The Alesis is rated for 4 ohm loads so it should be safe driving an 8 ohm load bridged. Make sure your sub is really an 8 ohm load however, since the actual impedance of your speaker will often be less than the nominal value. For running bridged, I prefer an amp rated as being able to handle 2 ohm loads.
Unless you are getting the Alesis at a fire sale price I think you can get a lot more amp for your money by looking at the QSC RMX family. QSC is one of the best brand names in amps (top three are Crown, Crest and QSC). Lab Grupen is coming up fast to join them as well.
The RMX850 sells for $270 US and will deliver the following power:
Bridged into 8 ohm = 600 W
Bridged into 4 ohm = 860 W
The RMX1450 sells for $360 US and will deliver the following power:
Bridged into 8 ohm = 900 W
Bridged into 4 ohm = 1400 W
All the RMX amps are rated for 2 ohm loads so they should have no problem driving your 8 ohm sub.
Northern Light and Sound is my favorite vendor (lowest cost with good service) in the USA to buy QSC amps from. http://www.northernsound.net/Sales/PowerAmps/qsc/qsc.html
Northern Light and Sound has a system of showing you their real price on their website. They show the MAP (minimum advertised price) that they are allowed to show and the planets and moons displayed after the price show you their discount from MAP. Each planet = 10%, Each moon = 5%. The RMX amps mentioned are available at 10% below MAP.
I have purchased amps and rack gear from Northern Light and Sound in the past and they are an excellent vendor.
P.S. Alesis has a pretty bad name in pro sound gear for reliability and sound quality. Their rack gear (compressors, eq and FX) are generally reviled as being the lowest of the low. I haven't seen their amps, but I have personal experiance with both their compressor and their graphic eq. They make pretty nice door stops, but that's about it.
Phil
Unless you are getting the Alesis at a fire sale price I think you can get a lot more amp for your money by looking at the QSC RMX family. QSC is one of the best brand names in amps (top three are Crown, Crest and QSC). Lab Grupen is coming up fast to join them as well.
The RMX850 sells for $270 US and will deliver the following power:
Bridged into 8 ohm = 600 W
Bridged into 4 ohm = 860 W
The RMX1450 sells for $360 US and will deliver the following power:
Bridged into 8 ohm = 900 W
Bridged into 4 ohm = 1400 W
All the RMX amps are rated for 2 ohm loads so they should have no problem driving your 8 ohm sub.
Northern Light and Sound is my favorite vendor (lowest cost with good service) in the USA to buy QSC amps from. http://www.northernsound.net/Sales/PowerAmps/qsc/qsc.html
Northern Light and Sound has a system of showing you their real price on their website. They show the MAP (minimum advertised price) that they are allowed to show and the planets and moons displayed after the price show you their discount from MAP. Each planet = 10%, Each moon = 5%. The RMX amps mentioned are available at 10% below MAP.
I have purchased amps and rack gear from Northern Light and Sound in the past and they are an excellent vendor.
P.S. Alesis has a pretty bad name in pro sound gear for reliability and sound quality. Their rack gear (compressors, eq and FX) are generally reviled as being the lowest of the low. I haven't seen their amps, but I have personal experiance with both their compressor and their graphic eq. They make pretty nice door stops, but that's about it.
Phil
Sorry Phil, I have to disagree...
The only reason they have a bad reputation is that they have a low price point, ( apart from the graphics, they are fine in a studio or home situation, but are not robust enough for touring), so snobbery takes over!
To give an example, on all the Pink Floyd Tours since the late 80's they have had racks of Alesis reverbs and compressors for the kit and percussion. Floyd could easily afford better if they wanted, but the kit they have is reliable and sounds good, so why change?
The only reason they have a bad reputation is that they have a low price point, ( apart from the graphics, they are fine in a studio or home situation, but are not robust enough for touring), so snobbery takes over!
