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Ashdown 300 MAG Output issues.

T

TheBoxMan

Aug 12, 2012
8
0
Lone Jack, Missouri
#1
Long story short my peavey combo 115 blew out on me halfway through the first song of my last show. I was running it with a 410 ( I know its a bad combo lol) but I opted out of fixing the combo and just bought a new amp.

I found this Ashdown 300 MAG at a local music shop that is closing down, bummer, but after reading some good reviews, and a few bad ones.. I figured I might as well pick it up, considering i wasnt going to find a better deal.

I got the amp for 100 bucks and played all day yesterday with no problems. I was soo excited that I found such a great deal! Well today that all changed. The MAG turns on but there isnt any output sound! Ive checked online and repaired a couple fuses that could have potentially been the problem, but other than that i'm at a loss! Still no sound.

I have noo idea what it could be, and im worried cause I have another show looming in about a week. :help:

Soo if anyone has any ideas as too what it coul be, or if you could send me in the right direction id really appreciate the help!
 
#2
Did he Peavey head and the Ashdown head blow when using the same speaker cab?

If yes, have the cab checked for shorts.
It's possible the cab wiring is putting an excessive load on the amps.
 
#3
Got your receipt? Surely the store has some kind of return policy on a defective unit. I know with S/H you've got a certain element of risk that something might be near death but cmon. It didn't last a day.

I do assume of course that you didn't stuff it up somehow. You didn't plug it in after turning the head on? You're not running some wacky 2ohm 410?
 
#4
I had played it sepereately through both the 4x10 and 115 yesterday and everything was alright.When the peavey blew i was using it to power both cabs, soo really it could be either one?

I take great care of my equiptment and use it properly, soo I dont feel like that is the problem. Im just really frustrated/determined to fix it because all sales are final! Hopefully this turns around, or else I made a really bad purchase.. :/
 
#7
Best way is to have a speaker repair shop do a sweep test on them. Most live sound contractors do their own recone and test speakers. A meter can give some clues on speaker cabs and the old 9 volt battery test can help some. A meter will find a shorted cable but not necessarily one with an intermittent short. As long as it is SPEAKER wire at the ends is where most trouble will be and a visual will help there.

Amp repair shops should be able to sweep cabs as well but they tend to be more expensive.
 
#8
The 15" speaker is really 4 ohms, mismarked as an 8 ohm.

I assume you are running a 8 ohm, 15" in parallel with a
8 ohm, 4-10.

If the 15 is actually 4 ohms and you put anything in parallel with it, a solid state amp will fry.

Again, make sure the 4-10 is also 8 ohms.
 
#9
john m said:
If the 15 is actually 4 ohms and you put anything in parallel with it, a solid state amp will fry.
Click to expand...

Just a point of interest... my girlfriend's father worked in live and recorded audio visual for ages. He says that most solid state amps could be run down to almost 0ohms load without a problem. Certainly a lot of Peavey gear handles 2ohm cabs well, including the old Mark IV heads that were usually paired with a 2ohm 215 cab. The idea of hurting an amp by putting it in a loadless setting comes more from tube amps, apparently.... I still wouldn't want to risk it on my own Ashdown head however.
 
#10
kohntarkosz said:
Just a point of interest... my girlfriend's father worked in live and recorded audio visual for ages. He says that most solid state amps could be run down to almost 0ohms load without a problem. Certainly a lot of Peavey gear handles 2ohm cabs well, including the old Mark IV heads that were usually paired with a 2ohm 215 cab. The idea of hurting an amp by putting it in a loadless setting comes more from tube amps, apparently.... I still wouldn't want to risk it on my own Ashdown head however.
Click to expand...

If the amp is rated for 2 ohms--- go for it.

If not-- you'll probably be ok at frequencies above 100 Hz,
it's all about heat management. If your lucky, the amp is thermally protected. Look at the back of old Peavey or Sunn solid state amps--- the output transistors could be changed without opening up the case or heating up a soldering iron.

Short= 0 ohms; Loadless = infinite ohms
 
#11
john m said:
If the amp is rated for 2 ohms--- go for it.

If not-- you'll probably be ok at frequencies above 100 Hz,
it's all about heat management. If your lucky, the amp is thermally protected. Look at the back of old Peavey or Sunn solid state amps--- the output transistors could be changed without opening up the case or heating up a soldering iron.

Short= 0 ohms; Loadless = infinite ohms
Click to expand...

That explains why the back of those Peavey MarkIV heads is one massive heat sink! Thanks for clearing that up.
 

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