Jule Amps Monique part 5

[BuffaloBob4343]

Yas, it will do down to 2ohms, but there's no real gain in doing it as you see from the numbers. I just looked on the hypex site to make sure I wasn't misforgetting the specs. So if you have 2x4ohm cabs, gopher it, but otherwise, 2x 8ohm cabs would serve you better for headroom...

...but the reality is that this amp is such an effing beast that 2000 at 2ohms certainly would be more than enough. Please wemember that those wattage quotes are 'Wrms'...not peak or burst or fairywatts. So, be careful not to have your speakers vomit out their secret inner-workings.

Just out of curiosity, does misforgetting = remembering?

 

[MarkA]

Just out of curiosity, does misforgetting = remembering?

Misforgetting is when you want to forget something, but forget something else instead.

It could also be forgetting something incorrectly... I forget.

 

[boamedt]

Wow, i thought this preamp would make me like a million times better, i sound just like me, such disappointment. Or is it?

The clouds to the tone heavens opened upon to me and a great light shown down. As all the angels sang in chorus, God said, "Let there be Monique!" And Monique was good, very good.

I kid of course.
Two hours with this amp and i can't wipe the smile off my face. Such articulation and depth to each note. As i was running through some lines i found myself missing the next note because i was listening to and enjoying each one so much. But then i came to crave to hear the next note i would play. It sounded so good. I found myself playing a little different. Holding notes a little longer, even adding a little space too. It was like a presentation of each note, if that makes sense. Every thing was so clean and clear. I had to go outside and have a smoke. Then go back for more. When i came back i started looking at my cabs. The speakers were moving. I mean shaking and trembling with every note attack and release. I have never seen my cabs so reactive. I could rub my finger on any string and watch the tremble from the tone that is Monique. This thing is a definite keeper. Pry her out of my hands! I cant wait to try this in my band setting. I have been screwind around with the eq but currently like burningskies setting i saw somewhere around here. Thumbs up!

 

[Lowendtech]

Wow, i thought this preamp would make me like a million times better, i sound just like me, such disappointment. Or is it?

The clouds to the tone heavens opened upon to me and a great light shown down. As all the angels sang in chorus, God said, "Let there be Monique!" And Monique was good, very good.

I kid of course.
Two hours with this amp and i can't wipe the smile off my face. Such articulation and depth to each note. As i was running through some lines i found myself missing the next note because i was listening to and enjoying each one so much. But then i came to crave to hear the next note i would play. It sounded so good. I found myself playing a little different. Holding notes a little longer, even adding a little space too. It was like a presentation of each note, if that makes sense. Every thing was so clean and clear. I had to go outside and have a smoke. Then go back for more. When i came back i started looking at my cabs. The speakers were moving. I mean shaking and trembling with every note attack and release. I have never seen my cabs so reactive. I could rub my finger on any string and watch the tremble from the tone that is Monique. This thing is a definite keeper. Pry her out of my hands! I cant wait to try this in my band setting. I have been screwind around with the eq but currently like burningskies setting i saw somewhere around here. Thumbs up!

Awesome.
Try running Mo through some Audiokinesis Hathor/Changeling or Barefaced BBII/BTII cabs. I’m addicted. I literally can’t get enough. It’s so good. I’m sure FearFull/Fearless cabs are probably in the same boat, but I haven’t had the chance to try them. The more FR/FR the cab, the better the pairing to my ears. Lets Mo really sing.

 

[Ahort]

Does the M500 put out 500 watts at 4 or 8ohms?

 

[juledude]

I believe jule said actually 1 ohm is the minimum load. 2400 watts at 4 ohm 1600 watts at 8 and 2000 at 2 ohm

Yes. Thanks for following up on this.

The minimum load for the M2500 is 1 ohm.

Two ohms is safe operating territory for full time operation.

Here is how it works.
8 ohms gives us 1600 watts.
4 ohms gives us 2500 watts.
2 ohms gives us 2000 watts.

 

[juledude]

Does the M500 put out 500 watts at 4 or 8ohms?

