PRO amp VS HI-FI AMP..test.....

naturallight

Now the only reason i'm doing this..I have no money for up grades and i need to sell some stuff. But before i do..may be an interesting test. I have a QSC GX5...500 watts per. Brand new only used a couple of hours. I bought it to run some speakers which i hated..and dumped the whole project. But i still have the amp.

I have my RTi 12's which are great..run them with a an Onkyo M-504 amp..works great...massive bass...pretty much play them at 10-11 oclock on most cd's thats about all you can do as it gets too loud.

So..hey..lets test. The problem would be..if i play heavy rock stuff such as Chicken foot.....probably you could not tell. So I have to pick some CD's that are not nuts..so....CSN, Bruce Hornsby, SteelyDan stuff..maybe.
Something like that..the problem is the QSC has that fan noise..so if the volume gets too low...you hear that.

Now if this dosen't sound like junk..may try some classical music on it.

Anybody have some idea's on this test?
I'm going to turn the QSC volume controls up all the way and let the Adcom Pre..handle the volume.

Now the QSC is not a cheap amp by any means..it has gold plated RCA's and gold plated speaker connects. It is not a light amp, it's 28 lbs. The specs are of course not what a "HI-FI" amp would be..but there not that far off...
Pretty much the deal...it has massive power..with massive headroom....and far more then the 12's can take...LOL

Anybody have some idea of how to test this, other then what i stated. Maybe different music or something.
Or any general coments about the test???

Conradicles

My only advice would be to trust your ears. If you like it don't worry about the folks who will flame you.:biggrin:

halo71

Sorta touchy subject with some. I agree, trust your ears. If you like the sound that is all that matters. I have an M504 as well and love it. You should add Donald Fagan-Kamakiriad to that line up I think! :cheesygrin:

nhhiep

from what I saw, Pro amps have much higher THD. 500W only weights 28lbs? that is pretty light actually My mid-fi HK amp weight around 50lbs and only rated at 100 WPC x4.

naturallight

Well it was really just a test.....not to get anybody upset about it. I have the amp..before i sell it..thought it might be interesting. Then of course what i say about it..is just MY opinon anyway. If it's bugs people...I will say no more about it.

Face

nhhiep wrote: »

from what I saw, Pro amps have much higher THD. 500W only weights 28lbs? that is pretty light actually My mid-fi HK amp weight around 50lbs and only rated at 100 WPC x4.

I don't understand how some use weight as a standard as which to compare amps. Class A needs the most heatsinks, A/B needs less, and D needs barely any, making it silly to use weight as a factor.

nhhiep

Face wrote: »

I don't understand how some use weight as a standard as which to compare amps. Class A needs the most heatsinks, A/B needs less, and D needs barely any, making it silly to use weight as a factor.

yes, I agree with you on that. of course, w/o saying, we were talking about the same class here.

madmax

I've used some pro amps. They don't sound as good but provide excellent dynamics due to the power. For quite some time I was happy with the results. Give it a try and decide where you are today.
madmax

madmax

I've used some pro amps. They don't sound as good but provide excellent dynamics due to the power. For quite some time I was happy with the results. Give it a try and decide where you are today.
madmax

onebadchad

yupp. weight means nothing, my 4 lb carver m-400 will outperform my 65 lb peavey 1.3k any day of the week

mhardy6647

this commercial amp, e.g., actually sounds pretty decent - push-pull parallel EL84 outputs for probably 30 or so watts per channel...




The best advice for a Carver m400... keep a fire extinguisher handy. Like many of Bob's earlier products, they have a propensity for self-immolation.

onebadchad

Just making a point, the carver just holds the dust off the shelf.

Mother Mooch

Let me say this... I have had a LOT of people piss at me for buying a "Pro" amp!!!, Garbage in garbage out, It's that easy, Speaker this, speaker that, you adjust the sound to what you want! cheers and remember to smile


I traded my Polk Monitor 12's for a QSC GX7 amp and a set of Peavey 215's! Yes i miss the 12's for sound duplication, But when the chicks are screaming for more! I got it now


Now everything rattles <shrugs shoulders>
No clue where the distortion comes from! But got nice butts dancing ALL around lol

naturallight

LMAO...well i have nothing to say to that except..rock on and get chicks to dance...LOL

halo71

^ well? Test results?

