What's the best power amp?

[bobm2112]

What do you guys think of the SWR Power 750 Power amp?

[CL400Peavey]

Originally Posted by bobm2112

What do you guys think of the SWR Power 750 Power amp?

Way over priced for what it is.

[IntrepidCellist]

Aguilar DB728.

[Boot Soul]

Used Crest CA6 or CA9, while heavy, are really cheap. Tremendous bang for the buck, and if you just put them in a separate 2 space case, they aren't that heavy to move. When they are added to a rack with other gear is when things get too heavy to carry.

Used Stewart World 2.1 and World 1.6 are also excellent and cheap.

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by dukeorock

You digging that Monique? Would love to try one at some point

Love it. So much that I ordered a 2nd.

Best bass tone I have heard in the 25+ years I have been gigging.

[seamonkey]

Originally Posted by dukeorock

Well, my friend is a manager at GC...he just said they get tons of returns of failed units...so it's not really an opinion, as such.

We do understand gain matching...we both own pro recording studios and have a lot of experience with gadgets...I'm just saying it was strictly our opinion, and should only be taken so seriously

My main point is to say I think it's misleading to say that all the name brand power amps sound the same...they simply do not.

What your friend says is not evidence.

It's misleading your way.

If you knew about gain matching and chose not to use it then you don't have reliable results. It's misleading to suggest you do.

Instead of random user and magazine subjective testing, I would love to see manufacturers actually do a double blind test to conclusively say "9 out of 10 musicians preferred their power amp over other brands"
It's just not going to happen. I'm confident in that.

I welcome any proof that someone an produce to say there is a major difference in sound. The measurements the manufacturers provide show there is no difference that a human could tell. FOH is using them interchangeably because they give the amps give the same results.

[bluestarbass]

Take this with a grain of salt but I love my ipr 1600. I did not compare it to anything and I did not shop around. I bought it for price and weight. I get constant compliments on my tone, though that has more to do with the pre. I haven't had any reliability issues and it'll power my ampeg 6x10 and 2x15 with no issues. I'm sure there's better stuff out there but overall im very happy.

[dukeorock]

Originally Posted by seamonkey

What your friend says is not evidence.

It's misleading your way.

If you knew about gain matching and chose not to use it then you don't have reliable results. It's misleading to suggest you do.

Instead of random user and magazine subjective testing, I would love to see manufacturers actually do a double blind test to conclusively say "9 out of 10 musicians preferred their power amp over other brands"
It's just not going to happen. I'm confident in that.

I welcome any proof that someone an produce to say there is a major difference in sound. The measurements the manufacturers provide show there is no difference that a human could tell. FOH is using them interchangeably because they give the amps give the same results.

Wow...ok, just wanted to be in a discussion, not a pi**ing match...They all sound the same!

[dukeorock]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

Love it. So much that I ordered a 2nd.

Best bass tone I have heard in the 25+ years I have been gigging.

Man, congrats! pretty wonderful thing to find what works for you...been wanting to try one, as well as JGR's new pre

[Foz]

I'm a bit surprised at the Crown bashing... I don't find their cheap stuff to be much different than any other brand [though I think Peavey may be making the best low cost / low weight units these days]. As to Crown's high end stuff - I think their iTech line is pretty darn good and upholds their reputation - comparing well to their Macrotech legacy.

Generally I find you get what you pay for with power amps - when you hold a pro-sumer unit up against a tour grade unit you don't learn much about the brands IMO/IME. A $999 QSC unit is a better unit than a $300 Crown and vice versa regardless of the nameplate wattage = not a big surprise.

My $0.02 the advice above about looking for a clean used CA9 is great advice - probably the best bang for the buck for a "real" power amp out there today - if you're man enough to haul a 50 lbs. amp.

