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[Chris Carpenter]

My rig is currently powered by three crown xls 402 amplifiers; one for the tops, one for the subs, and one for the monitors. I have started doing some outdoor gigs at which my amplifiers occasionally clip during a heavy tom or kick hit. I am taking this as a sign of time to upgrade. I have the opportunity to purchase a few Behringer EP2500s at a good price). Would these be a decent upgrade over the 402s? I understand 150w isn't a huge difference, but I feel it would be substantial seeing as I'm currently only pushing 300.

[Rob Spence]

My rig is currently powered by three crown xls 402 amplifiers; one for the tops, one for the subs, and one for the monitors. I have started doing some outdoor gigs at which my amplifiers occasionally clip during a heavy tom or kick hit. I am taking this as a sign of time to upgrade. I have the opportunity to purchase a few Behringer EP2500s at a good price). Would these be a decent upgrade over the 402s? I understand 150w isn't a huge difference, but I feel it would be substantial seeing as I'm currently only pushing 300.

You need to at least double power to make a noticeable difference.
I would skip the EP2500s and just rent some bigger power for the few shows you need it until you can buy the right amps.

What is the speaker compliment?

[Chris Carpenter]

You need to at least double power to make a noticeable difference.
I would skip the EP2500s and just rent some bigger power for the few shows you need it until you can buy the right amps.

What is the speaker compliment?

I'm not looking for a 3dB increase in output. If I wanted to push 600 watts, I would need more robust speakers. I am simply looking to add a bit of headroom and this is an economically viable decision. I am mainly looking to make sure that this will not simply be a lateral move as the changeover will cost somewhat.

[Tim McCulloch]

I'm not looking for a 3dB increase in output. If I wanted to push 600 watts, I would need more robust speakers. I am simply looking to add a bit of headroom and this is an economically viable decision. I am mainly looking to make sure that this will not simply be a lateral move as the changeover will cost somewhat.

It is basically a lateral move.  Only you can decide if it's worth the money or not.

[David Morison]

I'm not looking for a 3dB increase in output. If I wanted to push 600 watts, I would need more robust speakers. I am simply looking to add a bit of headroom and this is an economically viable decision. I am mainly looking to make sure that this will not simply be a lateral move as the changeover will cost somewhat.

The thing is, unless you have some very high resolution metering on your rig at present, you don't know if you're half a dB or 3dB or even more above the threshold for the clip lights with those occasional blinks you've seen so far.
450W compared to 300W is only a 1.76dB increase in headroom, which is less than most people can reliably hear, so combined with the potential for uncertainty over exactly how much extra you need to keep out of clipping, most people are going to call that a lateral move.
3dB extra is suggested because that is what most people can reliably distinguish by ear alone, so absent any high resolution metering you at least know you should be able to hear the extra level (assuming it doesn't fry your speakers of course).

Hope this helps,
David.

[Charlie Zureki]

I'm not looking for a 3dB increase in output. If I wanted to push 600 watts, I would need more robust speakers. I am simply looking to add a bit of headroom and this is an economically viable decision. I am mainly looking to make sure that this will not simply be a lateral move as the changeover will cost somewhat.

The thing is, unless you have some very high resolution metering on your rig at present, you don't know if you're half a dB or 3dB or even more above the threshold for the clip lights with those occasional blinks you've seen so far.
450W compared to 300W is only a 1.76dB increase in headroom, which is less than most people can reliably hear, so combined with the potential for uncertainty over exactly how much extra you need to keep out of clipping, most people are going to call that a lateral move.
3dB extra is suggested because that is what most people can reliably distinguish by ear alone, so absent any high resolution metering you at least know you should be able to hear the extra level (assuming it doesn't fry your speakers of course).

Hope this helps,
David.

  Hello,

   In this instance, being outside of a controlled situation, I doubt that anyone would be able to distinguish any noticable increase in SPL when adding these Amplifiers....I'd say, skip the purchase of these amps and wait to purchase what you'd need to really make a difference.

  Hammer

[David Parker]

My rig is currently powered by three crown xls 402 amplifiers; one for the tops, one for the subs, and one for the monitors. I have started doing some outdoor gigs at which my amplifiers occasionally clip during a heavy tom or kick hit. I am taking this as a sign of time to upgrade. I have the opportunity to purchase a few Behringer EP2500s at a good price). Would these be a decent upgrade over the 402s? I understand 150w isn't a huge difference, but I feel it would be substantial seeing as I'm currently only pushing 300.

You might be taking a step down with the behringers. If you look at the way both amps, the crown and behringer, are rated, you may see a big difference. The crown may actually have more output. As the others have said, even with everything being equal in the ratings, you need to double the power to do any good. AND! Do you really want to replace crown with behringer?

[Paul G. OBrien]

The EP2500 is a "loose" copy of the QSC RMX2450, it's not quite the amp the QSC is but it's still superior the the Crown XLS series in design and features, it may or may not give you the increase in headroom you need however... just depends how much more you need.

[Chuck Simon]

but it's still superior the the Crown XLS series in design and features

But is it built as well?  Does it use superior or even equal quality components?

[Randall Hyde]

My rig is currently powered by three crown xls 402 amplifiers; one for the tops, one for the subs, and one for the monitors. I have started doing some outdoor gigs at which my amplifiers occasionally clip during a heavy tom or kick hit. I am taking this as a sign of time to upgrade. I have the opportunity to purchase a few Behringer EP2500s at a good price). Would these be a decent upgrade over the 402s? I understand 150w isn't a huge difference, but I feel it would be substantial seeing as I'm currently only pushing 300.

What speakers are you driving with these amps? If they're rated at 300 watts (continuous), you can easily go with a 600 watt amp. If they're rated below 300 watts, I'd be more concerned about upgrading those puppies if you need to do loud outdoor shows. If price is a huge concern, you might consider something like the BFM DIY kits.

Just a warning: I used to use bridged XTi 4000 amps for my subs (granted, SRX 728s subs). They still clipped. Clipping finally went away when I got up to ITech 8000 amps :-).

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