Joe08867

I use a pro amp for my subs "QSC RMX 2450" but that is about it. It is also in a closet cause the fan noise can drive you up a wall. Like being on the Starship Enterprise just a constant hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

DaveHo

So how'd this turn out? If you're still looking for test music suggestions these are my usual suspects.

Roger Waters - Radio K.A.O.S. Track 4 is an especially good dynamics test.
Dire Straits - BIA: Use the SACD if you've got it!
Mariah Carey - Music Box
Pink Floyd - The Wall: Not a super recording, but I love Mother. A system with good synergy can really pull you in on this one.

naturallight

I didn't do anything. Didn't think anybody was real interested, but since a few of you want to know, i'll try it this weekend.
The problem is going to be with the fan noise. Now i have an "isomat" that i use in a recording room. I was thinking about just drapeing it over the front of the rack. It's not going to stop airflow to the unit, but may defuse some of the noise.

I was thinking of trying the first cut off electric ladyland, as it tends to throw stuff all over the room, and has all kinds of wierd dynamics going on. Maybe a few other cuts off that, then jumping to Steely Dan. I'd try some classical, but depends on the fan noise.

steveinaz

Pro amp= Diesel engine
Hi-fi amp= Gas engine

One is a workhorse that will do alot of heavy lifting, the other is all about fidelity and refinement. Pick your poison.

heiney9

naturallight wrote: »

, but depends on the fan noise.

That right there tells the entire story.

Pro-amps stink for serious hi-fidelity. They simply stink.

H9

tonyb

heiney9 wrote: »

They simply stink.H9

Now, there ya go again....beating around the bush. Just say what you mean bro. :cheesygrin:

heiney9

I did qualify it by saying "for hi-fidelity". I know some people are perfectly happy using them, but then 99% of those people have never heard a real nice amplifier. ANd some people simply don't care. If someone takes the time to inquire about it, I'm going to give my opinion, not what one wants to hear :cool:

H9

erniejade

I ran a qsc plx 3602 on my carver amazing original for a little while with good results. Then I got a sunfire sig II with better results. Honeslty if i didnt buy the sunfire, I would not have known what I was missing. Remember sound is all personal to your tastes. That said, and people might not like this one, the qsc plx 3602 to me sounded like an adcom 555 on steroids. It had a lot of the same qualities as the adcom did when I did a test between the adcom 555 and the qsc on sda 2.3's and jbl L150. During quiet passages, I could hear a little fan noise but, only if the air condition or heat was off. When they were on, i couldnt hear the built in fans.

Is it true Hi Fi? nope but, it doesnt mean you cant get something that sounds good to you.

THe qsc Gx series is the cheaper line from qsc. Budget minded. At one of the bars I DJ at they are running a gx5 on some 20 year old jbl pro speakers. that amp can take a lot of abuse lol I know this one first hand.

Erik Tracy

I think there is an automotive store someplace that was 'expertly' installed (search this site) with a pro-audio setup - you may want to see if you can go for an audition. :cheesygrin:

markmarc

In late 2005 I was looking for a cheap way to get loads of power I checked into pro amps. After several days of listening I came to the conclusion that pro amps are akin to taking a sledgehammer to a finishing nail to wood trim. The nail will go in but you end up with a big dent.

naturallight

Guys, Guys.... I said this was a fun test..the amp is just sitting there..before i sell it. It's pretty much unused and bought for another project...NOT to run stereo speakers...LOL
Now i don't hold any high expectations for this...not sure i could even make it thru 3 songs, but at least let me plug it in before we throw it under the bus, sort of speak...LOL

steveinaz

A good pro amp application might be for subwoofer use, but again fan noise may be an issue.

naturallight

OK..I tried the test. Now again, let me state..this is only MY opinion on this...Nothing more..before people have a cow about it.

