Fosgate amps?

[Ricky]

Any fosgate amp owners out there? A friend is looking for more information/comparisons between the 4100-4200 models and other well regarded amps. I know these were Jim Fosgate's designs before Madrigal engineers made some modifications and created the Citation 5.1 and 7.1 4-channel amps.

I have a 4100 60x4 driving my rear and side speakers, this beauty weighs about 40 lbs and belies its low rating. It sounded great driving my NHT 3.3s in biamp configuration, and now helps my 7.1 setup hit 110+ dB without a sweat.

[John Holmes]

Hello Ricky,

I have and use the Fosgate M560 (5 X 60w) amp. I run it with my H/K AVP1a. I have been in love with this amp's performance for years. I like it so much that, I plan on getting the 4100 or 4200 myself sometime in the future. This would give me a chance to play my Fosgate SD-180 speakers in dual-drive mode and see what that is about.

I don't have any hard info for the amps in question. However, you can direct your friend (or visit yourself) http://www.rjpc.com and then click the Fosgate Audionics button. There you will find a gentlemen named Bob Popham. He repairs as well as does warranty work on all pre 2000 Fosgate, Citation, Harman and JBL stuff. It is my understanding that, he worked very closely with Jim Fosgate in bringing a lot of this gear to life.

There are e-mail as well as phone number contacts for him, at the site.

Glad to see a fellow Fosgate enthusiast




"I came here, to chew bubble gum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubble gum!!!" My DVD's

[Ricky]

John,

I had forgotten about Bob Popham...he installed the 2.10a software on my HK signature 2.0 prepro when I had it a couple of years back. Bob was very nice and informative! And he probably has access to used Fosgate amps too.

Funny how you can find any Fosgate 4100-4200 amps for sale...the owners don't see to be selling

[sfdoddsy]

I have a 4200 which I love. You occasionally find Fosgates on eBay, one guy was selling three 4100s a week or so ago.

www.jeffssoundvalues.com often have them too.

Steve




Steve's DIY Dipoles

[Ricky]

Steve,

I searched for "Fosgate 4100" and couldn't find that auction(s)?
Though all your upgrades, what other amps have you tried? Are there any that you think are a better overall "value/bang for buck" than your 4200?

[sfdoddsy]

One of the auctions is here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14973&item=1950135448&rd=1

They went for between $310 and $405 from memory.

The Fosgate is the longest serving piece in my system and I can't think of a better amp for the price. I had mine running the bass towers of my speakers the other day when I was playing with wiring configurations. The drivers are 4 ohm dual voice coil, 2 per side, and I was running them in parallel, which means it was driving a 1 ohm load. It got a bit toasty, but no shut downs or toher signs of distress.

I was bidding on the auctions for the 4100s, and will try to pick one up nect time I am in the States.

Steve




Steve's DIY Dipoles

[John Holmes]

Ricky,

Yes, Bob is a great guy. I spoke with him a few weeks ago. I need to replace the woofers in my SD-180's (the adhesive is failing on the cones). He and I must have talked about an hour, covering everything from family to electronics. A very down to earth person.

These Fosgate amps are wonderful indeed. I have driven my 4 ohm M&K speakers with the M560 and, it doesn't even get warm. I also noticed that, many are not up for sale! 8)

Steve,

I also have noticed that Jeff's, seems to have Fosgate amps in his inventory from time to time. He seems to get hard to find items. However, most seemed priced a tad on the high side. Some exceptions of course.




"I came here, to chew bubble gum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubble gum!!!" My DVD's

[JohnT]

I just purchased a fosgate 4125 from a dealer for 360.00. I bought it on advice from Ricky ..so it better be good! ..just kidding..Im a little skeptical of the low power rating especially with inefficient speakers(nht 2.9) but will give them a go mated to the aragon..For the price I dont have anything to lose plus Ricky has stirred me in the right direction many times..Im glad to hear that you'll like the fosgates. Do they have a sonic signature ,or are they neutral.....One other thing the salesguy who I talked to said he actually preferred the 4125 to the citation 5.1 and if thats the case I know I wont be dissapointed as I have had the citation7.1 in the past and very much liked it.

