PPI Black Ice Amp Review

just bought a new PPI black ice amp from a distributor of mine because they didnt have the MTX thunder elite amp i wanted as my first choice. i am unsure about this amp and i cant even find much info on it even from PPI's website. it seems like its a good amp especially since ppi is now owned by soundstream and not DEI. it seems like they are doing their best to resurrect a classic brand and they look very nice on paper but has anyone had any real life experiences with new PPI? my specific amp is the black ice BK1800.1D but any current review on any of their new stuff would be appreciated.

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soundnsecurity wrote:

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ppi is now owned by soundstream and not DEI. .

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Not sure how much of an improvement that is.  PPI is now part of Epsilon Electronics, the owner of Power Acoustik, Farenheit, Kole, SPL, and SoundStream.  The last time I was impressed by anything from SoundStream was about the same time i was last impressed by PPI: 15 years ago.

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well i have a ton of experience with soundstream which is why i even considered this amp in the first place. im not saying they have the best amps on the market but they do have some really good ones and most of their subs are pretty awesome too. i wouldnt say they are the best sounding ever but they are built really well. now, their speakers and radios and tvs and sound processors are mostly garbage. basic rebranded chinese garbage that i wouldnt touch with a ten foot pole.

i can definitely tell you that a few of the items on ppi website are definitely the same as soundstream, all the signal processors and some speakers are all carbon copies.

which brings me to my point of wanting to hear from anyone about the new PPI amps, if they are modeled from the higher end soundstreams then im good with that but something tells me that they aren't.

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If they relabel SoundStream as PPI it'll be a million times better than if they relabel Power Acoustik as PPI... 

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i wish power acoustic would just go away. but anyway i guess ill just have to wait and see. amp should come in friday so ill know then if its garbage or not.


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the amp came in yesterday and my first impression is that this is going to be a really nice amp. build quality look good although there are some differences from the description like having a black brushed aluminum top instead of a gloss black acrylic top, which is probably better anyway for a heat sink. i will post pics tonight.

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I will be very happy if PPI comes back as a high quality brand.

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well im having some technical difficulties with the pictures since i cant find my data cable for my phone right now but i can give you a basic rundown of what i can see:

amp weighs about 15 pounds

no fuses on the amp but the manual calls for a 160A fuse on the main power wire

amp has 0g power terminals, which is crazy considering its only supposed to be an 1800W amp, but if you do the math it should do at least 2000W at 1 ohm at 14 volts depending on the efficiency of the power supply. opperating voltage is listed as 9 - 15 volts

it has a damping fatctor of >150 but it does not give me a spec for THD which is strange because the manual is for every amp in this series including the 2 and 4 channels so they wont give you a thd for any of their amps which seems kind of fishy to me. their high amps are compatible with their balanced line transmitter.

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Yea, I'm always suspicious of any amp that won't list CEA-spec test result...

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the box has the CEA logo on it but its just missing that spec.

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ok here are the pictures as promised.

as far as i can tell it has very good build quality. nothing is loose or cheap feeling. i sold this one to a friend in need today so i had the chance to hook it up to a RE audio SXX12 and it sounded way better than the kenwood amp that it replaced. it was an older kenwood 600W amp so nothing spectacular there but this amp did sound a lot better and obviously pushed a lot harder.

the picture of the PPI next to an autotek MM4000.1D is just to give you an overall idea of how big the amp is. keep in mind that it is the autotek 4000, not the 2000, and the difference in size isnt even that much.

i have another amp on the way now so i cant wait to hook it up to my SXX15 because it should be a really nice combo with the right box ofcourse.

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<sigh>I remember the old PPI... The classic Art Series? The "entry level" Special Edition? Those were the days.</sigh> I had a Special Edition 2100 that I ran bridged to a pair of paralleled Infinity PolyGlas 12's in the first TL I ever built for my car. It was 9 cubic feet, and had internal chambers within the labyrinth that were filled with sand for damping. 300 POUNDS OF SAND!! It was an AMAZING amp for the money I spent on it, and it never ran hot, never shut down, never complained once. I wish I still had a hatchback, sometimes! I'd LOVE to put a nice pair of TL aligned 12's in a hatchback again!

I hope it works out for you. As far as I can see, it ought to be a decent piece of kit, even if it *isn't* as pretty as the old school PPI was.

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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

i agree that it isnt as pretty as it could be. the website had it with an acrylic top plate but i guess that didnt happen. sadly i havent been doing this for long enough to remember the old PPI so i cant give you an honest comparison but i can say that this doesnt appear to be a bad amp. only time will tell...

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Hey any more news on that BK1800.1D? Really want to know your opinion cos I can't find any reviews on these puppies on the net. One thing I did find was that Precision Power is not listed on CEA's website as a participant which sucks balls.

