In every industry you have the lowest priced item, which is normally the one to stay away from. With that lowest priced item you will normally get inferior parts and results that come up short of what it advertises. This is very prominent in car audio with companies, having multiple lines or series of speakers and amplifiers. The reason for this low-end product is so they can appeal to customers at all financial levels. The more people rocking your brands’ name the better. So as a rule of thumb most people “in the know” will avoid the entry level or low cost lines offered by companies. This is why, when Genius asked me to test the GFX line of amplifiers, I was not too excited; especially after I saw the pricing, which was under $100 for each amp, and that’s retail.
First Impressions
My first impressions of the line was nothing too exciting. They looked like very basic amps on the boxes and didn’t really scream anything new. I did notice the packaging between the two amplifiers was completely different and I found that odd. After opening the boxes and removing the amps I realized the heat sinks were different as well. Normally when you have a series of amplifiers they will be sure to make the heatsink and artwork the same. That’s so you can identify them as that series as well as it looks nicer in an install when using the same line. These were noticeably different in size and the heat sink design. Looking at the inputs and the controls didn’t reveal anything out of the ordinary. They both had High-Pass and Low-Pass crossovers, as well as gain controls. Needless to say I wasn’t to optimistic about how well these amps would perform. I did notice the amps have a significant rattle or “tinny” sound when being handled. This is because the bottom plate being a very thin gauge steel and it has no mounting points to the end cap, which allows it to vibrate against the ends. Due to this construction, I would not mount these to a sub enclosure.”
The Numbers
The two models I tested were the Genius GFX-55×4 and the Genius GFX-75×4. There ratings are the same as the model numbers. Each amp has a CEA rating which is what I expect to see when tested. The Genius GFX-55×4 is CEA rated at 65×4 at 4 ohms while the Genius GFX-75×4 is CEA rated at 85×4 at 4 ohms. I really wasn’t expecting these amps to really do much but if they hit the CEA rating then I would be at least satisfied with the under $100 price point.
On The Bench
I first hooked up the 55×4 model on the bench and was actually amazed. The amp didn’t just hit its rated power but it blew it out of the water. The same thing happened with the 75×4. Both amps did an absolutely amazing job based on the price point of under $100. I was even able to pull over 250 watts x 2 out of the 75×4 when I had it bridged. You can see the results below.
| Model | Rated at 4 Ω | Actual at 4 Ω | Rated at 2 Ω | Actual at 2 Ω | Rated Bridged | Actual Bridged | Size | MSRP |
| GFX-55×4 | 65 x 4 | 88 x 4 | 80 x 4 | 126 x 4 | 160 x 2 | 222 x 2 | N/A | $85.95 |
| GFX-75×4 | 85 x 4 | 100 x 4 | 115 x 4 | 154 x 4 | 230 x 2 | 258 x 2 | N/A | $97.95 |
Conclusion
Being that these are entry level amplifiers there isn’t a lot to say about them but the fact that they exceeded the rated numbers and that you can pick them up for under $100 each, is all that really needs to be said. These amps are definitely worth the money and should be on the shelves of any car audio shop that wants to stock an affordable product that will perform.
