Is 800-watts twice as loud as 400-watts? No, 4,000 watts is. What you really get with 800-watts is more dynamics.
All my amps have a cohesive tone to them that throws "paintballs" of tone that splatter on the back wall. Being able to throw a cohesive tone into the room is the goal. This has little to due with power. Would you rather have 800-watts of mushy tone?
Things guys like about my amp are it's light weight and being able to turn off the fan. An 800-watt amp will have neither of that. If you want light and loud buy a digital. I love the guy who posted that the Walter Woods is better than my amp. I agree, at $2000. Why wouldn't it be?
The goal with my 800-watt design is to keep it in 2-rack spaces. This has become a problem because I thought I could reduce the size of the heatsink mounting plate and make up for it with other heatsinking. It didn't work. If I go to a 3-space I can go to a larger transformer. To explain that, a transformer can only have a certain ratio to it's form. Otherwise the coil doesn't stay close enough to the laminates. The transformer I use is as large as you can fit in two-rack spaces. A 600VA. I found a 1,000VA toroid (I've used toroids for over 12 years) but it weighs twice as much (shouldn't) and costs twice as much. Where's the gain?
If I increase the voltage of the transformer, the transistors will put out more, but then the transformer won't deliver the current. So let's talk about a 2-ohm load. Yes, the amp will put out more power into 2-ohms, but will the transformer deliver more power? No. And a 2-ohm load is NEVER a good idea with transistors. It can lead to instability and failure. Other manufacturers won't tell you this. I don't understand why guys think you can just plug in 2-ohms and get a bigger sound.
Peavey makes a 4x10 speaker box at 4-ohms. Why? So they can get more power out of their amp at 4-ohms. But then you can't hook up two boxes (2-ohms). This is chasing specs. Or it's getting the best efficiency out of your rig? Getting the most power out of a small rig. You really have to plan on what you're doing to get the most flexibility out of your equipment. If I make an 800-watt amp, it's going to weigh almost twice as much, cost almost twice as much, and with one 8-ohm 4x10, it'll put out around 520 watts. Why not use a 4-ohm 4x10 with a 400-watt amp and get the same volume out of a smaller, lighter, cheaper rig? AccuGroove has a switch on their speakers to change the impedance of the box. This is perfect. Get the most power out of one box, or two boxes as needed.
I'm working on an 800--watt amp, but I think two 400-watt amps are more reliable, more flexible, and only slightly more expensive. When will I have an 800-watt amp? That depends on how reliable you want it to be. It takes time to prove a design.
As to tone: I get emails from customers who say they've spent thousands of dollars buying and selling bass guitars looking for tone, and it was the amp all along. Who knew? Why do I have better tone? More expensive parts. Not designed by bean counters.
If I offer an upgrade that would mean that there will be an 800-watt version. I'll have to wait on that one. I'm also working on a new tube guitar amp, and a tube mic pre. I have to see where the most benefit is going to be. I will say that when I get asked, "How does my amp compare?" I say that I don't compare my amp to anything else. If you find something else better, buy it. I'm making the best amp I can. The rest is up to you.
Thanks,
Dave Funk