This brand was immense back in the day though. Surely a brand can't go from amazing to absolute crap???? The prices do scare me though. They're too low.....

"Absolutely State of the Art Mobile Audio"

Not sure if that's always been their motto, but it sounds like they're trying to convince the customer, "buy me!"

I remember the Art series, my brother-in-law had 2 of their amps. They were sweet to look at and sounded really good to my young (back then) ears.  

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VEHICLE: 2002 GMC Sonoma ZR2
Alpine CDA-7940
AudioControl EQT x2
JL Audio 1000/1
JL Audio 10W6 (originals) x3
Kicker ZR120
Kicker ZR460
Polk GXR-6 x4
Polk GXR-4 x2

True that. Also has me suspicious.

I never had personal experience with the Art series but I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone rave about them lol.

I want to like PP. Amps look good, stats seem good, website looks professional but dying for some reviews to come out on their new stuff.

the amp has been in my truck for a few months now. still ticking and no problems to report. power wise, it pushes my sx15 to its fullest but the output is suffering from being in a box that is too small. sound quality is nice but its only a bass amp so how much SQ can you hear in a 150Hz bandwidth? still it blends nicely with the rest of my system although i have to keep it down normally because it shakes all of my overhead compartments loose when the bass hits.

i still stand with my opinion when i compared it to my Autotek MM2000, the PPI just cant compete power wise but it is definitely a cleaner amp sound-wise. this probably wouldnt be an amp that i would use in a serious sound competition.

i still have some upgrades to do like a better battery and add some 0g wire under my hood to help the power flow. so that might help open it up a little bit.

let me know if you have any other questions, ill tell you everything i can about the amp.

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Yeah the MM2000 is quite a stronger amp though.

I'm pretty sure those upgrades will make a difference. I don't really compete at all. Looking for a day-to-day amp but I want something strong , reliable, good quality and ideally futureproof (can run my TS-W3001D4 @ 2 ohms for now but 1 ohm stable too if I want a more powerful sub in future)

Thanks a mill for the feedback. Will shout if I have any more q's.

not being CEA rated doesnt really matter to me, its more of a gimmick anyway just like the better business bureau or energy star. manufactures have to pay to use the CEA logo which helps serve as a stamp of approval. just because something is not CEA rated doesnt mean its a bad amp, it just means they didnt want to be extorted and pay extra to have their logo on the box. there are plenty of garbage amps out there that are CEA rated.

ive been drawing plans to take the 15 out and take my whole back seat out to upgrade to an 18. i know my 15 could hit harder in a bigger box but if i go with a bigger box then ill have to take my whole seat out anyway just to fit the 15. so i figure if im going to take the seat out anyway then ill just make the most of the space i will have. once i do that then ill have a better idea of the true power of this amp because ill have one massive sub in its correctly sized box. i have my old sx18 just sitting around collecting dust but im wondering if it will be worth it to sell both subs and trade up to a xxx18, decisions decisions...

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Yeah you have a good point there.

Personally, I've always used 10's and 12's so I don't have any experience with bigger subs but if you reckon that amp could drive a bad boy like that, I'm booking my seat and some popcorn for that one!

Hey, anyone had any experience with Hifonics amps? I'm hearing a lot of rave about those too.

fretfanaticno1 wrote:

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Yeah you have a good point there.

Personally, I've always used 10's and 12's so I don't have any experience with bigger subs but if you reckon that amp could drive a bad boy like that, I'm booking my seat and some popcorn for that one!

Hey, anyone had any experience with Hifonics amps? I'm hearing a lot of rave about those too.

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i stay away from hifonics. their amps are cheap and they work (most of the time) but they arent built very well. their parent company maxxsonics is the reason for a lot of good brands being garbage now. they own MB Quart, Autotek, Crunch, and a whole host of other brands that used to be really good until maxxsonics bought them. you hear a lot of rave reviews because they are cheap and they work, but thats about all they have going for them right now.

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doodie man I can understand companies buying other companies but wth is the point in changing or rather degrading the quality of those products. It makes me so angry.

At the end of the day their investments go for a ball of crap cos even if they own a brand like MB Quart (which was LEGENDARY for its quality) using lower grade parts or engineering or whatever, eventually NOBODY is gonna buy your rubbish product.

This is what happens when businessmen that don't give a 50 gauge wire about the industry get involved, they just want to monopolize everything to reap in profit. The only thing they're gonna profit from is scrapping metal.

Aaah, I feel better now.

