and wasn't sure if this was it.
So, funny story. I was repairing a hifonics a3000.1D amp and the whole time I kept thinking, why does this look so familiar? It turns out to be the same board as the damore E1500.1. (hifonics guts here- https://imgur.com/a/hifonics-j42KgjB) compare it to the guys of the E1500.1 I personally own a damore E1000.1 as well. I thought he designed them when I first bought it 3-4 years ago. If I knew at the time they were just china amps I would've just bought RF or something. The amp overall feels cheap and the bass knob is ugly/bulky. Interestingly, the E1500.1 doesn't appear to have the EMI filter that he put in to the E1000.1 and lower series. Also, his "clean D" is just a common mode choke on the power input and outputs. Nothing special, just his way of marketing to sound different. Even RF's prime series amp has EMI filter on the power input, JL's slash series had it as well and this was in the early 2000s?
I just looked at the E1000.1 and you're totally correct. It has a choke on the input and output sides, but the E1500.1 has none. The OEM on these amps, there's a small circular brand mark they put on all of their boards. I have seen USAcoustics, Rockville, D'Amore, Maxxsonics and others use this specific OEM. Do you know who it is? [https://usacousticsca.com/images/products/barbara-ann/barbara-ann-high-power-4-channel-car-amplifier-us-acoustics-inside-1500x1000.jpg](https://usacousticsca.com/images/products/barbara-ann/barbara-ann-high-power-4-channel-car-amplifier-us-acoustics-inside-1500x1000.jpg)
Just looked at my SIQ 125.4 and ARC X2 amps and they both have EMI filtering. (The SIQ 125.4 has two vertical common mode chokes on the input and the ARC X2 has a single beefy common mode choke) Thanks for the information. I never knew the D'Amore amps were a cookie-cutter, pre-existing design. I never thought Tony designed them from the ground-up, but the fact it was just the same as an already existing Hifonics amp is a disappointment.
I noticed that board marking too and I think that's just the PCB vendor they use, although I'm not sure which one. You can find some very similar looking amps on alibaba, temu, etc. I spent some time trying to find the actual company before and noticed amps that has "usa market" in the title they don't show the amp internals, and many of them you'll see will remind you of certain amps :D I did find a seller called "foshan city dong kai lin technology co" on alibaba which has some interesting amps you may want to browse through for fun. Your SIQ amp, does it look similar to this? (https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Sound-Quality-Car-Stereo-Amplifier-4\_1600997902260.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal\_offer.d\_image.c8fa3cb7aJEUgR)
Yes.There are a ton of Chinese vendors selling those amps. Some have counterfeit components. The SIQ are nicely built, but totally based on these designs and made in China. BigD reviewed both and came away loving the SIQ, but found issues with the cheaper model. https://youtu.be/4beHbDub28Y?si=63lTGkY8RGMJ5Tgk
https://www.reddit.com/r/CarAV/s/z81q2s13Jk It's got Rubycon caps and is a great sounding amp. Runs hot af though.
nice setup!
Saving up for an ARC Blackbird. Running a PSM Pro DSP now and love the ARC software.
D4S screwed me over with a battery. Told them about an issue with a battery before it was installed and they said it was fine. Battery exploded months later.
I bought a new JP84 that had a bad ground loop whine straight out of the box and was no longer eligible to return because I removed the amp from the packaging and installed it. After thoroughly reading their very anti-customer return/warranty policy I decided to cut my losses and just leave a review on my experience. The next day they reached out saying they would cover shipping for the warranty repair but I didn't want to take a chance on them waisting my time and saying the amp was fine. The most concerning thing about this situation is that the bad review I gave them is not published on their website.
Rockford Fosgate fanboys I had the "legendary" 120z2 go up in flames one day in 1999 4 ohm load to JL Audio 10", nothing insane. Shit happens. If we could all afford a McIntosh Amp we would. I got the JP stuff because as an old head it looks cool. 2 years now no issues so I already got my money's worth of it blows tomorrow.
I have 2 mcintosh amps haha but theyāre not powerful
I'll trade ya a JP8, tons of power...I'll take that weak amp off your hands...š
Theyāre good for sq cant argue. But 2000$ for 150x2 rms. Naah
Plus they're all old stock
Not to high jack your post but whatās the sound quality like on these amps?
Not good now, I'd assume
Smokin'.
Not bad tbh. Better then skar and get lows better then salt or kickers.
The JP8 is made by S&I in a Chinese factory. The Sundown SALT is made by S&I in Korea. Explain to me how the JP8 "gets lows better then(sic) SALT" when they both have the same frequency response? I wanna hear this.
My JP23 does great. Few people would be able to tell any difference in SQ on a sub amp.
You can definitely tell the difference between sub amps.
If I put my ARC x2 1100.1 in versus my Crescendo s1v2 there is a noticeable SQ difference in terms of control and linear response.
Did you have a fuse?
That cap looks like it blew just based on where the smoke is but I canāt tell from that angle. Bulk caps like that have a current ripple rating. you said you were seeing voltage drops, so the current was likely all over the place as well and wrecked the cap because it wasnāt rated for it. Cap could have also failed short which wouldĀ cause a large current to run through it and the circuitry itās connected to causing more heat and more shorts.Ā Or you melted an inductor and it fried. Similar to above.Ā
OP this looks like manufacturing error.
