Power amp with 1/4" output???

My Peavey DPC-1000 is rated 500 per channel into 4 ohms and has both 1/4 in. and banana outputs.

Plus it's only one rack space and weighs just 11 lbs. (or something like that).

 

I think Carvin poweramps offer 1/4" outputs, not sure.

 

I use a Carver PM-350

It produces 350 watts per side @ 8 ohms, 450 per @ 4 ohms.

Takes 1/4 or XLR inputs, and had 1/4, binding post, or banana plug outs.

 

Yep Carvin has 1/4". The DCM1000 is rated 350 watts per channel @ 4 ohms.

 

my Stewart World 1.2 and my Peavey DPC1400x have 'em.

to be honest, i'd MUCH rather have speakons, especially when i'm running close to 1,000 watts into my amps.

but, i think you'd be better off, just getting new cables, than spending on a whole new power amp, no?

 

Walter Woods Ultra 1200w @ 4ohms. All 1/4"
It is a very small amp that probably has a lot to do with it... no space for more modern/safer connectors. Verrrrrrrry well built though.

You could easily replace the 1/4 with another type of connector though. I may put a speak-on on my cable going from the Woods to the Bergantino. It really sounds great like it is though. The only thing that I worry about with 1/4 going into a cab is it being pushed or blown out from pressure. That is pretty unusual but it happened to me before. I always velcro or duct tape the cable going into the back of the speaker since. 1/4 is truely the crummiest connector on the planet, but there are more of them than anything else. JMO.

 

Do I get this right?

You want to severely limit your choice of amps because you're too cheap to replace a 5$ plug on a cable?

In the EU all bigger poweramps are required to have speakons btw.

 

That's the tail wagging the dog, for sure.

My advice, Pete:

Buy the best power amp you can afford, minus about 4 or 5 bucks.

Cut off one end of the cable and use the extra money to buy an appropriate connector to put on it. Almost anything is an improvement on 1/4".

 

Bob, this might have been "done to death", but would i be wasting my time and few dollars putting a speakon on one end of my 1/4 to 1/4 cable? I doubt that it would improve anything with the 1/4 on one end..other than what I stated before about the cab blowing out the plug as opposed to a locking type.

 

If you have a Speakon jack to plug it into, go ahead.

 

dunno bout the tone, necessarily, but...

if you're running HIGH wattage, and dont wanna risk severly damaging your power amp (or others around you) in case something funky happens onstage, i'd go with the speakon connections.

i'm trying to move all of my gear to speakons for the safety. with my raukus funk rock trio, i'll have more piece of mind, when i get my QSC.

now if only Monster would make me some 3 ft. long speakon to speakon speaker cables...

 

Joker, contact Ron Vogel at Full Compass. I've ordered the same cables before through them.
Monster Speaker cable SP1000-S-3SP speak-on

ron@fullcompass.com

 

He doesn't lie- I have 2 Monster Studio Pro 1000 3 ft. (.92m) speakon to speakon cables. Had 'em for about a year. They do exist.

 

You can use other brands of cable that will probably cost a lot less, too, but give you as good or better quality.

 

What do you think could happen? How are you going to damage something?

If there's a short, any good amp will shut down. But if something gets knocked over, 1/4" will pull out and speakon won't. Speakons will cause more damage by staying connected.

 

that's what i used to think...

maybe its the paranoia in me, but with all that wattage flying about, i'm just watchin' out for my hind up there.

oh, and thx for the heads up Biggie! i'll be sure to contact him.

 

Speakons are designed to be stage worthy, current able, trip safe, touch safe connectors.

1/4" plugs are a heritage of the WW II era where phones were connected by hand. They were not designed to handle large current, be trip proof, be touch proof, or be anywhere near stage worthy. They are just a very bad example of cheap-a$$ amplifier design. Yes, cheap-a$$.

I'm really not sure about the fuse tripping when a short occurs while running at full juice. A lot can go wrong in the few hundredths of a second before the fuse blows. This has nothing to do with having a "good" amp or not. Avoid short circuit at all costs. period.

 

That's all fine and well. Nobody's going to be touching my gear but me, and I'll make sure it's off before I pull the speaker plugs. If anybody else touches my gear, well... I can't help but think of that old Ren & Stimpy episode "Don't Piss on the Electric Fence".

No argument there. BTW, I love cheap gear.

So are you saying that when someone at a club spills beer on a Speakon, it won't short? A waterproof connector would be a great selling point, but I haven't seen that touted as a Speakon feature.

Personally, I like the way a 1/4" plug will pull out when a drunk roadie or friend stumbles over a cable instead of bringing the whole stack crashing down. YMMV.