Mesa Subway D800 or D800 plus?

[jazznut]

I have a Hartke LH-500 & am looking for a more portable class D amp to replace it. I just tried out a Quilter bass block 800 & though it has a great bottom end & transient response, its doesn't hold a candle to the LH-500 in HF detail & transparency.

Very disappointed, as ny my standards, even $550 is a lot to spend for 400 watts at 8 ohms (seeing that my 350w Hartje was $328 new).

Next on my list is the Subway D800 or D800 plus. Is the plus more bells & whistles or does it have the capability to sound markedly better? (About $800 is my limit). It would be great to combine the Quilter's powerful transients & palpability with Hartke's open high end transparency & detail.

(Of course I can always try Markbass heads at GC, but these other items must be sent away for). I did get a 122 Ninja cab that's seems impressive.

 

[guy n. cognito]

It all depends on your tastes. Are you a knob twiddler?

 

[lomo]

If you want "HF detail", a GK MB series head might be more your cup of tea than a Mesa....

 

[nostatic]

Personally I wouldn't consider Markbass but YMMV.

GK certainly has more high-end edge. Not my cup of tea as I always ended up cutting highs and upper mids on the newer generation of amps (not on the 400RB).

You aren't giving up much by going D800. Really depends if you want/need the extra features:

- effects loop - I rarely use it unless I'm messing with preamps.
- variable HPF - the D800 has a built-in HPF, the 800+ allows you do go beyond that. Not necessary for interesting tonal option on the low end
- bright switch - if you want more highs, then you might want this. I don't, and don't
- parametric mids - to me the most useful feature of the 800+, useful if you have bad rooms or certain basses you want to sonically tweak. Could be useful if you want to dial in particular high-mid/high frequencies

Chef got the 800+ as he likes GKs and wanted more highs. He seems happy. I have both 800 and 800+. The 800 is my backup, but truth be told lately I've been using the 800 as I've been lazy and didn't want to haul another bag from the house (800 lives in the back of my car).

 

[Tim1]

Been through the same process and just ordered an 800+ after reading just about every post. The HPF and bright switch was a big thing for me to use with my Barefaced cabs.

 

[Al Kraft]

If brightness is important, I think the D-800+ might be more appealing than the D-800. I have the D-800 and it is more than bright enough for my tastes. However, I also have a GK MB800 I can pull out when I'm in a situation where brightness and lots of top end are necessary.

 

[JGR]

I think the + is a no-brainer; a lot of very useful features for hardly any extra $. I have one and love it.

 

[Ashbo]

could i pair the D800/800+ with an ampeg 610HLF without any problems?

 

[voided3]

could i pair the D800/800+ with an ampeg 610HLF without any problems?

Yes, though the cab is rated at 600 watts and the head is 800 watts RMS at four ohms. If you set the head to two ohms with the impedance switch on the back, it’ll be limited at 600 watts at four ohms and give you a little protection.

 

[Ashbo]

That's good to know!
Cheers!

 

[Chef]

The 800 was too dark and vintage for me.
Sold it pretty quick.
When the 800+ came out I got one.
I do like it better for the deep and bright switches, which are effect if subtle.
The other features are better and useful.

Overall I still prefer the GK MBF800 for my personal tastes

 

[BaileyMan]

For me, the added flexibility of tone shaping on the D800+ is important. I played through a friend's D800 and liked it a lot. When it came time to get one for myself, the D800+ was a no brainer.

 

[Rice]

I recently picked up the 800+. I figured, for the extra $100, I'd rather have the extra features just in case... Better to have and not need, ya know..?? But I also wanted the FX loop so I could insert a compressor before the post amp.
Bottom line: Worth it.

 

[ddnidd1]

Personally I found the additional features of the D800+ to be more than worthwhile and very useful for only an additional $100.

Plus my guess is that the D800+ May in the future have a bit of a better resale value than the D800's, since the D800 is extremely easy to find used, whereas the D800+ only comes up for sale as used relatively infrequently.

 

[Munjibunga]

+.

 

[agedhorse]

It seems that the markets for the D-800 and the D-800+ are made up of substantially different players. I see players who started out with the + and found the non-plus to work better for them. It goes the other way as well. Two different but similar tools for the job.

 

[Jim C]

Do you find the differences in player preferences to be old school / new school tone or more about the type of player and the music played?

 

[Chef]

If I were a pick player, probably the 800 would be bright/crisp/clear enough for me.
As it was, it just wasn’t as good at delivering “J bass with fresh rounds” as I like.
The D800+ with bright and deep, a little voicing, and a little treble...that’s a whole lot better for me.

Does that make me sound like a more modern tone?
Probs so.
But.
Geddy, Squire, Jaco all did variants of that tone too.

 

[nostatic]

I'm one who had both and ended up paring down to the 800. While I like the idea of more control, the reality is that I often tend towards running an amp flat and just tweaking when necessary. I never like bright switches, and my tone is a bit towards the thinner side of things due to my right hand technique. I never ended up using the variable HPF, and the stock eq points on the 800 work for me, so the + ended up not being essential for me. For others, the reverse is true.

 

[bassfootballguy]

If you want more upper end "detail and transparency" I am really surprised the Quilter didn't supply that for you.
I've had it and the Mesa D800 and the Quilter is way more open and transparent in upper frequencies through all of my cabs.