class d digital amplifiers

Here we go

 

Class D amplifiers are not digital.

 

Here you go, you're set
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PSA for everyone: when seeing the terms "class D" or "digital amp" used by anyone who isn't an amp designer, just mentally substitute the words "ultra light" in their place. Everyone will end up happier.

 

That would stop me from being the 2nd or 3rd poster in EVERY thread where someone has 'Class D Digital' in the title.

But fer real, letting it go only propagates the myth.

 

I don't think there are that many 1U power amps, so that would shorten your list considerably. The only one I can think of is a Stewart World 1.2. There are ton of options for 2U though, and they're cheaper/lighter/more powerful.

Why do you need it to push 850w @ 8 ohms?

 

Make sure you look at the rack depth and the price on those amps before you get too excited. Then Google "1 RU power amps" to see some other alternatives.

 

Huh?

What does the PA have to do with this?

 

Yep, some guitarist was feeding you an old wives' tale. The wattage rating on a cab is a rough estimation of how much wattage the speakers can take before burning up. In many cases the speakers will start to "fart out" at a much lower amount of power, some say as low as half the rating of the cab. So in some cases for example an "850 w" cab might only be useful up to 425 W. So the idea that the amp should put out MORE wattage than the cab is rated for is sheer baloney, a recipe for blown speakers. I should say though that an experienced player can get away with using a more powerful amp--they just have to really know what they're doing... or be very very lucky.

 

Nah, "peak" is a totally BS number that should be ignored. It only exists so cab brands can inflate the specs, make people think they're getting something more than they are. RMS implies peaks, it is sort of an average value--meaning if your signal is up around that point on average, you are definitely sending in much higher peaks, and testing the limits of the cab.

 

If the choice is between putting out significantly more power than the cab is designed for or significantly less power than the cab is designed for, I would always advocate getting significantly more.

But ideally you want to get rid of that "significant" difference regardless of whether it's + or - ...which is probably why the OP was asking about matching the cabinet's specified rating.

 

I'd advocate the opposite.
Much less chance of damaging the drivers.

 

You would only do that if you haven't learned that "underpowering" is a myth, an old wives' tale. Search on it, and check out the FAQ, to learn.