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Epifani 902UL....Finally

#161
svtb15 said:
Thank you for being gentle with me.. I just got off the phone with Nick at Epifani.. he said the amp Does Not Bridge to Mono.... He said he could not see a reason for it since the amp is so powerful the way it is, and it could blow up speaker cabs like an svt cab if used in the bridge mode...
Well we all know that i thought.. the standard SVT cab only takes maybe 350 to 400 watts or so.. maybe more for the older pro series.
Anyway he said NO to Bridge on the ouitput. the Parrallel/ Mono is the front panel inputs that can be routed that way to run togeter or seperate.. hope that helps.

They put guys on the moon almost 30 years ago but no one has figured out how to get that CA9 ooommmph into a 10 pound box... how can that be?
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Thanks! OK, I get the series/parallel thing now, and that makes sense.. similar to the Genz Benz and Mesa2000 units... where you can run the pre's as separate and switchable, or feed one into the other/blend. Cool.

Bummer on the no bridging for those many of us that would only use one cab. I totally understand that this amp is not for us. I will look forward to the 'monoblock 900' some day:D
 
#162
Just a miss print when the web site was redesigned, being re-edited. Same thing with the specs on the PS600.
The 902 was never a bridged model, always 2x900 watts. But being that it's been in the making for some time now, it's understandable to think that the change may have taken place for bridging.
 
#163
jokerjkny said:
again, good thoughts, vis, but just as you pointed out, the *real* target that nick was shooting for, were the touring pros who need this kind of massive power. heck, the first guys to take prototypes on gig werent his usual NYC cronies, rather it was daryl jones and chris mcbride on their recent tours.
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+1...and in that market the 902UL blows away just about anything that isn't a full rack setup with a separate power amp. I know alot of big touring pros use 4x10 stacks with an Eden WT-800 or an SWR SM-900...now they can get TWICE as much power into each 4x10 cab with the 902UL, with less weight! I can't think of another 2 space bass amp that even comes close to those specs.
 
#164
svtb15 said:
Thank you for being gentle with me.. I just got off the phone with Nick at Epifani.. he said the amp Does Not Bridge to Mono.... He said he could not see a reason for it since the amp is so powerful the way it is, and it could blow up speaker cabs like an svt cab if used in the bridge mode...
Click to expand...

That makes total sense to me...bridging isn't needed. Who out there is gonna be bridging 1800 watts into 8 ohms?!?!? I can't think of an 8 ohm cab that could take that power...
 
#165
KJung said:
Bummer on the no bridging for those many of us that would only use one cab. I totally understand that this amp is not for us. I will look forward to the 'monoblock 900' some day:D
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I understand that it would suck to only use half of the head most of the time, but again, how could you possibly use 1800 watts at 8 ohms? Thats a crazy amount of power into one cab.
 
#166
vision said:
I understand that it would suck to only use half of the head most of the time, but again, how could you possibly use 1800 watts at 8 ohms? Thats a crazy amount of power into one cab.
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+1... it's more paying for the full amp and only using half in my situation. I again realize I'm not the target customer for this amp, and will just shut up about it:D . I'm making a bigger deal out of it than it really is.

What I'm really disappointed about is that the 502 wasn't upgraded to 'half the 902. That would be an amp I would immediately purchase... 900 watts into 4ohms and 8 pounds or so.
 
#167
KJung said:
+1... it's more paying for the full amp and only using half in my situation. I again realize I'm not the target customer for this amp, and will just shut up about it:D . I'm making a bigger deal out of it than it really is.

What I'm really disappointed about is that the 502 wasn't upgraded to 'half the 902. That would be an amp I would immediately purchase... 900 watts into 4ohms and 8 pounds or so.
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Gotcha...I feel the same way about the 502. 900 watts at 4 ohms into an Epi 410UL would be pure heaven. I'm sure it'll come sometime in the future though - it took a long time just to bring out the 902!

For me though, I really don't need too much power. I'm trying to decide on my next head upgrade if I should go with the Performance 600, the Thunderfunk, or the Markbass LMII...
 
#170
i cant wait to start getting some AB comparison reviews with other well known amps from all the players in TB ... i LOVE to read all the real world use comparison here.... that helps all of so much... i have some good gear but when i do my local gigs i hate to carry my freakin SVT head... i love the way it sounds but lets be real, im 48 years old...

So i am still on the search for he light weight ballzzy amp... i will ad this to my list along with the EA iamp800 to listen to... if i could find an amp that sounded like an SVT only a little cleaner, more headroom, is tighter, and 1/8 the weight.... i would sell everything abd get that baby.....
 
#171
KJung said:
Also, the Berg IP's have a lot of low end ooomph (although a lot of that comes from the compression/DSP EQ.... but nonetheless it's there).

I will wait to pass judgement on the Epi902 until I hear it:bassist:
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I tried the Berg IP series and was blown away... i did not know it was a switching supply... maybe the DSP has something to do with part of that.. like you said...
I have not tried it on a gig though.. but in the store it was very impressive.. Very!
 