The 500 is a bit different. It is quite comfortable at 2 ohms, 4 ohms, and 8 ohms.

At 2 ohms it gives us 550 watts.
At 4 ohms it gives us 700 watts.
At 8 ohms it gives us 400 watts.

Can you tell that there is no marketing department involved? I am sure they would advertise

Can the M2500 do 2 or 2.67 ohm operation?

 

[BurningSkies]

Wow, i thought this preamp would make me like a million times better, i sound just like me, such disappointment. Or is it?

The clouds to the tone heavens opened upon to me and a great light shown down. As all the angels sang in chorus, God said, "Let there be Monique!" And Monique was good, very good.

I kid of course.
Two hours with this amp and i can't wipe the smile off my face. Such articulation and depth to each note. As i was running through some lines i found myself missing the next note because i was listening to and enjoying each one so much. But then i came to crave to hear the next note i would play. It sounded so good. I found myself playing a little different. Holding notes a little longer, even adding a little space too. It was like a presentation of each note, if that makes sense. Every thing was so clean and clear. I had to go outside and have a smoke. Then go back for more. When i came back i started looking at my cabs. The speakers were moving. I mean shaking and trembling with every note attack and release. I have never seen my cabs so reactive. I could rub my finger on any string and watch the tremble from the tone that is Monique. This thing is a definite keeper. Pry her out of my hands! I cant wait to try this in my band setting. I have been screwind around with the eq but currently like burningskies setting i saw somewhere around here. Thumbs up!

Yeah, it's a great preamp. I find that what sort of makes it stand out in a world of tube preamps is that it shapes the note envelope noticeably to my ear. I would guess that's involving the tube rectifier but it also involves the circuit that we know as 'sensitivity,' because twisting that knob definitely reshapes what we hear.

Don't be beholden to any of my settings. Have fun. I share my Mo' with the world and let whoever is on stage before us (sometimes after us) know that they can twist knobs (besides the volume) however they want without me browbeating them.

 

[boamedt]

Incredibly impressed so far. Cant wait to jam sunday

 

[BurningSkies]

Incredibly impressed so far. Cant wait to jam sunday

DO listen to your cabs for over excursion. I don't believe there's a lot of deep HPFing going on in Monique (that's one of the reason you're seeing your speakers more more than you're used to). With great power comes great responsibility. Some cabs do not like to handle tons of excursion.

 

[boamedt]

DO listen to your cabs for over excursion. I don't believe there's a lot of deep HPFing going on in Monique (that's one of the reason you're seeing your speakers more more than you're used to). With great power comes great responsibility. Some cabs do not like to handle tons of excursion.

I have been for sure. The speakers just seem more sensitive to my touch on the bass that its incredible they have never been like that....might have to get an fdeck just to be safe

 

[juledude]

A question for u guys. I just bought a monique and i read the manual re hooking it up to a power amp. It says a quality instrument cable will be fine. So that just means any good ts 1/4" cable? I dont need a trs cable? I usually hook my preamp out xlr to the preamp in on my power amp(crest prolite 3.0) but the manual for the monique suggest using the 1/4" out for that not the xlr. Just wana make sure i got the right cables to hook her up when she gets here Thursday

Monique doesn't care much about the cable used for output. Even with the cable from your bass, Monique is forgiving due to the tube front end.

My concerns about cable length, capacitance and quality are the sames ones we all have for all our uses.

All shielded cable adds capacitance with length. Longer = more capacitance. No way 'round it. More capacitance in the cable means signal loss primarily in the high end. For our purposes, a foot or so of cable can not change the sound - unless it is a crap cable with poor internal connections.

XLR cables have the same considerations but by being balanced they overcome many of the issues of Single Ended cables. Shorter is still better.

No, you do not need a TRS cable. That was a way (legacy) to help out a very small set of customers.

 

[juledude]

Wow, i thought this preamp would make me like a million times better, i sound just like me, such disappointment. Or is it?

The clouds to the tone heavens opened upon to me and a great light shown down. As all the angels sang in chorus, God said, "Let there be Monique!" And Monique was good, very good.

