Excellent sound shaping controls. Easy to read indicators (tells you exactly how much power you are using) Affordable. Amp does not generate very much heat. All connectors are on one side.

It takes up HUGE TRACTS OF LAAAAND! It's Red. EQ and Volume Pots are very sensitive to dirt/corrosion. Setting the thing up can take days. Cost vs. lifespan is not a good value.

When I was looking to buy a 4 channel amp, every stereo shop told me to stay away from Sony like the plauge. I went ahead anyway because the amp had good specs. At first it was a perfect match for my car. I have very strange acoustics in my Audi A4 and the built in EQ's finally let me find a great neutral sound. For the money, it couldn't be beat. The first unit arrived DOA, thankfully my installer had one in stock and swapped it for me free. After about a year of ownership, I'm starting to have lots of problems with it. Sometimes channels pop in and out. Sometimes I lose frequency ranges, and the balance never seems quite right anymore. This problem is extremely annoying. Turning all the knobs makes it stop for a few weeks, but eventually it comes back. I'm going to take it apart and clean it out real good before sending it to the scrap heap. This experience has cost Sony my future business for some time.

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Numerous 2 and 4 channel amps.

clean when running 4x40, very clean and tight when running components in 2x100 bridged mode.

none so far

I love the results this amp has given me for the last two years. It gives you decent volume when running all four channels with very clean sound. I have mine bridged to two channels running a pair of Focal 6.5" components for my only mid-range, mid-bass, and highs. This set up keeps up with my two fosgate hx2 12''s in the trunk getting 1000 watts. I''m trying to find another one cheap so i can run some more components in the rear deck.

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Kicker Impulse 354xi

Clean sound. EQ is hot. doesn''t get hot at all.

no weaknesses with this amp if u have space for it.

I bought this amp after being told that sony amps put out clean sound. He was right. My boy has a kicker amp not sounding as clean as the sony. I''m powering a 5.25" Infinity Ref comp system and 5x7''s in my F150. Couldn''t sound any better. 40 watts to these speakers is just what they need. I would recommend this amp to someone who wants a powerful inexpensive component amp to upgrade their system.

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none used by myself but i''ve seen far worse amps

lots of clean power avalible on tap. Built in bass eq lets you get exactly the sound you want. Runs pretty cool even after long hard use,and thats without fans.

bass eq works well but takes forever to set it exactly the way you want it. Every thing else is ecellent.

overall it has been an ecellent amp. it makes full power no matter what voltage because of its regulated power supply ,and it can operate between 1.5 and 4 ohms and still make its full 500 watts. thats why i choose it for future sub upgrades

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eclipse and alpine both have proved to be very good products. I used an eclipse 3620 to push 1 10 inch wo subwoofer. I used an alpine mrv t707 v12 to push 2 10 inch wo subwoofers and they were both good for ther power ratings. Currently i am using the JL 500/1 to push 2 10 inch w3 subwoofers.

This amp plays very clean and does an excellent job reproducing midbass. It comes with two sets of equilzers at five knobs each. It also has HP/LP crossovers. It is an extremely flexible amp. It would do an excellent job running a pair of 6x9's bridged giving them 100wrms. Or it can give 40 watts x 4 channels for four speakers, but that is a little underpowered for most mid-upper end speakers. Good, clean, flexible A/B power.

In a 4channel mode it is a little underpowering, if your running high end components like MB quart Q series or a pair of bostons. Bridged it gives 100w rms which is good for most all 6x9's and most components.

Awesome amp for the money, it's only 199 from crutchfield now i think. In a bridged mode it will powere most anything, except a sub, this is not a sub amp tho. The crossovers, equilizers really can customize ur sound in your car. I hate too much treble, most components have too much of it, and with this amp i can cut it off.

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infinity 255a (50x4). Yes, believe it or not, the sony outperforms the 255a's 50x4 section. It gives MUCH MUCH better midbass, the infinity made my speakers sound thin, and tinny.

Delivers plenty of power & is much louder than I thought it would be.
Built in equalizer.
Good price.
Excellent sound quality.

Large. -not much of a weakness, but I had to think of something.

I would recommend this Sony amp to anyone looking to add a lot of power to their existing system or to support subwoofers (and if you like to listen to your music LOUD). I am using 2 MTX subs and 4 speakers and this amp powers them all with no problem! It really delivers some loud bass to the subs! The sound quality is excellent. This thing is much louder and more powerful than I'd ever thought it could be! Amazing performance for the price! It is much louder than the systems some of my friends have. Highly recommended... Sony amps are the only brand I'm buying from now on. I may be buying another one of these (and bridge 2 channels to one) just for my subs. In my opinion, this amp delivers more power that I'd ever want. As you can tell, I am very happy with this purchase, and would never consider another amp after this experience.

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None

Very versatile amp.
EQ a great feature.
plenty of power for most applications (40x4) up to 80 at peak.
looks good.
short-circuit protection really works!

none... if 40x4 is all you need.

I've had this amp since last August 2000. Has been very dependable, no problems with it at all. In fact recently I had a mishap with one of my Boston RM9's when the speaker caused a rather loud (ouch!) short-circuit shutting down my Sony amp. The protection circuit did its job and saved my system. Swapped in a new RM9 and now my system is back and happy.
Sony gets dissed on many Car Audio Forums because its not a sexy brand but Sony does the job for the average music fan who wants to update his stock system.
Sony ES amps have great SQ and this one sounds fine!

Plus you can pick up this amp discounted for just under $200 these days. A very good deal on a quality fun amp.

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N/A

Powerful (Doubles any aftermarkets headunit)
Versitle (Bridge when u need to)
Low Power needed (only takes 30A max from your car)
Small (fits under my passenger seat)
Price (I had a hook up...)

Size (Had to "mod" my seat to make it fit)

Works great in any application. I have used the amp in every mode it was intended for and been with me from the start of my car stereo's upgrades. It has given me great sound for my front speakers and the EQ feature is something I could not live with out.

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None, I dont need another 4ch amp cause I have this great amp.

powerful cheap amp EQ for front and rear! built in crossvers. cool display.

settings for amp are under a plastic plate, which u need to take off just to adjust the knobs. its bright red.

one main reason i bought it was because the amount of power for 180 bucks. I got a great deal. now i realize how great this amp is. I didn't like sony much as far as there speakers, and the head units i'm a little iffy about them but now i'm a fan of their amps.

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rockford fosgate 400a4

40x4 RMS, thats about all you need, especially when you have eclipse speakers with a sensitivity rating of 97 dB.

Nothing, its great. It's a lot better than all of my friends receiver amps.

At first I was a little shakey about buying a sony amp, but as it turns out, I love it now. Its plays my speakers (6 1/2's & 5x7's) great! I highly recommend this amp if your looking for something that will play loud and will not be drown out by your subs (if you have any), this is great!

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First amp for speakers.