Peavy Max 700

[brendanbass]

ok i got a question... i got this amp and this is my first amp thats not a combo, and i just want to know what it means when it says:

"700 Watts at 2 Ohms
475 Watts at 4 Ohms
275 Watts at 8 Ohms
All ratings are RMS"

it has two paralleled outputs, and some x-over, power-amp, and effects outputs/inputs and stuff too.
i'm currently playing this through a peavy 2x10 and 1x15, so i want to know what exactly all that means, what im at, and what i can go to with this head.

also, i'd like to know how to send my high end mostly through the 210, and the low end through the 115, i saw it set up like this before i bought it, but it had a power amp too. Can i still do that without having to worry about getting another power amp?

thanks

 

[Nighttrain1127]

What it means is if you have one 8 ohm cab you get 230 watts rms. If you have 2-8 ohm cabs or one 4 ohm cab connected you get 475 watts rms and if you have 4-8 ohm cabs or 2-4ohm cabs connected you get 700 watts rms.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

If you are using a single 8ohm cab, your amp is 275 watts. If you are using two 8 ohm cabs your amp is putting out 475 watts (237.5 watts into each cab), because two 8 ohm cabs in parallel makes a 4 ohm load.

Similarly two 4 ohm cabs make a 2 ohm load.

If that makes sense? There is also an Ohms FAQ at the top of this forum.

This amp does have a crossover, but, to use it well, you need to have another power amp im afraid.

If you do get another amplifier and want to use the crossover, this is what you do:

Plug the bass into the peavey as usual, and use either the high or low output on the front panel, and connect that to the power amp in. And use the remaining high or low output to the other power amplifier. Connect to the 210 to the output of the amplifier which has the "high out", and the 115 is connected to the output of the amplifier which was connected to the "low out". You use the crossover and balance control to change the parameters of the crossover.

The power amp in can also be used if you have another preamp, you would connect the preamp to the power amp in, and that'd let you use the power amplifier in the firebass. The Preamp out is so you could use the preamp section of the firebass into a different power amplifier.

Ive used my firebass for quite a while, and i use it with a 2x15 (4 ohms) and 2x10 ( 4 ohms) (giving a 2 ohm load and the amp puts out 700 watts), and its got a great sound and range, have also used it with the 2x15 (4 ohms) and 4x10 ( 4 ohms), also giving a 2 ohm load, and putting out 700 watts.

 

[ChenNuts44]

You guys realize that the amp doesn't magically "put out" it's rated RMS wattage because you've hooked it up and turned it on, right?

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Yes, but for all it matters to someone who doesnt understand what different impedances are, its simple, its laymans terms here.

If your firebass head was putting out 700 watts it would sound crap and blow the speakers probably , gotta love hard clipping eh

 

[spectorbass83]

So you need a seperate power amp if you wanna bi-amp the Max 700/Firebass??? That kinda sucks - as if the 700 isn't enough to lug around on its own lol

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

It is a bit wierd, but it isnt a two channel amplifier, i think they just had a bit of space left and didnt know what else to stick in

 

[Soulfinger]

With that amp and those speakers, there's really no need to use the crossover or biamp. Just plug both into the head and you'll be good to go.

I really like that amp--it's loud as hell, though you gotta be a real man (or woman) to carry it.

 

[whacker]

The history of single channel (in this case meaning one power amp) bass heads and combos having this crossover feature goes back to approximately the late '70s, when the bi-amp bug started to hit (with some people).

Some of the more expensive amps of the time, that had stereo (or more aptly described as dual mono) power amp setups (like early SWR products), started to include a crossover frequency selector and balance control, so that you could run it bi-amped, using one side (amp section) for the lows and the other for highs (mid-bass and up, actually). Voila! Instant bi-amping!

Not to be outdone, even the more economical amp makers like Peavey, Crate, and probably others (Carvin), started to include a bi-amping feature on their higher powered amp heads (like the earlier Mark III & IV, and their modern descendants like the Firebass and Max series), as well as their better combo amps (TNT & Combo 300/115/210). The hitch being that bi-amping being a bit more exotic and definitely more expensive, not many (in that price range) would be all that interested in it, so it was left to the end-user to decide if they wanted to add on the equipment necessary (extra amp and speaker) to accomplish bi-amping (generally later when they'd recovered from the shock of the first purchase - it was an upgrade!).

Most weren't, but Peavey (and even Crate, too) did at one time make powered 2x10 speakers just for this purpose, which cost almost a much as the original setup itself. So they made it easy, but not as easy as someone who bought SWR, Hartke, eventually Eden, some Fender products, and other more expensive amps that had two power sections and a crossover built-in.

So, that about covers it. Bi-amping (traditional low bass/mid-bass split style) has its fans, of course. But it's not a deal breaker for most players, and as you can see by what's available on the market for us (or will soon learn, if you become an observant gearhead), it's not around much as a standard feature. Only Gallien-Krueger, with its tweeter bi-amping (or Horn Management System) feature, offers anything standard requiring two internal amps for separate frequency ranges (oh, Carvin also offers it in their BRX series combos).