I kid of course.
Two hours with this amp and i can't wipe the smile off my face. Such articulation and depth to each note. As i was running through some lines i found myself missing the next note because i was listening to and enjoying each one so much. But then i came to crave to hear the next note i would play. It sounded so good. I found myself playing a little different. Holding notes a little longer, even adding a little space too. It was like a presentation of each note, if that makes sense. Every thing was so clean and clear. I had to go outside and have a smoke. Then go back for more. When i came back i started looking at my cabs. The speakers were moving. I mean shaking and trembling with every note attack and release. I have never seen my cabs so reactive. I could rub my finger on any string and watch the tremble from the tone that is Monique. This thing is a definite keeper. Pry her out of my hands! I cant wait to try this in my band setting. I have been screwind around with the eq but currently like burningskies setting i saw somewhere around here. Thumbs up!

Thank you for this beautiful description. This is the objective.

Maybe since I am not a player I never considered limiting the signal through Monique. Didn't know enough to cause damage?

Speakers are like most things we use to make music. Some things only appear to work. It has been years, but there was a time (back when there was only the 700 watt) when several speaker cabinet manufacturers offered their products up for live testing with Monique and the 700. Good people. Good companies. I remember two of those manufacturers products failed very quickly due to limited cone excursion inside their cabinets. There was also some pretty good smoke generated (smelled like melting flip flops) when a cabinet rated for 700 watts proved to be unable to live up to that spec. That was years ago. A learning experience.

In the last several years I seldom hear of a speaker cone hitting something inside a cabinet or strange cabinet things like buzzes on specific notes. But it does happen. It even happens with small wattage amps that are greatly less powerful and accurate than the Hypex series. Just depends on the cabinet. Cabinets are a world of their own. I am in awe of those great bass cabinet builders who know their stuff. The others, not so much.

 

[ahc]

The 500 is a bit different. It is quite comfortable at 2 ohms, 4 ohms, and 8 ohms.

At 2 ohms it gives us 550 watts.
At 4 ohms it gives us 700 watts.
At 8 ohms it gives us 400 watts.

Can you tell that there is no marketing department involved? I am sure they would advertise

Somebody's gonna ask this so it might as well be me. Jule, is the M700 safe below 4 ohms? And as above, what's the "wattage breakdown"? Thanks.

 

[Dave W]

Somebody's gonna ask this so it might as well be me. Jule, is the M700 safe below 4 ohms? And as above, what's the "wattage breakdown"? Thanks.

I almost did it myself

 

[boamedt]

Well i played it last night at our jam. It was definitely different. Different in how you shape you tone, for sure, but as the drummer and guitarist said, "No comparison to before. This is the rig."
I was playing around with the knobs and it was interesting how you can hear yourself fall out of the mix, sit in the mix or rise above it.when miving the knobs, It feels like instead of removing that frequency, like most bass amp knobs do, it alters it. Volume drops for sure but frequency is still present, not gone. It almost felt not loud enough but every once and while the power amp would clip, so i know it was pushing the amp fine. I was only playing one fearful 12/6 though. I cant expect 8x10 volume. My previous preamp would do 1.4v no problem. This monique is the early rack version with no push/pull line level. Overall very please. The sound was so organic and plush sounding. Cant wait for the speakers to be in stock to redo my henry 8x8 into a 2500watt monster and push it with my monique setup

 

[juledude]

I almost did it myself

Yes.

My friend Paul Sips at Bassmatters.nl Invalid Link Removed has been playing his Monique for quite a few years now at 2.67 ohms. Very stable. I'd have to ask him if he keeps the fan on all the time. I suspect he does. I am sure there are players at 2 ohms. I'll let them pipe in here if they want.

Hypex is a pretty specific about the minimum impedance of the 700. That is 1 ohm.

In my experience, the 2500 watt amp runs quite cool at 2 ohms. The 700 seems to generate a bit more heat at the lower impedance. I have never had a report of either of these amps overheating - which may have a lot to do with the cooling that is part of and built in to each chassis. The over temperature value, the one where the amps goes to idle until it cools is 212F, 100C. That is boiling water hot, so we have a long way to go.