[Ricky]

JohnT,

Well, I just bought the Aragon Soundstage on your advice...j/k!
Let's hope your ears behave like Steve, John Holmes, and mine...and find the fosgate amps pleasing.

[John Holmes]

John T.,

I have ran the Fosgate with Infinity 2000.5's and the M&K 750's. In each application, the sound is very clean and detailed. So much so, that I can hear vocalist smack their lips and breath. As well as their presence in my room so to speak.

I liked the sound with the Infinity's very much. With the M&K's it's sonic bliss!

I'm not an audiophile by any means thus, would not attempt to classify the sound signature. I just know what is pleasing to me and my wallet! :B And the Fosgate amps have pleased me in both areas.




"I came here, to chew bubble gum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubble gum!!!" My DVD's

[Rich B]

.

[JohnT]

If the fosgate 4125 works out for me I will need another amp to power rears/center. Anybody got a lead on a 4200 ? ...

[Kevin_McC]

John T,

How's the new amp?

[JohnT]

Kevin,

I havent recieved my rp-82 yet and sold my other sources so all I have to test it on is my turntable and dss. So far the fosgate seems to be a great deal, I think it is a bit more musical then the am9080 and just a tad warmer. The am9080 is also a great amp for the money and I think it has the edge by a bit on imaging and leans towards neutral more. The deciding factor will be which is best on my center channel for ht. My guess will be the fosgate will be more pleasant with cds but the sherwood may an edge for center channel clearity...either way they are both fantastic deals and Im going to keep both, the decision will be which amp stays up front and which goes to the rears/sub

[JohnT]

Well, Im going to eat my words, I said I would keep my amps but I have decided to try a Bryston amp so allthough the Fosgate is really nice Im going to sell it...If anybody is intersted in the fosgate 4125 in excellant shape cosmetically and functionally with manual for 360.00 and 35.00 shipping in the Cont US. please email me at psujohny@aol.com ....Ricky can verify for me as I have sold about 10~20 amps in the last couple of years ops:

[John Holmes]

Hey John T,

Sorry to hear the Fosgate didn't work out for ya. That is the tough part of hobbies. One man's gold... however, you at least got to audition one for yourself and no longer have the "I wonder" syndrome!

From what I understand, very few have disliked the Bryston family of amps so, Hopefully it will make you happy as well. Let us know how it turns out.

P.S. I wish I had the cash to relieve you of the Fosgate.




"I came here, to chew bubble gum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubble gum!!!" My DVD's

[mke200031]

Any fosgate amp owners out there? A friend is looking for more information/comparisons between the 4100-4200 models and other well regarded amps. I know these were Jim Fosgate's designs before Madrigal engineers made some modifications and created the Citation 5.1 and 7.1 4-channel amps.

I have a 4100 60x4 driving my rear and side speakers, this beauty weighs about 40 lbs and belies its low rating. It sounded great driving my NHT 3.3s in biamp configuration, and now helps my 7.1 setup hit 110+ dB without a sweat.

Hi I am new to this site but wanted to say
that I own a fosgate M560 and a 4100 and two 4125's and a 4200 and I love them all I have a few sets of MTX's 1540 and these speakers put out alot of bass and they are also 4 ohm rated so these speakers are double hard on ampifiers because of the low ohms along with the very low end range of these speakers. with these speakers there is no need to buy seperate sub woffers because the 1540's have a 15 inch woofer that is the same as a sub. and everyone of these amps play these speakers very well. except for the 4100. the 4100 you have to keep at a lower valume than the other amps, and the M560 has no problem pushing these either. but for the 4100 model I would recommend that you use something that don't dip down to 38 hz in the low range because they cause the amp to shut down to protect itself. but they would be great for midrange and center channel speakers for these don't go that low.
thanks thought that I'd put my two cents worth in.
also if anyone has a 4200 for sale let me know ok ?
thanks

[Paul Scarpelli]

I am compelled to correct the errors in this thread, having been involved in the design, marketing, and sales of the amps mentioned here. Almost every bit of info preceding this post is erroneous.

The name of the company I worked for as National Sales Manager was "Fosgate Audionics," not "Fosgate." It was a merging of Jim Fosgate's Fosgate Research and Charlie Wood's Audionics of Oregon. They are two of the five founding fathers of surround sound.

