Ideas For A Beefy Solid State Amp For Subwoofer Duties

Go for the Crown XLS amps! So what they are class D! I am sure the Crown engineering team is just as capable of designing excellent amps as any boutique amp company! 

Note that many pro amps have noisy fans (talking of actual cooling fans, not athletic supporters) which is bad if you prefer not to hear that. I even use fanless pro amps in my studio as I hate the sound of fans except those who scream their love for me and mob me when I'm out.

@wolf_garcia 

Yes, good point. I don't want to hear fans..not the spinning variety.

Yup, inexpensive class D for subs. 
 Enjoy. 

Did you ever wonder why pro amps are thin little rack mount devices and home audio amps are big heavy monsters with half the power? The main reason is that home audio amps have huge transformers, big or many capacitors, and the power supply to effortlessly manage huge power demands. A 200 wpc amp like a Parasound A21, will have a much better impact than the thin strip amps claiming huge amounts of power. Pro amps are for PA systems.  

The go-to amp for this application is the Dayton SA1000. It has all the power, with EQ, level, filters, boost, and phase adjustments that make it pretty much the perfect sub amp. Very affordable at Parts Express, great support and customer service too.  

I have 2 of them for 4 subs, but one would do just fine. You do not need 2 for stereo, that is a myth, there is no stereo. Simply wire the subs in series or parallel to achieve the total impedance load you want for the amp. Depending on your sub impedance you might want to use 2 amps, but it simply is not necessary otherwise. In any case you can get 2 of them brand new for well within budget. Totally the way to go.

why not get 4 subwoofer plate amps and build small enclosures?  
parts express has a 500w amp for 325

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-SPA500-500W-Subwoofer-Plate-Amplifier-300-807?gclid=EAIaI...

Or do this one:   Parasound NewClassic 2250 v.2 Two Channel Power Amplifier-Audio Advisor
I have one and it is a great sounding amplifier and it is on sale for $999.  It is a stereo amplifier so get two of them so each channel drives one sub.   It puts out healthy power at lower impedances, but do verify it meets your power needs.

Interesting comments.

@russ69  it’s been on my mind, the point you make about lightweight amps with lots of watts, versus heavy hitters weighing 100lbs that deliver a lot less power, at least on paper:)
I suppose SMPS help in this regard, but yes... point taken.

@millercarbon   I’ve been messing around with powered subs and plate amps and I want to try a different approach. In theory, once all the hardware and cabling is in place, the room measured and DSP working, I should be able to pull out one amp and replace it with another, with only basic software tweaks to the DSP. Then I can see how one amp compares to the next and which sounds better. Look at it a different way -  roughly speaking, we slice up the sound of our systems into 3 fairly equal portions - high frequency, midrange and bass. When looking at the attention to detail and the money we spend on powering the HF and Mids, it seems crazy handing over bass duties to a crappy little plate amp mass-produced in China and sold here for a few hundred bucks. I know, you can pick many holes in my logic, but for me it makes sense...and... it’s another project and more stuff!

I have all the hardware other than the amps, so I’m almost ready to rock and roll.

@spatialking thanks, I’ll check those out.

Rooze

"...that is a myth, there is no stereo..."
99% true but I guess you didn't own any stereo Beatles albums, lots of single channel bass.  

"...I suppose SMPS help in this regard..."
There are times when you can't pull enough power out of the wall, that's why the lights dim when you crank up the big systems. Big caps help with that.  

I own Dayton plate amps SPA1000s and 1200s (DSP). I like all 3 of Daytons bass amps. Plate, Plate (with DSP), and the SA1000s. They are tough, have some good features, run quiet and pretty cool

I fell in love with Behringer products, two of the greats are their 12K, 2 channel power amps and their active crossovers (2496). That amp will push a 1 ohm load. The active XOs (2496) have full blown DSP with mic tap, active monitoring and on the fly correction. It will do 6 channels per unit. I keep two here and 3 12K power amps. They have fans.. I disconnect two of the three fans and leave the one over the PS hooked to micro toggle. Late night listening I flip it off. I’ve NEVER overheated one of those amps.

