Did Sunn make a higher wattage Coliseum 300 head?

[father of fires]

I have come to realize as of late that 99% percent of the amps out there are usable for my needs. I just need a clean preamp with some sort of mid scoop/contour control (I love a nice scoop!) and easy to use EQ.

I have been on an amp journey over the last few weeks and I got tired of buying and selling gear so I borrowed my friends Sunn Coliseum 300 while I figured out what I really wanted.

After playing with this amp for a bit I realized, It has everything I need in an amp plus an added compressor. I don't really need anything more than this amp has except I would like a little more power. Not that I need it right now but I always like to have a little in reserve.

This head doesn't seem to hype any frequencies and it doesn't have a signature sound that I can tell. I play metal with a P-bass and this gets the sound In my head no problem.

I know there are a million amps that meet my criteria but I'm just looking for something like what I'm currently using.

Is there a higher wattage version of the Coliseum Bass 300?

I tried using Google to see if they made a higher wattage version with the same preamp but I haven't had any luck. I was excited when I saw the Coliseum 880 but that actually doesn't have any more watts.

I'm running it with an 4 ohm SWR Goliath Sr. 6X10 and I know that I could get another big 4 ohm cab to pair with it for more volume (in case you don't know the head is 2 ohm stable) but even then I'd like a few more hundred watts pushing 10+ speakers.

Thoughts? Criticism? Good advice? Bad advice?

[KramerBassFan]

Run it at two ohms, you won't need any more watts out of the 300. Trust me there.


But to answer your question, no.

The Coli 300 was as "good" as it got from SUNN back then.

[father of fires]

Originally Posted by KramerBassFan

Run it at two ohms, you won't need any more watts out of the 300. Trust me there.


But to answer your question, no.

The Coli 300 was as "good" as it got from SUNN back then.

Then, who in your opinion carried the torch?

[someparts]

There's the Coliseum 880. A little more power than the 300, but rare to find these days.

There are the big box Coliseums and the later smaller box models also. The big box models have less features but more power IME.

At two ohm loads the Acoustic 370 is right up there with any Sunn solid state head, and they run cooler at 2 ohms. In fact the pairs of 301 speakers made for the 370 head were actually spec'd at 3.2 ohms each so the 370 is made to run down to 1.6 ohms.

[father of fires]

Originally Posted by someparts

There's the Coliseum 880. A little more power than the 300, but rare to find these days.

There are the big box Coliseums and the later smaller box models also. The big box models have less features but more power IME.

At two ohm loads the Acoustic 370 is right up there with any Sunn solid state head, and they run cooler at 2 ohms. In fact the pairs of 301 speakers made for the 370 head were actually spec'd at 3.2 ohms each so the 370 is made to run down to 1.6 ohms.

I ran a 370/371 for years. But that was for a heavy rock band. This is a loud metal band and I guess I'm just worried vintage lead sleds won't compete.

[someparts]

Not enough mids in the 301 cabs for uptempo metal, but they rule for doomy stuff. The 370 with a couple efficient front baffle cabs would work fine for most bands though. Ever heard a 370 through an old Ampeg 8x10 or an EVM-15L 2x15 cab like a Mesa Diesel? Good stuff.

It all really depends on what you are up against musically and how extreme the guitar rigs and tunings are. If you have two 7-string guitars with Mesa Triple Rec stacks tuned drop A then yeah, you probably need something more modern with big power to get under that tuning and handle transients into big ported cabs, etc.

[father of fires]

I thought I should post an update.

I played the Coliseum 300 with an SWR 6x10 and got asked to turn down buy 2 guitarists wielding 100 watt stacks. Twice.

It's amazing what a 200 watt lead sled can do!

[DanNowhere]

I played through a Coliseum 300 (paired with a 2 x 15) versus the loudest JCM800 I've ever heard, a Fender Super Reverb 410 combo, and a Laney 212 combo; yes, three loud amps at once, and Captain Caveman on the drums to boot. No problems keeping up whatsoever. It was the very amp used on a recent reunion tour of a certain band I'm a huge fan of.

If I came across one on Craigslist, I'd grab it immediately. Best amp I've ever heard.

[ranbunctious]

YES, they did make a 400 watt head back in the 1960s. I used to love to go into the music store & turn them on & off, just to watch the speakers jump. Probably the best amp Sunn ever made. Mate it with a folded horn or two, and you've got a friggin monster. Only thing better was the tube Ampeg SVT thru a Vega folded horn.

[bassmeknik]

Originally Posted by ranbunctious

YES, they did make a 400 watt head back in the 1960s. I used to love to go into the music store & turn them on & off, just to watch the speakers jump. Probably the best amp Sunn ever made. Mate it with a folded horn or two, and you've got a friggin monster. Only thing better was the tube Ampeg SVT thru a Vega folded horn.

1974 SVT and a Sunn folded horn 118RH (with Cerwin Vega 18" driver) was my rig through the 70's and early 80's. Blew up the Vega driver and got a JBL K151 to replace it with, better but I dumped the folded horn because it was not a good full range cab and was all mids. Needed the ultra low switch on all the time... Still have the SVT but gig with an SVT4pro now, love it with my 810.

[bassmeknik]

I kept the JBL and re-coned the Vega to sell in the 118RH, then made a ported cab for the JBL and still use it as a sub when there isn't room for the pair of subs I made in the early 00's

[Jim C]

Originally Posted by someparts

The 370 with a couple efficient front baffle cabs would work fine for most bands though. Ever heard a 370 through an old Ampeg 8x10 or an EVM-15L 2x15 cab like a Mesa Diesel? Good stuff.

I recently sold an Acoustic 370 as well as an EV B-215M cabinet. Lovely tone but they were not THAT loud unless you were OK with distortion. These early amps made alot more racket at 2 ohms than 4ohms IMO.

[johnk_10]

prior to the coliseum 300 were the coliseum lead, coliseum bass, coliseum 880 and coliseum slave. noe of them had a built-incompressor and all of those heads were rated at 320 watts at 2 ohms. IMO, the acoustic 370 and 320 were alot louder, and better sounding heads than Sunn's SS offerings.

[father of fires]

Wow I just noticed that this thread has made a come back!

I'm still playing the 300 and I usually get asked to turn down! Just last night I decided to run the preamp out into a Crest CA6 and I did enjoy the increased headroom. I'll know next week (when I have practice) whether or not its worth using the power amp all the time.

[father of fires]

Originally Posted by johnk_10

prior to the coliseum 300 were the coliseum lead, coliseum bass, coliseum 880 and coliseum slave. noe of them had a built-incompressor and all of those heads were rated at 320 watts at 2 ohms. IMO, the acoustic 370 and 320 were alot louder, and better sounding heads than Sunn's SS offerings.

Agreed. My favorite head ever was a 370 (you can see it in my avatar). I sold it the last time I gave up bass for good (something always brings me back!).

Hey John, check your PM's. I sent you one last week.

Thanks!