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New Head: Valkyrie from Baer Amps... Thoughts?

#422
monsterthompson said:
I'm with you. However, are the Mesa controls actually boost/cut at specific frequencies? I get the impression they are more like tone controls on a passive bass. Turning the high knob up doesn't boost the high, it just opens up the filter, and turning it down rolls the frequencies off. Same for mids and trebble. Am I thinking about this right, or have I made some false assumption?
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I'm pretty sure the M6 follows the typical Mesa tone layout, which is to use active EQ circuits (boost and cut), except for the mid control, which they call 'passive'. There's always been some debate on just exactly what the Mesa mid controls really do, as the manuals always call this a passive circuit and then go on to say it is "boost only".

"MID - This is the only passive style control in the string of rotary tone controls. ...Unlike the BASS, this control is a boost only..."
 
#423
R Baer said:
I'm pretty sure the M6 follows the typical Mesa tone layout, which is to use active EQ circuits (boost and cut), except for the mid control, which they call 'passive'. There's always been some debate on just exactly what the Mesa mid controls really do, as the manuals always call this a passive circuit and then go on to say it is "boost only".

"MID - This is the only passive style control in the string of rotary tone controls. ...Unlike the BASS, this control is a boost only..."
Click to expand...

Hey Roger,

I believe that rather confusing 'Mesa passive midrange boost only' control is a unique design that has a passive tone mid control in front of a built in active, fixed mid boost. So, the control 'cuts' the built in mid boost. If you have the mid control on most Mesa's at noon, that fixed active mid boost built into the amp is present. This gives the impression that that passive control can actually 'boost the mids'.

The Celinder treble control (the Greengrove preamp) is based on the same design. It is a passive tone control that is linked to a treble boost circuit. This gives the impression that it is a 'cut and boost control' when it is actually a passive control of an active boost circuit.
 
#426
R Baer said:
14lbs. of copper lonv'n!


Keep in mind that a cab like the ML112 is just plain more expensive to build than the traditional woofer/ tweeter cab that most companies are doing. We should have pricing on the Valkyrie in a couple months. The Valkyrie is our flagship product and was never meant to compete with the smaller class D amps, or other mass produced amps on the market. The Valkyrie is hand built in the US with an all aluminum cassis and front panels, all through hole components, Bourns pots, Plitron transformer, Tung-Sol tubes, 2ohm capability, etc... all those things really add up. Heck, that transformer alone cost twice what most of those IcePower modules cost. We always figured this would end up somewhere between the bigger Mesa amps, Thunderfunk and the Aguilar DB751.
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Roger, it's really nice to see someone building an "heirloom" quality piece that will actually be capable/worth repairing 5-10 years from now. Too much throwaway junk being produced nowdays IMO. Indeed the parts costs really add up, almost shockingly so, but good for you for sticking to your guns on component quality.
 
#427
JGR said:
Roger, it's really nice to see someone building an "heirloom" quality piece that will actually be capable/worth repairing 5-10 years from now. Too much throwaway junk being produced nowdays IMO. Indeed the parts costs really add up, almost shockingly so, but good for you for sticking to your guns on component quality.
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+1 to that. I very much appreciate the design approach and commitment to quality that is behind the Baer line.

Roger, I know you told me over the phone not too long ago, but I've forgotten - what are the center points of the EQ controls? I remember you said the deep was 40hz but I'm drawing a blank on the bass and treble and the range of adjustability of the mid bands...
 
#430
R Baer said:
DEEP: +/- 6dB @45Hz
BASS: +/- 10dB @ 80Hz
LOW MID: +/- 10dB @100Hz -800Hz
HIGH MID: +/- 10dB @800Hz - 3kHz
TREBLE: +/- 10dB @5kHz
BRIGHT: +4dB @7kHz
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For those of you pm'ing me about tone profile and flexibility, this is a good reason for that flexibility. Also, like the Mesa's, Ashdown's, etc, it has that sense of power on the notes that some of the class D heads might not have. You feel it a little more under your fingers.
 
#431
B String said:
For those of you pm'ing me about tone profile and flexibility, this is a good reason for that flexibility. Also, like the Mesa's, Ashdown's, etc, it has that sense of power on the notes that some of the class D heads might not have. You feel it a little more under your fingers.
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That is a really nice range of EQ center points. Kind of similar to the Glock Heartrock or Carvin B2000 front end with nice control of low bass, mid bass, low mid, high mid, treble and 'air/sizzle'. Basically, dual bass and treble controls, and dual semi-parametric mids. That is about as much tone shaping as any amp I've ever seen.

The 14" depth is a bit of a drag, since that amp won't fit in a standard type SKB two space rack (I think it won't anyway... I think 12" deep is the limit).
 
#432
KJung said:
That is a really nice range of EQ center points. Kind of similar to the Glock Heartrock or Carvin B2000 front end with nice control of low bass, mid bass, low mid, high mid, treble and 'air/sizzle'. Basically, dual bass and treble controls, and dual semi-parametric mids. That is about as much tone shaping as any amp I've ever seen.

The 14" depth is a bit of a drag, since that amp won't fit in a standard type SKB two space rack (I think it won't anyway... I think 12" deep is the limit).
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K. The little bit I've played with the tone controls, they've been just at the right spots to nuance the tone rather than "get it in the ballpark". Its certainly a great alternative to the class D heads.
 
#436
JGR said:
Not really. The components dictate the size of the amp, and most of the shallow racks will support 14-15" depth no problem.
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+1 The chassis is 13" deep behind the rack ears, which should fit into most shallow rack cases. It depends on the brand of case, but most are around 14". That's as small as we could go and still get everything in there. Also, when you are taking about almost 900watts at 2ohms, there is a lot of heat being generated by the transformer and power amp. You can only pack things so tight and still maintain good airflow over the components.

FYI, rack bags are a major party foul with this amp!
 

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