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New Carvin B1000

#61
BassikLee said:
I'd get the 700, based on my experience with both the older B800 and current BX500 heads. The BX has much more flexible eq. They both sound great.
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That's my dilemma as well. The reason I didn't jump on the BX500 was the lack of Pre/Post DI. That's all addressed in the BX700. But I am concerned about the rumors of it being 'voiced' differently. One of the many great things on the BX500 is it's reputation for being pretty transparent. I'm hoping info from NAMM next week will clear that up one way or another. Either way, Carvin is certainly on-the-ball and releasing a flurry of really interesting products company wide. That's great to see!
 
#62
Grateful said:
That's my dilemma as well. The reason I didn't jump on the BX500 was the lack of Pre/Post DI. That's all addressed in the BX700. But I am concerned about the rumors of it being 'voiced' differently. One of the many great things on the BX500 is it's reputation for being pretty transparent. I'm hoping info from NAMM next week will clear that up one way or another. Either way, Carvin is certainly on-the-ball and releasing a flurry of really interesting products company wide. That's great to see!
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I honestly think the rumor mill started up on a different voicing because some people thought the new amp LOOKED like the old red faced Carvin amps and so wondered, for some reason, if they were also voiced like those old amps. I highly suspect this is a BX500 with a few tweaks and improvements. Someone better just order one and report back to us! ;)
 
#63
jnewmark said:
I'm really torn between this one and the new BX700. At this point in my life, I can't see myself ever needing a 2 ohm load, but, never say never ! ;) Obviously, the EQ section of the BX700 is more extensive, and I am used to the BX1500 EQ section, which is similar. At 4 ohms, the 700 is 550 watts, the 1000 is 600. The 700 is lighter by about a pound, although there seems to be different weights in the catalog as opposed to the website. Has anyone played the older BX500 and the 2000 ? I'd love to hear how the EQ sections differ.
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I've owned two BX500s, two B1500s, and have played the B2000, although only once. That once was on a gig though, not just bedroom or rehearsal. I found it remarkably similar to the B1500.

Yes, the BX eq is obviously more flexible. I never used the graphic on either of mine. But I did like the semipara mids. That's a very nice touch. Having said that, though, the eq on the B series heads just seems to work. I never had a problem dialing in a good tone with any of my bass or cabinet combinations. I'm personally really interested in the B1000.

However, the killer deal on the Carvin site right now is the BX1500 on sale for $499, just $50 more than the BX700! I think they might be blowing them out due to the release of the BX1600, and I wonder if we might see a similar thing with the BX500. Unless the "We voiced the BX700 like the Redline amps" rumours turn out to be true, I don't really see the point of the BX500 with the 700 in the lineup.

Cheers,
Liam
 
#64
^ Yeah, if I did'nt already own one, I'd be getting the BX1500; it's a great deal. I do use the graphic EQ on it, in combination with the semi-para eq, to boost and cut certain freqs, according to the room . I like the graphic on the BX1500 better than any other graphic I have ever played through. It seems to work for me. They ( 700 and 1000 ) are both the same size, so no advantage there. Once we get the real info on the 1000's weight, I bet it's similar to the 700. So, imho, the only advantage is the more powerful 1000 at 2 ohms, and if you want simple, the less complexity of it's EQ section. Guess we'll just have to wait for some reviews.
 
#70
I wonder what the practical side effects of operating these amps at 2 ohms is? Saying something is "2 ohm capable" is great unless you sacrifice too much in terms of audio quality, or dynamic headroom. I simply haven't tested them at such loads enough to have a good appreciation for the truth here. Does halving the damping factor when moving from 4 ohms to 2 ohms really impact cone control appreciably, or is that consideration overblown and virtually undetectable?

Also, do these amps still have the current-limited headroom at 2 ohms that prior amps had at 4 ohms, or does the "increase in power" come at the expense of running closer to current thresholds, with associated peak clipping? (I seem to recall that some of the current-limiting in class D designs stems from the need to protect the power supply circuit from the reflected power from the load, which is worse at lower impedances... I don't have an appreciation of whether this makes such designs more or less challenging than AB designs.)

As an aside, it has always frustrated me that having an EE degree doesn't help me much in answering such questions myself. :)
 
#71
^ I always thought the the 2 ohm load area was more for FOH, than instrument amplification, but, I could be wrong. I don't think guitar players go there, and I don't know any bass players who use a 2 ohm rig. If so, I wonder why Carvin seems to be pushing their bass heads in this direction ? It was commented before about the B1000 would be great if it was 1000 watts at 4 ohms, or the new BX700, 700 watts at 4 ohms, but Carvin must think otherwise. Anybody regularly gig with a 2 ohm rig ?
 
#72
jnewmark said:
^ I always thought the the 2 ohm load area was more for FOH, than instrument amplification, but, I could be wrong. I don't think guitar players go there, and I don't know any bass players who use a 2 ohm rig. If so, I wonder why Carvin seems to be pushing their bass heads in this direction ? It was commented before about the B1000 would be great if it was 1000 watts at 4 ohms, or the new BX700, 700 watts at 4 ohms, but Carvin must think otherwise. Anybody regularly gig with a 2 ohm rig ?
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I did notice that all of the BRX series "professional level" cabs Carvin has available today are 4-ohm only. So if you wanted to run two of them for more volume, you'd be forced to get an amp that was 2-ohm capable (or run a rig with 2 channels). It certainly makes sense for Carvin to offer a line of amps which matches well with their own cabs, whether or not the impedance in question was the best design choice for sound alone. :)
 
#75
cableguy said:
+1

One of these sitting on top of my 12/6 would be a great small gig rig. And leave my rack unit for my future 66......:bassist:
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You can always bridge a BX1500 into that little cab. Careful though.... If you add a 12" sub later, you can run them in Dual Mono mode (two amps full range) or Bi-amp mode, which is how I run my 12" 3-way/12" sub rig.
 

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