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Class D Amps

X

Xierion

Mar 31, 2009
14
0
#1
Hi all,
I am in the market for a new amp and was looking for a few suggestions as to what is out there.

I like to have a smooth, clean tone, which I have managed to dial in to my multi effects pedal, and I just need it to be amplified. I have had a bad experience with crossover distorion with both of the class AB amps I've had in the past, so am now looking at class D amps. (The size and price of class D's is good too)

I am looking in the ballpark of 500W and I have seen the Ampeg Portaflex 500 and GK MB500 on ebay for the sort of price I am looking for.

Does anyone have any opinions of the GK MB500 or PF500, and can you suggest any others in this class?

Xierion
 
#2
That's true, class-d can't have any crossover distortion in it's output stage.
But I find it hard to believe any modern class-ab SS amp would have any problems with crossover distortion.

You might as well future proof yourself and go class-d with SMPS
As far as the power amp part - they're really all the same - they work.
The pre-amp part is the only difference in most heads that use class-d. A few stand out because they have taken special care with the limiters. GB for example.
Pre-amps tastes are very subjective, and you should buy from a place you can try it out for a while and return it if it doesn't work out.

For power/SMPS look for one with Universal power supply, that is it works with a wide range of line voltages. And a long, no hassle warranty. Not that class-d would have any problems, but manufacturers should be raising the warranty because they don't. I don't know, is Ampeg doing 5 year warranty?
 
#3
Not played the GK but the PF500 is really hot, and if you can swing the extra four hundy, the SVT 7 Pro is amazing. I so don't need a 1000w amp, but for tone alone, I'd get it if I didn't already have enough amps.
 
#5
Bassamatic said:
Agreed - I can't believe that ANY A/B amp - consumer or pro made in the last 20 years - has any kind of audible crossover distortion, especially for M.I. Use.
Click to expand...

+1000! :hmm:

An amp to consider would be the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500, I get a great clean sound from mine, plus the power amp section is very neutral sounding; sometimes I will run my UA LA-610 MK II into the FX return which bypasses the preamp in the TH500 and only the master volume is effective so you can run your front end into the amp, easily.
 
#7
Xierion said:
Hi all,
I am in the market for a new amp and was looking for a few suggestions as to what is out there.

I like to have a smooth, clean tone, which I have managed to dial in to my multi effects pedal, and I just need it to be amplified. I have had a bad experience with crossover distorion with both of the class AB amps I've had in the past, so am now looking at class D amps. (The size and price of class D's is good too)

I am looking in the ballpark of 500W and I have seen the Ampeg Portaflex 500 and GK MB500 on ebay for the sort of price I am looking for.

Does anyone have any opinions of the GK MB500 or PF500, and can you suggest any others in this class?

Xierion
Click to expand...

How do you know it was crossover distortion? Did you see the waveform on an oscilliscope? If not, there's no definitive way to say what caused the distortion. I'd say it was clipping, not crossover distortion. If it really was crossover distortion, it means the amp needed to be re-biased.
 
#8
The first amp I had was definitely crossover distortion as I put a tone generator and oscilloscope on the output. The amp I have at the moment may not be crossover distortion, but there is definitely distortion on low frequency tones that is not there on the DI or headphone out on the pedal.
 
#12
Xierion said:
Forgot to mention that I am looking for a solid state as I dont want to have to deal with replacing tubes, but thanks for your suggestions so far
Click to expand...
I won't lie and say tubes don't go bad, but in a hybrid amp, tubes can last years, decades even.

EDIT: Of course the same can be said for power tubes as well. I've got almost a 38 year old set of power tubes in my 73 Super Reverb.
 

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