1U Power Amps

[NKBassman]

Lets talk about what's out there for 1U power amps for a minute. With the popularity of Class D micro amps these days, I'd expect to be seeing a whole lot more small power amps on the market that what I have seen so far. Or maybe I'm just not looking in the right places?

I know Peavey had one for a while, and Stewart World has one, but what else is out there?

[Jools4001]

Markbass Markbass - MB 1000

[bongomania]

Note that the Peavey, Stewart, and Markbass all are very deep front-to-back, and at least the Stewart has problems with overheating if you don't leave the rack space above it empty. So the benefit of them being only 1 RU high is diminished by having to use a deep rack, and maybe having to use two rack spaces for it anyway.

Better solutions currently available include the QSC PLX (and related series) that are very shallow front-to-back, or a micro head that happens to be designed not to overheat when in just 1 RU of space. E.g. I use a GK MB500 as a 1 RU power amp, by bypassing its preamp stage.

[darius8]

Behringer has those new iNukes power amps, class D, 1U rack space and built-in DSP.

[lsabina]

Carvin DCM200L if you don't need a lot of power.

[dhsierra1]

ART makes them, the SLA-1, -2, and -4

[cricketfever32]

Granted 1U is very tiny, the weight gets distributed to the back, I had a Fender SPA-7500 and that thing was quite the beast however it definitely didn't come close to my other amp, a Powersoft K8.

Powersoft are known in the pro audio world to make the worlds most powerful amps, and still manage to keep it down to an almost mind boggling 25lbs while pushing over 8000Watts out. (One of these powered 10 Quake subs at Governors Island one day, and didn't even come close to clipping). They also make less powerful amplifiers, I've only used the K8 in a bass rig.

Crown makes the new XLS series amps but they're definitely not powerful enough for any kind of decent stage volume, at least for bass, but they are quite light.

[will33]

After seeing a gutshot of the Peavey IPR's on here, (can't remember where), those could've been 1U without being extra deep. There plenty of empty real estate inside that chassis and all it woukd take is mounting a couple of the largest components on their sides, like power supply caps, and maybe a pair of small cooling fans instead of one large one. I have no idea why they didn't take advantage of that, would've pretty much conquered the market. Pre/power setup that's no bigger and a whole lot lighter than a "regular" basshead with all the advantages that come with it. Scaling power up and down, dual 2-ohm stable amps, swapping pre's, biamping, etc. I think it would've been genius.

[scowboy]

I own a Peavey IPR1600 and have it racked up with my Eden Navigator. While I wish it was 1U I can tell you at 2U and a $300 price tag the thing kicks a$$. My whole rack weighs less than 20 pounds with the rack itself being the fair share of it.

I've also owned a Stuart 1.2 and it is deep as others have suggested. Also no Speakon connectors, no IEC power cord - but it is a great sounding power amp. The only other I've seen is made by Berihnger and I'm not sure they've ever gotten them to market.

If you are not too hung up on the 1U thing I'd highly recommend giving a Peavey IPR a try.

Here's a little rack porn for ya:

Originally Posted by will33

After seeing a gutshot of the Peavey IPR's on here, (can't remember where), those could've been 1U without being extra deep. There plenty of empty real estate inside that chassis and all it woukd take is mounting a couple of the largest components on their sides, like power supply caps, and maybe a pair of small cooling fans instead of one large one. I have no idea why they didn't take advantage of that, would've pretty much conquered the market. Pre/power setup that's no bigger and a whole lot lighter than a "regular" basshead with all the advantages that come with it. Scaling power up and down, dual 2-ohm stable amps, swapping pre's, biamping, etc. I think it would've been genius.

[spigmu]

Originally Posted by will33

After seeing a gutshot of the Peavey IPR's on here, (can't remember where), those could've been 1U without being extra deep. There plenty of empty real estate inside that chassis and all it woukd take is mounting a couple of the largest components on their sides, like power supply caps, and maybe a pair of small cooling fans instead of one large one. I have no idea why they didn't take advantage of that, would've pretty much conquered the market. Pre/power setup that's no bigger and a whole lot lighter than a "regular" basshead with all the advantages that come with it. Scaling power up and down, dual 2-ohm stable amps, swapping pre's, biamping, etc. I think it would've been genius.

But it's likely that Peavey decided that the less critical for heat dissipation layout in the 2U was worth it. The current ones might have been their sweet spot for heat generated to cooling requirement. The IPRs have a rep for running pretty cool, so I'm guessing they'd be sacrificing some of that.

