rockford fosgate

Will one of you professionals give me the story on this company?

Back in the day (mid 80's) the PUNCH series were known as top of the line, then I heard they solf out like Hifomics, Pyle and alot of others to Directed or Pyramid.

Now I am told they are quality products again.

What do they compare to now as far as amps and subs? below is what I am familiar with.

Infinity - Cerwin Vega - Alpine - Diamond - JL - TMA

2004 Hyundai Sonata

Kenwood KDC-X599 HU

2-Sundown X-18D4

2-SQ Q4500.1

2-SQ Q90.4

1-Massive DBX4

8-Niche 5.25 mids

8-Niche Tweeters

4-Skar 8" mid-bass

OhioGen 220a alt

OhioGen 350a alt

156.0

The company was started in the 70s by Jim Fosgate.  In an effort to cut manufacturing costs, he decided to try a wave soldering device that would automatically solder all connections on the circuit board.  This machine did not work so well.  The amps made with that machine all failed.  This bankrupted the company.  It was bought by a couple investers in the early 80s (may have been late 70s)  They needed a new name for the company that was located on Rockford Lane in Tempe Az.  Hence the new name Rockford Fosgate.  I have never heard anything about the company being sold.  The only problems with quality was during the experiment with the wave soldering machine.  In my opinion they have always made quality equipment.  Most people here will disagree with that statement.  The only problem I have with them was several years back they changed the way they rated their amplifiers.  They built a name for themself then they started rating their amps with the 2 ohm per channel output instead of the 4 ohm per channel rating.  The older amps gave you more bang for the buck than anybody out there.  With the new ratings, not so much.

I love Rockford. I've never had a problem with any of their stuff. I have a 12" Power HX2 with a p500-1bd amp. It works great.

I've been running an RF-500aII for over 10 years in my car now. Solid amp, no complaints to date. No clue about their newer stuff though.