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are C Audio all that great?

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SYG Media View Drop Down
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    Posted: 26 December 2010 at 9:38am
Hi, heard some praise on C Audio amps and wondered if this was supported by fellow engineers and rig owners on here?

Seem to be reasonably priced 2nd hand and their output isn't all that shabby compared to similar priced contenders. 

Cheers for the help.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote luke_0301 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 10:18am
..........search.........
more bass please
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tweeter box Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 10:28am
i use a 2650 on kicks, wicked IMO
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote OllieMan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 10:53am
I've used The RA series for about 15 years now, with a service every year they run perfectly on my monitor rig.
I prefer the sound of them to Lab gruppen on monitors. I've compared a Lab fp2600 to a C-audio RA3001 and the latter wipes the floor with it!
 They are very heavy amps though, and you can cook and egg on them when running at full tilt! so make sure you give them adequate air flow.

Hope this helps.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nachural Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 11:11am
Old and weighty but well built and sound solid. If they come at the right price and the weight isn't an issue you won't go far wrong with them.
it's all just cardboard and magnets really
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote studio45 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 11:23am
I very much like C Audio amps, they are beautifully put together and sound great, definitely very heavy but I like that in an amp. Unless of course you get the Pulse series which have all the great sound quality but weigh just 12kg. The caveat is that they contain a relatively early design of switch mode power supply , which is notorious for not running well on generators or other non ideal mains supplies, and depending on the history of the unit you have, may be in need of some modifications to be as reliable as it should be. A C Audio service engineer will be able to tell you more.
If you buy an SR606, bear in mind that it is very easy to upgrade it to the specs of the SR707 (a small job of rewiring the power transformer, I believe) - indeed a lot of 606's have already had this done.
I think my least favourite of the lot are the RA series, though they sound great I don't like amps that run so hot, we had a rack of them back at Uni and the bass amps were forever overheating unless we resorted to comedy arrangements of portable air conditioners and industrial fans!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jbl_man Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 11:30am
The old SR series are great....only critisism is the insane weight (although no worse than an equivilant high-power amp of the same era) and the paint finish wasnt very good on the cases on the early ones,so they tend to go rusty easily.
Be seeing you.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote csg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 11:38am
Originally posted by tweeter box tweeter box wrote:

i use a 2650 on kicks, wicked IMO

but that could be a C-mark amp would it not? very very different to C Audio which was a quality british make
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote studio45 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 11:43am
CMark are Chinese ripoffs of something or other and look a bit like the power amps Mackie used to make. I do see a lot of them for sale secondhand which I suppose means they are reliable (survive long enough to be sold on fully functional) but perhaps don't sound so great (because everyone seems to upgrade in the end!)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote service dept Steve Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 12:00pm
As well as modern equipment I also do a lot of vintage repairs, some of it 40 or 50 years old. Like or dislike C-Audio, one thing is for sure: someone, one day WILL be servicing 50 year old C-Audio amps, there are an awful lot of today's amplifiers that will only be spoken about in the past tense.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Davwal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 1:31pm
Agreed, C-audio were the dogs danglees for ages. Regarding the upgrading of a 606 to a 707, you need to be sure you have the right transformer first as not all of them were the same, no point otherwise. 

The RA series are good, but do get hot. And when the clip led comes on it means it is clipping unlike other amps that give you some space in that respect. Very serviceable amps, good metalwork. And ye gotta love the SR 808 ;) 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote djeddie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 December 2010 at 4:10pm
Originally posted by service dept Steve service dept Steve wrote:

As well as modern equipment I also do a lot of vintage repairs, some of it 40 or 50 years old. Like or dislike C-Audio, one thing is for sure: someone, one day WILL be servicing 50 year old C-Audio amps, there are an awful lot of today's amplifiers that will only be spoken about in the past tense.

+1

As for me I've still got my 606 (upgraded to 707), it weighs a ton but it performs... every time. I've had RA3001s but mainly used them for cooking burgers at the end of the gig!
Chas n Dave : it's like Drum and Bass but with beards.             E=mc² ±3dB
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