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D Class amplifiers (on a budget)?


BigYinUK

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Hi all

 

I'm looking for a Class D (or Class D/H) amp about 700-800W per channel into 8ohm that won't cost a fortune. By that I mean in the £400-600 price range not £1400+

 

Its for on the road use and the main reason to change from my EV Q1212s is weight. I'm getting on a bit now and racks weighing 35kg or more, just not on!

 

This will be to power a pair of cabs with 15inch B&C drivers plus RCF horns (passive crossover). Pub / small club PA for rock.

 

Is there such as beast or am totally off with my budget?

 

Regards

 

Jon

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I recently bought a t.amp TSA 4-1300 - more than a passing resemblance to Lab Gruppen but you get 4 x 1200W in to 8 ohms for ~£450. 12.5KG so not too bad at all especially if can do the job of two two channel amps.
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I'd steer clear of the Beringher Inuke series.. We had three fail on an Install job In quick succession. Great design in principle but poor quality components and inadequate cooling caused problematic in a professional environment.
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I've got 2 iNuke 6000DSPs. I think they're good value. They're very light. The DSP is surprisingly good and easy to use - there's even a PC app that you just plug in with USB.

The 6000W is nonsense, but they do work well.

 

When I bought them, both did fail fairly soon, which was inconvenient. But they were replaced easily enough and the replacements have been going strong for several years now.

 

I've also got some of the Thomann TSA amps that have been mentioned, both the 4-1300 and the 4-700. Again, these are great when they work, but the build quality isn't up to much.

The 4-700 and the 4-1300 are totally different amps I think with only similar looking front panels. I've had trouble with my 700s but not the 1300 yet.

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The fact the Inuke have such high failure rates (5 just between two people here) I'd be scared stiff to use them in a critical professional environment..... Is it just the weight saving you are drawn towards class d as opposed to traditional toroidal design?
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re the thomann amps - those I know who have them fall into two groups - those that died and those that didn't. all got replacements under their 3 year warranty

 

re I nukes - similar, there are those that get on brilliantly with them and those that kill them - they seem to be more prone to fail on the 6,000 model, but again it's subjective, some that have killed them had voltage issues, lack of ventilation etc. I know a few guys that have run these for a few years now, stuck to the rule, no problem - but it makes me nervous.

 

re behringer epq2000. I don't know if you can get enough out of one to make it a possibility (circa 600w at 8 ohm per channel) but I have used one for exactly what you describe (adlib 15" with b&c drivers). I have two of the amps, I traipsed them round bars (one for subs one for tops) used them in a 7 days a week rehearsal room for a while, (teenage musicians couldn't kill them) have had them out as part of bigger rigs, monitor amps, some very iffy outdoor work, in short I have tried everything up to and just short of repeatedly dropping them down the stairs. I have posted before re these. I cannot kill them. they run all day and are barely warm to the touch. if they made them in bigger output form, I would never buy anything more expensive - they are light, portable, take anything you can throw at them and just do not quit. I still use one for tops in a 6 box passive rig - perfectly fine with running 15" tops for a room of 200 plus bodies. the oldest one of these I have is now is getting on for 7 years old, the youngest nearly 6 years old. they have outlived our bar work (thankfully mostly behind us) but show no signs of age. I vacuum the filter in place every few years. I pat test once a year. otherwise they don't get or need any attention. I can't over state how reliable they have been for me regardless of the badge on the front.

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Hi everyone - thanks for the replies. Yes , it is the weight issue that draws me towards D class.

 

The Thomann TSA series still on the heavy side.

 

@S&L 600W may be a bit on the low side but even so the EPQ2000 might be a possibility.

 

Some of the comments here and elsewhere make me nervous of the iNuke series.

 

Regards all

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re behringer epq2000............. I can't over state how reliable they have been for me regardless of the badge on the front.

I bought one of the smaller EPQs a while ago to have something really light to drive a pair of Bose 402s for a run of pub comedy-nights. After having several of their toy mixers blow up because of grossly overheating regulator chips I was a bit nervous of the badge on the front, but so far my only problem has been finding a way to dim the blinding blue front-panel LEDs.

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re behringer epq2000............. I can't over state how reliable they have been for me regardless of the badge on the front.

I bought one of the smaller EPQs a while ago to have something really light to drive a pair of Bose 402s for a run of pub comedy-nights. After having several of their toy mixers blow up because of grossly overheating regulator chips I was a bit nervous of the badge on the front, but so far my only problem has been finding a way to dim the blinding blue front-panel LEDs.

 

you mean the blue bezel around the on switch? or have they added something? I find that light oddly comforting :)

 

 

@S&L 600W may be a bit on the low side but even so the EPQ2000 might be a possibility.

 

 

bear in mind they are a little optimistic with the rating in my opinion - but only a little. It's very subjective though and nothing you would say is plain wrong.

 

 

 

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you mean the blue bezel around the on switch? or have they added something? I find that light oddly comforting :)

No, the blindingly bright blue level bargraph LEDs. 2 thicknesses of Lee 120 did the trick.

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