Best Of The Best

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Best Picks Of Amplifers

  • Crown

    Votes: 31 100.0%

  • QSC

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Carvin

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Yamaha

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Peavey

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Mackie

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other (Please State)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    31
NLFX Pro said:
Thunder -

Nice post... and I'll take that challenge. Let's get together and run a battery of tests on the Peavey and the Dynacord/EV. May the best amp win. :)

Ben
Click to expand...

So ben what do you want to base the test on.....

Amount of money spent versus power!

Do you really want to compare one LX3 to two CS4080HZs?

Frequency response?

Take another good look at the specs!

Want to run them purely into a 8 ohm sub?

Take another look at the specs!

Is there "color" in an amp?

Yes I agree that there is, it is in all amps some good some bad!

Now we have to decide what the amps are played through speaker wise!

Do you really want to risk a high dollar Dynacord speaker?

Or do you want to run through a lowly Peavey speaker that is capable of handling the power of either amp system?:sqwink:
 
patrickrlewis said:
Gemini, right? :sqlaugh::sqbiggrin:
Click to expand...
Gemini this, lol. :D

Folks, I concur with Steve about Class A/B Toroid workhorse amps. They're designed for use with live sound and contain big, beefy power supplies that don't sag when the kick drum hits. That's why they have all those capacitors in the supply. And that's why I love the DCM amps.

Yeah, they're a bit heavier and cost more... but you never get more than you pay for. :)
 
Heavy is good :D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Fred Stewart said:
Gemini this, lol. :D

Folks, I concur with Steve about Class A/B Toroid workhorse amps. They're designed for use with live sound and contain big, beefy power supplies that don't sag when the kick drum hits. That's why they have all those capacitors in the supply. And that's why I love the DCM amps.

Yeah, they're a bit heavier and cost more... but you never get more than you pay for. :)
Click to expand...

But you can pay more and still get less! :sqwink:
 
Precisionpower said:
I'm not sure i can agree with this statement..

The I-Techs have had a fair share of problems already.....My source???

The classified section at Prosoundweb.com Racks of them for sale with low hours on them......That tells me something....Crown is on to something with them, I just think they haven't worked out the bugs fully..

And Macrotechs are great amps.....If you have a 3 phase power distro to feed the amp racks.....:sqlaugh:
Click to expand...

Well, ya know what? I admit I might not be correct TODAY, but I was going off experience of what I used when we ran I was the AV manager of a convention center. We used high end Crowns and damn! Never a single problem with any of them, and boy did they put out some sound!

So, maybe I am wrong for today's amps....
 
Papa,

The Crown Macro and Micro techs have always been very good and very dependable and very expensive amps. Some of their other endeavors have had much less success in the dependability end!

How many K1 or K2s do you still see in the market?

CE amps were pretty much a joke coming from Crown, they weren't even on par with QSC RMX amps or Peavey's PV series!

And again you had to deal with paying more for a NAME and got less!
 
I will talk to Universal repair tomorrow and ask him what amps he sees the most repair issues with, just to get an up to date handle on what he sees coming through his shop.

He is authorized repair for Yamaha, Korg, Marshall, Peavey Crown, QSC and a couple I am sure I am forgetting.
 
I run 2 Peavey PV 1200s bridge-mono in my tops and subs. Have been for 10 years and NEVER a hiccup. My tops are Peavey SP2G and my subs are Behringer BX1800. Go ahead, flame away at me but it works for me and that's all I give a rats about. I don't really give a flip about what every one else uses.

There I said it!!!

Peavey man and proud of it. Now who is gonna come to Oklahoma and change my mind?:sqmad::sqmad::sqmad::sqmad::sqmad:
 
Thunder said:
So ben what do you want to base the test on.....

Amount of money spent versus power!

Do you really want to compare one LX3 to two CS4080HZs?

Frequency response?

Take another good look at the specs!

Want to run them purely into a 8 ohm sub?

Take another look at the specs!

Is there "color" in an amp?

Yes I agree that there is, it is in all amps some good some bad!

Now we have to decide what the amps are played through speaker wise!

Do you really want to risk a high dollar Dynacord speaker?

Or do you want to run through a lowly Peavey speaker that is capable of handling the power of either amp system?:sqwink:
Click to expand...

Steve -

We all know specs are produced by engineering, but presented by marketing. ;)

I was thinking Back EMF, direct short protection, THD, frequency response of course, and a few others. :)

I am willing to run them into both a Peavey and a Dynacord speaker. I am totally willing to risk that. The truth is, I've done the tests, and I've set a lot of amps on fire. I have owned several Peavey amps myself (I used one for several years as a DJ myself), and I'm not flaming them, but they simply don't belong in the same category as a LX or Power H amp. They are priced differently, and there is no magic bullet for making an amp cheaper with the same feature set and reliability. You do get what you pay for. That being said, they are not junk. But they ARE inferior to a PL3, MacroTech or Dynacord LX or Power H.

I REALLY think we could have a lot of fun Steve. Let's get some amps together and put the results up on YouTube. Do you have a SMAART or Audio Precision station? I sell most of the brands shown in Canute's list, and my opinions are just that, opinions, but they are based on years of customer experience. I value your knowledge and would enjoy the opportunity to create this neutral battery of tests.

Ben
 
Okay... apparently I have nothing better to do on a Friday night (sad but true) but I made some phone calls.

