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Recommend a power amp

grocker

grocker

Supporting Member
Dec 1, 2007
727
1,591
Florida
#1
I have a Mesa Subway plus D.I....I use Mesa cabs now 400w each at 8ohms ea
. I'm looking for a power amp that's reliable, light weight, and has 400w per channel..The Mesa head I wanted is no longer an option$$.. this will be my backup amp setup.
Looking not to spend to much for sure.
Any suggestions will be very appreciated.
 
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#4
Meant to add.

other than price, the ep1500 was the only affordable (to my broke self) model that had the mode switches on the back. Prob not a big deal, but I like the built in filter.
 

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#5
In my rack rig (which I rarely use anymore) I use a QSC GX5, one channel per cab, but they've got GX3s that might be more appropriate for your needs power-wise.

Not bridgeable, nor 2-ohm capable, but that makes them lighter and less expensive.

Not super light, but great amps, and can be gotten reasonably. :)
 
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#8
Marko 1 said:
Those are seriously good units. I used an EP2500 for PA use,

but they're anything but light-weight. :)
Click to expand...

35lbs. Would explain the $40 shipping cost. However it’s going to spend most of its life parked on speaker cabs at rehearsal, so I’m not too worried about it. I needed something 2ohm capable and it checked the boxes for wattage and cost as well. The transit B pre amp is going to be fulfilling the pre amp section, so that won’t be adding much weight to the rig when having to haul it.
 
#10
482F9B80-8131-4D7C-A051-2E63134A48E9.jpeg
Take a look at Yamaha’s PX Series amps. I bought a PX5 last Christmas, and I’m quite impressed.
It’s Class D, it weighs about 16 pounds. I run it in stereo mode into a pair of 8 ohm cabinets, and it puts out 500 watts per channel into 8 ohms, 800 watts per channel into 4 ohms.
 
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#11
4stringfarley said:
Meant to add.

other than price, the ep1500 was the only affordable (to my broke self) model that had the mode switches on the back. Prob not a big deal, but I like the built in filter.
Click to expand...

In addition to the bridged output you don't need, it looks like you have one filter set to 30 hz and one set to 50 hz (kinda looks like only one is on too, probably b/c it's in bridge mode). I don't know whether those cabs put out much fundamental from 30 to 50, but there's virtually no chance you actually need it. If your rehearsal room is like most of them, you will be happiest filtering both sides at 50. It's safer for your gear and you'll have the least mud in rehearsal. It would be better if it went higher, but 50 is better than 30!

if you have a very large rehearsal room with stone or tile floors, this may not apply. Betchya don't tho.

Edit: Ahhh ... two different people. Bad reading here. Bet this still applies ...
 
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#14
jtg said:
In addition to the bridged output you don't need, it looks like you have one filter set to 30 hz and one set to 50 hz (kinda looks like only one is on too, probably b/c it's in bridge mode). I don't know whether those cabs put out much fundamental from 30 to 50, but there's virtually no chance you actually need it. If your rehearsal room is like most of them, you will be happiest filtering both sides at 50. It's safer for your gear and you'll have the least mud in rehearsal. It would be better if it went higher, but 50 is better than 30!

if you have a very large rehearsal room with stone or tile floors, this may not apply. Betchya don't tho.

Edit: Ahhh ... two different people. Bad reading here. Bet this still applies ...
Click to expand...

photo was just a random one I found online of the back showing the switches. Mine isn’t here at the house.
 
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#17
grocker said:
I have a Mesa Subway plus D.I....I use Mesa cabs now 400w each at 8ohms ea
. I'm looking for a power amp that's reliable, light weight, and has 400w per channel..The Mesa head I wanted is no longer an option$$.. this will be my backup amp setup.
Looking not to spend to much for sure.
Any suggestions will be very appreciated.
Click to expand...

I almost have the perfect power amp (see my avatar) puts out 400 watt a channel @ 8 ohm, hardly any use history, been kept in a rack since I bought new, and I’d cut you the deal of the century … Only problem is it weighs as much as 49 Buick…LOL

Best wishes on your hunt.
 
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#18
grocker said:
27369257[/URL], member: 104557"]I have a Mesa Subway plus D.I....I use Mesa cabs now 400w each at 8ohms ea
. I'm looking for a power amp that's reliable, light weight, and has 400w per channel..The Mesa head I wanted is no longer an option$$.. this will be my backup amp setup.
Looking not to spend to much for sure.
Any suggestions will be very appreciated.
Click to expand...
The Crown 1002 or 1502 XLS. It is a D-class power amp.
Buy it used as they are cheap and ultra reliable. I bought mine from a pub restaurant during the Covid years. It was used every night for a couple of years but it is still fantastic. It also has a sensitivity selector too for DI pedals. Very useful.
 
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#20
Don't know what the hate for running bridged is. I run bridged all the time without issue into a variety of cabinets. (Here is one to blow your mind if you don't like bridged outputs - the mesa 800 Watt class d amps are two amps, internally bridged.)

I would run a crown xls-1002 into the pair of cabs bridged with minor reservations - just be mindful of one's volume. I'd set the hpf above the cabs natural cutoff. I've used the subway di+ with the xls-1502 bridged into a pair of barefaced bb3 cabs - ended up going to a subway tt-800
 
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