Best neutral power amp choices

"Horses for Courses".


We are all different and hear and feel things differently. The digital emulation of cranked power amps is now so good with the Axe FX 2 that the impartation of extra tone from the amp/speaker transducer is less important and if anything undesirable.

One things for certain, Digital Amp Emulation and modelling will kill Valve amps, just as CD killed vinyl and Digital Sound recording/mixing and video is killing the analog equivalents. The next generation of guitarists will see to that for sure. i used to swear by tubes, boogies, Marshalls, Vox, Bad Cat. The Axe fX sounds better and is more pleasurable and versatile and lighter, easier to maintain

It'll happen

James
 
All true, and your right though - a well designed Class D amp is very close now to A/B. The key is the well designed bit. Many/most class D amps at the more budget end of the spectrum (Matrix price and lower) wont be well designed enough to compare to a class A/B amp of similar price. There are exceptions of course, and Jay is well respected, and put his reputation into the CLRs. I have no doubt that they are one of these exceptions.

For me - personally - If I was going for a powered FRFR system I wouldnt hesitate to get one with a class D power section, provided the sound was right (RCF 12nx's and CLRs being two of them from what I have heard), but for powering a traditional cab Id still want a Class A/B amp I think.

It is - however - all so personal that you cant make sweeping statements for the goo OR bad aspects of any class of amp.
 
maxolla said:
On that note what is your opinion of the difference between monitoring through the CLR vs using the 50/50 with say a cabinet.

I have yet to hear the axe fx sound anything but ok through a guitar cabinet except for maybe buzz saw tones. Cleans sound lifeless and the high end seems rolled off and flat. If you EQ with added highs it seems it jus sounds harsher in the high end. What's your experience?
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I used an Atomic 50/50 through two 4x12 Marshall cabs, which at the time was the best power amp I had ever heard with the Axe Fx. In an effort to move away from the maintenance of tube amps, I purchased a Carvin DCM1540L ($349) which I think sounds not only as good, but even better than the Atomic. I was not expecting the Carvin to impress me, as I had tried numerous other SS power amps which could not go head to head with the tube power amps I had tried.
 
James Cullen said:
Youv'e stated the situation much more articulately and diplomatically than myself!!

I think its true to my ears that the Class D amp in the Atomic CLR is rendering a very accurate and musical sound. I have a pair of ATC 100A monitors which have a triamped Class A/B amp and the musicality and accuracy of the CLR's is very similar even though the ATC100A are 10x the cost!

For Hi Fi applications there are varying opinions about how much better Class A/B is than Digital. YMMV etc. Horses for Courses. Taste!!I think it all depends on the amp-speaker coupling as well. Tha Matrix probably does impart some warmth to the sound but I am more concerned with the Axe doing the work and the amp/speaker being neutral. As you rightly say at Rock SPL the difference is hard to hear. THe CLR does sound incredibly good "despite" or in spite of the Digital Amp which ever way you look at it. Jay Mitchell can explain this better than me but to my long trained ears I can't tell much of a difference between a modern well designed Class D amp and Class A/B and am looking to the Axe to do the work. No doubt the Matrix is an amazing amp, but I think the CLR performs to an exceptional level with its own active Class D amp.




And which one survived!:mrgreen
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What brand of amp is used in the CLR, anyone know?
 
I don't think we will ever know. From what I can see they use a 12" driver with 30% of the membrane-area covered by a four-sided "horn". Probably to make the transition to the free-hanging JBL-like constant-directivity tweeter rather seamless. There's a bunch of market-ready class-D amps to pick from, but I think that the Chinese companies are very good at handling special orders.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if the amp itself was sourced from another manufacturer. If not, I would be pleasantly surprised.
 
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axel said:
I wouldn't be surprised if the amp itself was sourced from another manufacturer. If not, I would be pleasantly surprised.
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If you look on the threads on TGP Jay Mitchell says that its a proprietary design of his own specifically for the Drivers in the CLR. All I can say is that it works beautifully.

Been playing again tonight, the Fenders sound so sweet, the Marshalls perfect and I'm getting the sweetest chiming Vox sound with the AC15 model. The CLRS are so musical in their transduction of the sound. Jay and Tom know their stuff and have produced something truly remarkable for the price. A lot if knowledge and skill have gone into this. There were voices if doom saying it couldn't be done with Class D. I can assure you they were wrong. The coupling if the amp and speaker work beautifully together.
 
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