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[GregAndrews]

I have a pair of Ramsa WS-A500k tops running with four A550k subs.  Currently powered with AB International President 600 (tops) and AB Professional 9220.  The system is used for PA and portable jam/recording session monitor system.  Electronic keys, Roland V-drums, guitar modeling pedal and multiple vocals are run through the system simultaneously.  Also use it for monitoring when recording/multitracking and I value truly good sound.  I really love the sound of the Ramsa's, but I'd really like to replace the back-breaking heavy amps, which are perhaps somewhat under powered for the speakers.  I'm considering QSC PLX, Crown XTi/XLS, even Behringer and Peaveys.  

Can anyone comment from experience on the comparative differences in these amps sound quality-wise?  I'm also not sure how much wattage I should get to properly power the system to it's full potential.  Should I get as close to the exact wattage or do I need to factor in some overage for headroom?  If so how much?  The speakers are older so not sure if there will be any issues I need to account for with these newer amp designs.  I only know enough to know wattage and specs don't tell all. Thanks in advance.

[Mac Kerr]

GWA wrote on Thu, 10 February 2011 20:48

I have a pair of Ramsa WS-A500k tops

"GWA", please go to your profile and change the "Real Name" field to your real full name as required by the posting rules clearly displayed at the top of the page.

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Mac
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[Weogo Reed]

Hi Greg,

Those are some vintage boxes!

Rule of thumb is you can give boxes more than rated power IF you ONLY use that power for transient peaks.

With most modern, decent quality amps that are operating in their comfort zone, you are going to hear very little difference from one to another.

I would put one top per side on a Peavey IPR1600.
For the A550Ks, I would put two boxes per side on a Peavey IPR3000.

Actually, if it were me I would replace the four A550Ks with a couple Danley TH-Minis.
http://danleysoundlabs.com/tapped_horn.asp?MODEL=TH%20MINI
Bridge one IPR3000 per box and my guess is you will like the sound.
Except then you may want to replace your tops...

Are you using adequate gauge cables?

Good health,  Weogo

[Grant Conklin]

Hello Greg,
I'm not familiar with your speakers.  What are their power ratings?

I recently bought a Peavey IPR3000 amp.  I can't complain about the sound or output.  It is a bare bones amp to be sure.  There are 2 things that stick out as possible turn offs to me:

1.  Aluminum housing/faceplate.  Sure it saves weight, but it's also easy to bend.  The rack ears could almost be bent by hand.

2.  Not only is it not bridgeable without homebuilt cabling (and discouraged at that) there is no provision for running both amp channels out of a single NL4 output jack.  

If those things don't bother you, I'd say go with IPR amps.  The Crown XLS drivecores and XTI's both appear to address the issues I have with IPR amps, and do so at a lower price than QSC.  

[GregAndrews]

The WS-A500-K tops are rated at 200W(Continuous Program).  They have a 1.75" bessel horn and 12" mid-woofer.  These are similar to WS-A200's which have a smaller 1" horn and are rated at 250W.  The WS-A550 subs are rated at 400W and hold a single 12" driver.  These are functionally identical to Ramsa WS-A240 subs.  All are 8 ohms.  They were designed to run with a proprietary active crossover (forget the nomenclature), but I'm using a dbx 234 set at 90hz.

The speakers were made in the early 90's.  Vintage by some standards, but not nearly as old as the Altec A7's or Klipsch LaScala horns I recently got rid of.

The AB International amps weight in excess of 30lbs each, but sound pretty good to my ears.  The Precedent puts out about 185W/ch into 8ohms, and the 9220 about 590W/ch into 4 ohms.  I've been looking at all the threads I can find on comparisons between the newer Class D and H lightweight amps.  Right now I'm leaning towards a used QSC PLX 1804 for the subs and a Crown XLS1500 for the tops.  The flimsyness of the Peaveys is a little off-putting, but if they sound really good...  Reviews on all these amps seem mixed.  One person loves them, another says they suck.  I welcome any informed opinions though.  Thanks.

[frank kayser]

Greg,
I also have some WS-A550 and use an XTi 1000 to run two per channel (4 ohm load).  I use the amp's DSP with a steep curve to just send the lows there.  Can't remember the freqs, but I'm thinking somewhere around 200hz and a HPF set at about 40.  Saves using the external Ramsa sub processor.

frank

[GregAndrews]

I just checked my crossover and it's actually set to 100hz.  I thought about getting the external processor, but the guy I bought them from, who had used them for a long time, said he tried a couple of them and preferred the sound with a crossover.

It looks like the XTi1000 puts out 500W/ch at 4 ohms.  Seems like that's not enough to drive two 400W subs per channel?    

[frank kayser]

GregAndrews wrote on Mon, 14 February 2011 13:19

I just checked my crossover and it's actually set to 100hz.  I thought about getting the external processor, but the guy I bought them from, who had used them for a long time, said he tried a couple of them and preferred the sound with a crossover. It looks like the XTi1000 puts out 500W/ch at 4 ohms.  Seems like that's not enough to drive two 400W subs per channel?

Yeah, it is probably a little weak - the larger XTIs may be a bit more appropriate - I don't dance(music) or work metal, so the power is adequate for my uses.

frank

[Grant Conklin]

The XLS 2500 would work for your subs: 775w @ 4ohms.  Plus the fact they they're actually rated for 2 ohm use means they should be more stable with a 4 ohm load which will likely have dips below 4 ohms.

[GregAndrews]

Yes, the XLS2500 is close.  But the PLX 1804 has a bit higher rating and I probably don't need the DSP for subs.  Also, they can be had used for a good deal less than a new XLS2500.  Still, a pair of Crowns would look pretty in the rack together.  I also read that Crown and QSC have opposite fan intake/exhaust arrangements, so putting them together in a rack might be a problem.  Don't know if that's an issue for the models in question.  

What I'm really concerned about is sound quality in comparison to older style amps.  I'd hate to go to all the trouble and find it didn't sound at least as good as what I have now.

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