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Jule Amps Monique part 5

#762
BurningSkies said:
Hey Jule, what don't you give everyone an overview of your goals; design, tone and parameter wise for YOUR amp. That might help people figure out if the Minnie or your integrated Tardis is the amp for them.
Click to expand...

This is something I should do. Good idea.

I preface by saying that much of what follows is from a technical, metaphysical, bass perspective. But this is of course a spiritual quest. Right?

One goal for bringing this 700 watt amplifier to the game is to showcase, to take advantage of, what all Monique players already enjoy, the "touch" of Monique. The string/finger/instrument interaction is a large part of why players enjoy working with Monique.

For any amplifier to take advantage of the "touch" of Monique it must do several things better than most amplifiers. It must be extremely fast. Technically this is known as a very high "slew rate." Every solid stage product takes a small amount of time to pass a signal, some more than others. It is literally how fast electrons make their way across the p and n material, but I digress. Bass players, more than almost all other musicians, are extremely sensitive to latency, the time between the instant they touch a string and the time it takes for that sound to reach their ears (and feet). This 700 watt amplifier is faster than anything I have ever heard. Latency is extremely good. It is close to zero.

Another attribute of a very good bass amplifier is that the power delivery across the entire frequency band must be flat. Not almost flat - it must be flat. Bass players will curl their brow in distaste at the first sign of a nonlinear amplification spot in an amplifier, and almost all amps have this negative characteristic. Linearity isn't the most difficult thing to design into an amplifier. If we ignore the "load" that the amplifier goes into, it is simplistic to design and build an amplifier with a flat frequency response. Looks great on paper. Everybody can do it. However, it is an entirely different thing to present an amplifier that delivers flat response into a changing load (speaker cabinet). This 700 watt amplifier and the associated power supply delivers almost unbelievable linearity even into the unpredictable loads of the bass world.

The power delivery must be stable from 1 watt to 700 watts. No dips. If I want sag, I want it to be from Monique, not the amplifier. The power supply I am using with this 700 watt amplifier was intended for use with amplifiers up to 1200 watts. And yes, a smaller 700 watt power supply was available. The combination of the 1200 watt power supply and the 700 watt amplifier gives us the clarity and note definition we have come to expect from Monique. It just does not quit delivering power and clarity, no matter how hard or soft we push the amplifier. The combination of Monique and this amplifier/power supply is the most musical thing I have heard in the bass world.

Thermal characteristics should not matter to the bass player. This amplifier (after some extensive testing and implementation changes) has great thermal characteristics. All this means is that it will not quit on us in the middle of a performance because it overheated internally. This part is something I take very seriously so the player doesn't have to.

There are also Radio Frequency "issues" with all Class D amplifiers. Done poorly, they can be giant radio transmitting stations. Again, this should not concern the player. If it is not done well, it will cause mysterious problems in the studio and sometimes in live performances especially where wireless gear is in use. This 700 watt amplifier is a very "geeky" product, put together by people who understand their responsibilities to the community. It is quieter in the RF spectrum than any Class D Amplifier I have ever heard.

It is also very quiet (actually 0db) at the bottom. You can not tell it is on until you turn it up. No "hiss." No hum. No rumble. No sound until you turn it up and that is all music.

An important factor for me was to have complete control of the implementation of the amplifier that goes with Monique. I have learned that all good ideas come from my customers. With my amplifier I can more easily follow the future wishes of my customers. The "guts" of this amplifier are made for me by the Hypex company in the Netherlands. They consistently do some things I appreciate very much. They under-state their specifications rather than push the truth. They are technical wizards. From my technical perspective I can tell you they are extremely well experienced and skilled. And a very good part of the story is that several of the good folk there are bass players. They are watching what Monique and their work comes to with some excitement.

There is more, but I invite anyone who wants to know more to give me a call or email. It has been a delightful "quest" so far. In am indebted to those who have helped me test so far, and to their brows.

Someone asked what the amp does into 4 and 8 ohms. Everything will say it is only 700 watts into 4 ohms, but be careful. This amp is capable of delivering 1200 watts instantaneously. Into 8 ohms it is going to be about 400 watts. Each Monique 700 configuration will have two combo-speakon jacks that are in parallel. The impedance is still 4 ohms, but having the two jacks gives us the advantage of being able to use two 8 ohm cabinets (4 ohms).
 
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#765
Thanks Jule. I think that might help paint a better picture for people who are grappling with some of the options involved in Monique, either a PA power amp, in front of your own integrated amp, the Demeter options and now this. I'm not surprised it's quiet, given Monique is dead quiet itself. I also like your approach to the amp, which is not dissimilar to what I was looking to do many moons ago when I bought one of the first rack units. Set it up with a power stage that for all purposes 'did not exist' in the equation of my sound. Enough power/headroom that there was no limitation on the transients passing to the speaker, no 'compression' in the lows from power handling meant to hide a 'lack of power' in the lows, and something that faithfully sounded like what the preamp sounded like at the board coming out of the backside of the power stage. I'm always surprised at that thing where people describe some power amps having tonal benefits or 'low end presence' or 'low mid kick'. I don't want that stuff from a power amp, which to my mind should be reproducing the preamp rather than producing anything on its own, and certainly not bottlenecking on transients or 'slowing' the signal.