I stumbled across this post in a google search. It makes me laugh when guys are stuck in the 90's and compare everything new to things in the 90's. Don't you think it's time to stop crying about everything being made in China? So Epsilon has good brands like Soundstream and PPI but you bash them for marketing other brands? Hmmm, Rockford has Renegade and Lightning....does that mean it's the same stuff as Rockford? I have personal experience with many of the new Soundstream and PPI products and I will tell you flat out they measure up to any other brand out there in terms of quality and performance. I have a Soundstream demo vehicle that I put together with 3 of the new Reference R1 12s and a 1700w Tower series amp that does over 150 decibels and is super clean tight bass. How about you guys stuck in the 90's actually own and try some of the new stuff before bashing it? Wouldn't that make more sense? I'm sure you think the cars from the 90's are better than today's cars too...LOL.

hmm, not sure if that was directed at me or just said in general. ive only been doing audio since the mid 2000's so i dont have much experience with a lot of the older stuff. but even in that limited time frame ive seen the decline of of a lot of brands mainly due to being bought out by bigger companies who have no interest in making good produce and are mostly interested in the bottom line.

soundstream, PPI, both brands are basically copies of each other with the exception of a few different lines for each brand. power acoustic is another copy. each brand has some items that are good, most are average and other items are pure re-branded junk, example, power acoustic and soundstream radios and multimedia...total junk.

BTW, the PPI black ice amp i reviewed, ive had 2 out of 4 die for stupid reasons. the amp sounded great and put out the power it said it would but it simply didnt have the build quality of old PPI.

you say that SS and PPI measure up to any other brand out there? well i would say that most brands out there today, with the exception of maybe a top 15 or 20, are mid level at best.

lightning and renegade isnt the same as rockford and rockford makes sure not to put their name anywhere near those brands because rockford knows its junk. soundstream is the opposite, they take every level of product from low quality to high end and still label it as soundstream. the consequence of doing this is that more people get exposed to soundstreams cheap products and this influences the public opinion. most people just arent willing to sort through the good and the bad.

My comment was directed at everyone who reads or posts on this topic...nobody in particular. I am a professional who has been in the industry since the 90's so I have seen the complete evolution of every product line around. I sell nearly every good quality name brand product on the market today. I have sold over 200 soundstream and ppi amps this year and have not had a SINGLE amp returned. Maybe because I educate my customers (even the ones who think they know it all already). The #1 reason for amp failure is operator or installer error...here are the most common errors that I see before the education process with the customer:

1. Incorrect/inadequate power source (stock factory alternator on most cars is not capable of supplying a system of more than 600-800w TRUE RMS AT IDLE)
2. Poor choice of mounting location (not enough ventilation, too much vibration, etc. (mounting amp to box is NOT a good location!)
3. Ground wire too long (max length of ground for a powerful amp should be 18 inches at most)...also ground to painted metal surface is a poor ground.
4. Poor quality music source (AM/FM radio is NOT a clean source)
5. Incorrect setting for HPF or LPF frequencies on deck/amp or both
6. Incorrect Volume, EQ settings, or LOUDNESS turned on in deck

The biggest problem for so-called installers these days is that they have no REAL electrical training. 1 out of 50 actually knows what they need to know to do the job right. 1 out of 10 actually know the correct way to set GAIN....and 1 out of 100 actually put the customer in the driver's seat and explain the do's and don'ts regarding the head unit. The larger the amplifier, the more critical correct settings become.

Now this part is directed specifically at you....you mentioned brand names and bashed them because the parent company has other cheaper brands and I brought up Rockford/Lightning/Renegade. Your reply was that Rockford does not put their brand name on those products....not true....most of the new Renegade products have Rockford Corporation on the box in small writing. Soundstream/PPI does NOT do this... PPI and Soundstream are the premium brands of Epsilon and they do not imply that any other brands under the parent company are the same quality....and as you said....PPI/Soundstream are like Chevy and GMC with only basic cosmetic differences. However the PPI products are drastically under-rated whereas the Soundstream are only slightly under-rated. The 1800w BLACK ICE amp is the same amp internally as the 2000w Tarantula amp.