As to the idea that power amps don't sound different - or that bass players don't need good sounding amps I couldn't disagree more. Loud / Low / Live bass is very demanding on the power section of a rig and the ability to deal with the very large crest factor of bass instruments signals will quickly reveal the flaws of a lesser unit versus a superior one... not to mention the benefits of massive headroom / duty cycle and reliability in high heat / low voltage environments that comes with tour grade amps.

If you can't hear a difference between a $300 Peavey and a $1,100 QSC, or a $5,000 Crown, I don't think you are trying to find them - they are pretty obvious to me and I aint no golden eared fart sniffing audiophile - I just just want my rig to work without me hearing audible artifacts arising from the power amps limitations.

[dukeorock]

Originally Posted by Foz

I'm a bit surprised at the Crown bashing... I don't find their cheap stuff to be much different than any other brand [though I think Peavey may be making the best low cost / low weight units these days]. As to Crown's high end stuff - I think their iTech line is pretty darn good and upholds their reputation - comparing well to their Macrotech legacy.

Generally I find you get what you pay for with power amps - when you hold a pro-sumer unit up against a tour grade unit you don't learn much about the brands IMO/IME. A $999 QSC unit is a better unit than a $300 Crown and vice versa regardless of the nameplate wattage = not a big surprise.

My $0.02 the advice above about looking for a clean used CA9 is great advice - probably the best bang for the buck for a "real" power amp out there today - if you're man enough to haul a 50 lbs. amp.

As to the idea that power amps don't sound different - or that bass players don't need good sounding amps I couldn't disagree more. Loud / Low / Live bass is very demanding on the power section of a rig and the ability to deal with the very large crest factor of bass instruments signals will quickly reveal the flaws of a lesser unit versus a superior one... not to mention the benefits of massive headroom / duty cycle and reliability in high heat / low voltage environments that comes with tour grade amps.

If you can't hear a difference between a $300 Peavey and a $1,100 QSC, or a $5,000 Crown, I don't think you are trying to find them - they are pretty obvious to me and I aint no golden eared fart sniffing audiophile - I just just want my rig to work without me hearing audible artifacts arising from the power amps limitations.

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^

[dukeorock]

Originally Posted by bluestarbass

Take this with a grain of salt but I love my ipr 1600.

No salt required! Those are wonderful sounding amplifiers

[MakiSupaStar]

I'm running an old 1000watt carver modded to push it all out in mono at 4 ohms. It blows noisy and its a little long in the tooth but it works like a horse. I run two cabs with it regularly. My pre is an Ampeg SVP-BSP. But if I were to replace it, I'd be looking either at QSC or Carvin because both companies are local to me. I like to support local businesses.

[Tuned]

I've still yet to hear any appreciable difference between any current class D amps at any price level. I mix on PA's with Peavey, JBL, and QSC class D powered speakers often, and have also used the comparable non-powered Peavey's and JBL's with various classes of amps. I've recently gotten Equator D5 class D powered monitors for my DAW, which are outstanding for a whopping $299.

I use an IPR1600 in my bass rig, which I like better than the amp it replaced, a Bryston 3B. I figure that's a pretty good class AB standard to outperform. Class D just doesn't depend on expensive components to work well. The guts of an IPR1600 probably cost less than the power transformer of a 3B.

[bassdries]

I'm an absolute noob concerning power amps but I was wondering if the Matrix GT series would be a contender? It seems like they were designed more specifically for guitarists rather than bassists but they are light and seem to be fairly reliable.
(More of a question, I don't have any experience with them)

[Franklin229]

Originally Posted by bobm2112

What do you guys think of the SWR Power 750 Power amp?

Originally Posted by CL400Peavey

Way over priced for what it is.

I have not owned any of the brands mentioned, although my band had a QSC amp for our PA and it did have to go in for repairs a few times. Just an observation, not a dig. I bought an SWR Power 750 early on-it has to be close to 10 years now that I have owned it. I have had absolutely no problems with it and it has seen a lot of use. I cannot speak enough about the sound and overall build quality. I think its one of those pieces of gear that you might pay more for up front but if you like "keepers", this one is it.