This is a QSC GX5 amp..it has 500watts per at 8 ohms..with at least another 100 left for headroom. Pretty much more the the 12's can handle. I'm feeding it with a Jolida cd, into an Adcom pre..that's it. I set the QSC volume pretty much all the way up. Let the Adcom handle the volume. This amp is NOT light by the way..it's pretty much close to 28 LB's if that make a difference to anyone.



Now my first thought was this was going to be way to bright for the 12's..but that was not the case...it's not a bright amp.

Now if you want to have a disco room in your basement..buy the 12/9's plug this amp in your good to go. This amp will push the 12/9's to stupid volumes...it will beat you with bass...you can dance all night, and pretty much be deaf the next day. Not that i really care about that...but can be had...I pushed the 12's in the 17x30 foot room.(just to see)..I'm sitting 15 feet back. It will pretty much make you deaf, and the bass (depending on what your playing) can be like a shotgun to your chest.



OK..now back to normal stuff. Dose this amp effect the sound stage of the 12's....no not really. It gives you the same sound stage..stuff flies all over the place on the first cut of Electric Ladyland. Is it accurate?...well sad to say yes..it's dam accurate..you hear every dam thing in the recording...not like your missing something...all backround noise..everything.

Now I listened to a bunch of cuts..Chickenfoot, Hendrix, CSN, even 1 classical cut. Is it BAD..well....no. Have i heard worse amps..YES. Pretty much if you try and run 9's with almost any receiver....it's just underpowered, pretty much clipping if you try and turn it up, and your lacking bass, that the 12/9's can give. So in that case, i would say why not use this amp.



Could you use this amp in an HT setup..well if your running it thru some proccesor thing to get surround sound, and feeding it "processed" stuff...with 9's as your front. May work. It will for sure pound the bass, and should have no problem with dialog.



Would i use this amp for a strait 2 channel system.....NO It has massive power, and is dam accurate, but the sound is very clinical,, Sterile sort of speak. There is nothing warm or musical about the amp. Not something i want to sit and listen for 3 hours of music.



Thats basically what i can tell you about the amp. It's not crap..but it depends on what you want to do with it.

Mother Mooch

Fan noise? My last worry! Got my Polk monitor 12's back! Fan noise is not problem!!!! don't hear a fan ??? The old saying goes! Garbage in garbage out!!!! I really don't care what amp you got!


Matched with a 100 watt sub... Sub's got more bass than the than the 12's! Sorrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy!!!!!!

naturallight

Well the speakers i was testing this amp with are RTi12's which are pretty much RTi9's without the wood trim. NOT Monitor 12's. 2 completely different speakers. If you run the RTi12's with any high power, high current amp...for 2 channel stereo, a 100watt sub is pretty much useless. You would probably blow up the sub just trying to compete with the RTi12's. You'd need a high dollor, high power sub, to make any difference.

naturallight

Now, i'm surprised people didn't jump on this test/review. But then again I was surprised at the outcome.

BUT, this amp was designed to probably be a very clinical, accurate amp, with massive power, nothing more.

That it dose in spades. I bought it for a PA project, but ran out of money and shelved the whole thing. So i just had this amp sitting there doing nothing.



Could you use this amp as a main for a set of 9's in an HT setup. Well I know nothing about HT. But from what i understand, these AVR units, pretty much..you pick out the "surround" sound you want...Like what cinema, or hall effect type thing. SO..from what i understand, your sending the amp a "processed" signal. So in that case, the fact that it is a "sterile" amp. Pretty much goes by the wayside, as this amp will just give you what the AVR is telling it to.



Now these Emo, AVR amps...some people on here really dislike them...Is this amp any better? Don't know , have never heard one of the Emo amps. But i'd be willing to bet, it's just as good or better.



Again, would i trade my Onkyo M 504 for this..For strait up 2 channel music..not on your life. It's not a warm or musical amp. BUT..for an HT setup...maybe, and as a sub power plant..any day of the week.