Light Weight (Class D) Amp Reliability

[mrjim123]

I was planning to buy one of the new light weight Class D Carvin amps (BX1500 or B2000) in a few months, but reviews have been iffy - some have completely died and had to be replaced.

I am wondering if others have had similar experiences with light weight amps. By light weight I mean an amp that puts out at least 500W into 4 ohms, yet weighs less than, say, 13 lbs.

Also, has anyone used the new Ampeg SVT7PRO yet?

[guy n. cognito]

I've had no problem with any of the Class D Genz Benz amps I've owned over the last 3 years.

[agedhorse]

There is nothing inherent with well designed and well built class D amps. This market segment got a bad rap IMO because there were several products introduced (by different manufacturers) that did suffer from reliability problems and with the enusing uproar, the manufacturers who built good, reliable product got "thrown under the bus" with the rest of them.

I have been working with class D technology for quite a while, it's more common in the pro audio industry which is where I come from. All of the big guys have highly reliable class D amps that have survived years or hard touring miles without problems. That R&D has trickled down to the bass industry (just like other pro audio technology for you guys using seperate power amps) and offers you guys some possibilities that were previously impossible.

It would be advisable to look at the track record of the brand and model that you are interested in, and more importantly the warranty that the manufacturer offers. Liberal warranties (including transferrable) show that the manufacturer is putting their money where their mouth is by taking any risk of a defective product onto themselves.

[mrjim123]

It's good to hear that Class D is not generally a new technology, just new to some manufacturers.

Genz Benz amps are a somewhat expensive, at least compared to Carvin (I'm talking about dollar to watts ratio), but maybe the extra reliability is worth the cost.

I'm looking for an amp that is at least 500W RMS into 4 ohms, less than 15 lbs, and less than $1,000. Besides Genz Benz I've also heard good things about Markbass. Any other good ones out there?

[seanm]

The iAMP micro fits the requirements. Caveat: I have never tried one, I am happy with my iAMP 500.