I have an AMERICAN made QSC PL3 and a GERMAN made LX3000 available for a complete battery of tests against the CHINESE made CS4080HZ.

Sorry Steve, we agree on a lot of things, but I'm not budging on this one. I say light 'em up and let the chips fall where they may. QSC and Dynacord are willing to put their money where their mouth is, see if Peavey will do the same.

Ben
 
NLFX Pro said:
Okay... apparently I have nothing better to do on a Friday night (sad but true) but I made some phone calls.

I have an AMERICAN made QSC PL3 and a GERMAN made LX3000 available for a complete battery of tests against the CHINESE made CS4080HZ.

Sorry Steve, we agree on a lot of things, but I'm not budging on this one. I say light 'em up and let the chips fall where they may. QSC and Dynacord are willing to put their money where their mouth is, see if Peavey will do the same.

Ben
Click to expand...
Oh Boy! I am loving this! I am pulling up a front row seat with coke naahhh beer and popcorn nahhhhhh some o' Papa's BBQ! Right Papa? May even sip some o' Rick's homemade brew,:sqlaugh::sqlaugh::rofl::rofl::sqlaugh::sqlaugh: eh!
 
Speakin' of dirt-clogged amps I've got a story for you.

A local DJ buddy sold me a used Carvin DCM2000 some years ago. He was going to all active PA. He gave us a sweet price on it because, according to him the amp had developed some overheating issues. It was pristine on the outside, not so much as a fingerprint on it. :)

Well, you guys know me... when I got it home I pulled the cover to have a looksee. I am not kidding ~ the dirt was so thick in that amp that I couldn't see the circuit boards. The fan venturi was completely clogged solid. No wonder it was overheating.

So I vacuumed and scrubbed and got it all squared away. I've pushed that DCM2K (bridged, 4 ohms) to near redline for hours in 90-degree heat and 90+% humidity with nary an issue.

Folks I understand that the title of this thread is The Best of the Best. I am not inferring that the DCMs are the best of the best. However, I do believe they're the best for the price. You can pay a lot more to get a little more amp.
 
I'm a big believer in heavyweight amp, and although I do not use Peavey they do seem to last and are all over the place.

Years back I tried the "Carver Professional" series amps to power the bottom end of my JBL SR4732's I had then, that was a no go. That magnetic powerfield rail switcher puked real quick. After it was fixed I bought and used a pair of Crest CA series amps, I do not remember the number.

Now I've gotten back in to the business after a LONG break, I happened to find a pair of Crown Macro-Tech 2402's at a local guitar center at $1500/pair. They were demos with full warranty. This was a no-brainer. These run the new to me pair of JBL SR 4718X subs and the SR-4732X tops just fine through a dbx crossover.

I have a pair of JBL Mpro dual 15" subs and MPro 15 pole 2 ways that I run in a second setup off a pair of QSC RMX 1850HD amps. These have also been trouble free.

Yes, these amps do "bust a nut" at load-in and load-out, however they are reliable and never give me any problem.

I have not tried the QSC PLX series, I know they have a great power to weight ratio however these designs sound very similar to the Carvers of the past, and I read everywhere that they could sound better than they do.

Best,

Paul :sqlaugh:
 
ahoustondj said:
That looks like a brute force amp.
Click to expand...

Yup it's a class A/B amp. Bryston doesn't make any garbage amps but you pay steep for them . I would put this amp up against any amp mentioned here in this thread

beemer said:
Years back I tried the "Carver Professional" series amps to power the bottom end of my JBL SR4732's I had then, that was a no go. That magnetic powerfield rail switcher puked real quick. After it was fixed I bought and used a pair of Crest CA series amps, I do not remember the number.
Click to expand...

I had a friend who has been using the Carver PM1.5 and PM2 for over 20 years with no problems. I've even seen him drop them to 2 ohms on occasion and still no trouble
 
Jeff Romard said:
I had a friend who has been using the Carver PM1.5 and PM2 for over 20 years with no problems. I've even seen him drop them to 2 ohms on occasion and still no trouble
Click to expand...

Go figure.......For me, both on my home stereo which at the time had AR9 speakers, and the DJ rig, the Carver Magnetic Powerfield amps just were not in the hunt. I did a lot of outdoor shows, and the Carvers just did not cut it.

The Crest CA's I replaced them with I never had trouble with.

Best,

Paul :sqbiggrin:
 
beemer said:
I did a lot of outdoor shows, and the Carvers just did not cut it.

:
Click to expand...

Might have had something to do with dampness or cold then I know I used them a few times in the winter that they needed time to get warm before they sounded right
 
When I was in CA running JBL and Peavey speakers they were all powered by Crown Macro Tech 2400's... I had 6 of them and I wish I would have kept them...

A little bird put it in my head that Maui schools had old buildings and even older power so I switched to the QSC 3402's nice amps, but not Crown...

I sold all those except for 2 QSC's now, but those are in the back-up box, not seing the light of day very often.

Crown Macro Tech's.... if it ain't heavy, it ain't sh*t!... I stand by that.
 
Sorry I am currently in research, I will get back to the argument when I am properly armed:sqwink:

Having a hard time finding much of any reviews on the EV or Dynacord amps. I certainly hope that the quality is better than it was a few years ago, I owned a couple of EV amps for a very short time.
 
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