Members turtletheyertle Posted December 8, 2004 Members Share Posted December 8, 2004 Im looking at the carvin cp1800 for my bass rig http://www.carvin.com/products/dcm.php?ItemNumber=CP900&CID=PWA (link is for the 900) it is the same as their dcm amps, except for no cosmetic crap and no optical limiter. Now how important is the opto limiter? will the amp clip without it? or will it shutdown before clipping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted December 8, 2004 Members Share Posted December 8, 2004 Optical or not, a limiter is a nice feature as it prevents amplifier clipping. I wouldn't worry about it being of the optical type, that's the way it was done many years back (it's very simple and naturally has useable time constants for attack and release) and some manufacturers still use it. All amp limiters are pretty adequate nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted December 8, 2004 Members Share Posted December 8, 2004 What I'd worry about is: 1 - They say the amp is "the same" but the power output doesn't match any of the DCM amps. Also, weight makes no sense. It's 3 lbs heavier than the DCM version that is of a higher power. The one spec they do post, THD, is worse than that of DCM, although it's not clear how the spec is measured on the "value" amp. The DCM amp says what power was applied to come up with the number. 2 - The posted specs are EXTREMELY sparse (no spec sheet, no posted manual like the DCM, not even a picture of the back of the amp to see what connections are back there). That seems like a red flag to me. 3 - Doesn't specify that there are limiters of any kind. No mention of thermal protection. I see a few lights, but the picture is so bad on the site you can't make out what they are for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members picker13 Posted December 8, 2004 Members Share Posted December 8, 2004 From what I've heard, these were an attempt to offer "cheaper" amps. The market didn't support the product (can you say "red flag") so now they are dumping them cheap to clear the inventory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members InACanProductions Posted December 8, 2004 Members Share Posted December 8, 2004 There's another thread on here about that same amp http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=799621 I had questioned the THD spec and got some unexpected responces about that not being a big deal. I agree though there is not a lot of info on these amps, and I really tend to doubt they compare to the DCM line. The CP1800 is marked down $200 from the normal retail price (Reg $399), and the list price is $695. That's less than 29% of the list price, meaning it's marked down over 71% off, RED FLAG on the play. http://www.carvin.com/products/dcm.php?ItemNumber=CP1800&CID=PWA I've got a DCM2000 so I can attest that it is a good quality amp, as for the CP I can't say though I am skeptical. Do what you must, but remember that you get what you pay for. Also you might want to ask Carvin about their return policy on this item. If it's concidered a Clearence item they may not take it back WHEN you are unhappy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted December 8, 2004 Members Share Posted December 8, 2004 I owned a DCM2000 and had no complaints. Shortly afterward the QSC RMX line came out. That would be my preference. Comparable price, QSC name, good warranty and are 2U instead of the 3U of the beefier Carvin units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members turtletheyertle Posted December 9, 2004 Author Members Share Posted December 9, 2004 I checked out the QSC's on their site. they do look comprable, but I am not very knowlageable. Now carvin makes a big deal about their amps being class H, and they go on about some kick drum test and crap like that, basicly the RMX1850HD is a class H amp. now is that bad? im not looking at the dcm2000, im looking at the 1500 so they're the same rack size. The other reason I was consitering the cp1800 was because it has a three year warentee, so I figured if its made poorly than they will deal. not tru? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted December 9, 2004 Members Share Posted December 9, 2004 Originally posted by turtletheyertle I checked out the QSC's on their site. they do look comprable, but I am not very knowlageable. Now carvin makes a big deal about their amps being class H, and they go on about some kick drum test and crap like that, basicly the RMX1850HD is a class H amp. now is that bad? im not looking at the dcm2000, im looking at the 1500 so they're the same rack size.The other reason I was consitering the cp1800 was because it has a three year warentee, so I figured if its made poorly than they will deal. not tru? I thought their amps were advertised as class AB, not H? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted December 9, 2004 Members Share Posted December 9, 2004 Originally posted by agedhorse I thought their amps were advertised as class AB, not H? Yes, he has it backwards. BTW - sorry to say the CP1800 show a "sold out" on the Carvin site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members turtletheyertle Posted December 9, 2004 Author Members Share Posted December 9, 2004 yea sorry I got it mixed up, carvin points out how all of their amps are AB where the QSC rmx1850hd is H. Does this matter? is carvins kick drum thing a realistic test? basicly dcm1500 or rmx1850hd (im using in bass rig) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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