Members td5_23 Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, my name is Tyler. Pleased to meet all of you. Anyway, I'm buying my first power amp and I'm looking for something rackmount and up to $300. I've looked at companies like Nady and Behringer because they definately have the most power for the money, but I've heard bad things about their quality and reliability. I'm now checking out some Peaveys Crowns and Mackies. I'm not ignorant when it comes to electronics, but I'm having a hard time finding any reviews on PA equipment. Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if this question has been answered a hundred times, I tried using the forum search, but couldn't get it to work. Thanks. Ty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danny (NS::U) Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 I've got a couple of Nadys that have always behaved. If you're willing to put a few more dollars away, then put them into Peavey or Crown. Nady amps are basically okay, but not the choice for do-or-die in high-stress situations. (Of course, it's always best to underwork your gear, no matter what it is.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 I have 3 Samson amps. They've never let me down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BillESC Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Tapco also offers excellent bang for the buck. It is a division of Mackie. www.tapcogear.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gregidon Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Check out used RMX series amps by QSC, they are workhorses used by a lot of people! Good luck! I'm going to sort of hijack this thread and ask what people think of the Crown XLS 602? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 There are excellent products by Crest, QSC, Crown and Peavey out there for only a couple dollars more. There's no reason to save just a tiny amount of money considering the difference in quality and performance offered by these 4 companies IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gruvjack Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 What are your power requirements? What are you running with the amp? QSC would be a good value. A used USA or RMX series should be around that range, all depends on how many watts you need. Tough workhorses. Used Crowns are harder to come by in my experience, your luck may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SilleeSpyder Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 I run QSC RMX amps. They are fantastic! However if they are STILL out of your budget, the Samson SX amps perform very well for the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members td5_23 Posted July 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by gruvjack What are your power requirements? What are you running with the amp? QSC would be a good value. A used USA or RMX series should be around that range, all depends on how many watts you need. Tough workhorses. Used Crowns are harder to come by in my experience, your luck may vary. I don't have any power requirements at this point. I'm going to base what speakers I purchase on the amp that I'm going to have. Which is another reason my budget is kind of small. The biggest thing I'm looking for is upgradeability. I want to get a decent amp even if I can only afford to run a speaker on one channel so I can add some more down the road. What excellent products by Crest, QSC, Crown and Peavey are you talking about agedhorse? Like I said, I'm on a budget, but I'd be interested in knowing what you're talking about specifically. Keep in mind I don't need anything amazingly powerful. The most this is ever going to need to do is a medium size gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 One man's medium is another man's small, but I think I understand what you're thinking. If you want "upgradability" I'd look for something in the RMX2450 range (400 - 500 watts per channel @ 8 ohms). Here's why.... You can run 2 top boxes (mains) off of one side and still feed them 200-300 watts You can run 2 top boxes off both sides in stereo for 400 - 500w per cabinet You can run 2-3 monitors off the other side (150 - 300 watts per cabinet) You can run subs in stereo off this amp down the road Smaller amps will give you fewer options as you'll have less power to spread around multiple configurations. For example, unless your talking bi-amping top boxes down the road, a 200 watt per channel amp at 8 ohms isn't all that viable in a live situation for more than 1 cabinet per side. This will cost you more, but YOU said you wanted upgradability. This almost always means a higher initial investment. You can't have "weak links" if you want a robust solution that will serve your needs as they change and, hopefully, grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 21, 2006 CMS Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by td5_23 I don't have any power requirements at this point. I'm going to base what speakers I purchase on the amp that I'm going to have. Which is another reason my budget is kind of small. The biggest thing I'm looking for is upgradeability. I want to get a decent amp even if I can only afford to run a speaker on one channel so I can add some more down the road.What excellent products by Crest, QSC, Crown and Peavey are you talking about agedhorse? Like I said, I'm on a budget, but I'd be interested in knowing what you're talking about specifically. Keep in mind I don't need anything amazingly powerful. The most this is ever going to need to do is a medium size gig. That's backwards. No matter what the budget is, get your speakers first and then get an amp that powers them properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members td5_23 Posted July 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by Craigv That's backwards. No matter what the budget is, get your speakers first and then get an amp that powers them properly. Why do you say that? The amp is more expensive, and more difficult to upgrade than the speakers as well as being something that will last longer. It's just as easy to find a pair of speakers that the amp will properly power as findinig an amp that will properly power a pair of speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members headway Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 why not get a powered pair of speakers. it might take you a little longer to save up the money but you might try out something like www.musiciansbuy.com/YORKVILLE_EF500P_SPKR_CAB.html