QSC PL380 amp

[vasyachkin]

8000 watts for $2,700

QSC Powerlight 3 series

detailed power specs

PL380 animated flash tour (internal layout)

i think they done a great job undercutting the price of an I-Tech 8000

I-Tech of course wins hands down on features but to get the same power for less than half the price ... i say its not a bad deal

i think this PL380 may very well become the next amplifier i buy whenever i have the money ... it would then free my QSC PLX 2400 from subwoofer duty so i could use it on main speakers again ... i originally got the PLX 2400 for mains and it did a great job there but i had to switch it to subwoofer because it was the only thing i had big enough to handle the sub ...

[raintalk]

Good job QSC. Where would you plug in such a beast? You'd need a dedicated 100A circuit to get the full benefit.

I wish they made lower rated class-d. Wonder why they're stuck on class-h?

[Eva]

You don't seem to understand class D. This amplifier can actually provide substantially more power than the class H models with less input current from the mains plug. This is particularly true when driving horn loaded bass systems whose impedance is highly reactive. 230V AC 10A is should be enough to drive such an aplifier into clipping with music. Anyway, the power supply would fold back if you attempted to draw substantially more current from mains in a sustained way.

[raintalk]

Read the specs Eva - it in fact says Full power sine wave 100A - yeah burst only, still it's what it says.

I understand class-d and class-h, what I'm wondering is why QSC only makes their top powered amplifiers class-d? Why not also make lower powered models as class-d? Why do they continue to make their lower power models as class-h? They can get the same benefits of class-d even in lower output power/wattage amplifiers.

[vasyachkin]

well the circuit takes time to trip

you can experiment by running a microwave and a toaster at the same time ... and time how long it takes to trip

motors (vacuum cleaner etc) draw much larger current at spinup than during operation so the circuit breaker ideally should be designed to allow this burst of current for 2 or 3 seconds without tripping

just because the amp may from time to time pull 100A for one or two cycles not mean it would necessarily damage or trip a 20A circuit

as far as why they don't put class D on smaller amps - i think this may be their first class D amp. they most likely will eventually get around to putting class D into their other amps.

most likely the reason they use class H everywhere is because they simply know how to do it well and they have been follwoing the "if it ain't broke - dont fix it" rule up until now

why they started class D off with from the highest power end - probably because they already have a design that makes 4000W out of 2 rack units using class H but they did not have any 8000W designs, certainly not in 2 rack unit form factor. apparently based on success of I-Tech and Lab.Gruppen amps they decided it was time to step it up.

[Workhorse]

This amplifier features a PRE-FILTER FEEDBACK & ZOBEL resistor is capable of dissipating 200W heatsink mounted.

[Eva]

Ouch! This is plain brute force approach. They may need to hire some consulting on alternative class D schemes

[ionutgaga]

@Kanwar
... would you share with us what you've seen inside of this amp?

[Workhorse]

Did you checked your mail?

[Workhorse]

See the output response of this pre-filter amp.......

Peaking at HF with no load..........