The new Bam200 just arrived and I laughed when I held it. My first thought was, ‘if it is halfway useful, I’ll keep it’. Really, it’s so tiny I didn’t expect much.
However, it sounds very nice and holds its own in the power department.
I compared it to my first gen Clarus (the baby one) and the Markbass Nano300. The Clarus is rated at 200 watts into 4 ohm and the Nano is 300 into 4. They have always seemed about even to me, although the Clarus was built with a large toroidal transformer and will handle 2 ohms. It’s a well built amp.
Tonewise, the Bam sounds similar to the Clarus. It is warm and fat. I suspect the 10M input which the Clarus has is a factor. The Bam200 may be ever so slightly leaner on the bottom, but not by much. It does add a tad of fuzzy warmth but overall the presentation is very natural.
The Nano is a leaner and cleaner amp than the other two. I would say that the Bam is the warmest of the three. I never thought I would find an amp warmer than the Clarus, but her it is.
The Bam sounded great through first, my GK MBX metal cabinet and then the little 10” Promethean which is a bit more middy with less low end. The real test was the ACME B1 because it is power hungry and drops to 3 ohms. That cabinet did not like the GK MB200 for that reason.
Well, the little Bam handled it fine.
I’ll take it out this weekend but I suspect it will become my ‘go to’ head. My Sunday gig is one I always have PA support and use a fine Countryman 85 DI. I’ll try going straight out of the amp and see how it compares. The BAM200 is so cute and convenient, but it sounds good too. If TC hadn’t had DB players in mind when designing this thing, I’d be surprised. Keep an FDeck HPF in the bag for use if needed and I think you’re covered. $149 to my door through Amazon. Such a bargain.
Edit: For size comparison, the three amps are matching at the rear left corners. Ridiculous.
