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Old school Power amplifier for bass

#22
svtb15 said:
Thats Bravo Siera.:woot::rollno::)
Ill put my old Crown MA1200 or my old Crown PSA2 against any Class D amp with the Same power rating. And you will feel the difference immediately..
I've done it at least 5 times over the a few years with TWO grammy award winning engineers/ producers. And at least 4 FOH engineers that work with Claire Bros, and ex Showco, plus a bud that plays keys with pink floyd and with some of the biggest names in the current and past top dog music world.
I trust their ears and my own over any internet forum opinions..
I was just in studio yesterday with grammy winning player Redd Volkaert doing tracks for his new record.. We were talking about this exact subject..
Im not going to go back and forth in this forum on this subject. It just gets too nasty. So this will be my only post...
Engineers pushing their numbers and specs etc etc. and never giving a clear answer..But backing up their opinions with long winded mumbo jumbo.. It doesn't mean squat . But it makes for good internet forum fodder..
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Yeah!! what this guy said.
 
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#26
JackANSI said:
I use a Hafler XL600 in the home rig, but it has a fan. I never felt a need to slap a high-pass on it at any volume.
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I used a P3000 for PA duty for several years and occasionally for bass too. I still have it, actually. It is fanless but the bigger Professional series Haflers do have fans IIRC.
 
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#28
Coolhandjjl said:
Never noticed the fan on my Crest CA9.
The CA9 is the gold standard for led sleds.
Just get a Peavey IPR series power amp. Many models, versions, and options to choose from. (Incedentally, Peavey bought Crest.)
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I wouldn't call it the gold standard in that people don't hold all amplifiers up to that as the end-all-be-all... It's just a very good choice for a wide array of uses. A "can't go wrong with" choice.

If light weight isn't in the top two "things this amp needs to have", a CA9 will probably do it though (and do it well).
 
#29
I can understand not wanting a (noisy) fan for recording purposes and for that purpose a high power amp is not necessary. When a high power amp is necessary, who cares if it has a fan, even a noisy fan. I have an Ampeg with a "noisy" fan and at first, it bothered me when I'd turn it on at home, but then each and every time I've jammed in context, I could not have cared less how loud my fan was, it just didn't matter. But alas, I believe the old school (and heavy) AB-International power amps didn't have fans, though they did have an "add-on" fan that mounted on the cooling fins.
 
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#30
I remember the PSA 2 being the monster standard.. Serious horsepower..

Coolhandjjl said:
Never noticed the fan on my Crest CA9.
The CA9 is the gold standard for led sleds.
Just get a Peavey IPR series power amp. Many models, versions, and options to choose from. (Incedentally, Peavey bought Crest.)
Click to expand...
 
#31
I played for a few years through a Shure mic mixer (volumes only) and a Phase Linear power amp. I think a 400 through Acoustic folded 18" cabs. No fan, and stupid top end. More power than an SVT. I would just run one side and use the other as the back up. With out a fan don't put it in a box.
 
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#32
Bodeeni said:
I played for a few years through a Shure mic mixer (volumes only) and a Phase Linear power amp. I think a 400 through Acoustic folded 18" cabs. No fan, and stupid top end. More power than an SVT. I would just run one side and use the other as the back up. With out a fan don't put it in a box.
Click to expand...

We do need more fanless options. With some decent heat sinks (big aluminum fins) more amps could be fanless, but they'll cost more and weight more.
 
#33
svtb15 said:
Thats Bravo Siera.:woot::rollno::)
Ill put my old Crown MA1200 or my old Crown PSA2 against any Class D amp with the Same power rating. And you will feel the difference immediately..
I've done it at least 5 times over the a few years with TWO grammy award winning engineers/ producers. And at least 4 FOH engineers that work with Claire Bros, and ex Showco, plus a bud that plays keys with pink floyd and with some of the biggest names in the current and past top dog music world.
I trust their ears and my own over any internet forum opinions..
I was just in studio yesterday with grammy winning player Redd Volkaert doing tracks for his new record.. We were talking about this exact subject..
Im not going to go back and forth in this forum on this subject. It just gets too nasty. So this will be my only post...
Engineers pushing their numbers and specs etc etc. and never giving a clear answer..But backing up their opinions with long winded mumbo jumbo.. It doesn't mean squat . But it makes for good internet forum fodder..
Click to expand...

