Power Amps?

[Sound Chaser]

Today I ordered an Ampeg SVP-BSP preamp, and I was wondering about good power amps. I don't really need anything over, say, 500 watts. I'm probably going to match it up with an Ampeg 4x10, or maybe a 6X10 depending on what the power amp puts out.

Thanks.

 

[Sound Chaser]

C'mon, nothing?

 

[Razor]

SC, you'll find absolutely tons of theories/spec's/reviews on amps here. Lots of wonderful power amps out there..some very popular models are, in my opinion, QSC, Crest, Peavey, Carvin, Stewart World...and so on. A lot of it will determine what your price range is as well.

 

[NOLA Bass]

You can get a brand new QSC RMX850 for $299 with a 6 year warranty offer. Bridge Mono should give you the watts you're looking for.

 

[Bruno2112]

I currently run an Ampeg SVT through a BBE Sonic Maximizer, and then into a Mackie M-1400i Stereo Power amp. The cool thing about the Mackie, is you can set it to run " dual mono ", and in that mode, connecting to two 8-ohm cabs, you run the amp at 300 watts RMS per EACH side, and that is plenty of head room for most clubs. I can get a nice growl with a '84 P-bass. . . I run two 4x10" ampeg cabs, or for smaller venue, I just take in one cab and use only one side of the power amp. They run probably a little over $500, but well worth it, and versatile. ...and if your main PA amp goes some night, you could swap in yours, and just run a direct line into the PA for your bass. ...could be handy. I have seen that stuff happen. Hope this helps. Good luck and Stay LOW~!
bruno2112

quote: "If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music. I get the most joy in life out of music."
- Albert Einstein

 

[tombowlus]

If you like SS and don't mind the weight, I'd go for a Crest CA6 or CA9. If you like SS but don't like to carry around a lot of weight, then I'd look at a Stewart World 1.6 or 2.1. If you like tube amps and want to try a tube power amp with that preamp, the Mesa Strategy 400 is a great amp that won't cost you an arm and a leg. The Aguilar DB 728 and Demeter 300M are of course awesome, but are quite pricey.

Tom.

 

[Sound Chaser]

Thanks guys. I'll definitely check out that Mesa tube power amp, and I imagine I'll go with QSC if I don't get that.

 

[TheChariot]

You can get a brand new QSC RMX850 for $299 with a 6 year warranty offer. Bridge Mono should give you the watts you're looking for.

I agree 100%.

$300 for 850Watts... which would be an excellent amount of power to feed an SVT610. It seems like a perfect little setup.

If weight is a problem, you could look to the PLX series amps, but you will have to shell out more cash.

the Strategy 400 is an option, but it really depends on if you think tube power is something that fits well with the BSP preamp. I wouldnt think so . I only played the BSP for about 15 mins or so when I tested it out, but to me it seemed like something that was meant for a SS poweramp and a more hi-fi type of sound.

 

[Jeff O'Connor]

Sounds good to me.
2 x 1200 Watts in 2-Ohm/2400 Watts in 4-Ohm bridged operation

 

[steveksux]

2 x 1200 Watts in 2-Ohm/2400 Watts in 4-Ohm bridged operation

Gutsy move, mentioning the B word!

I know B'ger takes a beating for stealing designs from other companies, but does that "dishonest behavior" carry over into say, exaggerating their power ratings? 2400 bridged audio watts is pretty big, maybe too big? Is that power @ 1% THD @ 1kHz, or .1% THD 20-20kHz? I have a QSC that rates its 2 ohm stereo output (4 ohm bridged output) at 1% THD 1kHz, which makes for a bigger number than the clean .1%@20-20k would show.


Also 2400W @120V = 20Amps from the AC mains, even if the amp was 100% efficient, its on the verge of popping a normal circuit breaker all by itself. With a class AB output you'd have to have a dedicated 30 amp service to handle that kind of power output consistently I'd think. I know the Crown K2 puts out something like that kind of wattage, but its a class D digital amp, very close to 100% efficiency, hence no need for cooling fan for waste heat, most of what comes out of the wall goes into producing actual audio power.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Is that power @ 1% THD @ 1kHz, or .1% THD 20-20kHz? I have a QSC that rates its 2 ohm stereo output (4 ohm bridged output) at 1% THD 1kHz, which makes for a bigger number than the clean .1%@20-20k would show.

It depends on whether the amp had qualified for an FTC power rating or just an EIA rating.

Also 2400W @120V = 20Amps from the AC mains, even if the amp was 100% efficient, its on the verge of popping a normal circuit breaker all by itself. With a class AB output you'd have to have a dedicated 30 amp service to handle that kind of power output consistently I'd think. I know the Crown K2 puts out something like that kind of wattage, but its a class D digital amp, very close to 100% efficiency, hence no need for cooling fan for waste heat, most of what comes out of the wall goes into producing actual audio power.

The K2 isn't digital.

If you're using the amp for non-audio purposes, like producing continuous full-power sine waves, then yes, you're going to need 30 or even 50A AC service. Keep in mind that if you're using your amp in a bass rig, it's going to use a lot less than that, even if you're tickling the clip LEDs.

 

[steveksux]

The K2 isn't digital

I remember seeing a megathread arguing about that now that you mention it. Let me rephrase, the K2 is class D, with the output transistors either at full rail voltage, or 0, call it binary? Non-linear? The output transistors operate digital-ish-ally, producing a pulse width modulated square wave, which after summing/smoothing (with capacitors?) creates a good approximation of an analog audio waveform. Something like that.

My intention wasn't to badmouth my QSC amp, I remembered seeing the 8 and 4 ohm stereo and 8 ohm bridged ratings were @.1%THD, 20-20kHz, but stereo 2 ohm and bridged 4 ohm listed at the less restrictive 1%THD 1kHz rating. It was spelled out in the manual, no attempt to hide anything or deceive on the part of QSC.

I brought it up to illustrate the different ways to rate a power amp, and to be careful to doublecheck, if B'ger will steal other companies designs, they're not above telling you its 2400Watts, but not mention its the "inflated" 1% 1kHz value, so you don't realize you're comparing their "road apples" to your oranges. Its like saying something is worth $100 but not mentioning whether its US or CDN....

I was suspicious of potential "overrating" because it was getting close to the limit of power you can get out of a std circuit. That's where the whole efficiency point came in, in this case the class D K2 might put out a continuous 2400 W where the less efficient class AB B'ger couldn't, it could push the current requirements for the amp beyond what even a 30 amp service can produce.

You're right, it might pop the breaker if you tried to run full blast continuously, but I was thinking the alternative, that it actually would run full blast on a 20 or 30 amp service, but only because the 2400 W rating was overly "optimistic" and maybe even inflated on the B'ger.

Randy