Speakerplans.com Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > General > Amp Forum
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - A decent lightweight amp at last?
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

A decent lightweight amp at last?

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <12345 19>
Author
Message
levyte357 View Drop Down
The 10,000 Points Club
The 10,000 Points Club


Joined: 10 May 2004
Location: UK, London
Status: Offline
Points: 11743
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote levyte357 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 3:41pm
Originally posted by simonp1100 simonp1100 wrote:

Looks like a Powersoft copy to me, but without the quality & DSP.  LOL


To be quite honest, I thought everyone rated the K10.

But I know of at least 2x PA rental firms in London, that prefer to use Crest 9001 than K10 on sub. Shocked
"Who am I? I'm the guy who does his job.. You must be the other guy".
Back to Top
simonp1100 View Drop Down
Young Croc
Young Croc
Avatar

Joined: 01 September 2008
Location: Bristol
Status: Offline
Points: 1103
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote simonp1100 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 4:32pm
The Crest 9001 is very heavy, wastes a lot of power on heat, has no PFC or DSP, it's 3 units high, sounds o.k., maybe good for a door stop to get the speaker stacks in. I know which one i would choose if i was lugging a load of them around. POWERSOFT. Clap
Back to Top
tallmike View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc


Joined: 18 September 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 2684
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tallmike Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 4:36pm
...But I know a firm that would never buy Crest CA Series due to problems....
Back to Top
IanD View Drop Down
Registered User
Registered User


Joined: 17 January 2009
Location: London
Status: Offline
Points: 400
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote IanD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 5:19pm
Originally posted by tallmike tallmike wrote:

+1 to the powersoft copy comment!
 
They'd probably want a minimum spend commitment, or a decent initial order of units to secure terms with them regarding purchasing.
 
Also, you'd want to find out if they'd cover shipping costs for warranty repairs!
 
 


AFAIK it's not copied from anything; all the internals (including the SMPS) are very different (both circuit design and layout) from any other class-D amps including Powersoft, and yes I've seen photos of practically all of them -- I'm pretty sure this is all original PKN work, not a copy.

(and of course the XE series does have extensive DSP and remote control, but you pay about 50% more for the privilege)

They were quite happy to sell me 2 amps as a private individual, but I'd have to ship them back to PKN if they went wrong and don't know who would pay for this.

Ian
Back to Top
IanD View Drop Down
Registered User
Registered User


Joined: 17 January 2009
Location: London
Status: Offline
Points: 400
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote IanD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 5:41pm
Originally posted by levyte357 levyte357 wrote:

Originally posted by simonp1100 simonp1100 wrote:

Looks like a Powersoft copy to me, but without the quality & DSP.  LOL


To be quite honest, I thought everyone rated the K10.

But I know of at least 2x PA rental firms in London, that prefer to use Crest 9001 than K10 on sub. Shocked


Some interesting sustained power results for class-D amps including the K10...





Edited by IanD - 10 March 2009 at 5:45pm
Back to Top
levyte357 View Drop Down
The 10,000 Points Club
The 10,000 Points Club


Joined: 10 May 2004
Location: UK, London
Status: Offline
Points: 11743
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote levyte357 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 6:02pm
Originally posted by IanD IanD wrote:



Some interesting sustained power results for class-D amps including the K10...





That's torn it. LOL

But maybe we are being unreasonable, expecting flash new amps to out do old amps not only in price, but performance as well. LOLLOL
"Who am I? I'm the guy who does his job.. You must be the other guy".
Back to Top
simonp1100 View Drop Down
Young Croc
Young Croc
Avatar

Joined: 01 September 2008
Location: Bristol
Status: Offline
Points: 1103
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote simonp1100 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 6:32pm
Show me an old amplifier that does 3kw a side at 2 ohms LOL.
Back to Top
silworm View Drop Down
Registered User
Registered User


Joined: 28 September 2004
Location: Portugal
Status: Offline
Points: 271
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote silworm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 6:36pm
Two questions:
- What's the practical info we get from these graphs?
- Does anyone rate the JTS switchmode amps at all? Never hear someone talk about these...
Back to Top
levyte357 View Drop Down
The 10,000 Points Club
The 10,000 Points Club


Joined: 10 May 2004
Location: UK, London
Status: Offline
Points: 11743
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote levyte357 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 7:46pm
Originally posted by simonp1100 simonp1100 wrote:

Show me an old amplifier that does 3kw a side at 2 ohms LOL.


