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Amp Upgrade-Eden WT550 to EA iAMP800 or EDEN WT800B

B

Bass Clef

Jan 23, 2006
306
0
Sydney, Australia
#1
Hello everybody,

I need opinions and advice from my fellow TBer's.

I am in the process of upgrading my speaker setup to either a Epifani 410UL or 2x EA NL-210 boxes.

Also now considering going from Eden WT550 head to a EA iAMP800 head which is going to give me a whole lot more xtra head room than what I've got now for approx $2100 AU ($1500 US).

This is my dilemma, do I go for the iAMP800 for just $2100 or should I save my money and update to an Eden WT800B which is going to cost me approx $3200 AU ($2300 US).

I luv both Amps but just can't work out which one is going to give me more value for my $'s and tone satisfaction at the same time.

I know Eden and I have tried the iAMP800 and they both work for me.

Note to the US and European Bass peers: these prices, which I have been quoted, are from Aussie Dealers which may sound ridiculous to what you guy's are use to but I guess we're just too far from all the action.

Please let me know what you all think and what would you do if you were in my shoes.

Thanking you all in Advance.
 
#3
Bass Clef said:
I am in the process of upgrading my speaker setup to either a Epifani 410UL or 2x EA NL-210 boxes.

Also now considering going from Eden WT550 head to a EA iAMP800 head which is going to give me a whole lot more xtra head room than what I've got now for approx $2100 AU ($1500 US).
Click to expand...

If you already like the tone of your Eden head, then I would recommend to go with two 4 ohm NL-210s, and keep the WT550, which would get you 750W into 2 ohms. The jump to 1000W at 2 ohms with the iAmp is only a gain in volume of 1.3 dB, which would be barely noticeable. 1100W (with two 8 ohm cabinets) from a WT800B will give you an increase of 1.7dB, which is not worth $3200 in my book.

Personally, I didn't like the iAmp800's tone as much as the Eden WT550. To my ears, the iAmps sound tight, but sterile, compared to the Edens which are more round and warm sounding.

Surprisingly, when I used both the iAmp and Eden at rehearsal, my bandmates all agreed that the Eden amp sounded better.

Of course, you may prefer the EA sound....
 
#4
12bass said:
I would recommend to go with two 4 ohm NL-210s, and keep the WT550, which would get you 750W into 2 ohms. The jump to 1000W at 2 ohms with the iAmp is only a gain in volume of 1.3 dB,

Personally, I didn't like the iAmp800's tone as much as the Eden WT550. To my ears, the iAmps sound tight, but sterile, compared to the Edens which are more round and warm sounding.
Click to expand...

Thnx 12bass for your thoughts.

I have never really liked the idea of running an Amp down to 2 ohms. I was told by a technician once that to run an amplifier down to 2 ohms is like red-lining a car engine, so for that reason I would rather not work my amps that hard.

As far as sound is concerned I can get both amps to work for me. It is mailny headroom and output which is why I am thinking of upgrading.

Cheers.
 
#5
Bass Clef said:
Thnx 12bass for your thoughts.

I have never really liked the idea of running an Amp down to 2 ohms. I was told by a technician once that to run an amplifier down to 2 ohms is like red-lining a car engine, so for that reason I would rather not work my amps that hard.
(...)
Click to expand...

was riiiiiiiiiight about to remark about that, but you know wassup... :cool:

still with that said, i've run my iAMP-800 @ 2ohms pretty freakin' hard, and it barely broke a sweat.
 
#6
Bass Clef said:
I have never really liked the idea of running an Amp down to 2 ohms. I was told by a technician once that to run an amplifier down to 2 ohms is like red-lining a car engine, so for that reason I would rather not work my amps that hard.

As far as sound is concerned I can get both amps to work for me. It is mailny headroom and output which is why I am thinking of upgrading.
Click to expand...

The WT550 is made to run reliably at 2 ohms, and many user reports back up this claim. If you search the Eden forum, you can find reports on the difference in overall volume between WT550 and WT800. IRRC, there are reports that the jump is not very significant.

I'm making these suggestions with the thought that spending a lot of money on small gains is not worthwhile.

If you are interested in doing some calculations of overall volume using different amps/speakers, I've found this page quite handy:

http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

Hope you find your tone!
 
#7
it would only "hurt" the WT-550 if you are running it flat out all night long into 2ohms. It will be fine if you keep the volume at a normal level.. I asked lots of Eden guy's about the 2ohms thing and they said there WT-550's are more than happy to run into 2ohm.
 
#8
Remo & 12bass,

I hear what you guy's are saying and I really appreciate it.

May have to research the 2 ohms factor a little more.

Sounds like another cool option worth exploring.

I hear the point about spending the xtra $ for not much in gains.

I guess what I am trying to decide is, if $2100 AU is a good price for a 800watt boutique head as compared to another 800watt head in a similar class or is the price difference between the two justified.

thnx.
 
#9
at the end of the day you need to be able to hear yourself at rehearsal and during gigs.. most gigs have PA support so you rig is demoted to foldback... save your money, man you don't really need the firepower your aiming for.. ymmv

I run 500w each into a 2x12 and a 2x10 with my mackie 1400 poweramp and run an Alembic F-1X preamp.. it sounds great but it's really overkill and I never run it over %50.. it's nice to have so much headroom but again, it's serious overkill..

but the devil in me says...

