how would you power....

Here's my list!

Don't say the V word. Camco used to make good amps, the Vortex aren't up to that. Cheap housing, SMD output stage (no service!) and really weak in bass (so weak that even in a magazine they complained about it). Well-known Camco users stated that even a PS15 on a V6 sounds weaker in bass than with a DL3000 (and that even the V6 has much higher power rating. If you want amps that are REALLY reliable and worth their price, DON'T go Vortex!

Camco Tecton: Even cheaper and crappier version of the Vortex. Built upside down for cheaper production, 2 ohms only on special versions and still expensive.

Camco DL.... now that is an amp. German quality :) . Does what it says.

LAB Gruppen fP are the best alround amps around. Fat bass and very good in mids and highs too. Lightweight. Reliable. Innovative technology. What do you want more? Lower price? Yeah, would be great.....

QSC PL6.0 and 9.0 are monstrous amps too. Very good for all ranges, but not lightweight and 3HE. If this is nothing you need to consider, you get a very good amp.

QSC PLX3402 is weak in bass even compared to a TA2400 (I did this AB-comparison myself!). They don't like heat (Had them shut down in club enviroment several times). One guy said, they use them and noone complained about lack of bass. Yeah, why should anyone? You set up a system a use a certain number of amps so you can do the job. If you think the bass is weak, you bring in another amp and another set of subs.... But do a comparison and you may see that you can get away with 2 equal rated amps instead of 3 PLX3402. The PLX is really cheap for it's weight...

QSC RMX: Yeah, for the price ok. Stupid circuitry. Sounds 'different'.

Crests old PA-series are real bricks. They work like a diesel engine, but they weight like it too.

Crest CA: They are alright. They claim to be 'made in the USA' but they are not (There is NO LAW that prevents you from writing such things. They are DESIGNED in the USA, but made in China). They do ok in bass range and sound good in mids and highs.

Crest Pro200: Dunno how they perform, but it's said that they are similar to the old LAB-series from Lab Gruppen, which would mean they sound good, but aren't that heavy in bass.

The current Peavey PV amps are the same as Crest CPX series. They are ok. No real beasts in bass range but ok.

The older Peavey PVs (PV1,3k or PV2000) are cheaply made. There are enough transistors in, but the protections (except DDT) suck, the supply is undersized (yeah, it's heavy but nowhere next to a CS1200X) and you can hear that if your bass works accurate. Strange things happen when you go near full tilt.... and they can't take heat. I had several burnt PV1,3k. No, they did NOT shut down because of heat, they just caught fire..... in situations where the old CS line played and played and played.... But as long as they get sufficient cool air and you don't expect them to run 2 ohms really full tilt, they'll work.

The old Peavey CS line is built like a brick again. Kinda like small brothers of the Crest PA. They extremely seldom get broken. A CS1200X melts a solid wire between binding posts without going into heat or shutting down.

The newer CS line is crap.

The newest CS-line looks good on the paper. Biggest amp with 2x2040W at 4 ohms out of 2HU and around 45lbs and there are 4ch amps. But they aren't shipped yet.

The Peavey GPS line is set above the PV line. They should be more reliable and more stable into lower impedances. I don't know if this is the case. But they look cheap....

T.Amps (TA2400): Pretty impressive for the price. No real killer in bass range, but they do ok and you fill up a rack real cheap. No 2 ohms. They are built like the smaller Crest CAs (up to CA9).

BST Liker/ DAP Vision: Built like the bigger Crest CA (CA12/CA18), only minor differences. Good in bass, mids and highs.

Crown MA: Good, if you like distortion. Heavily overpriced.

The Crown ITechs are pretty amazing in terms of bass and features, but they are PWM amps and they DO sound like PWM amps (rough, grainy highs).

RAM Audio BUX: They are ok. A bit weak in bass.....

RAM Audio DQL/DQX: Very good. Fat bass, nice highs.... A little short on transistors in the output stage, but they got good protections...

Yorkville AP6040/6020: Very good. Ok in bass, fine highs. Built very solid.