The 700 watt amp gives us:
1200 watts at 2 ohms
700 watts at 4 ohms
440 watts at 8 ohms.

I have a question for you all while we are on amps. What if we had a 500 watt Hypex amp in a pedal box?

Specifically a Hammond 1590DEBK box. It's 2 3/4" tall and 7 3/8" wide (square). Super simple: AC in, On/Off switch, instrument/Line Level in, Dual Speakon out. Oh yeah, and a Volume. The questions are: Is there a need for a portable great sounding and playing beast that could survive very rough physical treatment? Is there enough room on any pedal board for this largish box?

Maybe a standby switch on top. Probably PowerCon AC in so it can't get kicked off by accident.

A good person has already asked if this will reduce the market for the rest of the Jule Amps amps? I suppose it will, but I am just wondering. And yes, I am open to this being a terrible idea.

 

[juledude]

Well i played it last night at our jam. It was definitely different. Different in how you shape you tone, for sure, but as the drummer and guitarist said, "No comparison to before. This is the rig."
I was playing around with the knobs and it was interesting how you can hear yourself fall out of the mix, sit in the mix or rise above it.when miving the knobs, It feels like instead of removing that frequency, like most bass amp knobs do, it alters it. Volume drops for sure but frequency is still present, not gone. It almost felt not loud enough but every once and while the power amp would clip, so i know it was pushing the amp fine. I was only playing one fearful 12/6 though. I cant expect 8x10 volume. My previous preamp would do 1.4v no problem. This monique is the early rack version with no push/pull line level. Overall very please. The sound was so organic and plush sounding. Cant wait for the speakers to be in stock to redo my henry 8x8 into a 2500watt monster and push it with my monique setup

Sounds good. Does sound like fun.

One small note is that if your amp is clipping you are probably giving it enough signal level. You may enjoy the extra girth the Pulled Out Level gives your tone, but you will still need to keep the level down so the amp can handle it properly.

The whole clip idea is represented differently by just about everyone who builds amps. Some amps "clip" way too late, and the amp will overheat. Some don't have any clip light at all. Some clip so early that it will freak people out when there is no need at all. Nothing bad is happening. It is just a warning. The Jule Amps (all Hypex) clip early in that they will light up way before the amp has any difficulty handling that level. My friend Darryl used to keep his clip light on more than half the time. I expect he still does.

If you want to hear what Monique does to a recording, check out Darryl Anders new CD "Conversations." Every bass note is Monique. Every note is beautiful. Great CD.

(True story: The Jule Amps clip light used to be red. Then I attended several live concerts where my amps were on stage. The first several rows at Darryl's concerts thought something was going to blow up with that bright red light coming on and off all the time. The amp was fine, but questions were asked at intermission. . . So as soon as I could get my hands on his amp I changed the Clip light to a rather dim Blue light. No more questions. And that is why all the Jule Amps clip lights have been blue for many years.) It ain't rocket science.

The Moniques with the Push/Pull Line Level do physically add as much as +10db if you dial it there, but the other thing the Push/Pull does is add another full tube section to the audio chain.

What we get with the additional tube in the circuit is more girth to the note. Not thicker, just a bigger note, a bit more forcefully beautiful. (I've been reading too much gentle poetry - probably time to go back to Bukowski)

Maybe even better said, is that it simply adds more to your palette.

 

[kevk]

@juledude...maybe just me, but I was hoping for a Monique pre in a “pedalboard box”...with all (or most) of the great Monique pre features (Boxandall DI, DI output control, etc)

That said, having the power amp is not a bad thing...just not necessary for me, as I do many ampless gigs where having a smaller pedalboard-friendly pre version would be awesome. STILL love my Black Bamboo, but would love a smaller option, too!

 

[juledude]

The pre in a pedalboard box is still spread across a lot of territory of my workspace. Had some success.
It will happen. Been a bit gimpish of late. Not easy to sit for any reasonable time. NAMM approach-eth.

Yes. I don't expect the amp-in-a-box to be a game changer. Lots of physically small amps out there.