Believe I'll soon be in need of a preamp/amp to use in a self-powered loudspeaker for use with an accompanied modern player piano. I used to build Heathkits and have decent knowledge but have no desire to scratch build this thing.
It needs to be compact yet fairly powerful (a true 100-125w rms with >1.2 db headroom). This pretty much demands a Class-D design.
Problem: I can't seem to find any that are suitable. They are either designed for automotive 12V power or like the one Dayton unit that constantly pops up specifically designed for use in a subwoofer and not truly designed for mounting into a loudspeaker.
Am I best off buying a somewhat worn self-powered studio monitor to repurpose the amp? Do any of the manufacturers using them in their products sell then at other than a "you-might-as-well-buy-the-entire-thing" price?
It needs to be compact yet fairly powerful (a true 100-125w rms with >1.2 db headroom). This pretty much demands a Class-D design.
Problem: I can't seem to find any that are suitable. They are either designed for automotive 12V power or like the one Dayton unit that constantly pops up specifically designed for use in a subwoofer and not truly designed for mounting into a loudspeaker.
Am I best off buying a somewhat worn self-powered studio monitor to repurpose the amp? Do any of the manufacturers using them in their products sell then at other than a "you-might-as-well-buy-the-entire-thing" price?
Last edited:
You might have a look at Madisound for plate amps. If you saw Dayton amps, I assume you've already been to parts express.
Been there--Madisound--before. All are either designed as subwoofer amps or are multi-channel arrangements. And unless the pricing I see is not what is ordinarily paid I believe I could buy a brand-new powered unit of at least decent quality merely to pull the amp.
The subwoofer intent design isn't a deal-breaker as I'll be using another means of frequency rang control but it just wouldn't be "right" for the application.
The subwoofer intent design isn't a deal-breaker as I'll be using another means of frequency rang control but it just wouldn't be "right" for the application.
It wasn't clear if you needed a digital crossover and multi-channels or just a single channel amplifier. If you need two or three channels and DSP crossover with lots of inputs, the Hypex Fusion products are a great choice. If you want to cobble together separate amplifier, power supply, case, connectors, cables etc. there are lots of other options. Look at eBay for individual Hypex amplifier boards.
I plan to add a miniDSP 2x4 to handle the signal processing. Because of the application I need individual amplifiers in each loudspeaker unit. I'll have a look in the places you suggested. I already noticed the "cobble together" option but when I add up the prices it [seems] I can do better value wise buying a used studio monitor for sake of its preamp/amp unit which I suspect isn't so easy to cobble together when it's going to be installed inside a loudspeaker and subject to such vibration.
At present I'm getting by the the basic gain and tone controls in the powered units. If the plate amp has any preamp function beyond simple gain I'd prefer similar (bass/treble) above subwoofer controls.
I'm really winging it with this system and have been extra cautious before making any purchases. While most is commercial along the lines of PV I have quite a bit of equipment available and can potentially repurpose something.
I also admit to general audio apathy (save some commercial work) since the 80s when I gradually assembled my dream system of Heathkit Pro Series, Klipsch and OHM.
I keep looking for something else similar to the miniDSP. $275 or so isn't much and certainly less than I paid for the Yamaha DSP-1 when nearly new but I sincerely thought there would be a number of suitable products from which to choose. The only thing close [seemed] to be something by Dayton but I really want a Toslink optical connection as for whatever reason the analog audio output of the player unit is unusually noisy.
I'm dealing with a mono source and need at least three discreet outputs each with parametric EQ. I'm not particularly interested in processing effects and don't envision any need for the ability to time-shift the channels. The smaller format the better as it will be installed beneath and attached to the piano. Could care less about Bluetooth/wireless even for programming use as I'll be fine with physical connections for the loudspeakers and while programming.
Know of anything?
