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Debating whether to go Pre Amp/Power Amp...Need help...

#21
xgabriel said:
Ok, I just got back from my local shop, and I came home with a Crown XLS 602 and a six space rack.... Someone please tell me I made the right desicion. This will work with my 4 ohm Avatar B410, right? I need some comforting right now....
Click to expand...

You are going to be quite happy with this setup! The only downside is, now that you have a nice new preamp and amp, you are sliding down the slippery slope... :eek: :D
 
#22
xgabriel said:
Ok, I just got back from my local shop, and I came home with a Crown XLS 602 and a six space rack.... Someone please tell me I made the right desicion. This will work with my 4 ohm Avatar B410, right? I need some comforting right now....
Click to expand...

Oooohhh..................You made the right decision!
Plenty of headroom and a nice pre!;)
 
#29
You're stepping up from the "mid-level" gear of the world. SWR is pretty decent, but you'll be amazed at the clarity in the epifani stuff.

Also, the pre-power setup is just all around versatile. Decide you want a warmer, tubier tone? Switch out your Epifani for an Alembic F1-X, BBE BMax-T, Aguilar, etc. Want more power? Swap out the poweramp. You can even add stuff like rackmount tuners, etc, very easily.

It's just a cool setup, and for those of us who can't own a basement full of gear, it's more practical.

Be careful, though, it's very easy to end up going down a very long and expensive road. Ask Tom!
 
#30
Dan1099 said:
You're stepping up from the "mid-level" gear of the world. SWR is pretty decent, but you'll be amazed at the clarity in the epifani stuff.

Also, the pre-power setup is just all around versatile. Decide you want a warmer, tubier tone? Switch out your Epifani for an Alembic F1-X, BBE BMax-T, Aguilar, etc. Want more power? Swap out the poweramp. You can even add stuff like rackmount tuners, etc, very easily.

It's just a cool setup, and for those of us who can't own a basement full of gear, it's more practical.

Be careful, though, it's very easy to end up going down a very long and expensive road. Ask Tom!
Click to expand...


Yup. That is all great advice. Thanks! :hyper:
 
#32
I bought an XLS 602 when MF had them priced at $249...and I got it. I like it very much. I was using a friends QSC RMX amp and I like this just as much and it's lighter.

Since I am new to playing bass, I bought a Behringer Bass V Amp Pro and I'm quite happy with the versatility of the unit. I have sounds to play with and there are several that I think sound quite good...but it has a learning curve to be able to tweak it well.

I also bought Avatar 210 Delta and an Avatar B115H Neo and paired with the two Peavey Millennium basses I bought I think I'm off to a good start.

Thanks to TB for all the great advise for my GAS.
 
#34
The XLS 602 has two XLR inputs, with either 2 sets of banana plugs out, or two speakon outputs.

I actually have no idea what to do to bridge this thing. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
#35
xgabriel said:
The XLS 602 has two XLR inputs, with either 2 sets of banana plugs out, or two speakon outputs.

I actually have no idea what to do to bridge this thing. Anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Call Crown. I'm actually being serious. Crown has great customer support and they'll answer just about any question. That is one reason why my rack has Crown in it... I'm sure other companies, QSC in particular are there as well. Crown's been that way since my old DC-300's from the mid-70's ...

Use a single banana and jump (+) of ch1 to (+) and (+) of ch2 to (-). That is the way Crowns bridge. Scope the manual and call Crown. It's always a good idea to check this out for your specific model taking the serial number into account to be sure and if you get this wrong, smoke happens ...

Here is a Invalid Link Removed to the Crown website (and your owners manual in pdf format).

By the wya - you probably do not need to bridge. One side of you amp will probbal;y drive your Avatar to high volume. It's always nice to have a spare side available for monitors or key's or just in case ... As a rule of thumb, I don't bridge unless it's a sub-woofer amp...
 
#38
Navybass said:
I have the BBE BMax preamp, and after trying many different preamps, I've found that the BBE was the nicest sounding one for what I was looking for. That includes preamps costing much more than the BBE.
Click to expand...


Thanks. I have also tried the BBE BMax and thought it was great. Have you compared it to the Epifani Quest II I purchased by any chance?
 
#40
xgabriel said:
The XLS 602 has two XLR inputs, with either 2 sets of banana plugs out, or two speakon outputs.

I actually have no idea what to do to bridge this thing. Anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

For the inputs, you need a special XLR Y-cable. One side needs to be wired normal and the other side (which goes to channel two) needs to be wired with reversed polarity. If you don't know how to do this, I'm sure you could find someone handy with a soldering iron to make one for you for a nominal fee. :) If your preamp only has quarter inch outputs, you will need something like an Whirlwind IMP impedance adapter to go on the single end of the cable.

The output just needs a Speakon wired for bridge-mono mode.
 

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