...if you want supergrunt I'd go a Alembic F-1X pre (these things sound amazing) or an Eden WP-100 preamp (If the Eden sound is your thing) into a QSC PLX2 1804 poweramp..

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

the thing weighs 5.9 kilos and pushes over 800w into each 4 ohm cab.. MUMMA!!! serious firepower... and light to boot!!
 
#10
The Epi410UL is very, very efficient, and the WT550 with a 4ohm 401UL would be loud enough for all but the loudest metal bands and sound wonderful. I also agree that the iAmp800 sounds great with the NL210's. I didn't particularly care for the iAmp/Epi combination... a little too sterile and clinical sounding for me... but that's just personal preference.
 
#12
Tried the EA NL-210 in a rehearsal with the WT550. Sounded great. Nice midrange, lows, and the highs were easily tameble and apart from that it sounded pretty big.

I do like the Eden tone but the down side to that is to get a 800 watt Eden amp it's going to cost me nearly an xtra $1000 than to get a 800watt EA amp.

I've tried the iamp800 and it also works for me, but I know its still not an Eden.

Others have said 800 watts is overkill, but I think it's always better to have more even if you don't need it all the time.

But at what cost ! This is what I am trying figure out.

Go for the EA 800watt head or pay nearly $1000 more and get the Eden 800 watt head. This is the question.
 
#14
Bass Clef said:
BUMP !!

Any other thoughts or opinions.
Click to expand...

You won't hear the SPL difference between the 550 and the 800. In fact, you'd get more apparent extra SPL from a decent compressor/limiter than from that incremental increase in power.

Stick with your WT-550 and if you extra run out of headroom add another cab with all that money you've saved!

Alex
 
#15
I disagree in that I took my WT400 into the bass centre when I was looking for greater headroom. When running it against a WT550 there was little discernable difference (at 4 ohms). However, the WT800B was significantly louder bridged at 4 ohms when run side by side. The other great thing about the WT800B is that you can bi-amp the signal. Although this does not give an increase in sound pressure, I find the sound to be that much clearer and cuts through a mix better without 'swamping' the sound. If it were me I would run the WT800B with two cabs over the EA800i.

The other thing is sound, they do are totally different sounding amps. The Eden has greater depth and roundness at the bottom end over the EA800i. If you like the sound of the WT550, go for the WT800B. Also, if you are looking for greater headroom and like the sound of your WT550, why not hook up a WT1205?
 
#16
alanbass1 said:
I disagree in that I took my WT400 into the bass centre when I was looking for greater headroom. When running it against a WT550 there was little discernable difference (at 4 ohms). However, the WT800B was significantly louder bridged at 4 ohms when run side by side. The other great thing about the WT800B is that you can bi-amp the signal. Although this does not give an increase in sound pressure, I find the sound to be that much clearer and cuts through a mix better without 'swamping' the sound. If it were me I would run the WT800B with two cabs over the EA800i.
Click to expand...

A couple of points here:

First, IMO with two NL-210s, biamping a WT800B would not be advisable. Full range is the way forward with the NL-210.

Second, IMO, we should be careful to match variables when comparing the WT550 with the WT800B.

If we compare the output volume of the WT550 and WT800B into a single 4 ohm cabinet, then we have a significant difference in power going into the cabinet from the two amps. The WT550 will put out 500W into 4 ohms, while the WT800B will put out 1100W bridged into 4 ohms, which is over twice the power. This gives a volume advantage of 3.4dB to the WT800B, which is a significant improvement.

However, if we use the same two amps powering two 4 ohm cabinets, then we are looking at an output of 750W into 2 ohms with the WT550, and 440W x 2 into 4 ohms from the WT800B. In this situation, the volume difference between the two amps is only 0.7dB, which is of little significance.
 
#19
alexclaber said:
You won't hear the SPL difference between the 550 and the 800. In fact, you'd get more apparent extra SPL from a decent compressor/limiter than from that incremental increase in power.

Stick with your WT-550 and if you extra run out of headroom add another cab with all that money you've saved!

Alex
Click to expand...

+1

this makes sense to me.

besides the difference in extra wattage for me was more a matter of feel.

i.e. when i was deciding btwn the iAMP-500 or iAMP-800 for my needs, the 800 won out, thanks to its tighter faster punch thru my Acme cabs.
 
#20
To add to my previous analysis.....

If we consider using either the WT550 or WT800B with two 8 ohm cabinets, then the situation changes from the two 4 ohm cabinet scenario detailed above (assuming the cabinets are identical in efficiency).

With two 8 ohms cabinets, the WT550 will produce 500W, while the WT800B has the option of either stereo operation at 300W x 2 into 8 ohms, or bridged operation for 1100W into 4 ohms. In the bridged case, we again see the 3.4dB advantage for the WT800B.

Because of this, for the best value and performance, I recommend the use of two 4 ohm cabinets with the WT550.

One more point of analysis: The volume difference between the WT550 with two 4 ohms cabinets and the WT800B with two 8 ohms cabinets is
1.7dB.
 

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