To give an example, on all the Pink Floyd Tours since the late 80's they have had racks of Alesis reverbs and compressors for the kit and percussion. Floyd could easily afford better if they wanted, but the kit they have is reliable and sounds good, so why change?
I've used quite a bit of Alesis gear doing sound over the years, and it is pretty mediocre. All of the RA series power amps have no punch or depth of field. They also have a fairly high failure rate. We had so many of them returned to my store that we stopped carrying them. Stick with something from Crown, Crest or QSC. If your going with Crown, stay away from the XLS series. The price is right, but they just don't perforn like a Crown should at the bottom end.
As far as the other Alesis gear goes, it's hit or miss. Their compressors tend to pump, their EQ's are noisy, and most of the reverbs have no depth. Even so, I own a Nanocomp that I use as a spare compressor when I need another channel of gain control.
To sum things up, If an RA500 is all that will fit your budget, by all means get it. If you can, try and save up for a better quality high current amp. Even the Crown CE1000 will do the job. If you do get the Alesis, you may just want to uprade the power supply a little bit to open up the bottom end some. (That is if you're not afraid of voiding the warranty) Either way, best of luck to you. This sure is fun, isn't it?
As far as the other Alesis gear goes, it's hit or miss. Their compressors tend to pump, their EQ's are noisy, and most of the reverbs have no depth. Even so, I own a Nanocomp that I use as a spare compressor when I need another channel of gain control.
To sum things up, If an RA500 is all that will fit your budget, by all means get it. If you can, try and save up for a better quality high current amp. Even the Crown CE1000 will do the job. If you do get the Alesis, you may just want to uprade the power supply a little bit to open up the bottom end some. (That is if you're not afraid of voiding the warranty) Either way, best of luck to you. This sure is fun, isn't it?
pinkmouse said:
Actually the reason the compressors have a bad reputation is they pump audibly if used at much higher than a 2:1 compression ratio. Plus the frequencies printed above each of the graphic eq sliders bear very little relationship with the actual frequency bands adjusted, plus flat isn't. The MEQ230 clips easily as well, which is loads of fun since it's usual position in the signal chain is right before the power amp.
Don't take my word for it, here are a just a few choice comments about Alesis. I can find several hundred more if you'd like. Do your own search, if anyone has ever had a good thing to say about Alesis rack gear on the LAB I'd be very surprised.
http://www.live-audio.com/messages/archive4/135796.html
Note: Several of the posters in this particular thread recommend a Behringer compressor as a much superior alternative to the Alesis. Behringer is hardly snob gear.
I've got a NanoVerb that I find the odd use for, but every other piece of Alesis gear I have ever used sucked far more than I would have believed possible.
I'll second the comment about the CS800. My church still has a couple of them in use driving vocal monitors. They never stop working.
Phil
Snobbery indeed!
I use Beringer stuff 'cause it's cheap, and I get snobbish around people who prefer more expensive gear--I turn my nose up to products costing 4x as much just to get the silkscreening right!
(The group faders on my mixer are labeled -20 where they should be -25. For the $300 it saved me, I CAN LIVE WITH IT!)
For my PA system, I use an RCA amp my dad bought for me on sale at Radio Shack; it's japanese mass-produced solid-state home-theatre hi-fi crap, but it delivers one hundred (more or less) clean watts to 5 separate speakers, so I'm quite happy with it!
I'm a fan of "all solid-state amplifiers, driven properly, sound the same" and I take advantage of that to save my wallet some money.
I imagine this will turn into quite the discussion... bring it on!
I use Beringer stuff 'cause it's cheap, and I get snobbish around people who prefer more expensive gear--I turn my nose up to products costing 4x as much just to get the silkscreening right!
(The group faders on my mixer are labeled -20 where they should be -25. For the $300 it saved me, I CAN LIVE WITH IT!)
For my PA system, I use an RCA amp my dad bought for me on sale at Radio Shack; it's japanese mass-produced solid-state home-theatre hi-fi crap, but it delivers one hundred (more or less) clean watts to 5 separate speakers, so I'm quite happy with it!
