Best portable power amp in 2017

[admgloval]

Has anyone seen the new Fortin designed tube power amp made for Ola Englund? Here is a link to a demo of the amp:



Apparently it is based on the Satan/Natas's power section and is 7kg/15lb so not exactly light but it sounds pretty good in the demo. He is using it on his current tour along with the AX8. Obviously not for sale yet as it was made just for Ola but I imagine if Ola likes it, Fortin will most likely start making them for sale.

 

[lauke-lux]

Definitely. The Quilter Micro Block might be even better or similar too.

The Quilter is not readily available in Europe and a bit expensive. After research it appears the Magnum44 is not quite good regarding headroom and distorts a lot at 50% already. I think I'll give this a try : https://www.thomann.de/fr/the_tamp_pm40c_endstufenmodul.htm, readily affordable and probably more linear for a 30W speaker at 75% power range. The other way round would be to buy a class D amp (15€ + expensive feeder...would bring the same price and a lot of hassle I'm afraid).
Thanks for responding,
Laurens

 

[Keg8605]

The Quilter is not readily available in Europe and a bit expensive. After research it appears the Magnum44 is not quite good regarding headroom and distorts a lot at 50% already. I think I'll give this a try : https://www.thomann.de/fr/the_tamp_pm40c_endstufenmodul.htm, readily affordable and probably more linear for a 30W speaker at 75% power range. The other way round would be to buy a class D amp (15€ + expensive feeder...would bring the same price and a lot of hassle I'm afraid).
Thanks for responding,
Laurens

No problem, good luck. I've used the EHX magnum as my backup option for quite awhile. I agree it distorts early but it's already quite loud before then anyways. I've used it with 16 ohm 4x12's and had plenty of volume. I think they just tapered the knob so it started clipping favorably for those using it for some grit/distortion. That said it's not the best option, but in that size, form and price its perfect as my backup.

 

[syxx]

I came back from Sweetwater Gearfest with both the SD Powerstage 170 and the ISP Stealth Pro in hand. I've put in about 15 minutes of demoing with both so far. Using an AX8, I tried them both with a Mesa 2x12 (8ohm) and an EVH 2x12 (16ohm)

Signal Chain = AX8 >FXLoop Out (summed mono)> Poweramp > Cab
AX8 > Cabsims On > Stereo to FoH

Powerstage, is very loud for its power and very clean all the way through it. I didn't hear any clipping or drive from it. The EQ is great and very useful. If you have your baseline set, the EQ can be used to great effect for making changes to the Cab sound without changing your sound to FoH. Doesn't seem to be picky with what ohm of cabinet you plug into it.

ISP, sounds great in general. Reminds me of the Matrix. Seems like the lowend-lowermids are slightly stuffy and doesn't have the punch of the Powerstage. It also seems like it add some drive when you push it hard. But, it was musical, not harsh. Now, this part is a bit unfair because the Matrix is (unlike the powerstage) more picky with cabinet impedance. With the 16 ohm EVH cab sapped a bunch of power and may be contributing to the lowend-lowermid thing I was talking about earlier. I'm going to test it with the 8ohm Mesa cab and do a back to back as soon as I can get the house free again.

Other things
The PS 170 is a much smaller footprint.
The PS 170 has much more useful controls. They are right on the top and its very clear what position they are in.
The PS 170 output will take any cab 4-16ohms.
The PS 170 has just a normal power cable. The ISP has a very large lite-on power supply that is just as big as the unit itself (basically a laptop power supply)

I'm pretty much committed that the PS170 is what will stay on my board with my AX8 unless the ISP can do some extra magic when connected to this Mesa tomorrow. The added features and form factor do it for me. A more fair comparison may have been the ISP Stealth Lite.

 

[Ant Music]

Yes unfortunately the size is a drawback of using a Class AB system in that the heat generated needs a heatsink and fan. We looked at doing a smaller Class D thing but for us Class AB is a lot more "musical" sounding, especially for guitar stuff. We're looking at redesigning that case anyway so it may well be a little less long. It's around the length of the AX8 already. Weight will come down with an aluminium casing. At the moment it fits nicely in the top pocket of my Ritter case or in the front of my cheapo Thomann FX bag which carries the AX8 so it's not too huge.
140 watts RMS at 8 ohms which does mean that the 16 ohm power is only 60-70w. Increasing that power would mean adding a couple more Mosfets which would of increase the cost and heat etc. No final decision on price but certainly not expensive.