My point about people being stuck in the 90's is a good one. Amps were bigger, heavier, tougher looking, etc. However they were also extremely inefficient, had horrible crossover quality and a very high failure rate for the larger amps. I am in Arizona and sold MANY large Rockford amps. The failure rate was SO HIGH with the power supplies blowing up that we had to have a Rockford repair technician ON STAFF. On craigslist here, there are STILL several old Rockford Technicians fixing the older amps. The truth is that the failure rate was much higher on the older stuff (early 90's) than on today's newer stuff. Perfect example is the Rockford Prime line. Entry level yes, but ridiculously dependable.....actually the MOST DEPENDABLE product line from Rockford that I have EVER sold! The power-hogging inefficiency, poor crossovers, and THD of the older amps is what caused so many speaker and amp failures. It's like saying a Humvee H1 is better than a new Camry. Technology evolved, and BETTER ways were found to yield acceptable results. Costs dropped, efficiency increased, features multiplied and failures lessened. As a result, our expectations changed....we want it cheaper....we want it faster....we want the best service....BUT most of us are no longer willing to pay what we used to pay in the old days (about $1 per RMS watt). In short, THE CUSTOMER expectations/demands are what changed the industry.
People want Human Reign quality at the Picasso price (Soundstream) :)
Remember the muscle cars of the 60s and 70s? Compare them to the more practical cars of today.....which one would you rather drive 60 hours a month in heavy traffic?
About comparisons....
I love it when people compare their Rockford Power series or Kicker ZX series amp to the Soundstream Picasso line which is a third of the price. When making comparisons, people generalize WAY too much. You must compare apples to apples....you don't compare the GM Cadillac to the Chevy Sonic. If you want to compare the top of the line amp made by any manufacturer to any other manufacturer then in order to be fair you must compare to their top of the line amp as well. THEN compare the price. The Soundstream Reference series amps are rock solid as they have always been, very under-rated, and still cost less than comparable amps in other elite brands. You want a huge amp with super quality for competition use? Then look at the XXX or X3 amps that Soundstream makes.

I will tell you that when it comes to compact amplifiers, Soundstream is absolutely the best I have sold. The new Picasso Nano line (about the size of a VHS tape) is actually made in Korea and is UNKILLABLE. I have a customer who mistakenly ran a Picasso Nano 4-channel at 1.5 ohms per channel and the amp did not overheat or protect once in a month's use. Comparably, the new Rockford and Alpine ultra compact series amps are the WORST of all the amps they sell. The return rate on those is ridiculous and I refuse to sell them anymore. (The Kicker ultra tiny compact amp is excellent but not powerful enough yet)...am still judging the new IX line....looks promising.

Still not convinced about how Soundstream/PPI stack up to the competition? Then watch this montage video from the 2011 Spring Break Nationals where they DOMINATED all other brands in awards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScNjuzhNJAI

yes, i cant argue with you, they make decent amps, but the rest of what they sell belongs at the pawn shop. back when these brands had their own identity that level of quality was spread our along their entire line, instead of now where the corporate giants focus on what that brand was mainly known for, ie. amps, speakers, subs, etc., and then filling out the rest of the line with whatever they can find to fit their price point. this arguably makes them a worse brand because more people will be exposed to that brands junk products than will be exposed to the good products. we installers have the luxury that most consumers dont have and that is to be exposed to everything and being able to decide for ourselves what is good.

now, with that being said, better is relative to your personal situation. if all you do is compete and run through lines then yea soundstream is a good brand because they make nice amps and subs. but, if you are an every day joe who bought one of their craptastic multimedia units and are now on your third one this year, soundstream isnt looking too good right now.

you said compare apples to apples, i am, you are only comparing a whole apple to a slice.

Hate to inform you but not only is Soundstream doing good...they are doing great! Won the Bruce Terrell award for 5 years straight and Team Soundstream/PPI has more trophies at the Spring Break Nationals than any other brand in the last 3 years. Soundstream has become a global brand....even sponsoring drift races in Japan.

I can't figure out if you are just talking to hear yourself talk, or maybe you have some strange bias?....or maybe you are judging an entire company on their entry level head units?....very strange....and how did we start talking about head units anyway? This thread was about amps, wasn't it?

Anyone who truly has experience with their new amps and subs knows that they have some of the best quality and best value in the industry.

I suppose you think MTX is a good brand too.
BTW loved that cheesy line about apple pie....what a joke.

dude, are you even reading what i write or do you just see words on the screen and just think of my response as being something totally opposite to what you believe? i agreed with you about a few things and you just want to be a negative nancy.

yea soundstream and many other brands that i dont consider to be top notch are probably doing record sales and putting together some nice systems and going out and winning them some trophies. if popularity was directly related to quality then kicker and kenwood would be super high end and morel and focal would be pawn shop product.

this all started because someone was talking bad about a brand as a whole and you come in and make the argument that a brand is good because they sell good quality amps and subs that win shows and competitions. im not saying all of soundstream or any other brand is junk, i just said that a good bit of what they push IS junk. this is also why they are making so much money because they find this cookie cutter equipment, slap their name on it, and sell it for 6X what they paid for it and they dont have to make any investment on research and development or manufacturing facilities. they sell this cheap junk using the good name they created by selling the good stuff that they do actually design and manufacture and it brings the brand down as a whole.

MTX was a good brand, but they have been selling a bunch of junk too these last few years.

you have no reason to try to insult me or anybody else, the apple line was a metaphor, just like your "apples to apples" line, had nothing to do with apple pie, maybe you should read a little bit more before you try to take shots at people.