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Favorite amplifiers for bass


Infrasonic

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1 hour ago, dgage said:

The modules in the SP1-4000 to SP2-12000 to my knowledge are not made by Hypex.  And since I use the SpeakerPower amps for my business, my only response due to potential liability is to get SpeakerPower’s recommendation before trying it.

It's more about the general concept than the SpeakerPower amps itself. The Hypex is just an example. You could potentially damage one amp if they're not exactly level matched, which is maybe why it's not officially supported. It's a workaround if it actually works. I also don't know if both amp modules have to be fed by the same power supply for this to work at all.

I have an old KMT LC1300 here which I can try this with. That amp is not officially bridgeable, but both output stages use the same power supply.

All other amps I have can operate in bridge mode already.

 @Ricci might like the idea of a bridged SP2-12000 for output compression sweeps.

Edit: A short look at the Wikipedia page confirms that this is indeed possible as long as both amp modules share a common ground. I'm not sure if the input ground or output ground is referenced, but it should be the same in theory.

Another interesting thing is using multiple amps in parallel mode, which looks great for low impedance loads. Dunno if that's nothing new for you guys, but I haven't read into any of this before and just accepted that some amps can be bridged and some other cannot.

Quote

For example, if two identical amplifiers (each rated for operation into 4 ohm) are paralleled into a 4 ohm load, each amplifier sees an equivalent of 8 ohm since the output current is now shared by both amplifiers — each amplifier supplies half the load current, and the dissipation per amplifier is halved. This configuration (ideally or theoretically) requires each amplifier to be exactly identical to the other(s), or they will appear as loads to each other.

 

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Each SP2-12000 *channel* uses two amps in a bridged configuration, so they can't be bridged again.  The bridging capability of any amp depends on its design characteristics which should be specified by the manufacturer.  Some amps perform better or more reliably *with* bridging.  Others may be damaged if you try to do it.

Edited by SME
added critical missing word
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1 hour ago, SME said:

Each SP2-12000 *channel* uses two amps in a bridged configuration, so they can't be bridged again.  The bridging capability of any amp depends on its design characteristics which should be specified by the manufacturer.  Some amps perform better or more reliably *with* bridging.  Others may be damaged if you try to do it.

So the modules are already bridged, ok. One could still try to use them in parallel as mentioned above. That should work even with two bridged modules. Just don't mess up the wiring or bad things will happen... 😅

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Correct the SP amps are already full bridge. So are Inuke6000 and NX6000 amps which is why they can't be bridged again. 

Most amps are half bridged. 

Half bridged Class D SMPS amps can get some bus pumping going on when used with HEAVY bass content. Not talking rock n roll kick drum here...Think sine wave sweeps, possibly some ULF HT type stuff. I like to use full bridged operation into subs when possible. In reality with normal content it may never be an issue. 

Voltage limit on the SP amps is about 126 volts (178 volts peak)

 

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  • 2 years later...

Yesterday switched amps for subs duties; previously used my Crown K2 to feed a pair of 8 ohm-load MicroWrecker tapped horn subs (w/B&C 15TBX100's), and my Lab.Gruppen FP6400 to (also actively) power the bass bins (4 ohm load) of my Electro-Voice TS9040D LX pro cinema speakers.

Now with the FP6400 taking on my tapped horns I'm surprised to find out how more hard punching, controlled and clean the bass sounds by comparison. The K2 almost sounded a bit wooly next to the FP6400 - bass "with a belly," not least down very low. The K2 on the EV bass bin however works just fine (perhaps even slightly better vs. the FP6400 here), covering only a ~85 to 600Hz range with 36dB/octave cut-off slopes in both ends. 

Instead of 500W to the TH subs and 2.3kW to EV bass bins it's now 1.3kW to the subs and 800W to the EV bass bins. I take it wattages is really the least of it though, as I'm never near the limits of the performance envelope of either amp. Nonetheless it's enlightening seeing how different amps can affect the reproduction of bass, even at more "sane" SPL's.  

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  • 2 months later...

In continuation of above post of mine, further changes on the amp(s) side have materialized. 

Whereas previously I ran my fully active setup with 3 different amps (Belles SA30 Class A, Crown K2 Class I & Lab.Gruppen FP6400 Class TD) I've now replaced all of them with 3 amps from MC² Audio's T-series (Class A/B, and fully differential balanced): the T1500 for the EV horn and two T2000's for the EV bass bin and TH subs respectively - essentially the same amps for the whole frequency spectrum, and 2350W in total per channel.

For bass heads, i.e.: the most fitting context in this place, the Lab FP6400 may be the more obvious choice for subs duties with its crazy power delivery and control here, but as someone who's very much into the overall reproduction quality of the entire frequency spectrum (not to say others here don't put similar emphasis on this matter), fully outboard active at that, the all-MC² Audio amp implementation has the sonics fall into place to my ears.

I actually preferred the MC² Audio T2000 on the TH subs vs. the Lab FP6400, just a subjective preference, but the big surprise was hearing the 575W/8 ohm T1500 on the EV horns holding its own, although differently, against the 30W/8 ohm Class A Belles SA30, the former in fully balanced mode and the latter RCA-coupled. 

Oh well, a bit off-topic being that the above crosses into non-bass territory as well. 

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1 hour ago, peniku8 said:

Did you measure anything at all or is that all just guesswork?

"Guesswork" to you is using one's ears to others. At the end of the day it's what matters (i.e.: listening), but if measurements is what makes your day in this specific amp context, go ahead and look up specs and try and be the wiser on the actual perceived effect. My assumption is the in-room frequency response won't change, but that's not to say there can't by any sonic differences.

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9 hours ago, m_ms said:

"Guesswork" to you is using one's ears to others. At the end of the day it's what matters (i.e.: listening), but if measurements is what makes your day in this specific amp context, go ahead and look up specs and try and be the wiser on the actual perceived effect. My assumption is the in-room frequency response won't change, but that's not to say there can't by any sonic differences.

What would the sonic differences be, if both amps produce the same frequency response and produce less distortion than the speakers do (which they do, unless they're defective OR clipping)?
If this listening test was a DBT with perfectly matched gains (with a voltage meter) and ONLY the amps were swapped (ideally via switch in rapid succession), then the comparison is fair, but as soon as it involves sighted bias or any other uncontrolled variables the test is invalid.

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