PowerSoft DigAm (old series): Very good bass amp. Mids ok, high horrible. Lightweight and just 1 HU.

 

There are much more amps I know and tested, but I don't want to write anymore.... :)

So I use Lab Gruppen, old Peavey CS and T.Amps now....

James....good value budget amps..... 

        Before u run off and spend all your hard earned on new amps,u can pick up excellent used units,most of which are far superior to the modern cheap "made in taiwan" junk that frequents the "disco equipment" section on Ebay. my best buys....BGW 750 for bass,built like a Sherman tank in usa,25 yrs old, 24 output devices on huge heatsinks,and has pumping hard bass.......Legendary HH v800,super quality English amp,seem to go on forever...the "old" studiomaster 800 c and 800b..good no-nonsense amp with huge power supplies....and finally (DONT LAUGH) Citronic ppx900..another good english amp..good clean examples of all of these can easily be had for about £200 each......i have access to more ppx900`s if anyone is interested...all have had very little use,and were used for background or speech pa at a conference centre.

Edited by jbl_man

Oh yes,forgot to add.....i agree with JD01...forget the new peavey amps....the "old" peavey CS range(the late 1980s-early 1990`s model range) are the ones to get.....nicely made,and i have never had 1 go wrong yet..and again nice ones are still available around the £200 mark...CS400/800...the CS1000 and 1200 tend to be about £300.

Edited by jbl_man

The Peavey CS 800 has been in production since 1976. The complaint
many users had was the 20 dB compression Peavey offered...... aka
DDT, when you tried to drive the amps to volume 11.

Instead of overdriving, it would reduce the gain proportionally to
the offending frequency.

For the inexperience user, it will save alot of money from blowned
voice coils/diaframs. For the experienced user you can get a dirt
cheap amp, thats built like a tank, that will offer years of faithfull
service.

Note: The Amplifier is 400 watts per channel @ 4 ohms from
20 - 20 Khz with no more than 0.03% THD. 

I have 8 of these units, that I use for smaller events. It is superb
for guys who don't know when to backoff on the fader. So, I rent them out alot.

If you want to operate six 10 inch speakers on it, look for the CS
800X (600 watts per channel @ 2 ohms) The CS 800 was not
designed to drive under 4 ohms, stereo. And, while I've done it
many of times with the non X models I own, I can't say what
worked for me, will for you.

I own a lot of amplifiers, so, if I choose to operate the CS 800
in 2 ohms (In your case three 10's a channel = 2.666666...  ohms)
its generally on a short term basis.

Keep in mind, Peavey offers the manuals on all their amplifiers.
In addition to an informative message board, that can give you
all the techinical information (If need be) on the CS 800.


Best Regards,


Edited by Elliot Thompson

3 drivers 8 ohms each parallel = 2.66 ohms.

But that is no problem for a CS800 (without the X) as it is midrange. Even bassrange will be a problem, but heavy use on (too) low impedances can trip the fuse (that is because the amps fuse is designed for 4 ohms loads current requirements)!

I have all types of the older CS amps (except the old CS800 and CS400 with 4 HU which had some problems), so CS800, CS800X, CS800S (only 10kg), CS1000, CS1000X, CS1200 and CS1200X are in use. I own about 30 of them and I had 3 defects in the last 10 years... THAT is quality work.

The new value amps are quite good too, but I doubt they are reliable like those CS. If they run 3 or 4 years that is ok. I think they have made their money then.... for mids those amps are more than ok.

The biggest of the new CS line offers 2x2040W at 4 ohms, but can't do 2 ohms. The biggest model offering 2 ohms is the one you said, with 2x2000W at 2 ohms (reminds me of Yorkville somehow).

The older 4HU CS800 is the best in terms of temperature. But there are some problems with the circuit design that were removed when the 3HU CS800 was introduced. I once had those 4HU models, but they were big, heavy and ugly.... :)  And even if the 3HU models couldn't take as much heat as the 4HU, the 3HU models could work on 2 ohms without distortion (as long as the mains fuse doesn't trip) while the 4HU models had problems with that....