As far as the big power devices are concerned, it's a traditional Rockford Fosgate all-Mosfet affair, using two pairs of hefty TO-247 Fairchild devices in the power supply rated at 75 amps each, and a total of eight new Fairchild QFETs, rated at 50 amps each for the output section. The devices are securely clamped to the heatsink using Torx head screws, not the ubiquitous (cheap) spring clips that I find in so many other amps these days. There's good capacitance onboard as well, with over 2,600F in the power supply and over 13,000F stiffening the rails. With all this current capability and obvious attention to detail, maybe the performance hadn't been downsized by making the amp smaller after all.
Manual
The manual is typical Rockford fare, a 26-page booklet printed in five languages, and provides all the necessary information you need to install and set up the Power T600-2. There are some basic diagrams for those of you who prefer pictures to words, and generally enough info to get you going. I call this type of manual a "Joe Friday" manual... Just the facts ma'am, just the facts. It isn't going to teach you about the nuances of sound or provide detailed information on the differences between crossover types. It includes reasonably detailed and accurate specifications, warranty information and an actual phone number for their customer support staff.
Listening
OK, I spent more time than usual listening to this amp. So much more that I was almost late in getting the review in on time. But I think that the long listening session occurred for a few different reasons. First of all, this amp sounds a little different than what I'm used to. After listening to it for a while, I found myself checking the tone settings on my preamp and the Punch EQ control to make sure it was turned off. It was, but it didn't sound like it. The T600-2 sounded warmer on the midbass, while showing a level of detail on the top end that was quite pleasant to listen to. Female vocals were smooth and harmonies well defined, with no muddiness or smearing of the soundstage evident.
The amp had gobs of headroom even at moderate to high volumes, and even when pushed hard, showed no sign of stress or harshness. But throughout the session, I kept thinking something was different. Not necessarily wrong, but definitely different. So, I kept listening and played almost every genre of music in my collection, just to see if I could put my finger on what it was. It was when I began to play with the Punch EQ, to see the effect the treble boost had when combined with the usual bass boost, that I figured out what was making this amp sound a little different. This amp is specifically and intentionally designed NOT to have a flat frequency response, even with the Punch EQ turned to a minimum. Whether or not you agree with that decision is something I'd suggest you reserve judgment on until you've heard this amp, because I found myself actually enjoying the subtle difference the small bumps in the response made. Sure, purists will snicker and point at any amp that's not ruler flat from DC to light, but for those of you with an open mind, have a listen - you might like it.
So what about the newest incarnation of the Punch EQ? Well, I have to admit, and am a little surprised to say, it wasn't bad! I was expecting the top end (the treble boost occurs around 12kHz) to be brittle and hard, and if I really cranked the EQ into it I could get it that way, but overall, with a bit of restraint on the adjustment knob it did a great job of bringing the music to life. In a vehicle, especially one with less than optimum tweeter placement, this redone version of the old Punch EQ circuit of the '80s could be really useful. I have to admit I didn't really care to listen to it much in my lab, but in a vehicle, I can definitely see a benefit to providing a little help to both ends of the spectrum.
Performance
After spending the better part of an entire day listening to the T600-2, I was eager to get some numbers out of it. So, I hooked it up on the deadly accurate Cogent bench and fired up my Audio Precision.