IIRC, there's not much in the way of heat sinks in there (?), so don't forget to account for bigger sinks that might be needed in a smaller space, so maybe the necessary sinks wouldn't fit?

But I agree there's a demand for smaller power amps that could be filled. Personally I drag more around in a shoulder bag than in racks, so I'd love a baggable small power amp like the Peavey. One shaped like a small, half dozen donut box would be perfect (don't ask how I know how big that is, or whether it fits in my bag! : ) )

[will33]

Originally Posted by scowboy

I own a Peavey IPR1600 and have it racked up with my Eden Navigator. While I wish it was 1U I can tell you at 2U and a $300 price tag the thing kicks a$$. My whole rack weighs less than 20 pounds with the rack itself being the fair share of it.

I've also owned a Stuart 1.2 and it is deep as others have suggested. Also no Speakon connectors, no IEC power cord - but it is a great sounding power amp. The only other I've seen is made by Berihnger and I'm not sure they've ever gotten them to market.

If you are not too hung up on the 1U thing I'd highly recommend giving a Peavey IPR a try.

Here's a little rack porn for ya:

Take the cover off sometime and look how empty it is in there, you'll be surprised. I think they absolutely could've shrank that thing to 1U without causing any problems.

[scowboy]

Yes, they do run impressively cool.

Originally Posted by spigmu

But it's likely that Peavey decided that the less critical for heat dissipation layout in the 2U was worth it. The current ones might have been their sweet spot for heat generated to cooling requirement. The IPRs have a rep for running pretty cool, so I'm guessing they'd be sacrificing some of that.

IIRC, there's not much in the way of heat sinks in there (?), so don't forget to account for bigger sinks that might be needed in a smaller space, so maybe the necessary sinks wouldn't fit?

[scowboy]

I've had the cover off and yep it's pretty vast! Again, 7 pounds $300 and great output. I won't hold them to their stated specs but it's got it where it counts.

Originally Posted by will33

Take the cover off sometime and look how empty it is in there, you'll be surprised. I think they absolutely could've shrank that thing to 1U without causing any problems.

[will33]

Not knocking the IPR, it's a great piece. Just wondering if they could've. From this end of the internet, it looks like physical size of parts isn't the issue. Good point on cooling, that's a major killer for amps. More small fans, the right forced air flow, who know's.

Ease of production is another big one to keep costs down. When you can a single 2U chassis and use different punch-out plans to make many different products from it, that lowers cost. It's one of the things Carvin does, and I assume many others to keep cost down/profit up.

[::::BASSIST::::]

Speaking of the IPR 1600, do you guys think the SABDDI has enough juice at 0dbv to fully push it?

[spigmu]

Originally Posted by will33

Ease of production is another big one to keep costs down. When you can a single 2U chassis and use different punch-out plans to make many different products from it, that lowers cost. It's one of the things Carvin does, and I assume many others to keep cost down/profit up.

Good point.

[seamonkey]

Behringer EPQ900



275W RMS per channel
580W RMS bridged

3 year warranty
11 lbs, 10" deep
Street price around $250
Class-H so it has as about as much heat as Class-ab

One problem with 1u rackmount amps is still have to leave room for cooling. 2U usually have the front to rear cooling going so you can stack pre-amps and other gear right on top. New class-d that is.

[pacojas]

the Stewart must breathe!!!

[sawzalot]

Originally Posted by scowboy

I own a Peavey IPR1600 and have it racked up with my Eden Navigator. While I wish it was 1U I can tell you at 2U and a $300 price tag the thing kicks a$$. My whole rack weighs less than 20 pounds with the rack itself being the fair share of it.

I've also owned a Stuart 1.2 and it is deep as others have suggested. Also no Speakon connectors, no IEC power cord - but it is a great sounding power amp. The only other I've seen is made by Berihnger and I'm not sure they've ever gotten them to market.

If you are not too hung up on the 1U thing I'd highly recommend giving a Peavey IPR a try.

Here's a little rack porn for ya:

Nice Nav there--looks vaguely familiar...

[::::BASSIST::::]

Originally Posted by seamonkey

Behringer EPQ900



275W RMS per channel
580W RMS bridged

3 year warranty
11 lbs, 10" deep
Street price around $250
Class-H so it has as about as much heat as Class-ab

One problem with 1u rackmount amps is still have to leave room for cooling. 2U usually have the front to rear cooling going so you can stack pre-amps and other gear right on top. New class-d that is.

Personally, I dont think I could trust Behringer at gigs on a regular basis.