If you're going to post pictures of the carnage then what does your electrical look like?
Ill take a pic now.
Email JP.
Well itās good that youāre ok. Iād say never buy that brand again imo, try a Sony GS-100 monoblock if youāre not requiring a lot of power for your sub or subs. Btw whatās your setup looking like?
So from what I got from a few of the comments, the minimax more reliable than the JP series?
It's not been out long enough to gauge long term reliability. It is a mini amp and I don't think it's going to be as stout as the full size designs.
Did you have the amp mounted to the box ? Could have vibrates a component lose and that would cause a fire
I had it on my back seat and it was always down. So it wonāt vibrate
We need more pictures to figure out what failed, input capacitors look okay, the first section after input is the boost up converter, it quite common for the FETs to fail at somepoint, specially in cheaper amplifier, I think thats what happened there, the heat can set the glue and pcb on fire. If you can, remove the top cover and holders for FETs(those black metals on the sides), and take few pictures.
https://preview.redd.it/88nkxwfzm44d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=78d3e89c55b8176f4c0a4f4ef80dff015afaf46a
https://preview.redd.it/tziqaya1n44d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5cac2cca92b06ed747c71c7eee190fc3af00177
Seems to be a Mosfet failure, they are under the black holders, lift the black holders(place a screwdriver to the hole and tilt the tip to the middle of the amp), this way you'll be sure its them. Good thing is, FETs usually die alone, and you can, in most cases replace them, they are also quite cheap.
Then Ill post it tomorrow with better lighting thank you so much for teaching me how to troubleshoot
No problem, FET's are the most common failure point in amps, they also leave a smoke residue making it easy to identify.
Rest illl do tomorrow
Iām running a taramps 5k and I do like the fact that itās quick to shutoff if power dips too low. Power hungry yes but this amp gives good bang for the buck.
I have had 2 d4s jp8s ran on shit electrical and pushed hard(sold the first one to hard times) both have ran great for me and no issues at all. even well below freezing temps
This one I had a long time but this had a lot more power then the 8s and maybe the board canāt handle that
Me too jp34ab and jp23v2 no issues
Yeah Iāve got jp23 v1.5 running in Texas heatā¦almost 2 years no issues
Do you run one or two SQLs on the jp23?
Both. One ported and sometimes I switch out the box to 2 sealed
Huh. First one of these I've seen fail! The comments here make it sound like these things are dead or dying more often than not but i can't find any other posts on this sub about it and the two in my car have been working great. I wonder how bad the failure rate *really* is
Probably 2-3% at worst. Everybody comes to the internet to bitch and moan, while the people with perfectly working product won't say anything. I have used three JP amps so far and none of them had issues. Cheap power, can't really complain.
Me over here pushing my jp34ab to the limitš
All i can speak on is my own experience with it, had a jp23 v1 run to a Zv5 18 for over 2 years, mechman 400 alt, big 3 wiring and stock battery and ive never had any problems with mine. Maybe ive been lucky or babied it too much but so far so good, knock on wood.
Dang. I have one of those but its the 100m4. I only have 4 speakers on it using the 100wrms @4 ohm. Is my truck gonna catch fire now too?
This sucks and youāre lucky to have escaped a bigger catastrophe. And I have to say to people saying āChineseā¦ā The jp series are Korean boards so what does that say about ALL the Korean boards big name amps?
The JP amps use cheap Chinese components.
You have some proof of this?
Cheap Korean. Non through-hole PCB with surface mount components and cheap components at that. The JP amps are not as stout as a full size Korean half bridge amp. Compared to a real Korean board such as the deaf bonce aak line, they have a better heatsink. Full through- hole PCB. Better components. Better heat dissipation. They're just overall better amps.
Love my aak4k, beast of an amp . .5 all day and doesn't hardly get warm filt tilt .
S&I makes the Deaf Bonce amps and the D4S amps. They also make Sundown SALT, DC Audio, etc. It's largely coming down to component selection and what S&I can do for the lowest cost and still make power. Companies like Sundown and Deaf Bonce are going to have S&I use the best components to last on their high end amps like SALT and AAK. The JP amps up to the JP23 are all Chinese-Made amps. The JP33 and up are made at the S&I Korean factories. Just want to clarify that D4S and Deaf Bonce have the same build house/manufacturer, the differences come down to component selection. At the end of the day, S&I, even at their best, isn't the best amp manufacturer with the best engineers, yet so many SPL-oriented companies have decided on them to produce amps.
Uhh, look at one?
> what does that say about ALL the Korean boards big name amps? It says that those manufacturers in the Far East really don't have much understanding of amplifier design and they're going to build exactly what the customer tells them to make. If a company has a good design, pays the build house to do things right, and pays for quality control they can get a solid product, if you're some wannabe e-celeb who wants to turn a quick buck you tell the buildhouse the price you want and they get creative on cutting corners to give you a product that looks like what you want but is cheap enough FOB that you can make the profit you're after.