Mesa Subway D-350!

[agedhorse]

I presume (and hope) that if using both cabinets that they are both 8 ohms?

 

[Moonskunk]

I presume (and hope) that if using both cabinets that they are both 8 ohms?

Yes, that is correct, both 8 ohms.

 

[dpaulb]

What is the maximum power output of the D-350 at 8 ohms?

 

[mikeswals]

What is the maximum power output of the D-350 at 8 ohms?

175w

 

[Al Kraft]

Glad to know the toggles are normally reliable, looking forward to getting a new functional D-350.

The D-350 like all the amps in the SW series is designed as a professional use product. That means parts selection and quality in assembly that will easily handle daily use without fail or the user needing to ever take advantage of the 5 year warranty. Those switches are very reliable and should last you a lifetime.

IMO/IME this is a case where someone damaged the amp after it left Mesa and prior to you receiving it. That could be another customer who tried it out or bought and returned it, someone in the shipping process, etc. Mesa QA before a product leaves the factory is very thorough and there is no logical reason there would be a step in that process where a toggle switch would be removed and then just stuck back in.

Things like this that are beyond a manufacturer's control happen. I have been using a D-350 for close to two years and it is as rock solid as all my other Mesa SW heads.

 

[Lex P.]

I can’t count the times retailers have sent me obviously returned items from previous customers! I now tell them in the little notes box that I will return anything that is not in a factory sealed box. No matter what condition it arrives in.

My D-350 from ZZounds was perfect and still in the factory sealed box. I love it.

 

[dpaulb]

175w

I think I should have said peak power output at 8 ohms. I thought the stated power output was continuous not maximum.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Well, other than some finger prints on the face plate there didn't appear to be any abuse or wear to the amp. I actually cleaned them off with some cotton and water and it looked like a brand new unit after that and I was going to keep it until the toggle switch fiasco. I would really like to know the story behind this particular amp. The Zzsounds representative trying to tell me that Mesa must have opened the box after it had already been sealed was just stupid on his part. Glad to know the toggles are normally reliable, looking forward to getting a new functional D-350. Meanwhile I've been comparing back and forth between my Aguilar TH-350 using a StingRay Special with an older Warwick 2x8 cab with Celestions and an identical 4x8 Warwick cab underneath it, using Rattle Snake guitar cord and speaker cables. Both amps sound great and at this point it's really hard to choose which one I like better. They both are in another league over either my GK MB200 or Trace Elliot Elf and those two aren't exactly shabby or I'd have parted with them by now. I guess the simplest comparison is the Aguilar sounds a little richer and tube like whereas the Mesa a little more solidstate, Hi Fi with a crystalline top end although the top end of the Aguilar is nice too maybe a little smoother. Think Conrad Johnson vs Krell in hi fi audio. Both have a wonderful deep articulate low end, no muddiness. Can't say which has more clean power because I haven't been able to really crank them open yet in the house but they seem quite similar. I guess I'd hate to part what either of them right now. Nice to be able to switch between amps for diversity.

It would seem to me if Mesa had opened an amp box for any reason. It would have been a simple thing for them to "re-factory seal" the box, at the factory, that it comes from :Ol

You would not have known if it had been opened at the factory.

Zzounds story is dubious at best.

 

[lermgalieu]

It would seem to me if Mesa had opened an amp box for any reason. It would have been a simple thing for them to "re-factory seal" the box, at the factory, that it comes from :Ol

You would not have known if it had been opened at the factory.

Zzounds story is dubious at best.

Agreed. That said, I’ve never had a bad experience with them. But I got my D-350 from MF.

 

[Moonskunk]

Yes, I was quite disappointed with Zzounds sending me what obviously was an opened box returned item, that should never happen. I'm still waiting on them to e-mail me a return shipping label, I guess that takes forever for whatever reason. Meanwhile as they are taking their good ole time with that I've been playing the amp without a functioning bright switch comparing it against my Aguilar TH-350 getting a better feel for it. I've come to the conclusion that I love them both for different reasons and getting another D-350 may be just a lateral move. Now I'm thinking I may forgo the D-350 and jump up to a D-800 plus instead. This will likely save me money in the long run when at some point I may wish I had gotten the more powerfully amp right from the get go and could even sell the Aguilar if I needed to without a lot of regret. I've lost quite a bit of money selling off gear and I'm beginning to learn just get what you really want from the start even if you have to save a little longer for it. I do have a question though. My two Warwick bass cabinets, a 2x8 and 4x8 are both 8 ohms. The 2x8 is rated at 300 watts and the 4x8 is rated 400 watts. So am I safe running the Subway D-800 plus through these cabs either combined or individually?

 

[Chuck M]

Yes, I was quite disappointed with Zzounds sending me what obviously was an opened box returned item, that should never happen. I'm still waiting on them to e-mail me a return shipping label, I guess that takes forever for whatever reason. Meanwhile as they are taking their good ole time with that I've been playing the amp without a functioning bright switch comparing it against my Aguilar TH-350 getting a better feel for it. I've come to the conclusion that I love them both for different reasons and getting another D-350 may be just a lateral move. Now I'm thinking I may forgo the D-350 and jump up to a D-800 plus instead. This will likely save me money in the long run when at some point I may wish I had gotten the more powerfully amp right from the get go and could even sell the Aguilar if I needed to without a lot of regret. I've lost quite a bit of money selling off gear and I'm beginning to learn just get what you really want from the start even if you have to save a little longer for it. I do have a question though. My two Warwick bass cabinets, a 2x8 and 4x8 are both 8 ohms. The 2x8 is rated at 300 watts and the 4x8 is rated 400 watts. So am I safe running the Subway D-800 plus through these cabs either combined or individually?

