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The Official Hartke Club Part 2

Think of peak power (the 500 rating for the 508 combo) as short spikes of output and RMS (Root Mean Square) as continuous (average) power.
Amp output ratings are usually measured with peak being all but completely unloaded with respect to speaker resistance and RMS at the rated load (2, 4, 8 ohms). By electronic formula RMS is 70.7% of peak average (yet another rating) and usually 50% or so of peak rating.

RMS is the more accurate rating for amp output.

Soooooooooo..........you will be hitting 500 on peaks when the volume is at max but still 250 on average.

I have an ancient Hartke 2500 head which is 250 RMS and trust me I rattle stuff off of walls with my gain at 5 and volume at 1.5
Once I turned the volume up to 3 and chased people out of the room. 250 RMS is PLENTY of snot!

Bear in mind that the closer you get to peak, the more you will distort and push the speakers to over excursion. At the least you will "fart out" and nobody likes bass farts.
Will this have the similar volume as something like an Ampeg RB 210 with a 2x10 extension cab? I know it's lower surface area, but I have to make a decision in the next week and one is significantly cheaper than the other and if I can get similar volume out of the Hartke, that's the direction I'd like to go. I have no way two AB test either of these btw.
 
Will this have the similar volume as something like an Ampeg RB 210 with a 2x10 extension cab? I know it's lower surface area, but I have to make a decision in the next week and one is significantly cheaper than the other and if I can get similar volume out of the Hartke, that's the direction I'd like to go. I have no way two AB test either of these btw.


The only real difference is that the Ampeg has the option of using an extension cabinet.
Otherwise the rating is the same.

I would think that you will get better SPL with the 4 x 8" drivers as opposed to 2 x 10" due to a larger surface area.
 
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The only real difference is that the Ampeg has the option of using an extension cabinet.
Otherwise the rating is the same.

I would think that you will get better SPL with the 4 x 8" drivers as opposed to 2 x 10" due to a larger surface area.
Well. It would be 4x10" as it would have the extension cab. That's kind of what I'm comparing it to. I have a BA 210 and volume wise it keeps up, but it's going at full bore so it has no bottom end. It's also not mine anymore. My options are getting a cab for the BA and saving for an RB or getting the 508, but it needs to have a similar volume to the RB with the extension cab.
 
@StevenSaturday I don't think that the 508 would be THAT much behind the RB with extension but, would probably not have quite the low end response and obviously the 4 x 10" setup would be a bit better on the SPL production. How much? I really couldn't say.

I do know that the RB when outfitted with the extension cab changes the rating to 500 RMS since the speaker load then goes to 4 ohms and according to the specs on the Ampeg site it's 250 w @ 8 ohms (internal 2 x 10) and 500 w @ 4 ohms (when used with extension cab).

So flip a coin as far as affordability vs the bigger setup you seem to be gravitating toward.
 
I dunno how efficient the RB speakers are but 500WRMS into 4-10 is generally going to be louder than 250WRMS into 4x8.
I love the tone of the Hartke speakers but in my experience they are not high-efficiency high-SPL drivers.
I currently run 500WRMS into three HD112 cabs (2.7 ohms total) and it's fully capable of breaking windows (oops!) while maintaining the tone (not farting out...)
 
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Hi.. I have a home studio setup with an old all-tube '71 Ampeg VT-2 hooked up to (amongst other) my beloved Bag End S15D.

I'm been looking for a light weight solid state head as an alternative to my rather fragile museum-Ampeg. Lately I see quite a few Hartke TX600 popping up on the 2. hand market for good prices. It is of course voiced very differently with what I have, but that is part of what I'm looking for - I also want something I can fire up quickly and not worry about old tubes, caps and resistors if I just sit down for a short practice session.

How about it? Any thoughts on the combo TX600/BagEnd S15D in here? Any alternative suggestions.. Feedback is much appreciated :)
 
Hartke KB15 incoming, hopefully tomorrow. ( Don't let me down FedEx)

Never owned a Hartke but heard the KB15 set up on a deck at an outdoor party this summer. Only thing going through the PA was the mics and I could hear the bass quite well . I felt it too.

I debated on getting the 210 version with the effects loop but I like the controls on the front of a combo.
 
Hartke KB15 incoming, hopefully tomorrow. ( Don't let me down FedEx)

Never owned a Hartke but heard the KB15 set up on a deck at an outdoor party this summer. Only thing going through the PA was the mics and I could hear the bass quite well . I felt it too.

I debated on getting the 210 version with the effects loop but I like the controls on the front of a combo.
I run a Hartke HD 210 with an LH500 head for almost everything and also go direct out of the head to FOH. Sounds great for onstage but needs the FOH to push.

I also have an HD 410. I add the 410 to the 210 when needed (usually outdoors). Used this cab combo with the LH500 last weekend at a festival and man that thing was thumpin’!
 
I run a Hartke HD 210 with an LH500 head for almost everything and also go direct out of the head to FOH. Sounds great for onstage but needs the FOH to push.

I also have an HD 410. I add the 410 to the 210 when needed (usually outdoors). Used this cab combo with the LH500 last weekend at a festival and man that thing was thumpin’!
Yes, It's nice to have a head and cab options.
 
Lol, the guy at the FedEx store I was talking to to make him aware that I have a package being delivered there told me it should be there by 4:00 but it may not show delivered until a few minutes after it gets there because they may have customers in line they have to take care of before they scan it.

So about 4:20 I head over there and just as I pull up a FedEx truck pulls in. So I just stand beside my vehicle and watch the driver take an armload of stuff in and then make three trips with packages back to the truck.

While I'm waiting I glanced in the back of the truck and there's my amp sitting there. He comes back out and puts his dolly in the truck and jumps in the driver's seat.

So I walk up and tell him I think you forgot something. He says no he's already taking everything in that supposed to go here. So I'll tell him to turn around and look at that box that says KB15 on it, with my name on it, and I've got the tracking number.

He scans it and takes it in the store.

Tracking never showed it out for delivery. Probably didn't get scanned when they put it on the truck. Either way if I wasn't standing there when he pulled in I'd be sitting here wondering where the heck my package is.

Anyhow I'll post a photo after I unbox the beast.
 
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Turned it on for a couple of minutes and it works fine.

I've read about the fan being noisy but I didn't hear the fan at all.
Do these have to warm up before the fan kicks on ?

Edit : fan came on after I finally had time to give it a good workout. Not nearly as loud as I was expecting going by some reviews/comments I've read. It's barely noticeable unless I'm facing the back of the amp.

This thing will no doubt get louder than I'll ever need it to be. Haven't used my compressor HPF with it yet but it seems to be very versatile and will cover various styles well.
 
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Turned it on for a couple of minutes and it works fine.

I've read about the fan being noisy but I didn't hear the fan at all.
Do these have to warm up before the fan kicks on ?

Edit : fan came on after I finally had time to give it a good workout. Not nearly as loud as I was expecting going by some reviews/comments I've read. It's barely noticeable unless I'm facing the back of the amp.

This thing will no doubt get louder than I'll ever need it to be. Haven't used my compressor HPF with it yet but it seems to be very versatile and will cover various styles well.
The unit i been own many years ago has notable fan noise, Maybe there are improvement on latest batch.
I also suffer with rattling casing on certain note range. Wishing your unit are completely well .

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