What was the reputatin of PYLE back in the day?

[jlindsey86]

I turned 13 in 1999 and as far as I can remember PYLE was a shit brand. From the advertising and articles I have come across from the '80's and early '90s however, it seems as though PYLE was a USA made quality product. I am doing a period build in my 1992 Comanche and am looking for good 8" sub. I have come across some vintage PYLE's that are 94db efficient and feature a 30oz magnet. I was thinking this may be a good option for my ADS PQ10 to power with channels 3 & 4 bridged.

[Notloudenuf]

I remember them being advertised but none of the shops I went to carried any. They showed up in Fingerhut and JC Whitney catalogs around that time iirc.

[Euphonic]

I think Harman bought Pyle sometime in the 80's, Pyle made decent stuff while owned by Harman, and then Harman sold the name in the mid-90's and it went downhill. Late 80's - early 90's (1988 - 1993) Pyle gear was solid.

[Impossible Bill]

Pyle was heavily distributed in my area in the late 80's - 90's and was the go to for most people looking for a cheap way to add boom to their sizzle.
Had many cars come in with pyle pounders, jensen triaxials and pyramid amps.

I always thought they were appropriately named but were always better than nothing and the price was right. Sort of a "starter brand" that had its place when car audio was becoming more mainstream.

[jlindsey86]

Pyle was heavily distributed in my area in the late 80's - 90's and was the go to for most people looking for a cheap way to add boom to their sizzle.
Had many cars come in with pyle pounders, jensen triaxials and pyramid amps.

I always thought they were appropriately named but were always better than nothing and the price was right. Sort of a "starter brand" that had its place when car audio was becoming more mainstream.

Thank you for the perspective. I was looking at a PYLE W830 for its sensitivity rating.



Perhaps I will hold off for an 8" JL or Boston Acoustic.

[Impossible Bill]

It would be hard top say if their spec sheet is accurate but they may be inexpensive enough to be worth trying. I'd be curious how the perform and if it lives up to the spec sheet. It would blow minds if a 30 year old speaker with a Poly cone, foam surround and giant magnet can outperform today's state of the art.
I don't think i overspent on speakers but you might make me rethink that...

[Euphonic]

Thank you for the perspective. I was looking at a PYLE W830 for its sensitivity rating.

Perhaps I will hold off for an 8" JL or Boston Acoustic.

The W830/4 is from 1989 or 1990. The specs are probably close because, back then, a manufacturer's main focus wasn't power handling because powerful amps cost a fortune.

As far as it being a "starter brand" here's a couple of guys that didn't think so:

https://www.caraudiojunkies.com/show...tallation-News

https://www.caraudiojunkies.com/show...-1990-AS-amp-S

https://www.caraudiojunkies.com/show...-1992-AS-amp-S

In 1990, a Pyle A100 (50x2) amplifier retailed for $350. For comparison, a Precision Power 2050M was $335 and a Phoenix Gold MS-250 was $400.

[BigAl205]

Pyle was the Skar Audio of its day

[Euphonic]

That's giving Skar Audio a lot of credit. It's possible that JBL branded amplifiers didn't exist until Pyle branded amplifiers ceased to.

[Haakono]

I think Harman bought Pyle sometime in the 80's, Pyle made decent stuff while owned by Harman, and then Harman sold the name in the mid-90's and it went downhill. Late 80's - early 90's (1988 - 1993) Pyle gear was solid.

My first subwoofer back in 1994 was a 8" Pyle, and this was bought based on performance alone, not even considering price. They were never imported over here in Norway, but back then I knew the distributor for Orion over here, and while he was attending CES for that year, this subwoofer caught his attention as it truly was magnificent. Now it might have been a "happy accident/diamond in the rough etc", every once in a while you find a product that really outperforms its price (and competitors).

Anyhow, he was so impressed that he ordered a small batch of them and had them shipped over to Norway. Later that year it had a great review in CA&E magazine, it held its own compared to both 10 and 12" drivers in the same group test, and I believe they measured it to output 128db in the recommended enclosure. Nothing to raise an eyebrow at in 2022, but pretty damn impressive in 1994 for a single 8" 200w woofer.

I bought this, and a pair of Orion 250SX amplifiers for my first system along with some Orion Cobalt components. If I remember correctly, after a year or so I swapped it out for a Cerwin Vega Stroker 15, and sold the Pyle to a friend. But always regretted selling it, so I bought it back a while later.

Still have it Took these pics just now:


It was truly great when new, no doubt. But I built the same enclosure for it 7-8 years ago, to bring back some nostalgic memories. Sadly it didn't perform well after 20 years in storage. So to the OP. be aware of this when buying 30 year old subwoofers. Even if they haven't been used, they might not perform as they did when they were freshly built.