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Power Amps

Coolhandjjl

Coolhandjjl

Oct 13, 2010
11,124
14,244
Appleton
#1
I'm looking to bi-amp into two Fearful 15/6 cabs. My plan is to use a Mesa/Boogie Strategy 400 stereo all tube power amp (250 wpc) to power the midrange drivers, and a solid state power amp for the woofers, I have an older SAE stereo power amp (250 wpc).

After some testing of my SAE power amp run out of my Peavey Max Bass pre-amp, I can't get the power amp to deliver anywhere near full power. It seems it has a rather high input sensitivity of around 2.3 volts, almost double of the average pre-amp. Is this a loosing venture then? Anyway to get the signal boosted, or should I just get a modern Peavey or Crown power amp with a lower input sensitivity?
 
#2
Coolhandjjl said:
I'm looking to bi-amp into two Fearful 15/6 cabs. My plan is to use a Mesa/Boogie Strategy 400 stereo all tube power amp (250 wpc) to power the midrange drivers, and a solid state power amp for the woofers, I have an older SAE stereo power amp (250 wpc).

After some testing of my SAE power amp run out of my Peavey Max Bass pre-amp, I can't get the power amp to deliver anywhere near full power. It seems it has a rather high input sensitivity of around 2.3 volts, almost double of the average pre-amp. Is this a loosing venture then? Anyway to get the signal boosted, or should I just get a modern Peavey or Crown power amp with a lower input sensitivity?
Click to expand...

What is your testing procedure?

Also, that's a lot of juice for a 6" driver.
 
#3
How is the output from your bass? If that's weak, the preamp might not be able to put out its full output voltage. A 2.3V input "sensitivity" spec is a little higher than average for power amps but still not all that high; most preamps should be able to drive it pretty easily—you just have to set their gains suitably, but that's not hard.
 
#4
As a general rule for bi-amping, you usually want a larger, more powerful amp on the lows Vs on the mids or highs. And a fine point; if you need MORE gain because your signal level is low, then you want HIGHER sensitivity (more gain) not lower.
 

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