I'm a fan of "all solid-state amplifiers, driven properly, sound the same" and I take advantage of that to save my wallet some money.
I imagine this will turn into quite the discussion... bring it on!
uli said:
Hi folks,
This sub is a lo cost 2x 8Ohms woofer, so better spending more
money for a Hi end sub than to one of those heavily overpriced
PA amps like QSC and Crown!
Uli
Name another amp that will give you 860 real watts for less than $270 US. I recommended the QSC RMX850 amp because it is the lowest priced amp that I know of that will reliably deliver the kind of power he is looking for.
Most pro audio guys enjoy technology, but most also regard buying sound gear as a necessary (and risky) expense you have to make to get the job done. Don't forget this is how they put food on the table and pay the mortgage. People in pro sound usually don't spend one penny more on gear than they have to. They also do their best to avoid spending less money than is really necessary because doing that usually means you just threw your money away.
I have the odd piece of Alesis gear, just about everybody who has ever worked in pro audio probably does also. I have used them and the reason I don't like them is because they don't work very well. I like to recommend stuff that works well, is reliable and gives good performance for the money. In my opinion QSC is in the sweet spot of the price/performance ratio when you are talking about amps.
Phil
haldor said:
You hit the nail on the head Phil. I've been working in pro-audio for over a decade, and I have definately thrown my money away on many a lower cost product that just didn't perform as I expected it to. In pro audio equipment, you definately get what you pay for. If you buy a Behringer, expect the pots to wear out or break in a few years. If you buy a Midas, expect it to outlast you!
Cheers,
Zach
Well, all I have to say is that I've been using a Carver Pro PM700 amp pushing 700 watts mono @ 8 ohms to my sub(s) for the past 5 to 6 years now and it has never given me one single problem, and that's also activating the "soft-clipping mode" a lot of times while watching movies. Those Hollywood explosions can be hell at high volumes!
Also, I use a Behringer AUTOCOM PRO MDX1400 to keep out any unwanted noises and to protect the sub at high volumes. This unit has never given me a problen either. The main reason I bought it however, is because my dbx Project1 crossover's internal power supply puts a nice 60Hz buzz through the sub and the Behringer's noise gate cuts it right out.
Also, I use a Behringer AUTOCOM PRO MDX1400 to keep out any unwanted noises and to protect the sub at high volumes. This unit has never given me a problen either. The main reason I bought it however, is because my dbx Project1 crossover's internal power supply puts a nice 60Hz buzz through the sub and the Behringer's noise gate cuts it right out.
Hey Guys!
No Need For A War Here!
We gotta keep in mind that this will be used for Home Use
and won't experience the rigors of the road.
So, basically any amp will do the the job. I only
recomended the Peavey CS 800, due to being more
power than the Alesis Matica, having a build in fan,
and, you can get one for less than $200.
Although, many may feel comfortable with a QSC, or
Crown, to be honest, he really doesn't need to pay the
extra bucks on a new amp, when he can get a used amp
that will do the same job, and save some money in his pocket.
So, the most I can tell you cld1354, is to find an amplifier
with a fan built in since your planning to use it in bridged
mode.
Best Regards,
No Need For A War Here!
We gotta keep in mind that this will be used for Home Use
and won't experience the rigors of the road.
So, basically any amp will do the the job. I only
recomended the Peavey CS 800, due to being more
power than the Alesis Matica, having a build in fan,
and, you can get one for less than $200.
Although, many may feel comfortable with a QSC, or
Crown, to be honest, he really doesn't need to pay the
extra bucks on a new amp, when he can get a used amp
that will do the same job, and save some money in his pocket.
So, the most I can tell you cld1354, is to find an amplifier
with a fan built in since your planning to use it in bridged
mode.