#172
svtb15 said:
I tried the Berg IP series and was blown away... i did not know it was a switching supply... maybe the DSP has something to do with part of that.. like you said...
I have not tried it on a gig though.. but in the store it was very impressive.. Very!
Click to expand...

Don't remind me. I've blocked all memory of how great those cabs sound completely out of my mind...:scowl:
 
#173
svtb15 said:
i have some good gear but when i do my local gigs i hate to carry my freakin SVT head... i love the way it sounds but lets be real, im 48 years old...QUOTE]

I know how you feel, I'm 55, :crying: at 50 I got tired of carrying around my Crown rack and very happy with the Epi UL502.
Even my WW's Ultra takes a back seat to it, the 502 has a much better front end.
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#176
KJung said:
Thanks! OK, I get the series/parallel thing now, and that makes sense.. similar to the Genz Benz and Mesa2000 units... where you can run the pre's as separate and switchable, or feed one into the other/blend. Cool.

Bummer on the no bridging for those many of us that would only use one cab. I totally understand that this amp is not for us. I will look forward to the 'monoblock 900' some day:D
Click to expand...

trust me KJ,

i've been begging, no pleading with nick to make it bridgable... :rolleyes:
 
#177
KJung said:
+1... it's more paying for the full amp and only using half in my situation. I again realize I'm not the target customer for this amp, and will just shut up about it:D . I'm making a bigger deal out of it than it really is.

What I'm really disappointed about is that the 502 wasn't upgraded to 'half the 902. That would be an amp I would immediately purchase... 900 watts into 4ohms and 8 pounds or so.
Click to expand...
Another way to look at the 902 is it is a 900w 502. I don't know the price difference but it's only two pounds heavier than a 502 and as a bonus can drive two 4ohm cabs. It's about 10lbs lighter than my wt800 and must be about half the weight of your Glock Ken?

The slight difference in weight with substantially more power implies that different technology is being used in the ouput stage. Anyone know if that's the case? How does one side of the 902 compare compare with the 502 in low end weight and punch?
 
#178
el_Kabong said:
Another way to look at the 902 is it is a 900w 502. I don't know the price difference but it's only two pounds heavier than a 502 and as a bonus can drive two 4ohm cabs. It's about 10lbs lighter than my wt800 and must be about half the weight of your Glock Ken?

The slight difference in weight with substantially more power implies that different technology is being used in the ouput stage. Anyone know if that's the case? How does one side of the 902 compare compare with the 502 in low end weight and punch?
Click to expand...

hehe, i like the way you think EK. :cool:

but yea, the ul902 has a very different tech from the ul502. cant really get into the details, cause i dont wanna mislead ( :rolleyes: ), but the tech in the new performance amps and the new ul902 are similar.

again, for you guys who havent heard the 902 just need to try it. really hard to look back to most any other amp after trying out how clean and powerful your sound can be with it.
 
#179
el_Kabong said:
Another way to look at the 902 is it is a 900w 502. I don't know the price difference but it's only two pounds heavier than a 502 and as a bonus can drive two 4ohm cabs. It's about 10lbs lighter than my wt800 and must be about half the weight of your Glock Ken?

The slight difference in weight with substantially more power implies that different technology is being used in the ouput stage. Anyone know if that's the case? How does one side of the 902 compare compare with the 502 in low end weight and punch?
Click to expand...

I assume the 902 is a class D amp with switching power supply (like the AI Focus and Walter Woods), while the 502 is that very nice class D with traditional transformer design (like the iAmp). So, given that, the weight to wattage ratio is not that unusual at all (the 5 pound Focus is the size of a cigar box and puts out 800 watts, and the Walter puts out 1,200 watts at 7 pounds).

Been there, done that! I'll be interested to hear it, since previous 'all digitial' amps like the Focus and Walter Woods are more impressive for their size to volume ratio than for their actual sound (IMO). That's one of the reasons the Thunderfunk is so impressive... classic design (no class D or switching), but still 550 watts at around 16 pounds. Amazing. However, when you are really wumpin' there's nothing like a huge, heavy, high quality traditional power supply in such high wattage mono blocks as the Glock HR, the Carvin B1500 and the DB750.

However, as discussed above, these class D/switching combination amps seem to be getting better and better. I again look forward to hearing the 902.
 
#180
jokerjkny said:
hehe, i like the way you think EK. :cool:

but yea, the ul902 has a very different tech from the ul502. cant really get into the details, cause i dont wanna mislead ( :rolleyes: ), but the tech in the new performance amps and the new ul902 are similar.

again, for you guys who havent heard the 902 just need to try it. really hard to look back to most any other amp after trying out how clean and powerful your sound can be with it.
Click to expand...
So Joker, ignoring other considerations, which amp sounds better to you, the 502 or the 902? Come on, make your call! Any difference in the feel? No, I mean when you play it, I don't have a steel fetish. Say, they don't have an optional rubber case do they, oooohhh rubber.... :D

The apparent difference in the output stages of those amps is interesting. I wouldn't want to spring for a 902 and then find that the 502 has more wallop.
 

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