Before you make a final decision on which power amp to buy, may I suggest you add a Bryston 7B-ST, or a 4B-ST run in the bridged mode, to your short list? Bryston amps have long been noted as "bass control masters", and both the 7B-ST and 4B-ST (bridged) will have plenty of juice to do justice to any sub on the market. |
I hate to admit it (being a so-called audiophile), but the best sub amp I ever used was a QSC MX3000a. 1500 W/ch into 2 ohms. I tried a Krell KSA-150, Crown DC300A, Bryston 4B-NRB, but the QSC took complete control. At about $1000 new it was also a bargain. Find it at your local musician's supply. |
i also tried the bryston. i liked it but thought the krell was better. the qsc is a beast.the crown dc 300 is to weak. the macro i have now is 760 in to 8 1150 into 4 and 2500 mono into 4 ohms. i might stay with the crown but i also thought maybe a big boy krell would be nice. thanks guys keep the ideas rolling. |
Eagle amps! Kind of difficult to locate one though because most of their owners do not want to part with them,
very high current design with taut bass. |
A friend of mine who has had a LOT of different amps and a LOT of different multi-driver subwoofer arrays thinks that the Eagle's produce the best bass out of all that he's had. Maybe not the most powerful in terms of sheer grunt, but the tightest and most tuneful. He also likes the bigger Aragon's, at least for bottom end.
Nothing i've had or heard can touch the big Perreaux's for bottom end oomph and slam. I will stress that this comment applies to some of their models more than others. I've run BIG, BIG amps rated for more than twice their power at the same impedance and the Perreaux's still win that specific category. If you are strictly looking for bottom end thunder, the big Perreaux's ( models rated for at least 300+ wpc @ 8 ) will deliver.
As to the Bryston's, my experience with them is with their older models. I had a 4B ( 250 wpc @ 8 / 400 wpc @ 4 ) and i was not impressed. It did not do well into low impedances and i was constantly driving the amp into clipping. The amp was running quite well, as it was completely gone through by Dennis at Bryston USA. Phenomenal people to work with that truly do stand behind their products.
One more thing to add about amps and bass response. Amps that make use of "old school" iron core transformers will typically produce better quality bass than an identical amp using a toroidal transformer. Toroidals are simply cheaper to produce and less expensive to ship ( less weight ). Besides that, they tend to look "hi-tech". From talking to more than a few, most "honest" engineers will support this point of view for more than a few technical reasons. Sean
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Try the Bryston 7b-st/14b-st before you give up on Bryston, they are a lot bigger than the 4b-st with gobs of grunt. Krell is a good choice as a sub amp as well (provided that's all you're planning to use it for...), though kinda pricey for "just" a sub amp. And as you've already figured out, you're gonna need a lot bigger Krell than a KST100 to get there from here. In the end, you may go through a lot of amps and samoleons and still not do any better than that Crown. If it were me, I'd keep it and spend the dough elsewhere. |
i watched 3000 miles to graceland last night with the crown. it sounded great and did not even work hard.thanks guys keep the ideas comeing. |
brian cheney of vmps, (who makes *killer* subs, imo), uses qsc amps for his low-end... i'd like to get a pair, they're not really *that* expensive, but it may be cheaper for me to have stan warren mod my adcom gfa555's, which aren't too shabby in their own right... doug s. |
The QSC series of PowerLight amps are incredible power amps for subs. I use a bridged unit on each of my 2 EV MTL-4's (4-18" woofers per cabinet) in my personal mobile system to do parties, conventions, video shows, etc...... I guarentee that these subs are much more demanding that ANY home sub and the QSC amps never wimp out. |
Gekko, you're assuming just a bit too much. There are guys with sub systems that make your four 18's per side look feeble. That is not to say that eight 18's is anything to laugh at : ) Sean
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last time i checked the 4719 was pro, not home audio. the qsc is a great choice i agree. i do not think it will beat the crown though. i was hopeing to pick up a krell 250 , or 200s or 300s, maybe but it looks like my crown on auction is not moving much, so i will probaly stick with it.it drives them like no tomorrow anyway. |
kirk, many folks use that crown in home systems. i think you would have to spend an awful lot of money on a krell to get the same performance as the crown macro-reference, for the use you're proposing... doug s. |
kirk930: if you actually got thru the entire dvd of "3000 miles from graceland," you might as well try a few 3 watt set's with your subs. what a god-awful movie! -cfb |
i like movies from casablanca , to gone with the wind, gladiator, and the list goes on. i liked 3000 miles to graceland. you have to take it for what it is. it is dark but funny. everybody has opinons. that is why their are 33 flavors of ice cream at least. |
Eagle 7-A's bridged for mono, look out over 1100 watts
8 ohms. Had them in a macintosh clinic and they where
awed 375watts 8 ohms before rated distortion in stereo
and over 600 watts for 4 ohms but they ran out of there
capabilities to test any higher. |
Probably an Eagle amp. or a krell. |
Get a big Mac, like an older MC-500. |
