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Who's making lightweight half rack power amps?

#21
Brad Johnson said:
No problem at all.

Check out the Crown Drivecores too if the form factor works for you. Mine has been excellent, performs beautifully with a fairly hard to drive load. I just want to go even smaller.

My Yamaha PB-1 preamp is heavier than my amp.
Click to expand...

The form factor is a big deal to me. I am thinking if I reduce the # of rack spaces, I can also save weight by getting a smaller case.

I have heard the Drivecores are nice, but it won't be an appreciable difference from the PLX1804 especially seeing I wouldn't be shrinking the case.
 
#22
CapnSev said:
If SWR would drop the price on their Amplite, it would be the ultimate half-rack, light weight solution IMO.
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No kidding! I seriously thought about getting one before I end up picking up a used AI Focus 2R S3. Full featured amp, way more power, and not much more than a new Amplite. Even if they only brought it down $100 I think it would be a way more attractive offering. Either that or they need to bump up the power specs. I just couldn't stomach that price to power/features ratio.
 
#27
gscroggin said:
No kidding! I seriously thought about getting one before I end up picking up a used AI Focus 2R S3. Full featured amp, way more power, and not much more than a new Amplite. Even if they only brought it down $100 I think it would be a way more attractive offering. Either that or they need to bump up the power specs. I just couldn't stomach that price to power/features ratio.
Click to expand...

Given my history with SWR, I wonder how accurate the specs are.
 
#28
seamonkey said:
I've got an older model sitting right here.
I use it for studio because it doesn't have a fan. And it has a simple USB plug interface that works fine with ASIO4ALL

It has a power switch 100w,300w,500w which I leave at 100w for studio. I do quickly notice live if I forget to switch it. It doesn't sound distorted, it's just quieter. So it might be just an attenuator but could be some kind of limiter. If you every plugin speakers that can't handle the full output this limiter seems to do it. It could also be some kind of power supply switch to lower the rail voltage.

For live, I use it for subs, but never bridge. I don't need it. It's never gone into protect mode.

There's an older and new model.
I have the older model.
The new model includes some venting holes. Maybe the new models do 4 bridged?

My only grief is the form factor. It is meant to stand upright. You can't rack mount it.

$200 was cheap at the time, If I had to do it again I'd be looking hard at a Crest of Peavey amp with DSP, which include Waves Maxx. Overall the AMP + DSP easily are a bargain even for several hundred more.
Click to expand...

Surprised I missed this amp before... what's the newer model?

I may grab one of these...
 
#31
::::BASSIST:::: said:
I was thinking the same thing. From what I know it should work, but I have to try it myself.

A 1u 3.75LB - 500w @ 4 ohm solution... just bypass the pre.

Should work.... right?
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I use mine the exact same way!!! I bypass mine with an Aguilar Tone Hammer and use a GK Neo 410. it sounds great!!! I never use the MB's EQ. i want to get rid of my rig for an Aguilar TH500 and 2 GS112's, but gotta save up some cash. Here's an example of what it sounds like:
 
#32
As I was about to leave Atomic Music last night I noticed a Stewart 1/2 rack power amp behind the counter. I was just googling the PA-50B last week and figured this might be a good opportunity to check one out if the price was right.

Turns out is wasn't the 50B, it was the the PA-100B... tagged at under $100. Luis gave me a great deal on it and today I got a chance to check it out with my Michael Pope Designs Mitre*.

Before I tried it I gave Stewart a call, I had a couple of questions. I needed to get the plug for the older style speaker connector and I had seen conflicting info on 4 ohm bridged operation. They gave me a source for the plug and a tech confirmed that it was good for 4 ohm bridged. I brought in my little Nahas tiltback 8 ohm 1-12 cab which I'd recently loaded with a Faital neo 12. Tested with my Brubaker K-5BNC Custom, an early singlecut that I've had for a long time.

That little amp did everything right. Loud, clean and tight. With the Pope's pre at 12 o'clock, the master at 9 and everything flat, it made the little Nahas hammer. There appeared to be plenty of reserve power, I had a long way to go with the preamp and the single cab was up to gig (for me) volume with ease. The casing for the Stewart is practically all heatsink, there's no fan and it's practically dead quiet. Coupled with the very clean, articulate and punchy Pope, it sounded exactly like I wanted to sound, probably even better. I did some hard palm muting and could really feel the notes in addition to hearing them. No signs of distress on the lows at volume.