I've been testing the old prototype in a really difficult room (concrete walls, drums frighteningly loud) and it's had no problem running into a passive FR12 at 8 ohms. Tons of headroom left. Once we get the boards in, it should be fairly quick getting it sorted, just the casing and final sound to tweak (whether a soft bottom end or "flat").

What ever happened to the GM50? That is exactly what I need to retro fit my cab to make it powered.

 

[Pedro Rosado]

I came back from Sweetwater Gearfest with both the SD Powerstage 170 and the ISP Stealth Pro in hand. I've put in about 15 minutes of demoing with both so far. Using an AX8, I tried them both with a Mesa 2x12 (8ohm) and an EVH 2x12 (16ohm)

Signal Chain = AX8 >FXLoop Out (summed mono)> Poweramp > Cab
AX8 > Cabsims On > Stereo to FoH

Powerstage, is very loud for its power and very clean all the way through it. I didn't hear any clipping or drive from it. The EQ is great and very useful. If you have your baseline set, the EQ can be used to great effect for making changes to the Cab sound without changing your sound to FoH. Doesn't seem to be picky with what ohm of cabinet you plug into it.

ISP, sounds great in general. Reminds me of the Matrix. Seems like the lowend-lowermids are slightly stuffy and doesn't have the punch of the Powerstage. It also seems like it add some drive when you push it hard. But, it was musical, not harsh. Now, this part is a bit unfair because the Matrix is (unlike the powerstage) more picky with cabinet impedance. With the 16 ohm EVH cab sapped a bunch of power and may be contributing to the lowend-lowermid thing I was talking about earlier. I'm going to test it with the 8ohm Mesa cab and do a back to back as soon as I can get the house free again.

Other things
The PS 170 is a much smaller footprint.
The PS 170 has much more useful controls. They are right on the top and its very clear what position they are in.
The PS 170 output will take any cab 4-16ohms.
The PS 170 has just a normal power cable. The ISP has a very large lite-on power supply that is just as big as the unit itself (basically a laptop power supply)

I'm pretty much committed that the PS170 is what will stay on my board with my AX8 unless the ISP can do some extra magic when connected to this Mesa tomorrow. The added features and form factor do it for me. A more fair comparison may have been the ISP Stealth Lite.

syxx can you, after all this months, tell us how was the seymour duncan power stage 170 reliability, sound volume, sound quality, etc, on the road and rehearsal? I'm looking forward to hook a AX8 with this poweramp!!

 

[syxx]

syxx can you, after all this months, tell us how was the seymour duncan power stage 170 reliability, sound volume, sound quality, etc, on the road and rehearsal? I'm looking forward to hook a AX8 with this poweramp!!

Yeah I actually haven't used anything else since I've gotten it. I use it twice a week at band practice and at all of the gigs. Still running it through AX8 > Ps170 > Mesa 2x12. The EQ is really nice for making small adjustments from room to room. I've got an AxeFXIII but still plan on using the PS170 > Mesa 2x12 once I get a midi controller.

 

[Pedro Rosado]

Yeah I actually haven't used anything else since I've gotten it. I use it twice a week at band practice and at all of the gigs. Still running it through AX8 > Ps170 > Mesa 2x12. The EQ is really nice for making small adjustments from room to room. I've got an AxeFXIII but still plan on using the PS170 > Mesa 2x12 once I get a midi controller.

Thanks a lot for the reply. Sounds like a winner rig !!!

 

[Miseria]

Yeah I actually haven't used anything else since I've gotten it. I use it twice a week at band practice and at all of the gigs. Still running it through AX8 > Ps170 > Mesa 2x12. The EQ is really nice for making small adjustments from room to room. I've got an AxeFXIII but still plan on using the PS170 > Mesa 2x12 once I get a midi controller.

(Sorry for the necro, about to make some purchases and wanted to ask a quick one) does that setup work equally well in low volume rehearsal situations (bedroom levels) as well as full band practice/gigs?

Sorry for the noob question but is this type of scenario where you use the 4CM or is this as simple as AX8 > PS170 > Cab?

Thanks!

 

[syxx]

(Sorry for the necro, about to make some purchases and wanted to ask a quick one) does that setup work equally well in low volume rehearsal situations (bedroom levels) as well as full band practice/gigs?

Sorry for the noob question but is this type of scenario where you use the 4CM or is this as simple as AX8 > PS170 > Cab?

Thanks!

Yes and yes, simple as ax8 > ps170 > cab