I have 1300.00 invested in two new and one used amp. I got the 2496s for 300.00 each. New.. One amp would power 20 12" speakers BUT you would loose the individual speakers ability to be perfectly tuned for about 270.00 usd per 1700-4K rail. Beat that with ANY combination.

HEAVY cable, add 100.00 per 2 rails and 120vac at 20a another 50.00. 150 total for GREAT cable. Speak-on and twist-locks for speaker and PC connections..

6 channels and cabling under 2K. 36K of power and can do everything. Each channel will run 8-12 12" heavy sub drivers, or 6-10 15" subs, no problem..
Boom Boom in the Room Room. OK!!
How about Boom Boom the Block Block, LOL

Regards..

Bryston will have have a whole bunch of refurbished 4B, 4B-ST, AND 4B-SST up for sale soon. They have a buy back program for old 4B's and will resell them, likely on their web site.

I’ve looked at a few pro amps including the Crown XLS2502 2 Channel which puts out a healthy 775w

What about 6,000 watts !!!!! for $511 usd

https://www.storedj.com.au/behringer-nx6000-ultra-lightweight-6000w-class-d-power-amplifier?gclid=EA...

Cheers George

George I use NU12000. Under 500.00 each new, not refurbished. They have TWO NU6000 modules per unit... You can't bridge them. Huge bang for the buck.. They push the heaviest loads I've ever tried.. AND they run even better with a 220-240 feed.. I've set up a 7 systems with that amp and a 2496. Just add an amp add two more subs.. Up to 6.
Then a RJ45 and plug in another 2496 and  6 more rails..

Can't beat the price. They are tough to. Built well I think.. Made to toss a bit for sure..

Regards

UPDATE:
Well, I came home with a new toy on Monday, a Crown XLS2502 power amp.
Last night was spent making some major changes. Pulled the plate amps from two Aerial SW-12 subs. Was relieved to find that behind the plate amps was a sealed enclosure with binding posts already sitting there for direct connection to the driver! (saved me making a plate to cover the hole and fitting new posts).

Initially I just hooked-up the XLS2502 and set the low-pass on the amp to 80hz, and took it for a spin.
Wow. Just in this crude configuration the bass sounded better than via the plate amps with their EQ / Phase controls etc. The XLS2502 has a firm grip on the big 15" drivers, even at high SPL's they sounded far more controlled than before. I could 'feel' more air moving in the sense of more visceral impact, and things were rattling in the room that hadn't rattled before!

So far so good.

Next, I setup the new miniDSP 2x4HD. Leaving my main speakers out of the circuit, it was a breeze to drop-in the miniDSP with an output from my vari-out on the Manley Steelhead, into the DSP, then a pair of outs, one each to the XLS2502 amp.

It took me a couple hours to get the miniDSP working, and another hour to run some measurements, create new values for the PEQ, get them loaded into the miniDSP and the system back online.

Hmmm....these were very rough and crude measurements, just basically me figuring out the new DSP for the first time....but....Wow #2.

OK, it's far from perfect as it stands but it's a great start, and already better than using the plate amps. I found the REW software a pain so today I bought a firmware update for the miniDSP to use Dirac, and I'm waiting for Hong Kong to wake up so I can get my software!

Summary - replacing a plate amp, even one from a $5000 subwoofer, with half of a $650 ProAudio amp, gives better bass....tighter, deeper, more controlled.
Once I get the DSP working my plan is to pull the XLS and try different amps to see how they impact bass performance.
Again, why do we think it's ok to spend $$$$$ on amps for the mids and highs, yet hand over bass duties to a $200 plate amp strapped to the back of a vibrating box!! 
I intend to find out!
rooze