Now I need to come up with a way to carry the pieces out together, like a four space half rack. The PA-100B seems to be a real sound quality piece and that's just what I wanted, something that let my basses sound like they sound. I tested it with insulated alligator clips to a banana to 1/4 cable, once I get the correct terminal plug I'll take it out and put it through it's paces. Should be fun.

This setup probably weighs in the area of less than 45 lb.

IMG_20111014_155108.jpg


IMG_20111014_155011.jpg




IMG_20111014_155044.jpg


IMG_20111014_155533.jpg



*put the full name in for search purposes:D
 
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#33
Brad Johnson said:
No problem at all.

Check out the Crown Drivecores too if the form factor works for you. Mine has been excellent, performs beautifully with a fairly hard to drive load. I just want to go even smaller.

My Yamaha PB-1 preamp is heavier than my amp.
Click to expand...

how does Mikes preamp compare to the yamaha. great preamp but i just stop hauling around power amps....
 
#35
Couple of things...

I have a GK MB500 and while it makes a terrific ultralight power amp, it is too big to fit in a 1/2 rack space. It's 2" too wide, plus its fan vents are at the sides, and blocking vents is bad. Even if you turn it sideways it won't fit because there's no room for cables to be plugged in; not to mention you wouldn't be able to access the volume knob.

The other thing is there is just no good way to rack up 1/2-rack units from different brands together. The rack shelves like Middle Atlantic etc., plus the mounting screw heads or Velcro, add enough height to the units that they no longer fit vertically in 1 RU. Might be OK if you have an extra rack space, or some random extra clearance, but forget trying to squeeze it into one standard 1.75" height space. Believe me I have been trying to make this work ever since I started doing electronic music over 20 years ago--and my favorite preamp even today is a 1/2 rack piece. It is just a doomed proposition.

There are shelves designed for specific brands to mount two of their units side by side with no problem heightwise: Summit, Boss, Scholz, maybe a few others. But try mounting a Summit unit next to a Boss on a Boss shelf! Ain't happening.

The best solution I've found is either to give up on standard racks and DIY a custom box of some kind, or to allow more than 1RU height for the shelf plus screws/Velcro plus the two 1/2 rack width devices.
 
#37
bongomania said:
<SNIP>
The best solution I've found is either to give up on standard racks and DIY a custom box of some kind, or to allow more than 1RU height for the shelf plus screws/Velcro plus the two 1/2 rack width devices.
Click to expand...

+1 My plan is to build a custom rack case, which will enable me to provide whatever horizontal and vertical spacing I choose.

How about an Acoustic Image Clarus+ as an amplifier?

If I can't find a suitable half-width power amp, how about attaching a plate amp to the side of the rack case? Anyone know of a source for plate amps that won't break the bank?
 
#38
Jazzdogg said:
Thanks for the lead, Brad! :)

This could be just what the doctor ordered.

I found these power stats on line:
PA-100B
90W x 2 @ 4 Ohms
50W x 2 @ 8 Ohms
180W x 1 @ 8 Ohms Bridged

What can you tell us about the bridged 4-Ohm power rating?

How much does the amp weigh?
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I didn't ask about 4 ohm wattage. I was just happy that 4 ohm bridged operation was okay. Figure it's at least 180w. They answered the phone quickly, good customer service.
 
#39
jumbodbassman said:
how does Mikes preamp compare to the yamaha. great preamp but i just stop hauling around power amps....
Click to expand...

I really like the Pope Mitre Box. I usually run it flat and the tone controls are placed perfectly for what I want. And it's damn near weightless. I use the headphone and line in functions for shedding, sounds very good.

The Yamaha is is great, it's a real work horse and still sounds great in the mix. I can get the sounds I want out of it easily enogh. The only drawback is that it weighs more than my 1100w power amp:D

I just got a Crown Drivecore XLS2500 and I'd like to find a Pope MPP-1 to go with that. Like I need another rig.
:D
 
#40
Brad Johnson said:
I really like the Pope Mitre Box. I usually run it flat and the tone controls are placed perfectly for what I want. And it's damn near weightless. I use the headphone and line in functions for shedding, sounds very good.

The Yamaha is is great, it's a real work horse and still sounds great in the mix. I can get the sounds I want out of it easily enogh. The only drawback is that it weighs more than my 1100w power amp:D

I just got a Crown Drivecore XLS2500 and I'd like to find a Pope MPP-1 to go with that. Like I need another rig.
:D
Click to expand...

Hey Brad!
Were the Mitres discontinued?
 

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