My Fuchs arrived today

[agedhorse]

I have a 700 W amp with a variable speed fan, it seems to be the ideal solution - at low volume you don't hear it at all, and at high volume it's unnoticeable. I only hear it at the end of a song when playing loud, during a few seconds before it become silent again.

Why isn't it standard on all amps? It's so good, it would be hard for me to get back.

Edit: I also hear it during 1 second when I switch on the amp, it's part of the booting process, it prooves it's still working in case you have a doubt because it's too silent

It’s actually common on many amps.

 

[LSM07]

I also did a few preamp captures of both Fuchs just for reference.

Did you upload these anywhere we can listen to them?

 

[T Bassman]

I own both FBS and FBT 300 models, and find the fans to be almost silent on my units playing at home volumes, and also have no issues with low end on my FBT. Perhaps reach out to the team and see if your amp is running correctly?

I purchased both my heads on the 2nd hand market, and had some initial sonic issues/concerns with my FBS. Turns out it was an early model. After prompt correspondence, I was asked to ship my head to FUCHS, and they took care of what turned out to be some simple pot upgrades (that are standard on newer models) for free and even shipped my amp back on their dime! Also in record turn around time!

Unbelievable service in todays world. I could not be happier with the FBS with the new upgrades!

I do agree I hear more B-15 than SVT from the FBT as well, but thats not a bad thing from where Im standing! I haven't tried it through an 8x10 yet, so that may be where the SVT vibe comes alive!

I am so pleased with both these units, and can't say enough great things about the FUCHS team and amplifiers.

I now feel like my bass amp quest is over, and I have all the basic tones I could ever want at my disposal between the 2 models. I highly recommend FUCHS!

I should also mention that I was shocked at how loud the 300 units are as well. At first I was concerned that I should have opted for the 750s, but the 300s have plenty of headroom for my needs it turns out!

 

[FUCHSAUDIO]

My FBS-700 is dead quiet

The fans we use seem to vary in noise level, and I also think people's definition of "noisy" is different from person to person. I play test all the amps we ship, and I do hear the fan, but it never seemed overt to me. We changed out a few that were noisy out of the box, but generally (especially in a gig situation) the noise isn't an issue.

 

[FUCHSAUDIO]

I own both FBS and FBT 300 models, and find the fans to be almost silent on my units playing at home volumes, and also have no issues with low end on my FBT. Perhaps reach out to the team and see if your amp is running correctly?

I purchased both my heads on the 2nd hand market, and had some initial sonic issues/concerns with my FBS. Turns out it was an early model. After prompt correspondence, I was asked to ship my head to FUCHS, and they took care of what turned out to be some simple pot upgrades (that are standard on newer models) for free and even shipped my amp back on their dime! Also in record turn around time!

Unbelievable service in todays world. I could not be happier with the FBS with the new upgrades!

I do agree I hear more B-15 than SVT from the FBT as well, but thats not a bad thing from where Im standing! I haven't tried it through an 8x10 yet, so that may be where the SVT vibe comes alive!

I am so pleased with both these units, and can't say enough great things about the FUCHS team and amplifiers.

I now feel like my bass amp quest is over, and I have all the basic tones I could ever want at my disposal between the 2 models. I highly recommend FUCHS!

I should also mention that I was shocked at how loud the 300 units are as well. At first I was concerned that I should have opted for the 750s, but the 300s have plenty of headroom for my needs it turns out!

Thanks for the kind words. We have have always tried to support all our products since 1999. Their like my kids, and we support them as such.

As far as the bass levels, both amps can deliver the same amounts of bass, depending on how you dial them in. I actually find the tube units a little more able to have a more audible bass, as the turnover point of the bass control is a bit higher than the solid state units. We replicated the desirable features of the SVT and Woods, and tried to not mess with what makes them special. Both amps share identical circuits after the preamp and on the way to the power amp: Which is a phase correct sharp cutoff subsonic filter, and line drivers for the line out, DI and power amp, and the effects loop send and return buffers.

As far as the SVT/B-15 thing: When I was designing that tube preamp, I noticed that the bass and treble pots on the SVT (in-fact the input preamp itself) was a B-15 circuit, almost identical, part for part. Our mid circuit is inductor based, like the SVT, with five frequencies, but if in zero mode (mid pot at center, no boost or cut) is pretty flat, so it's no surprise the amp sounds like a B-15 (on steroids) ! The main change is a high voltage FET at the input (basically a solid state tube), which makes the tube count a little less than the SVT as well as making the tubes themselves much less critical with regard to noise and microphonics. All tube filaments are on regulated DC and the tubes run at 300 volts, just like an SVT.

 

[jimmydean]

I'll second that , nothing like a good FUCHS .

