Ajsounds
Jul 4 2003, 09:50 AM

hey guys!
i want to buy a new amp for the one pair of speakers i have i did have a jb systems A700 which was 200W+200W/8 ohms and i got rid of that what power amplifier do you lot sugest i should buy nothing to pricey!!
and should the amplifier be more powerful than the speakers my speakers are 250W help please
cheer ajsounds
martink
Jul 4 2003, 10:38 AM
I'd look at QSC ( I beleive Chris stocks these) excellent sound quality and reliabilty.
Whilst some people advocate ,matching loudspeakers and ampslike for like, I'm a firm believer in head room. For example I use a amp that delivers 550 a side into a pair of 250w ASS. The amps is never working hard or clipping so the signal to speakers is clean. It also doesn't need to step up the gears to handle transients. Smalls amps being driving hard is the common cause of damage to speakers.
Speakers thrive on a good clean, constant signal.
Another consideration is the overall quality of the amp, it may be mega watts but does it have a decent power supplier to keep things steady when working hard? Brands like QSC do and my guess is there always be a place for one in your system, regardless of upgrades. Go for a RMX2450 £600ish.
Also watch your signal at the mixer, don't have meters slamming into the red and don't abuse gain.
Common sense also plays a big part here, listen to your system, is it distorting? adjust volumes, gains, eq etc. till it's not.
Cheers,
Martin
Chrispy
Jul 4 2003, 10:45 AM
Depends on exactly what your budget is

, I could sell you a £1000 Class A amp, but it wouldn't be much good if your budget was only £200
Check out the special offers area of our website, we have several amps on offer this month
Gary
Jul 4 2003, 10:52 AM
I can see the benefits of deviating from the idea of ensuring that your speakers are powerful enough to take anything that your amp could possibly throw at them, although personally, I always make sure that my speakers are more powerful than my amps.
EG: I use 400watt RMS speakers each side of an amp that puts out 300Watts RMS per side. Nice 'n' Safe.
If I was going to drive those 400watt RMS speakers from an amp that could give, say, 500watts RMS, then I would ensure that a limiter/compressor was in place before I used them for the first time, and certainly I wouldnt consider adding any kind of signal processing/booster/enhancer EG: An equaliser, without a Limiter/compressor behind it/in front of the amps.
For me, with usually 2 gigs a week, I wouldnt wont something as simple as a mic being dropped (with the channel open/up) or a music/master fader being accidently knocked to max. sending a cone destroying level to the amps/speakers. I wont never be able to get a replacement cone by the next gig.
martink
Jul 4 2003, 01:00 PM
there's definately two schools of thought on the subject, both appear to involve simply using euipment sensisbly.
With a fair amount of headroom or power in reserve, The dropped mic scenario shouldn't be any more problematic.
I also like the fact that if I were to add to modify the system, the amps would still have a role to play and stave of upgrades.
Ajsounds
Jul 4 2003, 03:14 PM
THANX ALOT GUYS GREAT ADVICE!
Chris on your special offers there is a C-MARK MR2200 it says 250W per channer and then bellow it say at 4ohms could you tell me what all of the c-mark amps are at 8ohms please
cheers
Chrispy
Jul 4 2003, 04:07 PM
MR2200 - 300W (4 ohm) / 250W (8 ohm)
MR2350 - 525W (4 ohm) / 350W (8 ohm)
MR2450 - 700W (4 ohm) / 450W (8 ohm)
MR2650 - 1200W (4 ohm) / 650W ( 8 ohm)
All ratings are RMS Continuous, both channels driven
peter p
Jul 4 2003, 07:14 PM
| QUOTE |
| It also doesn't need to step up the gears to handle transients |
Martin
It is those very transients that fry speakers, when you have an overrated amp.
martink
Jul 5 2003, 02:24 PM
Witha smaller amps working under duress the transients are far more likely to take the form of sharp "spikes" and these will damge your speakers pretty quickly.
The bottom line her boils down to knowing your system and using it wisely,basically know its limitations and don't "cane" it.
peter p
Jul 6 2003, 12:54 AM
| QUOTE |
Witha smaller amps working under duress the transients are far more likely to take the form of sharp "spikes" and these will damge your speakers pretty quickly.
The bottom line her boils down to knowing your system and using it wisely,basically know its limitations and don't "cane" it. |
I Totally agree, the answer lies in not underpowering nor overpowering but in good balancing. but martin in your earlier post you were advocating the overpowering route.
| QUOTE |
| Whilst some people advocate ,matching loudspeakers and ampslike for like, I'm a firm believer in head room. For example I use a amp that delivers 550 a side into a pair of 250w ASS |
martink
Jul 6 2003, 02:48 PM
Pete I dont overpower my speakers, if I were driving the too hard that would effect sound quality which of primary importance to me. I
I definately feel there are benifts form getting a good beefy signal behind some speakers and making them sing, getting a nice full sound out of them.
By using a more powerful amp I can have performing well within its limits, yet extracting optimum performance from my speakers.
peter p
Jul 6 2003, 06:09 PM
| QUOTE |
| Pete I dont overpower my speakers... |
| QUOTE |
| ...amp performing well within its limits... |
We are saying the same thing in different ways...lets drop it, Cheers.
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