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Old cast Iron Amps/versus the new lightweight champs!
In this article were going to delve into the differences between the old analog amps and the new lightweight digital ones, Actually, in order to do this we will need to identify that there is NOT a clear cut line here, between analog, and digital amps. There are those \"grey\" areas...Analog amps with the new digital power supplies (think Crown XTI series) and of course there is class A,B,AB, blah blah.. all the way up to class H, and beyond.
We are NOT going to split hairs here... that is beyond the scope of this discussion...What we ARE going to reveal is the whats and whyfores of the differences in the three amps, totally analog, analog amps with digital power supplies, and totally digital amps.
Why, you ask? Because it has become quite apparent that there is more to the equation than WEIGHT VS POWER... Now, the big problem here, as I see it, is that the new amps like the the Crown IT series, the QSC PLX, and others of the genera is that they didn't add enough capacitance (storage)to the power supply, and instead count on ole Edison (wall current) to provide the lions share of the amps power needs....The problem with this is that as the amps duty cycle increases, the supply sags. Now the one exception we know of is Power soft amps, I cannot say about Lab Gruppen amps because we haven't seen these yet...but make no mistake, the old iron horses like the Crown Macrotech 3600 sound BETTER than their newer digital counterparts... and this is true of the new DIGITAL series Macrotech's.
\"There are more things in heaven and earth\" ...A quote from Hamlet that indicates there is really more going on than meets the eye... YES digital power supplies are WAAAAYYYYY more efficient which means if your in a power challenged environment (and to me that's about 80% of the time...but your mileage may vary...) , and YES they weigh WAYYYY less, and so are much easier on the back... (hey, at my age I'm trying to save you young padawans from the same plight I'm in... BACK injury...!)
\"So what the heck are you getting at here Gary... get to the point!\" Ok... I get it, your confused about my motives... and YES I've been watching WAAYYYY to much 'House'... There is a difference in the sound of old analog amps when A/B comparisons are implemented and it goes beyond the psycho acoustic element... for instance, I have a Macrotech 3600, and the digital equivalent (install version) CTs series 3000. Ok, so here's where the rubber meets the road... The Mac on mids is without par.. On the LAB subs (unless pushed REALLY hard... and here it has a grounded bridged design that makes it REALLY hard to do any sort of gain structure since it also has the ODEP circuit that monitors the LONG TERM health of the power supply...NOT the instantaneous power available...as the supply diminishes the 'green' power supply light starts to dim...when it goes out... the SMOKE gets released!) :shock: I HATE it when that happens...)
it is TOO powerful...and when it's used properly will \"SHAKE the foundation of Heaven!... and HELL! The CTs will merely drive the cabs sufficiently...NOT over powered.
So, here is the \"Crux of the biscuit\" as Frank Zappa would have said....IF you have an install, where the weight of the systems power amps can equal the debt placed on our children by the savings and loan bailout , and you have the power to drive them, buy the old Crown Macrotech,
QSC RMX, or Peavey CS series amps... they WILL sound superior, and in the bargain LAST LONGER!
Caveat~ The Power soft amplifier line uses the best of both worlds...there may be another example... perhaps Lab Gruppen...? the power supply has a HUGE capacitor bank... not a truncated version like Crown is using in their IT series amps...
IF you are on the road, and truck space, weight, and MONEY (for the purchase of the equipment... see UNLIMITED denaro~ for outlay) are of importance, then the quasi digital amps (digital power supply analog amp... think Crown XTI..QSC PLX) may be the best bang for the buck (just don't expect the BEST tightest...sound). If your pockets are a bit deeper, and your STILL on the road, the fully digital series amps ( Crown IT series, QSC PL series) are a good solution... and IF you have copious moneys and want the best of all possible worlds... the Powersoft solutions are without par...even the new digital series Macrotech 5000i and up don't match the Powersoft amps... pure and simple...It's all in the power supply...
see you at the venue
Gadget
We are NOT going to split hairs here... that is beyond the scope of this discussion...What we ARE going to reveal is the whats and whyfores of the differences in the three amps, totally analog, analog amps with digital power supplies, and totally digital amps.
Why, you ask? Because it has become quite apparent that there is more to the equation than WEIGHT VS POWER... Now, the big problem here, as I see it, is that the new amps like the the Crown IT series, the QSC PLX, and others of the genera is that they didn't add enough capacitance (storage)to the power supply, and instead count on ole Edison (wall current) to provide the lions share of the amps power needs....The problem with this is that as the amps duty cycle increases, the supply sags. Now the one exception we know of is Power soft amps, I cannot say about Lab Gruppen amps because we haven't seen these yet...but make no mistake, the old iron horses like the Crown Macrotech 3600 sound BETTER than their newer digital counterparts... and this is true of the new DIGITAL series Macrotech's.
\"There are more things in heaven and earth\" ...A quote from Hamlet that indicates there is really more going on than meets the eye... YES digital power supplies are WAAAAYYYYY more efficient which means if your in a power challenged environment (and to me that's about 80% of the time...but your mileage may vary...) , and YES they weigh WAYYYY less, and so are much easier on the back... (hey, at my age I'm trying to save you young padawans from the same plight I'm in... BACK injury...!)
\"So what the heck are you getting at here Gary... get to the point!\" Ok... I get it, your confused about my motives... and YES I've been watching WAAYYYY to much 'House'... There is a difference in the sound of old analog amps when A/B comparisons are implemented and it goes beyond the psycho acoustic element... for instance, I have a Macrotech 3600, and the digital equivalent (install version) CTs series 3000. Ok, so here's where the rubber meets the road... The Mac on mids is without par.. On the LAB subs (unless pushed REALLY hard... and here it has a grounded bridged design that makes it REALLY hard to do any sort of gain structure since it also has the ODEP circuit that monitors the LONG TERM health of the power supply...NOT the instantaneous power available...as the supply diminishes the 'green' power supply light starts to dim...when it goes out... the SMOKE gets released!) :shock: I HATE it when that happens...)
it is TOO powerful...and when it's used properly will \"SHAKE the foundation of Heaven!... and HELL! The CTs will merely drive the cabs sufficiently...NOT over powered.
So, here is the \"Crux of the biscuit\" as Frank Zappa would have said....IF you have an install, where the weight of the systems power amps can equal the debt placed on our children by the savings and loan bailout , and you have the power to drive them, buy the old Crown Macrotech,
QSC RMX, or Peavey CS series amps... they WILL sound superior, and in the bargain LAST LONGER!
Caveat~ The Power soft amplifier line uses the best of both worlds...there may be another example... perhaps Lab Gruppen...? the power supply has a HUGE capacitor bank... not a truncated version like Crown is using in their IT series amps...
IF you are on the road, and truck space, weight, and MONEY (for the purchase of the equipment... see UNLIMITED denaro~ for outlay) are of importance, then the quasi digital amps (digital power supply analog amp... think Crown XTI..QSC PLX) may be the best bang for the buck (just don't expect the BEST tightest...sound). If your pockets are a bit deeper, and your STILL on the road, the fully digital series amps ( Crown IT series, QSC PL series) are a good solution... and IF you have copious moneys and want the best of all possible worlds... the Powersoft solutions are without par...even the new digital series Macrotech 5000i and up don't match the Powersoft amps... pure and simple...It's all in the power supply...
see you at the venue
Gadget
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