i know it's a lot more than your looking to spend but you could rent pa untill you have enough to get a set. trust me when i say that these things are nice. the two inch hf driver gives you headroom out the arss. just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members td5_23 Posted July 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by abzurd One man's medium is another man's small, but I think I understand what you're thinking...... You can't have "weak links" if you want a robust solution that will serve your needs as they change and, hopefully, grow. Thanks for the advice. That was very helpful, although you are very right, my idea of medium is definately your idea of small. I know I'm not going to need that kind of power any time soon. If and when I do, I'm sure I'll be more willing to spend the money on it. So I guess right now I'm thinking small. Alright, I'm thinking right now about going with the Crown XLS 202D and powering a Peavey PR10 with it. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by td5_23 Why do you say that? The amp is more expensive, and more difficult to upgrade than the speakers as well as being something that will last longer. It's just as easy to find a pair of speakers that the amp will properly power as findinig an amp that will properly power a pair of speakers. You'll get more bang for the buck putting more money into speakers than amp. Why would an amp be more difficult to upgrade than speaker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members td5_23 Posted July 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by GCDEF You'll get more bang for the buck putting more money into speakers than amp. Why would an amp be more difficult to upgrade than speaker? Well, I was saying it because I planned on putting more money into the amp than the speakers. But apparently my plans may not have been the most well thought out. So what speakers do you suggest? My limit for the whole system (amp and speakers) is $500. And keep in mind I don't mind getting only one speaker to put on one channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Hard to say because I don't know what you want to do with it, but the powered speaker suggestion is probably best for you at this point with that budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 21, 2006 CMS Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by td5_23 Well, I was saying it because I planned on putting more money into the amp than the speakers. But apparently my plans may not have been the most well thought out. So what speakers do you suggest? My limit for the whole system (amp and speakers) is $500. And keep in mind I don't mind getting only one speaker to put on one channel. Speakers make or break your rig. And the idea is to get a speaker that you like and match the amp to it....not that it's all that hard to do, but going amp first means you have to hop you find a speaker that you like, can afford and also matches well with the amp. I agree that a powered speaker (just one) is the best bet for you in this budget. One good speaker is far better than two mediocre ones. Have a look at the Yorkville NX, and the Samson db500a, both would be much better than a PR-10. The PR series are decent entry-level speakers, but the two powered units are much better. You also get at least a little bit of mixing..they have a two channel preamp so they're all you need to get started (with a stand, hopefully). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanc Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by Craigv Speakers make or break your rig. And the idea is to get a speaker that you like and match the amp to it....not that it's all that hard to do, but going amp first means you have to hop you find a speaker that you like, can afford and also matches well with the amp. I agree that a powered speaker (just one) is the best bet for you in this budget. One good speaker is far better than two mediocre ones. Have a look at the Yorkville NX, and the Samson db500a, both would be much better than a PR-10. The PR series are decent entry-level speakers, but the two powered units are much better. You also get at least a little bit of mixing..they have a two channel preamp so they're all you need to get started (with a stand, hopefully). +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Powered speakers may indeed be your best bet, at least you will get an appropriate match without havingto worry about the details. Put as much into the speakers as you can, they are far more important [sound-wise]. Reliability can be a big issue with cheaper amps. For higher quality amps that are only slightly more expensive, QSC RMX series, and Peavey CS series are just a couple that come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dark Ice Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by agedhorse Reliability can be a big issue with cheaper amps, QSC RMX series, and Peavey CS series are just a couple that come to mind. If I didn't know better I'd assume you were holding those up as examples of amplifiers with reliability issues from that sentence Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by Dark Ice If I didn't know better I'd assume you were holding those up as examples of amplifiers with reliability issues from that sentence Steve. Definately a poor choice for sentence structure... see edited post:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gregidon Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 I don't mean to be a downer.... but if your budget it $500 you are looking at perhaps one used, quality powered speaker..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 One powered PR15 would fit the bill. 499$ retail. 200 watts and 5 year warranty (if you register your product). You can't get much better for this kind of budget. Wharfedale EVP-X15P would also be a good choice (400 watts powered I believe) if available in your area - should be around 550-600$. When you get the funds, buy another one so you'll have a pair. That way, you`ll have a backup powered speaker if ever one should fail during a performance. Al Poulin - Party-Time! DJ Services Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted July 22, 2006 Members Share Posted July 22, 2006 I gotta say I'm on board with all of Agedhorse's points here. Remember ... the least expensive system is the one you don't have to re-purchase. (I know that's not the same as cheapest!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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