looking for the PROPER POWER AMP

[BurningSkies]

Isn't this kind of sidestepping the while point? No one ever said one or the other amp sounded bad, any decent amp bought today isn't going to sound less than "good", but is there a perceived difference?

That's kind of my point. You'll notice that the additional tonal component in the CA9 as reported by an engineer who is part of the Crest/Peavey corporation has nothing to do with the weight of the unit, unless "The difference between a CA-9 and pretty much any other pro audio power amp that I can think of is that the feedback loop is tuned in such a way as to create a more resonant low frequency response similar to what many guitar/bass amp designers do to enhance low end." means that they 'tuned the feedback loop' with lead bricks.

Nor as we talk about the power provided does it seem to have anything to do with it as suggested by:

"Lightweight amps: lightweight sound.
A ca 9 will absolutely destroy the pro lite or the peavey"

As I stated earlier, I believe a power amp should reproduce not produce tone. Nor in my side by side did it 'DESTROY' the Peavey. It just didn't. The CA9 owner commented "I wish I had known that the amp you were telling me about was only 500$ and 7 Pounds...I would have totally gone for it".

 

[BbbyBld]

Actually, I like the XLS Drivecore series for just this reason. The sensitivity is 1.4 which is, in many regards, the standard for line level. I can mate mine with a mixer and it requires little or no attenuation to establish nominal gain structure....almost foolproof in that respect. OTOH, a QSC RMX 1450, for example, requires that the attenuators be rolled back to 37% (10:30) to do the same. Yes, I can drive them to full power or, more importantly, the upper margins where the limiters kick in. What's more important is the linearity of response between the two devices...and that's the purpose of setting gain structure...and that results in improved signal/noise ratio.

I don't consider 1.4v input sensitivity to be "low" at all. I was referring to power amps with input sensitivity in the 3v - 5v range.

 

[seamonkey]

It's too bad the CA9 has colored their EQ to enhance the bass.
Looks like all the the new Crest/Peavey Power Amps are honest power amps.
With models that offer DSP for all the added value a DSP brings.
They're well engineered, solid, more powerful, more of a value, and just happen to be lightweight.

 

[bucephylus]

And I think I should clear up. ... No amp was louder than the other, they just held their composure differently when being pushed up to the point of clipping

OK, so, if you are talking about what happens when you reach the point of clipping with 2000 watts going out the door, you may well be correct. I would have no idea. I absolutely never intend to test that threshold. Nor do I ever intend to take a gig that requires that kind of stage volumes. YMMV.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I don't consider 1.4v input sensitivity to be "low" at all. I was referring to power amps with input sensitivity in the 3v - 5v range.

Oh, well....that's different! I don't run across many of those as a weekend warrior. Thanks for the clarification.

Riis

 

[JimiLL]

OK, so, if you are talking about what happens when you reach the point of clipping with 2000 watts going out the door, you may well be correct. I would have no idea. I absolutely never intend to test that threshold. Nor do I ever intend to take a gig that requires that kind of stage volumes. YMMV.

You can just run one channel, That's what I did. Not real hard to tax 300 watts

 

[JimiLL]

That's kind of my point. You'll notice that the additional tonal component in the CA9 as reported by an engineer who is part of the Crest/Peavey corporation has nothing to do with the weight of the unit, unless "The difference between a CA-9 and pretty much any other pro audio power amp that I can think of is that the feedback loop is tuned in such a way as to create a more resonant low frequency response similar to what many guitar/bass amp designers do to enhance low end." means that they 'tuned the feedback loop' with lead bricks.

Nor as we talk about the power provided does it seem to have anything to do with it as suggested by:

"Lightweight amps: lightweight sound.
A ca 9 will absolutely destroy the pro lite or the peavey"

As I stated earlier, I believe a power amp should reproduce not produce tone. Nor in my side by side did it 'DESTROY' the Peavey. It just didn't. The CA9 owner commented "I wish I had known that the amp you were telling me about was only 500$ and 7 Pounds...I would have totally gone for it".

Ok I may have been a little out if line when I said "destroy" the lower weight amps. But they will outperform them.

And the a/b tests that I did didn't include a ca amp. I contacted a pro lite 2.0 and a carvin dcm 2000.

 

[Deadsound]

@BbbyBld a question about the prolites: in the 2.0/3.0 manual it says the combo XLR/TRS inputs are "actively balanced" - does this mean they will accept an unbalanced signal just fine (given enough level), and balance it internally...? Or should the inputs only be fed a balanced signal?