Anyone using a digital power amp?

59Gibson

59Gibson

New Member
Hi all,

I'm a new member here and, thanks to this forum, I have gained a lot of knowledge! I am almost ready to start gigging with my new AX8 and I was wondering if any of you have an good experiences with a digital power amp, such as the Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170. I have invested in 2 FRFR speakers and they sound incredible but I also like the idea of running a signal through a power amp which will feed my trusty Engl 4x12 cabinet.
 
My Crown XLS is class D and it works great. Frankly I wouldn't get too wound up in the amp thing - any remotely decent power amp is essentially indistinguishable from the others until you start asking for very large amounts of power out of them.
 
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Hi, I've had the Powerstage 170 for about six months and I like it a lot! Very small so I keep it on my pedalboard with my AX8. It also has plenty of power. I have the volume on AX8 about nine o'clock and I couldn't push the powerstage over 12 o'clock without overpowering the rest of the band. Also practical with ohms because it takes anything.
 
Not sure if this helps, but I run my AX8 into an inexpensive Behringer KM1700 power amp. (There was no reason that I chose that specific model.) Nothing fancy, but it's stereo and more power than I'll ever need.

That combination sounds and feels exactly the same as my Marshall JVM. I thought about getting a Powerstage 170 because it's so compact, but since I rarely gig, why bother?

My point is that even with a cheap power amp like mine, the AX8 sounds killer. So if you decide to get something fancier I doubt you'll be disappointed.
 
59Gibson said:
Hi all,

I'm a new member here and, thanks to this forum, I have gained a lot of knowledge! I am almost ready to start gigging with my new AX8 and I was wondering if any of you have an good experiences with a digital power amp, such as the Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170. I have invested in 2 FRFR speakers and they sound incredible but I also like the idea of running a signal through a power amp which will feed my trusty Engl 4x12 cabinet.
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I have the 170. It is VERY loud. Good poweramp!
 
I have a powerstage 170 and i'm in love with it. Plenty of power + the feeling of the real cab pushing the air and you can still use output 1 to feed the PA or other frfr monitors you may want. It's just amazing.

One doubt I have is: should I tweak the amp / cab blocks in order to match the poweramp? Even if it's not a tube power amp? I don't think so (and I hope not because I still want to use output 1 direct to the PA) but i'd love to hear others' experiences and opinions.

Thanks!
 
Marco Sarracino said:
One doubt I have is: should I tweak the amp / cab blocks in order to match the poweramp? Even if it's not a tube power amp? I don't think so (and I hope not because I still want to use output 1 direct to the PA) but i'd love to hear others' experiences and opinions.
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What’s more about important to you: the sound you hear or the sound the audience hears? Answering that question will provide the answer to your question.
 
Rex said:
What’s more about important to you: the sound you hear or the sound the audience hears? Answering that question will provide the answer to your question.
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Great question. And I do not the answer. But what I really want to find out now is which parameters I have to tweak in the amp and cab blocks to match my output 2 section (solid state power amp -a Seymour Duncan PS170- + regular cab) and how much this tweaking will impact my output 1 section (cab sim to frfr and PA)
 
Have you read the section of the manual that shows how to configure the AX8 for power amp and direct to FOH at the same time?
 
Yes I have. But I'm not sure what applies to solid state power amps, which is my case, and what to tube power amps.
I know that with tube power amps we are supposed to turn Sag to zero or disable the amp sim but if I understand it well that is not supposed to be needed with my solid state power amp. I would appreciate if someone could chime in with any advise or tips for this kind of use. Thanks
 
Marco Sarracino said:
Yes I have. But I'm not sure what applies to solid state power amps, which is my case, and what to tube power amps.
I know that with tube power amps we are supposed to turn Sag to zero or disable the amp sim but if I understand it well that is not supposed to be needed with my solid state power amp. I would appreciate if someone could chime in with any advise or tips for this kind of use. Thanks
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Generally, if you're using a tube power amp, the advice is to turn Sag to 0 (which disables the power amp simulation in in the Amp block) or turn off power amp simulation globally. If you're running a solid-state power amp, leave the power amp simulation running.

But the real test is to try it both ways and see what you like best. Real tube power amps sag differently, depending on the power amp, and they don't sag or distort much at all unless you're playing them loud. So see which way works best for you.
 
Thank You. Any other parameters, beyond sag, that I should look into with this setup?
I want to fine tune my ax8 with my solid state power amp and I my cabs to get the best out of this configuration. I will then compare the result with ones I get from my frfr setup and figure out what to privilege (my feel on stage or the audience's one) Thanks
 
Marco Sarracino said:
Thank You. Any other parameters, beyond sag, that I should look into with this setup?
I want to fine tune my ax8 with my solid state power amp and I my cabs to get the best out of this configuration. I will then compare the result with ones I get from my frfr setup and figure out what to privilege (my feel on stage or the audience's one) Thanks
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Just Sag. Setting that to zero disables the entire power-amp portion of the Amp sim.


Here's my personal philosophy. Take it for whatever you feel it's worth:

When I'm playing out, the audience is the reason I'm there. I serve the audience first, the song and my bandmates second, and then myself. And I do like to serve myself from time to time. :)
 
Thank you. I'm reading that other users tend to disabile speaker drive and speaker compression parameters in the amp block when using solid state power amp like my powerstage 170. Does this make sense?
 
Marco Sarracino said:
Thank you. I'm reading that other users tend to disabile speaker drive and speaker compression parameters in the amp block when using solid state power amp like my powerstage 170. Does this make sense?
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Some do that. It can make the amp response more realistic when using cabs, at the expense of realism for front-of-house.
 
Marco Sarracino said:
I have a powerstage 170 and i'm in love with it. Plenty of power + the feeling of the real cab pushing the air and you can still use output 1 to feed the PA or other frfr monitors you may want. It's just amazing.

One doubt I have is: should I tweak the amp / cab blocks in order to match the poweramp? Even if it's not a tube power amp? I don't think so (and I hope not because I still want to use output 1 direct to the PA) but i'd love to hear others' experiences and opinions.

Thanks!
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Are you sending sound including the cab to the powerstage, or do you have the FX loop block before the cab?
 
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