str8dwn Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I have always loved the real PPI Art Series amps ever since I worked for a shop that sold them. I see them all over Ebay now for reasonable prices. I missed the mother of them all the AX606.2 - sigh. Of course DEI owns them now and we all know where that's gone. My question is, are these simply too old at this point and more highly prone to failure due to their age? Will PPI still repair them if the warranty sticker is still in place? I'd hate to drop $200-$400 on a nice-looking amp to have it die a few months later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo_GT Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I have always loved the real PPI Art Series amps ever since I worked for a shop that sold them. I see them all over Ebay now for reasonable prices. I missed the mother of them all the AX606.2 - sigh. Of course DEI owns them now and we all know where that's gone. My question is, are these simply too old at this point and more highly prone to failure due to their age? Will PPI still repair them if the warranty sticker is still in place? I'd hate to drop $200-$400 on a nice-looking amp to have it die a few months later. Depends on the amps that you buy and how they've been looked after and used. PPi (ie DEI) will ofcourse repair them but turn around time and costs might prove not worth the whole exercise. Also if any components that need to be replaced will not be replaced by the exact parts but by what is available today - then you have to ask yourself if the amp is any better than whats available today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
str8dwn Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 then you have to ask yourself if the amp is any better than whats available today... An overwhelming # of people say these were the best amps ever made. What that tells me is that what they are making today may be good, but not quite the same level. I did find out from PPi that they will only repair items up to 8 years old. It is still so tempting to put one of those in my car. hmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo_GT Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 An overwhelming # of people say these were the best amps ever made. What that tells me is that what they are making today may be good, but not quite the same level. I did find out from PPi that they will only repair items up to 8 years old. It is still so tempting to put one of those in my car. hmm... Don't think you understod my comments - what i meant was if you get get one of those fixed /repaired, then they will use components available today thereby making the amp only as good as what is available today. IE: they sure don't make em' like they used to! Even if PPI repair them, do they still have all the same parts from the same batch as the originals in the amp ? If not, then the repaired amp will not be as good as the originals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmith Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Components available today are likely better than they were back then. The biggest concern in an old amp would be the capacitors, which have a tendency to leak with old age. Not hard to replace. FYI, the designer of the Art Series amplifiers is Bruce Macmillan. He now works for JL Audio and designs all of our amplifiers. Best regards, Manville Smith JL Audio, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 ^^^^ I am proud to say, I knew that tidbit of trivia... Click Here everyday:redface: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo_GT Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Components available today are likely better than they were back then. If thats the case, then wouldn't amps made today be more than likely be better than the old amps? So Str8dwm would be better of buying a new amp than one of the older PPI Arts ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmith Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I was referring to component parts like transistors, capacitors, toroids, etc. Whether the whole amp is good or not is not a function of how old it is, but how well designed and built it is. Statements like "they don't make them like the old days" cut both ways... some things have improved with time, like reliability, power density, efficiency, feature content, lower pricing, etc. It's natural to be nostalgic about stuff you wanted back then, though. The PPI Art Series were great amps in their day... stiffly regulated power supplies, clean MOSFET output sections, solid performance. Modern JL amps also have the above attributes and were designed by the same brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
str8dwn Posted July 14, 2007 Author Share Posted July 14, 2007 Manville, That's a neat bit of information that has definitely swayed me over to your camp. I know S/N ratio is not the only indicator of quality and performance, but it's clear with your v2 amps at 108db, you continue making top notch equipment. It was the quality and clarity (and admittedly the cutting edge design) that I was so impressed with back then. What didn't surprise me was the 20 minutes I was on hold waiting to talk to someone at DEI to ask the simple repair question. Then the poor attitude I received when I asked it, solidfied my opinion of the forever lost supremacy of a brilliant small company that was PPI. It's no surprise that you're the VP of Marketing at JL and have been so successful with your brand. Thanks for supporting the board and answering our questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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