 

[Don Box]

Did you upload these anywhere we can listen to them?

Yes. The woods one. If you can’t find it via search, ping me here and I’ll grab the link when I’m not on my phone.

 

[John D Harris]

Thanks for the kind words. We have have always tried to support all our products since 1999. Their like my kids, and we support them as such.

As far as the bass levels, both amps can deliver the same amounts of bass, depending on how you dial them in. I actually find the tube units a little more able to have a more audible bass, as the turnover point of the bass control is a bit higher than the solid state units. We replicated the desirable features of the SVT and Woods, and tried to not mess with what makes them special. Both amps share identical circuits after the preamp and on the way to the power amp: Which is a phase correct sharp cutoff subsonic filter, and line drivers for the line out, DI and power amp, and the effects loop send and return buffers.

As far as the SVT/B-15 thing: When I was designing that tube preamp, I noticed that the bass and treble pots on the SVT (in-fact the input preamp itself) was a B-15 circuit, almost identical, part for part. Our mid circuit is inductor based, like the SVT, with five frequencies, but if in zero mode (mid pot at center, no boost or cut) is pretty flat, so it's no surprise the amp sounds like a B-15 (on steroids) ! The main change is a high voltage FET at the input (basically a solid state tube), which makes the tube count a little less than the SVT as well as making the tubes themselves much less critical with regard to noise and microphonics. All tube filaments are on regulated DC and the tubes run at 300 volts, just like an SVT.

Based on the pix on your website, the speaker outputs are quarter inch jacks.
Why no Speakon or combo outputs for speakers?
The FBS-700 looks very appealing, but almost all high current, modern bass amps use Speakon connectors - I do not own any other speaker cables other that Speakon to Speakon.
Is there an option for Speakon that I missed?

 

[FUCHSAUDIO]

Based on the pix on your website, the speaker outputs are quarter inch jacks.
Why no Speakon or combo outputs for speakers?
The FBS-700 looks very appealing, but almost all high current, modern bass amps use Speakon connectors - I do not own any other speaker cables other that Speakon to Speakon.
Is there an option for Speakon that I missed?

At the moment, there is not. We do get occasional comments with regard to that, but it's few and far between. I believe that (on the speaker) a speakon makes most sense (with back pressure and all). On the heads, not so much. I did two gigs a week or two ago with 1/4" plugs on both ends of the cable to the speaker, outdoors, loud and pounding...and no issues. Yes, at some future point we may change to the combo jacks. When a new bass amp model or series comes out, I'm going to make the chassis to allow for them.

 

[SJan3]

At the moment, there is not. We do get occasional comments with regard to that, but it's few and far between. I believe that (on the speaker) a speakon makes most sense (with back pressure and all). On the heads, not so much. I did two gigs a week or two ago with 1/4" plugs on both ends of the cable to the speaker, outdoors, loud and pounding...and no issues. Yes, at some future point we may change to the combo jacks. When a new bass amp model or series comes out, I'm going to make the chassis to allow for them.

If you go SpeakOn, please use the combo jacks that allow for 1/4" as well as SpeakOn. Frankly, I don't know why every mfg hasn't gone to this format. If anyone has a reason why it's not a good choice I'm all ears.

 

[agedhorse]

If you go SpeakOn, please use the combo jacks that allow for 1/4" as well as SpeakOn. Frankly, I don't know why every mfg hasn't gone to this format. If anyone has a reason why it's not a good choice I'm all ears.

To comply with safety regulations in some global regions where the interpretation under 60065 and 62368 is defined as a power source and do not allow the audio derating for accessible voltage on an output port. Because the sleeve/barrel of the 1/4" mating plug "in common use" is metal, and for amplifiers that use a BTL type output, this terminal is not at ground potential. If treated as a power source, the voltage exceeds the allowable safe touch voltage on higher powered BTL amps.

If the amp does not carry safety certification under either UL/cUL/IEC 60065 or UL/cUL/IEC 62368 and shipped to one of those regions, then it "doesn't matter".

 

[FUCHSAUDIO]

If you go SpeakOn, please use the combo jacks that allow for 1/4" as well as SpeakOn. Frankly, I don't know why every mfg hasn't gone to this format. If anyone has a reason why it's not a good choice I'm all ears.

Yes, we use those on our cabinets at present, and they are an elegant solution to the various connection possibilities out there.

 

[SJan3]

To comply with safety regulations in some global regions where the interpretation under 60065 and 62368 is defined as a power source and do not allow the audio derating for accessible voltage on an output port. Because the sleeve/barrel of the 1/4" mating plug "in common use" is metal, and for amplifiers that use a BTL type output, this terminal is not at ground potential. If treated as a power source, the voltage exceeds the allowable safe touch voltage on higher powered BTL amps.

