mackie m3000 vs GX5

[monkeyland]

i'm purchasing power amps pretty soon. my original plan has been to get a pair of QSC GX5s to power a pair of Peavey SP2s and SP118s. these are the more recent ones just before the newest series. i already have the speakers and am just waiting for something to power them.

 

i've also noticed that the mackie m3000 is on sale for 400 bucks at american musical and was wondering if that might be as good of a choice as the QSC.

 

i do like QSC although the mackie is possibly more versatile since it can be bridged. they also claim 1000 watts at 4 ohms which means that i could run my whole rig off of one amp for the meantime if i need to.

 

i just wanted to see what everyone here thinks about the 2 amps. the main thing that i'm concerned about is reliability which of course brings me back to qsc with the 6 year warranty.

 

opinions please

[thinderik]

Mackie looks pretty good, and its about the same price as the QSC. I've heard good things from people who use mackie amps. But I've never owned a mackie personally crest/qsc myself. But it does fit your budget and it would give you some more head room.

[ShiftChange564]

One thing to consider is that the QSC GX5 only draws 3.3amps for 8ohm operation @500watts and 6 something for 4ohm @ 700watts. I can't find too many power amps in that price range producing that much power but drawing so little.

 

All depends on if you need the extra power at 4 and 2ohm loads. The QSC can't match those wattage ratings at 4 and 2ohms. At the same time though I'm sure the amp will draw a lot more power.

[VanR]

I trust QSC myself. Don't know anything at all about the Mackie, but if you get the 2 GX5's you can use the internal 100 Hz. crossover to power those SP2/Sp118's. One amp on each stack. Easy biamp (sub/tops) rig with plenty of power. 500 watts per box.

[agedhorse]

 

One thing to consider is that the QSC GX5 only draws 3.3amps for 8ohm operation @500watts and 6 something for 4ohm @ 700watts. I can't find too many power amps in that price range producing that much power but drawing so little. All depends on if you need the extra power at 4 and 2ohm loads. The QSC can't match those wattage ratings at 4 and 2ohms. At the same time though I'm sure the amp will draw a lot more power.

 

 

You just need to learn how power amp current consumption is specified.

 

The QSC product is very good, and the 6 year warranty shows they stand behind it. It's designed specifically as a 8/4 ohm amp, which appears to fit the OP's needs. 2 ohm operation isn't necessary for his application from what I can see.

[monkeyland]

 

You just need to learn how power amp current consumption is specified. The QSC product is very good, and the 6 year warranty shows they stand behind it. It's designed specifically as a 8/4 ohm amp, which appears to fit the OP's needs. 2 ohm operation isn't necessary for his application from what I can see.

 

 

no it's not at all really. for the record i decided to go with the qsc amp. i've got one on the way right now and hopefully another in the near future. what it came down to is the qsc reputation really. it's pretty flawless.

[robertfoshizzle]

 

no it's not at all really. for the record i decided to go with the qsc amp. i've got one on the way right now and hopefully another in the near future. what it came down to is the qsc reputation really. it's pretty flawless.

 

 

I don't believe I have ever heard anyone say a bad thing about QSC as a whole. In fact, I don't even recall anyone saying a bad thing about a specific QSC product. Sure, all products fail sometimes, but their reputation is about as sterling as anyone.