Markbass Power Question

[shawshank72]

Alot of people have recommended markbass to me in a search for a new head. Seems as the tone im looking for is in this head, problem is no one has these in stock in my area to try out and ebay will be the way i get one.
Question.....
How can an amp that weighs like 10lbs put out 500-600 watts of power??
Is this a "true" wattage output?
Will it compare with that wattage from other heads like swr/ampeg/carvin/hartke/gk/ etc. at 500-600 watts?

 

[KJung]

The SMPS amps that are out now will easily perform with equal volume and punch compared to more traditional, heavier, larger amps with the same power specs.

There are exceptions. For example, the 600 watts of the Mesa M6 sounds more like 1000 to me, so very few amps, including the small, light ones, can compete with that, even though the wattage is relatively close.

However, compared to, for example, Aguilar AG500, Eden WT550, AshdownEVO500, Thunderfunk550 (e.g., most amps in the 500 watt or so power range), you won't lose any oomph or wump IMO with most of these smaller amps.

 

[Li'l D]

Yes they will perform at a loud volume. It is the standard in the industry where companies are having smaller/ lightweight amps perform equally as well as the old bulky heavy amps. Just think of your old tv or computer screen, remember the old days where bigger was better ?? !!! ?? Check out the Genz Benz shuttle stuff the new 12.0 is almost 1200 watts. Markbass was one of the first to come up with the thought the bassists who had the heaviest stuff would one day have the lightest stuff to lug around.

 

[blondmix3]

I'm a convert. My SD800 can destroy small cities (although I usually keep the master volume at about 9 o'clock at most gigs through my CL108).

 

[Jehos]

I'm not sure what kind of Italian voodoo goes into those things, but I can confirm that they hit like any other 500W-600W amp out there.

 

[JimmyM]

Ya, besides, if they didn't put out what they're rated at, you'd have a whole lot of controversy about it, and possibly even penalties and fines by some governments. I know our government is more than happy to fine companies unless they contributed to the right political campaigns.

 

[vinxbass]

I've thought about scoring a LMIII just so I have another, but different head than my 500 watt Carvin BX500. I need a backup head and have heard nothing but praise for the LMIII.

As far as power goes, my BX500 sounds just as loud as my 1200 watt BX1200 - seriously.

Lightweight is where it's at for me nowadays.

 

[David Jayne]

The only thing I'd add is that the MB heads do perform noticeable better at or near their minimum impedance requirements (4ohms), whereas my lead amps don't seem to care as much.
Can't explain it, but I hear it.

 

[rpsands]

I can say I preferred the Shuttle 6.0's sound @ 4 ohms vs. 8 ohms by quite a bit Felt like the headroom was pretty significant.

 

[Red Planet]

This does pose an interesting question.

I can say without a doubt my MarkBass LMIII's 500 watts into 4 ohms is not even close to being as powerful as my QSC PLX2 1804's 600 watts at 8 ohms from one side. That being said both those amps are SMPS IIRC and maybe that extra 100 watts from the QSC matters that much.