• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Power Amplifier that fits with FRFR or Barefaced Cabs

#42
agedhorse said:
It was a marketing schmooze-fest for potential high rollers and some press. Lots of wine and champagne were involved, and I was directed to be sure to “influence the results” in the company’s favor.

This was the last straw for me, so I influenced the results alright but in a way that showed how absurd all the cork sniffing was. I used the same amp (our product) and two amps that were not connected to the switcher.

For the first test, all 3 amps were fed identically from the switcher.

Then we added 3 identical cork sniffer power cords to the test setup and we switched between the “3 amps” the ONLY difference was that there was a 1/2 dB pad on one feed and a 1dB pad on the other feed. The voting came in and guess what?

In the first round of testing, the results were about 1/3-1/3-1/3 as would be expected by random choice.

In the second round, the choice that was just barely the loudest (by only 1dB) was the clear winner.

The golden ear audiophiles were creative with their descriptions, more creative as the alcohol flowed freely and the shrimp platters consumed. Notes of chocolate, warmth of satin Burgundy, the texture of Jade overlayed with a quartz hue, and many more ridiculous prose, each golden ear trying to outfit each other.

Then the curtains were opened and they discovered that they had been listening to a single amp in every test! Yes, I influenced the testing but not quite in the way the company expected.

I had already left my resignation letter on the owner’s desk so I quietly slipped out the back door as the poopie began to hit the fan… and again the alcohol probably inflamed the behavior as much at the testing.

That folks is how I resigned from my first and only job in audiophile (audiophool) audio! This was over 40 years ago.
Click to expand...

I pulled that 1-dB-louder trick on my girlfriend in the early '70s, when she insisted that the fidelity of my Tandberg tape deck must be vastly inferior to that of her expensive Thorens turntable and Rabco linear tracking tone arm.

I recorded a bit of a Roberta Flack album and then A/B'ed the outputs of the turntable and the tape deck, after bumping the tape level up just the tiniest bit when she wasn't looking. She confidently picked the tape playback, thinking she was listening to her turntable. I gloated.

She forgave me. Eventually.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikedeeez, S-Bigbottom and agedhorse
#45
Guitalia said:
I pulled that 1-dB-louder trick on my girlfriend in the early '70s, when she insisted that the fidelity of my Tandberg tape deck must be vastly inferior to that of her expensive Thorens turntable and Rabco linear tracking tone arm.

I recorded a bit of a Roberta Flack album and then A/B'ed the outputs of the turntable and the tape deck, after bumping the tape level up just the tiniest bit when she wasn't looking. She confidently picked the tape playback, thinking she was listening to her turntable. I gloated.

She forgave me. Eventually.
Click to expand...
How did the story end for you? Well, did you marry her?
 
#46
After some digging , I came up with this :
Noble to
GSS Sumo
upload_2023-10-22_0-43-54.png

To Big Baby 3
Otherwise , I did find that I like the Mesa Subway stuff(as a way to have a backup pre) , but it’s far more features than I need .
 
#50
There is one thing to be said. Barefaced cans are, IIRC, proper multi-way speakers, meaning that they have properly crossed-over woofers and midrange drivers (and tweeters). This will entail a loss of efficiency since the passive crossover will dissipate power. On the other hand, the drivers selected should be pretty sensitive. Anyway, the recommended power is because you are getting less than your expected power's worth. The ideal way to do this is with separate power amps for each driver and a crossover *before* power amplification (whether the crossover is passive with a recovery stage or active, it makes little real world difference, signal amplification is much easier than power amplification). This is far from foolproof, which is why Barefaced doesn't sell his cabs this way (unless you specifically ask for it, I figure). His powered cabinet is probably doing this behind the scenes, since it is the most rational way to drive speakers, and therefore, since you are looking to buy both a Barefaced cabinet *and* a power amp, I think this would be your best bet.
 
#51
CarloVato said:
The Big Baby is 8ohms. 800 watts RMS.
Maybe you didn’t see that , but I posted the screen shot above.
Click to expand...

The specs don't actually say that the cab handles 800 watts. They say that 800 watts is the recommended maximum amp power. Different thing. Apart from the weight and size, all of those specs are misleading. It's a 400W cab, despite the marketing claims.
 
  • Like
Reactions: S-Bigbottom and agedhorse
#52
Bassgeige said:
The specs don't actually say that the cab handles 800 watts. They say that 800 watts is the recommended maximum amp power. Different thing. Apart from the weight and size, all of those specs are misleading. It's a 400W cab, despite the marketing claims.
Click to expand...
Yes , thank you. AgedHorse cleared that up for me yesterday. I am not a scientist. To be quite honest, I did see the “800 watt rating “ and immediately began looking for an 800 watt at 8ohm power amp solution. That said , I dont think I’ve ever ran the main volume past 1 O clock. ( just over halfway)…on any amp.
It has to sound good. I have been running my noble straight into the fx return on my Darkglass head , and that into my Darkglass 212 cab, but I noticed I had a much better sound just running the noble into a QSC powered wedge. That would work for some gigs , but most times , that won’t cut it. That’s how I ended up looking at a Big Baby 3 fed by a healthy power amp. Today , I ordered the GSS Sumo power amp. 1000 w at 4 / 500 w at 8.
We will see what happens.
 
#53
I don’t think I’d be the first person to ever get an amp with more power than the cab was rated for.
Maybe I’m foolish , but i think there is a growing market for straight up ( healthy)power amps , with a low cut feature ( switch).
Something single channel
 
#55
CarloVato said:
I don’t think I’d be the first person to ever get an amp with more power than the cab was rated for.
Maybe I’m foolish , but i think there is a growing market for straight up ( healthy)power amps , with a low cut feature ( switch).
Something single channel
Click to expand...
Maybe, but demand is nowhere near enough to justify a manufacturer to go through the cost of safety and EMC certification.

That’s why you see pro audio power amps in this category, because the economy of scale makes it possible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Snert
#58
Boneless said:
There is one thing to be said. Barefaced cans are, IIRC, proper multi-way speakers, meaning that they have properly crossed-over woofers and midrange drivers (and tweeters). This will entail a loss of efficiency since the passive crossover will dissipate power. On the other hand, the drivers selected should be pretty sensitive. Anyway, the recommended power is because you are getting less than your expected power's worth. The ideal way to do this is with separate power amps for each driver and a crossover *before* power amplification (whether the crossover is passive with a recovery stage or active, it makes little real world difference, signal amplification is much easier than power amplification). This is far from foolproof, which is why Barefaced doesn't sell his cabs this way (unless you specifically ask for it, I figure). His powered cabinet is probably doing this behind the scenes, since it is the most rational way to drive speakers, and therefore, since you are looking to buy both a Barefaced cabinet *and* a power amp, I think this would be your best bet.
Click to expand...

well, looking at the Barefaced specs, they show sensitivity at 97dB, which is not horrible, but it's not a particularly high sensitivity rating.

just sayin'
 
  • Like
Reactions: agedhorse

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back