Double Bass EA Micro 300

[drurb]

+1 Thanks

You're welcome! This really demonstrates the power of the Wizzy (pun intended). Considering its sensitivity, it can really save the user $$$ on an amplifier. That is, if one accepts the physics over the emotional need to just have hundreds and hundreds of watts.

 

[Ric Vice]

+1 Thanks

Unless I'm mistaken ( and I'd love to be) The VL 108's and 208's had a lower SPL than the newer and more efficent Wizzy's. I believe that there SPL was around the 96 to 98 range so under Drurb's assesment it would take a good deal more power to drive them than the Wizzy at it's SPL of 103. Since I'm one of those VL affecianados I'll just have to wait for the higher powered micros yet to come.

Ric

 

[Jake]

You're welcome! This really demonstrates the power of the Wizzy (pun intended). Considering its sensitivity, it can really save the user $$$ on an amplifier. That is, if one accepts the physics over the emotional need to just have hundreds and hundreds of watts.

I am sure that the 100 watt WW head sounds great. I could not afford one and would not buy one if I could.....well, maybe. I just wanted to add that I am in the market for a head that is also good for loud bass guitar. It seems like an amp like the iAMP 800, which is a little out of my current price range, is great for both double bass and shaking stuff with the electric, the kind of head I hope aquire in the not too distant future.

 

[Jake]

Also, I see your point about pressure levels, you guys obviously know a lot more about amps than me. I've been looking at the Wizzy cabinets myself. It will be interesting to see how this Micro 300 actually stacks up against the Walter Woods heads which are a lot more expensive, right?

 

[Freddels]

Also, I see your point about pressure levels, you guys obviously know a lot more about amps than me. I've been looking at the Wizzy cabinets myself. It will be interesting to see how this Micro 300 actually stacks up against the Walter Woods heads which are a lot more expensive, right?

That's sort of apples and oranges since WW is putting out 1000 watt amps that cost a little more than four times the price of the Micro 300. I got my WW back in 1984 and it's 100 watts (but still a nice amp).

 

[Freddels]

I've talked about this ad nauseum so one more time won't hurt. The amount of power you need is highly dependent upon the sensitivity of the speaker cabinet. The Wizzy is rated at 103 dB SPL @ 1 meter @ 1 watt. Every 3-dB change in sensitivity requires a factor of two change in power. So, if your cabinet is only, say, 97 dB SPL @ 1 meter @ 1 watt (and many are not even that high), then that 6-dB reduction will require you to have a four-fold increase in power in order to achieve the same sound-pressure-level as the Wizzy.

In concrete terms, if you push a Wizzy at its full rated power of 200 watts, you will produce 126 dB SPL @ 1 meter. Now, if you had a cabinet rated at 97 dB SPL @ 1 meter @ 1 watt, you would have to push it with 800 watts to achieve that level. Chances are that would be well above the rated power of the cabinet and would produce smoke.

The message here is that what counts is the sound pressure level you can produce, not the amplifier power, per se.

How do the ohms play into this? I know that the Wizzy is 4 ohms. Would the results differ in a cab with a 99dB SPL in an 8 ohm version differ from a 4 ohm version?

 

[drurb]

How do the ohms play into this? I know that the Wizzy is 4 ohms. Would the results differ in a cab with a 99dB SPL in an 8 ohm version differ from a 4 ohm version?

Here's how it works. The Wizzy is a 4-ohm cabinet. It's rating is 103 dB SPL @ 1 watt @1 meter. The idea is that the power amp must develop 1 watt across that 4-ohm load in order to achieve the 103 dB SPL. Now, the iamp200, for example, is capable of developing 200 watts across that 4-ohm load. 200 watts also happens to be the maximum rated power of the Wizzy.

10*LOG(200/1)= 23.0

Powered with 200 watts, the SPL of the Wizzy will be 23.0 dB above what it is at 1 watt. In other words, 126 dB SPL. (103+23=126).

So, for a cabinet of x ohms, there will be sensitivity rating. What you want to know is how much power a particular amplifier can develop across x ohms. That will tell you the sound pressure level that you can produce with the cabinet. You'd like the amp to be able to develop the maximum rated power of the cabinet in order to use all of the cabinet's dynamic range.

 

[Jake]

I feel like I'm in an episode of Mr. Wizard, not in the midst of a few bass players shooting the breeze about amps.

 

[Mike Dimin]

Just a note on the Micro 300:

We have, through the R&D process, found some ways to add many cool features that we initially thought to be beyond the scope of the design. As soon as we put it all together, I'll post more

Mike

 

[Ric Vice]

Mike,
I can't wait to get the scoop on the new features. This baby looks like
a real winner, with that Wizzy 10 cabinet it could just be the mini rig in my future.

Ric

 

[drurb]

I feel like I'm in an episode of Mr. Wizard, not in the midst of a few bass players shooting the breeze about amps.

Well, knowledge is power! Besides, someone asked the question and "shooting the breeze" only goes so far. Many needlessly-spent $$$ have been extracted from buyers who were not armed with an understanding of how this all works.

 

[drurb]

Mike,
I can't wait to get the scoop on the new features. This baby looks like
a real winner, with that Wizzy 10 cabinet it could just be the mini rig in my future.

Ric

Wizzy 10?

 

[Adrian Cho]

Yep. Read the end of the VL208 thread.

 

[drurb]

Yep. Read the end of the VL208 thread.

Thanks.

 

[Ric Vice]

I feel like I'm in an episode of Mr. Wizard, not in the midst of a few bass players shooting the breeze about amps.

Jake,
Don Herbert was my idol. Hemo the Magnificent and Our Mr. Sun rock.

 

[Mike Dimin]

The first proto of the Wizzy 10 was delivered and being put through it's paces. It is a Neo Wizzy 10 and is weighing in at 18 pounds. Sensitivity is 102 DB (excellent for a neo driver). More info will follow

Mike

 

[Mike Dimin]

Mike,
I can't wait to get the scoop on the new features. This baby looks like
a real winner, with that Wizzy 10 cabinet it could just be the mini rig in my future.

Ric

There will be 3 levels of adjustment on the Micro 300.

Common adjustments will be on the front face. Less common adjustments will be available through the top of the amp via a mini scredriver. Finally one-time amp configuration will be available via jumpers inside the amp. The possibilities of what is possible is pretty large. We are in the process of defining those features.

Mike

 

[drurb]

The first proto of the Wizzy 10 was delivered and being put through it's paces. It is a Neo Wizzy 10 and is weighing in at 18 pounds. Sensitivity is 102 DB (excellent for a neo driver). More info will follow

Mike

102 dB SPL @ 1 watt @ 1 meter is pretty good. What is the frequency response? If the driver and cabinet are smaller while retaining sensitivity, then physics dictates that something must be given up in the lower end.

1) Small size

2) Sensitivity

3) Extended low-frequency response

You can only have two of those three simultaneously.

 

[Freddels]

Perhaps an optional separate power amp (like AI Focus SA) to increase the power of the Micro 300 when needed. I wouldn't mind carrying an additional 3 lbs box for a gig that required more volume.

 

[David Santos]

PS. IMHO
The amp also needs some notch/high pass filters, combo jacks, and a phase switch.

And phantom power.

And why not pre/post eq and groundlift switches on the DI!!!

By the way, can the channels be operated at the same time? (for a mic + piezzo combination)

David Santos