DS-21

Looking forward to seeing how the NS18 handles your torture tests! Problem is the flange is a bit bigger than the open tool 18" baskets, so you might have to do a new baffle.

Anthem, Pioneer EX

In my use, it was horrid. There was some interaction between it and the signal-sensing power strip I was using that led to awful noises. I cannot explain why, but no other gear has done that. When I plugged it into any other outlet, or indeed anywhere but in that strip, it was fine. But then I'd have to either leave it on or manually turn it off, and both options were unacceptable to me. Also, even with the Noctua fan it was borderline too loud for me. So I ended up reinstalling the factory fan and selling it locally. (I still have the Noctua fan.) But when I tried it in a different outlet, it sounded like nothing at all. Just power. The way an amp should. I don't know if it would interact the same way with other switching power strips; mine was a six-outlet unit by Monster that my fiancee had. Perhaps the IPR 3000 just didn't want to be associated with such a disgusting brand, and howled in protest. I wish it had worked out for me, because I like the technology and I loved the price. The one thing I don't like about the ElectroVoice amp is the price. True, it's 8 channels vs. 2 and more aggregate power, but the cost differential between the IPR 3000 (Black Friday sale) and the CPS 8.5 was roughly 10x...

FWIW, I recently picked up an interesting amp that's driving my whole multisub system right now: ElectroVoice CPS-8.5 Class D, German-made, and rated 1kWx4/2 or 4Ω/all channels driven. EV claims it has no highpass filter down low, I don't know about that but it puts out plenty of power above 16Hz, and I don't care about stuff below that. It also will turn on with a consumer audio 12V trigger, and go into standby with same. That (and the space savings, compared to multiple mono amps) was the draw to me. Only downside of note is that all I/O are by Phoenix terminals, so one needs to slice of the ends of her/his signal cables if they're pre-terminated. And cost, though I don't know anything else that offers that much power and a 12V remote trigger input for less. Fan noise is much much much lower than a Peavey IPR 3000 modded with a Noctua fan. With the amp under my daybed, I can't hear it unless I put my ear to the ground.

While I've made a few digressions into pro amps (Crown XTI2000, Peavey iPR-3000), I keep coming back to the Engne Tang designed class G rack amp that's sold mostly as the Dayton SA1000 but is or has also been sold as the Snell SPA-750, Leon Speakers L3-1K, etc. I'm currently using two of them, along with an O-Audio 500W BASH plate amp (another amp I like quite a bit), for my 3-sub system. The reasons are as follows: -It has enough power for my needs -Doesn't require more voltage for full output than an unbalanced miniDSP can provide -Looks "high end" -Standard RCA I/O -Is quiet in operation with no fans (and no transformer hum, so long as you get a good one) -Has a continuous phase control and rudimentary parametric EQ for systems that aren't using an external processor -Useful convenience features such as 12V triggers. My only negative about it is that it has old-fashioned binding post speaker outputs, instead of a modern SpeakOn connector. True, I'd be using a fan-modded IPR-3000 right now instead of two of these amps, but my IPR-3000 interacted strangely with my signal-sensing power strip, creating hum when plugged in there but not when plugged in anywhere else.. Given that I'm neither going to waste energy by leaving it idle, nor will I manually turn it on/off (my "equipment rack" is the space underneath a daybed, because I like my audio kit heard and not seen), I had to replace it with something more suitable. I've never used any of the really top-tier Class D amps (Lab, Powersoft, Camco, Ashly, etc) though. I'd never buy a "clone" amp, on principle. (I would consider a "Sanway," if they had good technology, good reliability, and weren't trying to make everyone think they're Labs.)