If it was even remotely your way, then you better start mixing towards Class-D. Class-D is the vast majority of the amp market, in everything, even grammy winning players likely listen on class-d most of the time. Producers better start mixing to sound better with Class-D - it's what people are going to listen on. Put a label on the recording "Best if listened to with Class-AB" - that'll never happen.
 
#34
my older fan free amps where very heavy ... older Yamahas , AB amps ( the company AB ) ... been a long time , so i don't remember the models ... all i remember is very large heavy heat sinks / power supplies .. !
they did have a certain warmth ... maybe more SID ( slew induced distortion ) .. ?

those older amps took up 4 -6 rack spaces also ... i think there are some better alternatives that'll work fine
 
#35
were talking bass amps .. NOT talking about playback monitors or racks of 20 to 30 or more FOH amps. We are talking ONE 2 space amp for LIVE bass repro. TWO totally different things..
Not only these fellows agree with me but a few mastering engineers also agree..One goes as far as to use only TUBE amps to master a few of the major records that you have heard this year as well a a few you will hear in next springs major releases.
Was in Sunset Sound CA with Crown. HH or BGW amps . all a different flavour..

Next you will be telling me that an SSL sounds the same as a NEVE or API. Hey EQ is flat so they must sound the same.. ! Not so.

seamonkey said:
If it was even remotely your way, then you better start mixing towards Class-D. Class-D is the vast majority of the amp market, in everything, even grammy winning players likely listen on class-d most of the time. Producers better start mixing to sound better with Class-D - it's what people are going to listen on. Put a label on the recording "Best if listened to with Class-AB" - that'll never happen.
Click to expand...
 
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#36
My qualm isn't one type of design or another, its the fact that you're just not going to get a pie-in-the-sky laundry lists of light, loud, good sounding, no fan, etc. etc. etc.

Sometimes you have to decide what's important and take one for the team for your tone. If you don't want to do that, you may wish to think about that fan.

I also think that 'spec slide' explains a whole lot of the AB/D divide.
 
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#37
svtb15 said:
were talking bass amps .. NOT talking about playback monitors or racks of 20 to 30 or more FOH amps. We are talking ONE 2 space amp for LIVE bass repro. TWO totally different things..
Not only these fellows agree with me but a few mastering engineers also agree..One goes as far as to use only TUBE amps to master a few of the major records that you have heard this year as well a a few you will hear in next springs major releases.
Was in Sunset Sound CA with Crown. HH or BGW amps . all a different flavour..

Next you will be telling me that an SSL sounds the same as a NEVE or API. Hey EQ is flat so they must sound the same.. ! Not so.
Click to expand...

You're talking using a power amp for bass. The amp does not care where the signal it gets comes from. An amps job is to amplify.

On the EQ, or pre-amp - I'll say just the opposite. All the "tone" comes from from the signal processing, the EQ, compression, distortion. And neither one of those devices you mention are flat, and shouldn't be, they're all about coloring the tone.
 
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#39
road-cat1 said:
Stewart 1.2 power amp. 1000 watts bridged into 4 ohm, no fan, 11 pounds, class AB. Discontinued, but you can find them used. I use to have/use one and it was great.
Invalid Link Removed
on EBAY Stewart World 1 2 Power Amp Rack | eBay
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I had one of those a while ago. Great amp. Just be sure to leave 2U above and 1U below empty with vent panels covering the gap or it will overheat after about an hour of constant high power use with a bass.
 
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