FireDemonSiC

This amp was given to me today by one of the garages I deliver to. He said he has no idea whether or not it works (Haven't tried powering it up yet) but I could have it either way. Can't argue with free.

It's an Alpine 3542 and is bridgeable @ 160 watts into 4 ohms. I have been looking for something along these lines to power a 12" comp sub that I plan on putting in the spare tire well.

A google search revealed very little info on it except for some ebay auctions and several forums where everyone refers to it as an "oldschool" amp and apparently it is still sought after.

Looks like It's been through a sandstorm, but a little elbow grease and some TLC can take care of that.

BluFBdy

iTrader: (1)

It's definitely old, not quite surfboard status but it is still an alpine, they've always been true to their specs, the downside is its 160@ 4 ohms, wether or not it can be dropped to 2 idk, but without a dvc sub that option is out, i would call up alpine directly and see if they can shed some light on the subject for you. When you bench test it make sure you hook up a speaker to it, in a box would be best because running it free air could damage the sub, it might power on fine but without a load you won't be able to see if it will trigger protect mode

FireDemonSiC

Unfortunately I don't have a sub to experiment with, and you can bet your car that I am not going to use one of my B&W DM603-S3 speakers as the guinea pig.

I have an old kenwood bookshelf speaker I can use but It's an 8ohm speaker

What's so bad about 160 @ 4ohms?

BluFBdy

iTrader: (1)

Any 4 ohm speaker that isn't blown will work, I use a 6.5 Toyota speaker to test amps usually they just distort quick lol in most cases an amp will go into protect right away under load, if its delayed there's a heat issue but a cheap speaker will work well enough to show any internal shorts in the amp

FireDemonSiC

Unfortunately I don't have any 4ohm speakers.

I just wired it up to a 12v source and got the power light to come on so looks like It's so far so good. Won't know if it can still power a sub though for awhile.

FireDemonSiC

OK...

made2drag

yes, thats a very good and strong amp! i had one in my crx back in mid 90's and it ran several combonations of subs i had. i had a pair of punch 12's at one time and another time i had 4 mtx 10's using that amp. definitely give it a try....in fact i wouldnt mind have one again....today's amps just arent the same

it will run a 12 with no problem

made2drag

when he said the downside is its 4 ohms....means to get the most out of the amp you would need 2 subs or a dual voice coil sub that would drop the load down to get the most power out of it. 160 bridged is alot for one 12 unless you have a 12 that isnt very efficient and takes alot to run. hook up the 8 ohm to test it. dont worry about the ohms...by the way that alpine will run 4 subs and not blow a fuse of get too hot unless you go on a long road trip.

project89

iTrader: (1)

160watt is not alot but it should drive a sub decently enough if u arent looking for super loud bass.

@ 8 ohms it will prolly only push about 100 watts so ur going ot need a sub with dual 8 ohm voice coils or a 4 ohm sub or a 4 ohm dvc sub wired properly to get the most out of that amp

that amp is not 2 ohm stable, it will drive a 2 ohm sub but it will go into protect mode pretty fast due to over heating and or it will just blow out the power fuses

cdoyle

I have one of those somewhere, I def remember that number.

It was a good amp for it's time, not a powerhouse but it should run a couple subs OK.

FireDemonSiC

I'm bumping this thread to let everyone know the final verdict.

First of all, this amp is an absolute tank. I attempted to see if it was 2ohm stable in bridged mode using 12V from my PC power supply and a cheap DVC sub. It thumped for a good minute then there was a loud POW!

Took the amp apart and discovered that a solder lead to one of the capacitors had blown right off the board . OK. Whipped out the soldering iron and repaired. Def NOT 2ohm stable in bridged mode. Still worked fine after repairs.

Just got finished dropping it into the car along with two Polk GXR 12s and WOW! My original intention was to try and find another 3542 and run each GXR sub in bridged mode. I tried just ONE GXR running bridged and it was waaaay too intense. Totally overpowered everything, and the drone from the bass was borderline unbearable. I thought my taillights and license plate were going to fall off and the hatch was going to get blown across the street. I then hooked both subs up in 2 channel stereo mode (60 watts a channel) and it sounds amazing. It is hitting so smooth and clean and really hard but not overwhelming.

The one problem I have with tuning the system is the pre-outs coming off my pioneer head unit are 4V and the lowest you can adjust the gain on this amp is 2V. Everything sounds really well though doesn't seem to be any distortion and each sub it rated RMS at 165 watts so I should be good.

Really can't beat those older made in Japan audio components

whoaru99

I have three old Alpine amps from a system I had in a '81 Monte before the head unit and EQ/crossover got ripped off. The amps were mounted in the trunk so they didn't bother to get those.

Disclaimer...wattage figures are from memory.

A 3539 (2x150 @4) that I had running a pair of Kicker 12s then a 3525 (2x60 @4) running Alpine 6x9 coaxials on 4x10 adapters in the rear deck, then a 3521 (30x2 @4) running some sort of small mid/tweeter units in the front dash. Sounded pretty good back in the day...

I wonder if they still work??

FireDemonSiC

Well sadly, I have to report that I hurt the 3542 when I blew that capacitor off the board. It ran great and thumped hard for about a week then started cutting in and out on the sub side.

I could open it up and replace the capacitor but I think I'm just going to buy a new amp.

AJ_92RS

While that amplifier was "only" rated at 160 watts x 1 @ 4 ohms, you have to keep in mind, back then there was no CEA-2006 compliant stuff.

To be CEA-2006 compliant, the manufactures have to rate the amplifiers at a higher 1% THD. Back then, good brands like Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, Kenwood, etc., rated their amplifiers at much lower THD levels.

I still have an Alpine 3527V I bought brand new in 1994, along with the original manual. The THD ratings on that amp (along with the 3542) were

0.08% THD x 2 channels @ 4 ohms
0.3% x 2 channels @ 2 ohms
0.3% bridged x 1 channel @ 4 ohms.

Granted, that doesn't mean they'll put out twice as much power at 1% THD, but if they were benched at that level, the output would be higher.