Best Regards,
I'm sorry, but I don't get all the anti-Alesis and pro-QSC, pro-Crown posts by "pros". No offense intended and I hope I'm not being patronizing, but speaking as a no longer performing musician, I've never been that impressed with QSC. They're ok, but in a band I was in we used a QSC BRIEFLY for a dual 15 bass bin, and ended up getting a third Peavey CS800 (like another poster recommended) for the cab instead. Money was obviously not the issue as we were using it out of a Mackie 32 x 8! (This is a fairly expensive mixing board, probably better than we needed). To record our demo we used MY Alesis RA100, with my studio monitors . The Alesis lived for a time in my hifi, in between and during my upgrade from a NAD integrated amp to a Parasound pre and power amp combo. The Alesis doesn't compare to the Parasound (It's the HCA1000A, by the way, more than double the Alesis' cost and overkill for a sub amp), but it blew away the NAD. That said it's not what I'd use for a high db, large room home theater. But I've never gotten the thing hot, and I've abused it. I've also used it to biamp my 3-way book shelf speakers, and it was driving the 8" drivers.
If you've alreafy got it, don't buy another amp until everything's done, but I'd recommend the Marantz MA series monoblocs instead. The current one is the MA6100, and the previous were MA500 and MA700, both of which were "recommended components" in Stereophile Magazine. MANY users bought them for non-powered sub amps, and you can get them cheap on audiogon or ebay. They're THX Ultra certified, which means they're stable for prolonged periods into demanding loads. Five of them fit next to each other resulting in a component the size of the Alesis! Hope this helps...
(Nappylady, I agree--I HATE fans!!!)
If you've alreafy got it, don't buy another amp until everything's done, but I'd recommend the Marantz MA series monoblocs instead. The current one is the MA6100, and the previous were MA500 and MA700, both of which were "recommended components" in Stereophile Magazine. MANY users bought them for non-powered sub amps, and you can get them cheap on audiogon or ebay. They're THX Ultra certified, which means they're stable for prolonged periods into demanding loads. Five of them fit next to each other resulting in a component the size of the Alesis! Hope this helps...
(Nappylady, I agree--I HATE fans!!!)
usekgb said:
You hit the nail on the head Phil. I've been working in pro-audio for over a decade, and I have definately thrown my money away on many a lower cost product that just didn't perform as I expected it to. In pro audio equipment, you definately get what you pay for. If you buy a Behringer, expect the pots to wear out or break in a few years. If you buy a Midas, expect it to outlast you!
Cheers,
Zach
I once owned 2 Midas (40/8/2 PRO40, 32/8/2 PRO4) swapped
them completely with Yamaha PM3000. I once owned lots of
Crowns & QSCs swapped the Crowns because of failure rate,
swapped the QSCs because of sound (no bass quality!) and
went with BGW & Crest. So much to your praised stuff.
In Europe the price - quality relationship is a bit different. I don´t
want my gear outlast me, but to work for 3 - 5 years properly!
In fact when you make PA-rental business, nobody will pay for
a 10 year old completely outdated Midas!
Uli
Amcron's Are Good.
In my experience, Amcron Macro-Tech amplifiers powerfully just deliver in the bass, and unlike other amplifiers.
I expect you should be able to find one used and cheap nowadays.
Eric.
Like these...
Amcron Macro-Tech
In my experience, Amcron Macro-Tech amplifiers powerfully just deliver in the bass, and unlike other amplifiers.
I expect you should be able to find one used and cheap nowadays.
Eric.
Like these...
Amcron Macro-Tech
Attachments
For good bottom end, nothing beats C-Audio, Lab Gruppen, or Hill Audio Chameleon amps, if you can get them S/H in the States.
As for the Alesis argument, all I have to say is you get what you pay for, and for the price, Alesis certainly were worth it 5/10 years ago, I don't know the new range that well.
As for the Alesis argument, all I have to say is you get what you pay for, and for the price, Alesis certainly were worth it 5/10 years ago, I don't know the new range that well.
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