Members heatheroo Posted April 19, 2011 Members Share Posted April 19, 2011 I'm finally getting around to replacing the CS800 we had in our PA for running monitors. It belonged to the old drummer and when he left.....so did the amp. We use a sound company for gigs so this has not been a high priority. Anyway.....I need to put the system back together and have been watching craigs list etc, for used power amps. I'm generally running from 2 to 5 PV12 (or similar) monitors. Here are my 2 choices at the moment: Peavey PV900 - used from GC for $150Crown XLS402 - used off of Craigs List for $150 I'm leaning towards the PV900 because:a) it will drive a 2 ohm load, which would allow me to run all 5 monitors if necessaryb) it has more options as far as back panel connections and I wouldn't have to worry about fabricating a Y cablec) coming from a store vs. craigs list, hopefully there are no "issues" The Crown has more overall power but its more watts than I really need. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted April 19, 2011 Members Share Posted April 19, 2011 Get both, just kidding. Sounds like you already answered your own question with the leaning towards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted April 19, 2011 Members Share Posted April 19, 2011 You can get a new super-lightweight Peavey IPR1600 for under $300 with a warranty. Or in your price range you can get a used QSC RMX850 - I have two of those in one rig for monitors. Both are 2 ohm capable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted April 20, 2011 Members Share Posted April 20, 2011 The Peavey 900 would be my choice, it also had DDT limiting in it too. The 402 is okay but there are quite a few versions around, the later ones seemed a little more user friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heatheroo Posted April 20, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 20, 2011 alas, the PV900 has disappeared from GC's used gear inventory. Sigh.........back to the search........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heatheroo Posted April 20, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 20, 2011 You can get a new super-lightweight Peavey IPR1600 for under $300 with a warranty. Or in your price range you can get a used QSC RMX850 - I have two of those in one rig for monitors. Both are 2 ohm capable. I use a RMX850 in my bass rig. (that replaced a QSC 1401 I had since around 1980 and was still working) If one of those came up for sale locally, for a decent price, I'd buy it but so far........no go. Apparently the PV900 is no longer available.The local GC's seem to have a lot of used Mackies, Carvins and Behringers. I'm trying to stay at or near the $150 range but I'm not interested in any of those manufacturers and I can't see paying shipping for something the weight of a power amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted April 20, 2011 Members Share Posted April 20, 2011 Spend a few dollars more, that will expand your options. Another $50 for a better product will be a good investment IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heatheroo Posted April 20, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 20, 2011 Spend a few dollars more, that will expand your options. Another $50 for a better product will be a good investment IMO. adding an extra $50 would be doable........if an amp with the features I need was available for that locally. Ideally the amp would have XLR and 1/4" inputs, Speakon and 1/4" outputs, handle 2 ohm loads and provide ~200W @8 ohms, 300W@4 ohms stereo. So far a search of craiglists and GC's with 100 miles do not find anything. Lots of Mackies, Carvins, Behringers and a few older Crowns and Peaveys that don't have the features I'm looking for. Seems like that PV900 was a decent deal. Oh well........there's always tomorrow's search. I have a couple weeks before the need becomes critical. I suppose if push came to shove, I could pick up a less capable amp to use in my bass rig and use the RMX850 out of my bass rig to power the PA monitors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members witesol Posted April 20, 2011 Members Share Posted April 20, 2011 I buy used RMX amps all the time. You could probably find a 1450 for around $200. I find the rmx850 to be a bit wimpy, even for monitors..do you really need 1/4 speaker outputs? I have 4 yamaha p3500 amps that I like. hard to find though. they match up to an RMX1850 quite well. the GX5 is a good amp but not for two ohm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted April 20, 2011 Members Share Posted April 20, 2011 1450's either sell for too much $400 or very little quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heatheroo Posted April 20, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 20, 2011 I buy used RMX amps all the time. You could probably find a 1450 for around $200. I find the rmx850 to be a bit wimpy, even for monitors..do you really need 1/4 speaker outputs? I have 4 yamaha p3500 amps that I like. hard to find though. they match up to an RMX1850 quite well. the GX5 is a good amp but not for two ohm not seeing any RMX series on the used market here. A 1450 would be a bit of overkill for my system. The old CS800 boat anchor we previously used was plenty of monitor power for the venues we play. Lack of 1/4" outputs is not a deal breaker....just adds some convenience based on the cables I have on hand. Mainly: being able to parallell the inputs w/o a Y cable, 2 ohm capability and the afore mentioned power range are the biggies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted April 21, 2011 Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 Pretty much nothing (modern) is going to have 1/4" outputs, they have largely been eliminated for safety reasons. Look for used RMX-850's. You may also be able to find (QSC) series 1 (1400's) for $100-150 each too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted April 21, 2011 Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 Older Carvin DCM1000's have 1/4" outputs (but no speakons) and were quite popular amongst bass players as they will fit in a shallow rack case. They are also lighter than an RMX850 at 26 lbs and are 2 ohm capable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heatheroo Posted April 21, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 Pretty much nothing (modern) is going to have 1/4" outputs, they have largely been eliminated for safety reasons. I believe the QSC GX series has the combo speakon-1/4" output connectors.......yes? I'm seeing a Crown CE1000 advertised for $150 that would fit the bill, but it would require a 2+ hour drive. At todays gas prices, well........ I'll just keep looking and hope something pops up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted April 21, 2011 Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 Crown CE1000 Avoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted April 21, 2011 Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 Avoid. Like the plague Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted April 21, 2011 Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 Older Carvin DCM1000's have 1/4" outputs (but no speakons) and were quite popular amongst bass players as they will fit in a shallow rack case. They are also lighter than an RMX850 at 26 lbs and are 2 ohm capable. Reliability was a challenge on these, don't know how much was the amp and how much was they typical customer who knew nothing but were POSITIVE that bridging into unknown loads was necessaary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heatheroo Posted April 26, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 26, 2011 my search continues........I came across a Crown Ultra-Tech UT1010 for $130. My research says the UT1010 is a private label version of the CE1000 which was previously dismissed by this august group so I assume this one is not reccomended either. Out of curiousity, what is the problem with the Crown CE series? I also found a Samson S1000 for $200 - haven't heard much good about Samson and it doesn't appear to be 2 ohm capable.......so again, a no go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaBender Posted April 26, 2011 Members Share Posted April 26, 2011 Pretty much nothing (modern) is going to have 1/4" outputs, they have largely been eliminated for safety reasons. Where do you come up with this stuff? Got a new definition of "modern"? The current offerings from Yamaha, Peavey, and even your beloved QSCs (GX series) all have 1/4" outputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stangconv Posted April 26, 2011 Members Share Posted April 26, 2011 Seriously take a look at the IPR series. The 1600 makes a great monitor amp and weighs in around 7lbs. Over you $200 budget but worth exploring a little if possible. Its nice being able to pick up an amp rack with one hand.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heatheroo Posted April 26, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 26, 2011 Seriously take a look at the IPR series. The 1600 makes a great monitor amp and weighs in around 7lbs. Over you $200 budget but worth exploring a little if possible. Its nice being able to pick up an amp rack with one hand.. I'm going by what comes up on the GC used inventory list locally and the local craigs list offerings. So far no IPR series amps have surfaced. Quite a few XLS series (not 2 ohm capable), older Crowns (power tech, power base) and the usual suspects: Behringer, Mackie, Samson, Carvin and no name "DJ" type amps. As far as going over my $200 budget - I still have a little time to wait it out hoping for something within my budget to become available before I up the ante. Low weight is nice but its not a high priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted April 26, 2011 Members Share Posted April 26, 2011 Where do you come up with this stuff? Got a new definition of "modern"? The current offerings from Yamaha, Peavey, and even your beloved QSCs (GX series) all have 1/4" outputs. Where do I come up with it? From reality. There are a FEW particular models that still contain legacy 1/4" outputs but by and large all manufacturers of power amp products have moved away from 1/4" ourputs on any amp that swings 50 volts peak or greater because international safety standards (CE Low Voltage Directive) prohibits it, at least in international markets. Also, 1/4" connectors are not offered on amps that can bridge with any significant voltage, with the bridged signal available on the 1/4" connector. The number of amps with 1/4" output connectors are very, very small (QSC GX, Yamaha PS) only on non-bridging models (or brodged signal not available on the 1/4" connector as in the Yamaha). I also recall (though am not 100% positive) that these amps do not ship with the 1/4" connector to markets where the CE LVD apply. None of the current Peavey power amp offerings include 1/4" outputs. I remember Don and I discussing this topic at length specifically with respect to safety. So, I stand by my general comments and opinion on this. So where do I come up with it? I design amps for the international market, I'm pretty darn familiar with this particular issue as it affects about 3/4 of the products I am responsible for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rezrover Posted April 26, 2011 Members Share Posted April 26, 2011 Where do I come up with it? From reality. I'm crying...:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaBender Posted April 26, 2011 Members Share Posted April 26, 2011 Agedhorse, I don't doubt your qualifications, but if you read the OP, you would see that the types of offerings he's exploring most certainly do still offer 1/4" outputs, most as combination Speakon/1/4" jacks. My qualification is active perusal of current MI offerings, and I don't recall checking out any amps that DON'T have 1/4" outputs, and most have 1/4" inputs as well. The safety issue isn't a slam-dunk either, IMO. While we should all route our cables very carefully, it's still possible to have some idiot yank on a cable connected to a speaker on a stand. I'd much rather have the cable pop out than the whole rig tumble over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted April 26, 2011 Members Share Posted April 26, 2011 Kind of coincidentally I just picked up a used Crown XLS202 off CL for my church. The box and one page brochure lists the specs for the entire XLS line and gives a 2 ohm rating for them all (including the 402) but the spec page in the manual doesn't. I guess that means "at your own risk" I paid $150 for the 202 but it was so lightly used that it was for all intents and purposes new. $150 for the 402 is a pretty good deal if you don't have to drive far for it. If you are still using 1/4" phones on your speaker cables - well this is the time. Chop them off and replace with Speakons or bananas before you blow up an amp on the gig (I learned the hard way). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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