Crest 9001
Inf 8 Mk1 probably does that @ 2.66 ohms
Crest 10001
JTS UA6

Will all do that.. on bench .. for a while, as opposed to for a few seconds like some. Wink

Wont mention QSC PL9.0, because that scares everyone.

Maybe, you'd like to show me yours ? LOL

EDIT:Back on topic, hope someone gets this PKN in UK soon, as it seems to be scarying some people already. Embarrassed


Edited by levyte357 - 10 March 2009 at 7:54pm
"Who am I? I'm the guy who does his job.. You must be the other guy".
Back to Top
simonp1100 View Drop Down
Young Croc
Young Croc
Avatar

Joined: 01 September 2008
Location: Bristol
Status: Offline
Points: 1103
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote simonp1100 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 8:38pm
All the amplifiers you have listed are capable of doing that wattage (apart from the QSC PL9.0 as the power supplies tend to go bang at peak power, i know as i have repaired a few), what my point is, is that a lot of the older, heavier amplifiers waste a lot of there power as heat & have no PFC, so rather than a lot of the amplified power going to the speaker, its being wasted as heat, which means the current consumpsion is higher.
I have had many amplifiers over the years (C-Audio, Crest, etc), all have been good in sound, but the weight has been an issue. The best lightweight amplifiers around tend to be Lab Gruppen (which IS a very decent lightweight amp), Powersoft & the new Matrix amps have been getting good acclaim.
I was a big C-Audio fan in the early to late 80's & purchased a load of there amplifiers, but proof is in the pudding & after a friend lent me a Powersoft K8 to run my 4 X JBL SRX 728's for a drum & bass night, the sound just blew me away with clarity, headroom & pure tightness of the bass, and the low weight & current draw. Since then, i have changed ALL my amplifiers to Powersoft K series & have been bowled over by the sound, THE BEST (in my opinion).
To conclude, i think that there will ALWAYS be old school people saying that old class A,B amplifiers sound better than switchmode class D or I amplifiers, BUT technology has moved on and the newer lighter, cooler & higher wattage switchmode amplifiers sound the same as the older class A,B  amps, but with much reduced weight (which is very good on the roadies backs !!!!!).
 
Don't knock it until you tried it.
Back to Top
levyte357 View Drop Down
The 10,000 Points Club
The 10,000 Points Club


Joined: 10 May 2004
Location: UK, London
Status: Offline
Points: 11743
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote levyte357 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 March 2009 at 9:30pm
I know owners of PL380, Lab Gruppen, FFA, MC2 amps who have said  the sub they get out of those is nowhere near the depth of Inf 8Mk2,9001, CA18 or VZ5, with exception of PL380/PL6/PL9, which is noticable only with direct comparison. In the case of LabG, MC2, PL380, I have heard this for myself.

This thread is not really about old heavies versus new lighties, but about the new PKN.

"IMHO", this looks like the only lightweight apart from (PL6 and PL9) I have seen so far, that  seems to have enough PSU to deliver what the specs say for usuable periods as opposed to "bursts" or for a few seconds.





Edited by levyte357 - 10 March 2009 at 9:32pm
"Who am I? I'm the guy who does his job.. You must be the other guy".
Back to Top
Elliot Thompson View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc
Avatar

Joined: 02 April 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 5172
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Elliot Thompson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 March 2009 at 4:28am

As you can see, there is no escaping the Ohms Law.

230 Volts, 16.8 A = 3864 watts or, 1932 watts per channel under long-term conditions @ 2 ohms.






levyte357

Do you remember when I told you nothing beats a high current amplifier when driving low impedance loads?

If you read the chart Powersoft claims 1500 watts per channel in a 2-ohm load (3000 total) under long-term conditions. Both measurements match perfectly. However for the person who thinks this amplifier will put out 12,000 watts continuous the laws of physics says no.

Best Regards,

Edited by Elliot Thompson - 11 March 2009 at 4:47am
Elliot Thompson
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <12345 19>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.06
Copyright ©2001-2023 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.125 seconds.