If the amp does not carry safety certification under either UL/cUL/IEC 60065 or UL/cUL/IEC 62368 and shipped to one of those regions, then it "doesn't matter".

I think I get the point but is there a cutoff point, power wise? My EDEN WT400 had, well, a 400 watt output rating @4ohms. It used 1/4" unshielded speaker plugs. No SpeakOn plugs. It was circa 1996 so maybe the regulations have been stiffened since or is 1/4" still "fair game" in the USA?

 

[Jeff Scott]

I think I get the point but is there a cutoff point, power wise? My EDEN WT400 had, well, a 400 watt output rating @4ohms. It used 1/4" unshielded speaker plugs. No SpeakOn plugs. It was circa 1996 so maybe the regulations have been stiffened since or is 1/4" still "fair game" in the USA?

I had a speakOn connectors installed on the WT400 I had back in the day as the two EV B-210 cabinets I was using at the time had them.

 

[SJan3]

I had a speakOn connectors installed on the WT400 I had back in the day as the two EV B-210 cabinets I was using at the time had them.

Sure, a compatibility issue.

 

[agedhorse]

I think I get the point but is there a cutoff point, power wise? My EDEN WT400 had, well, a 400 watt output rating @4ohms. It used 1/4" unshielded speaker plugs. No SpeakOn plugs. It was circa 1996 so maybe the regulations have been stiffened since or is 1/4" still "fair game" in the USA?

It depends on the exact interpretation of each region/country, but somewhere around 300 watts RMS. It depends on if the examiner is considering RMS, DC component level or peak voltage.

Single supply 1/2-bridge amps for example have a common mode DC offset of 1/2Vcc which is ~30VDC and capable of many amps which is why some regions will not allow the audio derating clause and treat as a power source.

Regulatory engineering is an unbelievably complicated subject, and unfortunately a good part of my day job tasks. These days I practice mostly under the UL framework, but have also worked with Intertek and TUV Rhineland on projects over the years.

 

[SJan3]

It depends on the exact interpretation of each region/country, but somewhere around 300 watts RMS. It depends on if the examiner is considering RMS, DC component level or peak voltage.

Single supply 1/2-bridge amps for example have a common mode DC offset of 1/2Vcc which is ~30VDC and capable of many amps which is why some regions will not allow the audio derating clause and treat as a power source.

Regulatory engineering is an unbelievably complicated subject, and unfortunately a good part of my day job tasks. These days I practice mostly under the UL framework, but have also worked with Intertek and TUV Rhineland on projects over the years.

Wow, above my pay grade but I'm hearing you say that there are power limits, +/- 300 watts, for safety concerns in the USA (and perhaps elsewhere). I hadn't considered speaker outputs a safety concern as I've never had an issue in over 50 years of playing.
Ignorance is bliss.

 

[agedhorse]

Wow, above my pay grade but I'm hearing you say that there are power limits, +/- 300 watts, for safety concerns in the USA (and perhaps elsewhere). I hadn't considered speaker outputs a safety concern as I've never had an issue in over 50 years of playing.
Ignorance is bliss.

Generally the US is ok with >300 watts but there are countries within Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe (outside the EU).

On a larger bridged amp it’s possible to see +/-100V peak voltage on each terminal with respect to ground, so yes it can give quite a shock if the output plug is 1/4” and you touch the barrel. Also, if a cable with a grounded plug touches the speaker plug, damage can result.

Best engineering practice dictates the use of touch proof connections in this application. This is also the general perspective of every test lab I have worked with.

It doesn’t mean that it’s the only way to do it, but it may limit the countries that the amps may be sold in. Since the products I design are intended to be available world wide, this is why we use SpeakOn only connectors (not combo jacks) on the Subway amps.

Hope this helps explain the SpeakOn versus 1/4” conundrum that manufacturers face.

 

[SJan3]

Generally the US is ok with >300 watts but there are countries within Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe (outside the EU).

On a larger bridged amp it’s possible to see +/-100V peak voltage on each terminal with respect to ground, so yes it can give quite a shock if the output plug is 1/4” and you touch the barrel. Also, if a cable with a grounded plug touches the speaker plug, damage can result.

Best engineering practice dictates the use of touch proof connections in this application. This is also the general perspective of every test lab I have worked with.

It doesn’t mean that it’s the only way to do it, but it may limit the countries that the amps may be sold in. Since the products I design are intended to be available world wide, this is why we use SpeakOn only connectors (not combo jacks) on the Subway amps.

Hope this helps explain the SpeakOn versus 1/4” conundrum that manufacturers face.

It does. Thanks

 

[redtomfunk]

Is there any way of getting the fan quieter?
Got a FBS700 today to use with a double bass and using a mic in a little studio as I do would not be possible