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Powersoft T-series
Chris Grimshaw:
So I can finally post online about these amps, now that Powersoft have put them on their website.
Webpage link: http://www.powersoft-audio.com/en/touring/serie-t#series
Datasheet link: http://www.powersoft-audio.com/en/docman/1381-t-series-datasheet/file
Hopefully they'll update the website descriptions soon - at the time of writing this, the power specs on the website are all over the place. Check the datasheet link for accurate info.
I was originally planning on getting a set of their Duecanali amps for my PA system, with all the patch cables they would've needed, but my Powersoft dealer told me to hold on if I could - there was something on the horizon.
Fast forward a few months, and I got to demo a couple of the new T-series amps against my own racks through my PA speakers.
A quick note on those - the mains are 2x10"s + HF - Faital Pro 10FH520 and 18Sound ND1460 on an RCF HF94 horn.
My subs are Faital Pro 15HP1060 in ported boxes tuned to 40Hz. I have up to eight of those, so a sub amp that can drive 2ohm is important.
My old racks were as follows:
Behringer DCX2496
Behringer NU6000 (mids)
Behringer NU4-6000 (HF and 2x monitors)
Crown MA12000i (subs)
The rep brought 1x T604 and 1x T602, so that's 2U of amps vs the 7U I'd previously been using.
Quick power ratings comparison, so we know where we are:
Powersoft T604 - 1250/1500/1500w @ 8/4/2ohm all channels driven (4 channels)
Powersoft T602 - 1300/2500/3000w @ 8/4/2ohm all channels driven (2 channels)
It's worth noting that Powersoft has also released figures for asymmetrical loading, like when you've bi-amped a mid-high box. For their test case (all channels driven, but Ch2 and Ch4 at -6dB), the T604 puts out 2100w on Ch1 and Ch3 into 4ohm.
Behringer NU4-6000 - 300/600/1000w/ch @ 8/4/2ohm, all channels driven (4 channels)
Behringer NU6000 - 1200/2000w/ch @ 8/4ohm (2ch)
Crown MA12000i - 2250/4500/6000* @ 8/4/2ohm
*3750w continuous, 6000w burst
So, the big Crown amp puts out around 3dB more than the T602, but the T602 has the full suite of processing.
The mid-high range is evenly matched in power specs.
Now, let me start out by saying that I really wanted my cheap pile of amps to be as good. That way, I'd get to save lots of money and be happy that my racks were as good as Powersoft's latest.
So, we dialled in identical processing for each set of amps. LR24 crossovers at 100Hz and 1kHz, and a bit of HF boost since they're constant-directivity horns.
The difference in sound was this: the Behringer amps played all the notes. The Powersoft amps did that, and also told you all about the venue that the notes were recorded in.
Now, granted it wasn't a true double-blind listening test with ABX comparisons, but the difference was pretty obvious.
The next test was whether the T602 could keep up with the big Crown amp. The test was only with 1x sub per channel (in hindsight, we should've bridged the T602 to give it some pain). The conclusion was that both amps had plenty of guts. The extra 3dB of output on the Crown was present - at matched levels, the T602 was just into clipping while the MA12000i wasn't. The clipping wasn't obviously audible, though.
However, the differences were swamped by the room acoustics. The subs were in the middle of a large room with lots of reflections - walking around and it could go from loud bass, to wondering if the subs were actually connected.
The installed PA has 3x 2x18"s per side as part of a Nexo Alpha rig, and they still use delays.
I decided to go with the T602, because the MA12000i would've needed the DCX2496 to run the subs, and then it's 3U vs 1U in rack space, and the processing still isn't really comparable - the T602 has FIR processing, among other things.
So, I'm now the proud owner of 1x T604 and 1x T602, and I'm looking at picking up a T304 or two for monitors before a certain UK-based political event happens which will probably impact currency conversions.
Having had some time to play with the amps, I continue to be impressed with the quality, power output and flexibility of these amps. For instance, my Dad is quite into HiFi, so I took the T604 round and we fired up an old pair of Mission 760i speakers that he'd been trying to bi-amp for a while. Connected the T604, did a quick set of measurements, used the default "FIR" crossover setting at 2.5kHz, tweaked levels and we were both very impressed. This was a set of speakers that had gone from never-quite-right to "actually, that's rather good" in about 10 minutes.
If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.
Cheers, all.
Chris
Jeremy Young:
Chris, thank you for the detailed review. I've been noticing the hints you've been dropping, and have been looking forward to today's announcement. Depending on just how economically priced they are, these could make a great fit for me.
Appreciate your time!
Helge A Bentsen:
I’ve had a T602 around for a few weeks, very impressive so far. Looking forward to testing the rest of the series.
Taylor Hall:
--- Quote from: Jeremy Young on January 24, 2019, 01:20:38 PM ---Chris, thank you for the detailed review. I've been noticing the hints you've been dropping, and have been looking forward to today's announcement. Depending on just how economically priced they are, these could make a great fit for me.
Appreciate your time!
--- End quote ---
Same here, been waiting for the secondhand market to get in our budget sweet spot, but might be convinced to go over a bit if we can get something brand new out of it.
Chris Grimshaw:
So I talked to my Powersoft distributor (https://www.cuk-audio.com/), and they've told me to tell you the official list pricing, which is below:
Item List Ex. VAT (£)
T-602 2,699.00
T-302 2,199.00
T-604 3,199.00
T-304 2,499.00
Now, if you talk to them directly, it's possible to get better pricing than that. I'm not sure I have the liberty to say exactly what I paid for my set of amps, but it was significantly less than the full list price. YMMV.
Chris
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