I like it! It's the
Straight Ahead Mini Power Amp. It's been rock solid since I got it! It's 500w@4 Ohms, which was pretty decent with my 4 Ohm Genzler BA410, but I'm having some issue with that cab, so I reverted to my Ampeg PN-410, which is an 8 Ohm cab, so it's only getting 300w. The 300w is getting it done, but I don't have anymore headroom, so I have to be a bit more judicious with my settings, which isn't my favorite thing to do. Overall, it's definitely a winner, and I'd encourage anyone looking for a small, lightweight, fairly powerful, and pretty inexpensive, power amp to take a look at these. I tried to record a video Saturday night, but the SD card was full, so I got nothing. I emptied it today, so I should be able to get something this weekend.
Having said all that, I'm giving some serious consideration to getting a
GSS Sumo for a couple of reasons. 1. It's got more POWA'! 2. It comes with a transport case, which would allow me to... 3. Not have the power amp mounted to my board, therefore, allowing me to go to a smaller board. I'm fairly certain that I could mount it on my current board if I smushed everything together, but the thought of downsizing my board makes me smile, LOL! It would also allow me to mount the SAMPA to my acoustic show board permanently, since I have to move it from board to board currently.
The con of the SAMPA is that it's only 500w. The con of the GSS Sumo is the 10" depth. The biggest con of both is that they're 4 Ohm minimum and can't be modded, which limits cab configs. This is also on the table at this moment, the
RAD 1000P. It's WAY more expensive than the other two, but it can be modded to work at 2 Ohms.
TL;DR- The Straight Ahead Mini Power Amp is super cool. It's not perfect, but it is surprisingly good! If you're interested in going the mini power amp route, there are some killer choices available....