Charlie and I developed the 4100, 4125, and 4200 amps, with no input whatsoever from Jim Fosgate. He was focused on his brilliant surround work. I used California amplifier manufacturer Zed Audio, and Stephen Mantz designed all three of these amps. I designed the simple front panel and specified high-current, Class AB, low impedance capability, bridging capability, etc.

When Harman gobbled us up in 1992, the FA name was changed to Citation and Zed Audio again designed the amps. Madrigal had nothing to do with it, nor were they even aware we existed. Ritchie Miller tweaked Steve's designs a bit, and they became the 5.1 and 7.1 amplifiers; both 4-channels and bridgeable, like the 4100, 4125, and 4200.

The amps are all beasts, but they run warm to hot, and could use fans under extreme conditions. I still use a 4100 on my surrounds, and I have two more that are about to be for sale. (I have way too much stuff.)

Posting to a dead thread is like screaming in a vacuum, but...

[TheRambler]

Fosgate 4100 HC Multichannel Amp.

Dear Paul Scarpelli,

Thank you for your valuable inputs as the one who took part in creating those fine amps. (mine is 4100). I would like to ask you one thing, and may be most people who own these amps not aware of this. And, also like to have your opinions if doing this may damage the amp or not?

- in order to do this, the Pre-Amp must have two outputs (with a same output value)
- Fosgate 4100 Amp is on bridged mode (in my case, driving two Audio Research 98 LS Speakers, which are pretty difficult to drive as they are only 86/87db)
-now two outputs of hte PreAmp is interconnected to Fosgates 2x2 inputs!Both L+R & L+R (1+3 & 2+4).
- by feeding the amp in this way, soundstage wider and higher, all details from upper to lower register are fully rich, and left me breathless.

Its better to use same type of interconnect to keep the harmonic richness. Before that, my 4100 was pretty warmer but after feeding the amp fully, it got hot. I already played it many hours with no any failure but its hotter condition.

By using the amp in this way, many high end names difficult to reach its sonic performance,analog taste, and also its damping factor!

Appreacite your comments if using the Amp in this way may damage after a certain time.
Many thanks
Tayfur Gunay (Istanbul-Turkey)

[David Meek]

Paul, thanks for posting the correct information for us. It's rare that someone in your position has (or takes) the time to chase down incorrect submissions on the various forums. It is appreciated.

[Chris D]

I too can appreciate the correction of information by the source itself!

[deseroner]

hello, anyone have fosgate 4200, just purchased one , will not have until monday or tuesday.
how does it sound.

[deseroner]

i guess no one , i just got one, i am bridging a pair of klipsch rs-7 , they have just came to life, clarity, i was told 400x2 bridge awesome sound.

[OwiseOne]

Help!

Yes, I realize this post is very old but I have nowhere else to turn with my questions about this amp. I recently bought two Fosgate Audionics 4200's which I absolutely love. I'm using one amp to bi-amp a pair of Martin Logan SL3 with excellent results and SL3's are not easy to drive. The other one, I will probably sell, if anyone is interested.

Finding accurate specs for this model has been a challenge though. Does anyone know detailed specs on the 4200 model???


I've seen some people say:
125watts per Ch @8ohms
200watts per Ch @4ohms
Bridged 2Ch Mode: 400watts per Ch @ 8ohms; 600watts per Ch @ 4ohms

Can someone please confirm this? Thanks!

[wkhanna]

Welcome to the forum!

AFA specs on your amps…….Google is your friend.
Also, vintage groups may be able to help.

With no intent to be curt or a smart-ass…….if it is delivering great sound on your power hungry ML’s, why worry about numbers? Whatever they are, they are doing the job.

Relax and enjoy the music!

[OwiseOne]

Thank you!

I couldn't agree more, google is a very good friend but unfortunetly it hasn't turned up too much info on the 4200. The most informative posts I have found so far is here on this post and one other site (http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...24#post1745424)

AFA wanting to know the specs....since I'm listing one of the amps for sale, I thought it would be helpful to get accurate information to potential buyers so as not to mislead anyone.

[wkhanna]

Understood.
I suggest contacting Tom or Anders at Vintage Hi-Fi of Pittsburgh. They will most likely have more detailed info on your amps.