PPI Black Ice Amp Review

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.

<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. 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...

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.  

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.

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...

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.