[CL400Peavey]

Originally Posted by Franklin229

I have not owned any of the brands mentioned, although my band had a QSC amp for our PA and it did have to go in for repairs a few times. Just an observation, not a dig. I bought an SWR Power 750 early on-it has to be close to 10 years now that I have owned it. I have had absolutely no problems with it and it has seen a lot of use. I cannot speak enough about the sound and overall build quality. I think its one of those pieces of gear that you might pay more for up front but if you like "keepers", this one is it.

For a grand one could get way more amp on the PA side of the fence. Its a big amp (3 rack spaces), with a horrible sensitivity rating (1.6v), that isnt particularly light (32 pounds), and really isnt that powerful (850 watts @ 2.6 ohms; 750 watts @ 4 ohms; 450 watts @ 8 ohms).

If im going to spend a grand on a big boat anchor, its going to smoke that SWR. If it has worked for you since you bought it 10 years ago, that is wonderful. There are a lot of better options out there currently.

[Bassmec]

Originally Posted by IntrepidCellist

Aguilar DB728.

Very nice but in a super quality tube power amp, I will go with the Audio Research servo as the absolute best:

There is 22 6550 tubes in that amazing beast.

[1958Bassman]

Originally Posted by tekdiver500ft

1958Bassman makes some really good points, and I'd seriously look at the QSC GX7.

Bassman, I consider the Alto, QSC and Crest rigs superior to Crown mostly due to the clarity in the mids and their well-balanced output. All three of them seem to under rate their amps, and I've seen them all perform beyond rated specs. I didn't really think about specs in this case, though. I've used all these, and the Crest are the most musical to my ear. I like the way they handle being pushed, I love how they treat receiving a distorted signal and how clear they are the rest of the time. They are also amazingly well-balanced, with no undue emphasis of any particular frequency. When EQing for a particular room, I have to do less with Crest than the others, with Alto and QSC coming very closely behind. So, for me, it's sound quality first, ease of use second, headroom third, and specs a distant fourth. If I could afford/justify it, I'd only use Crest power amps. As it is, I stick with Alto because I'm used to it, and I know how everything will work together. Were I not so heavily invested in Alto, I'd consider QSC, too.

If you have to EQ different brands' amps differently, they can't be outputting the same frequency response tolerances, or they're responding to the speakers differently. Do you leave the crossover the same, or change it for each show? I could see changes in the x-over forcing you to change the EQ. Is this a current capability thing?

Have you set up in one room, specifically so you could compare power amps? I'd like to be somewhere when this happens, so I can hear the amps, with all other things left unchanged. Similar power swapped, not high for low, etc. Do you use an RTA for equalization?

Since you do live sound, you might appreciate this. Or, you may find it as sad as I did. I went to a club when a band was going to play and in talking to the sound guy, I asked if he ever used an RTA and he said "No, I just use my ears". He ALWAYS fiddles with just about every knob, all night, every time I have seen him at the mixer. Never seems to get a good handle on it. Anyway, I was in the rest room and saw some graffiti- "E=MC²±3dB" and when I told him about it, he said "I have absolutely no idea what that means".

[1958Bassman]

Originally Posted by Bassmec

Very nice but in a super quality tube power amp, I will go with the Audio Research servo as the absolute best:

There is 22 6550 tubes in that amazing beast.

This one might be a contender-

Spec Sheet-

http://people.physics.anu.edu.au/~am...50%20specs.pdf

Front view-

http://people.physics.anu.edu.au/~am...s/3150%201.jpg

I saw one of their amps at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in hte early '80s. The amp they were showing won a design award and its power was rated as "adequate". Something like 30V and 20A of output current. The one above is shown as 10A. Check out the frequency response- I think this is the first amp I have seen that shows an amplifier bandwidth of 10Hz-3MHz, or anything close to that.