Your cabinets will be fine with the D-800+. I have a D-800+ and you will love it. It is a terrific amplifier.

 

[lermgalieu]

Yes, I was quite disappointed with Zzounds sending me what obviously was an opened box returned item, that should never happen. I'm still waiting on them to e-mail me a return shipping label, I guess that takes forever for whatever reason. Meanwhile as they are taking their good ole time with that I've been playing the amp without a functioning bright switch comparing it against my Aguilar TH-350 getting a better feel for it. I've come to the conclusion that I love them both for different reasons and getting another D-350 may be just a lateral move. Now I'm thinking I may forgo the D-350 and jump up to a D-800 plus instead. This will likely save me money in the long run when at some point I may wish I had gotten the more powerfully amp right from the get go and could even sell the Aguilar if I needed to without a lot of regret. I've lost quite a bit of money selling off gear and I'm beginning to learn just get what you really want from the start even if you have to save a little longer for it. I do have a question though. My two Warwick bass cabinets, a 2x8 and 4x8 are both 8 ohms. The 2x8 is rated at 300 watts and the 4x8 is rated 400 watts. So am I safe running the Subway D-800 plus through these cabs either combined or individually?

Keep in mind the D800 does not have a bright switch.

 

[TomB]

Keep in mind the D800 does not have a bright switch.

But the 800+ does, and it makes a pretty impressive difference IMO.

 

[lermgalieu]

But the 800+ does, and it makes a pretty impressive difference IMO.

Sorry - I was reading too quickly. I thought he said D800.

 

[musicman556]

Sorry - I was reading too quickly. I thought he said D800.

I don't think you misread. I think Tom was pointing out an advantage of the D800+ over the D800. I would also point out the variable HPF which is amazing.

My encouragement is that if you are seeing the light of "buy once, cry once" now and considering the jump to a D800 from the D350, then I would also recommend adding the D00+ to the discussion. I think it's another $100 over the D800 but comes with some very powerful features.

 

[Moonskunk]

Yes, I think I'd prefer the D-800 plus because of the bright switch and the more tone shape options. I'm not one who likes constantly fiddling with tone controls but once I get a setting I like at home it will pretty much stay that way until a new location requires refiddling, but the bright switch seemed really nice on the D-350 when it was functional so I think I'd get more use out of that than the deep switch on the D800, in addition the D800 plus has both.
Another indication that my D-350 is likely damaged is that I'm getting a constant annoying hiss coming from the speaker even when the mute switch is engaged. Also, is the green USB light in back supposed to be on all the time even when nothing is plugged in to it? This one is.

 

[Moonskunk]

I don't think you misread. I think Tom was pointing out an advantage of the D800+ over the D800. I would also point out the variable HPF which is amazing.

My encouragement is that if you are seeing the light of "buy once, cry once" now and considering the jump to a D800 from the D350, then I would also recommend adding the D00+ to the discussion. I think it's another $100 over the D800 but comes with some very powerful features.

Yes, he misread. I said D 800 plus but I guess I should have worded it 800+ to avoid the confusion.

 

[musicman556]

Yes, he misread. I said D 800 plus but I guess I should have worded it 800+ to avoid the confusion.

Ope! I misread too, apparently! I'll see myself out.

My apologies for muddying the waters!

 

[agedhorse]

I think I should have said peak power output at 8 ohms. I thought the stated power output was continuous not maximum.

Peak power doesn’t matter except to marketing folks because it’s just a different number used to describe exactly the same thing.

The “peak power” ratings are:
350 watts “peak” at 8 ohms and 700 watts “peak” at 4 ohms.

muse these numbers when comparing to other amps that use “peak power” ratings and do not provide continuous or RMS metrics.

 

[agedhorse]

Yes, I was quite disappointed with Zzounds sending me what obviously was an opened box returned item, that should never happen. I'm still waiting on them to e-mail me a return shipping label, I guess that takes forever for whatever reason. Meanwhile as they are taking their good ole time with that I've been playing the amp without a functioning bright switch comparing it against my Aguilar TH-350 getting a better feel for it. I've come to the conclusion that I love them both for different reasons and getting another D-350 may be just a lateral move. Now I'm thinking I may forgo the D-350 and jump up to a D-800 plus instead. This will likely save me money in the long run when at some point I may wish I had gotten the more powerfully amp right from the get go and could even sell the Aguilar if I needed to without a lot of regret. I've lost quite a bit of money selling off gear and I'm beginning to learn just get what you really want from the start even if you have to save a little longer for it. I do have a question though. My two Warwick bass cabinets, a 2x8 and 4x8 are both 8 ohms. The 2x8 is rated at 300 watts and the 4x8 is rated 400 watts. So am I safe running the Subway D-800 plus through these cabs either combined or individually?

I would advise that you use caution and a heavy dose of “reasonable expectations”, s as long with the HPF set to around 80Hz.

The 800 series amps have the potential to damage your cabinets if driven hard at low frequencies.

You can also set the amp to 2 ohm mode while driving 4 ohms, which will reduce it’s rated power to 600 watts.