Jule Potter said:
This is something I should do. Good idea.

I preface by saying that much of what follows is from a technical, metaphysical, bass perspective. But this is of course a spiritual quest. Right?

One goal for bringing this 700 watt amplifier to the game is to showcase, to take advantage of, what all Monique players already enjoy, the "touch" of Monique. The string/finger/instrument interaction is a large part of why players enjoy working with Monique.

For any amplifier to take advantage of the "touch" of Monique it must do several things better than most amplifiers.
There is more, but I invite anyone who wants to know more to give me a call or email. It has been a delightful "quest" so far. In am indebted to those who have helped me test so far, and to their brows.

{...}

Someone asked what the amp does into 4 and 8 ohms. Everything will say it is only 700 watts into 4 ohms, but be careful. This amp is capable of delivering 1200 watts instantaneously. Into 8 ohms it is going to be about 400 watts. Each Monique 700 configuration will have two combo-speakon jacks that are in parallel. The impedance is still 4 ohms, but having the two jacks gives us the advantage of being able to use two 8 ohm cabinets (4 ohms).
Click to expand...
 
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#767
Jule Potter said:
Each Monique 700 configuration will have two combo-speakon jacks that are in parallel. The impedance is still 4 ohms, but having the two jacks gives us the advantage of being able to use two 8 ohm cabinets (4 ohms).
Click to expand...

So Jule - does it have a feature similar to the famed SVT autoswitch to 2Ω when two 4Ω cabs are connected? Or is it wired to deliver 8Ω into each cab when 2 cabs are connected?
 
#768
Can a digital power amp deliver 2 ohms? I don't think I've seen one that's 2ohm stable, but haven't really looked. I am not an engineer, but if I understood your statement I am not sure an amp can choose resistance. It would not be able to decide to deliver 8 ohms into a 4 ohm cab.
 
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#769
Well I'm just an all tube non-engineer player seriously being hyped into my home countries pride Hypex by this guy named Jule. I'm sure he understands my dilemma, since Monique was modeled on the SVT's preamp. Let's put it the other way round: can I use 2 4Ohm cabs with Monique/700?
 
#770
JvN said:
So Jule - does it have a feature similar to the famed SVT autoswitch to 2Ω when two 4Ω cabs are connected? Or is it wired to deliver 8Ω into each cab when 2 cabs are connected?
Click to expand...

I don't believe it's rated to 2ohms. 4ohms minimum. Also, in my discussions with Jule plus his interaction here, I think it probably is a BIG overstatement (and understatement) to say that this preamp is modeled on an SVT. Monique is its own thing, but it borrows some cues from a few other places besides Ampeg too.
 
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#772
Dominick C. said:
Can a digital power amp deliver 2 ohms? I don't think I've seen one that's 2ohm stable, but haven't really looked. I am not an engineer, but if I understood your statement I am not sure an amp can choose resistance. It would not be able to decide to deliver 8 ohms into a 4 ohm cab.
Click to expand...

Class D isnt digital, but they can support 2 Ohm loads if they are designed that way.
 
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#774
JvN said:
Well I'm just an all tube non-engineer player seriously being hyped into my home countries pride Hypex by this guy named Jule. I'm sure he understands my dilemma, since Monique was modeled on the SVT's preamp. Let's put it the other way round: can I use 2 4Ohm cabs with Monique/700?
Click to expand...

Well, you can use a series-wired cable to bring the total impedance to 8 ohms, so sure! :thumbsup:
 
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#779
JvN said:
So Jule - does it have a feature similar to the famed SVT autoswitch to 2Ω when two 4Ω cabs are connected? Or is it wired to deliver 8Ω into each cab when 2 cabs are connected?
Click to expand...
Hey Joris!

The functionality is what you describe, but no switch is involved. The two speaker jacks are in parallel. This means if we attach identical impedance speakers to both jacks the effective impedance will be half the impedance of one of the speaker cabinets.

If we attach two 4 ohm cabinets we will be working into 2 ohms. I do not recommend this.

If we attach two 8 ohm cabinets we will be working with 4 ohms. If we have a single 4 ohm cabinet we just use one of the jacks on Monique.

2 ohms is only recommended for short times with this amplifier, but the good thing is that the amp will do it. This is going to generate 1200 watts. We will all be better off if we take the lead from the builder of the amplifier module itself and run conservatively, and that means working with 4 ohms as a minimum. The issue is heat generation and the dispersal of that heat at 2 ohms. Most of us, as kids (I sure did) submit to curiosity and shove a bit of wire (or metal clothes hanger) into an ac outlet. The result is an impressive bright flash, minor flames, and a partially melted and blackened ac outlet. And yes, the lights go out. The interesting thing (back to the story) is that if you measure that bit of "hanger" I shoved into the outlet it will be about 2 ohms, the same as a 2 ohm bass cabinet. I can say from experience that 1200 watts into 2 ohms is some scary power.

The hanger experiment mentioned above is a very, very bad idea. Death is a real possibility. And neither the gift of gab or a pleasing personality will be enough to talk your way out of serious trouble with your parents.
 
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