Chris Hurley
Power User
I thought I'd share my impressions of the Carvin DCM 200L 1U power amp as I know others might be interested in it.
The DCM200L is a 1U 100Wx2 -stereo poweramp with a couple of unique features: 1. The amp can deliver 100W per channel into 8 or 4 ohms depending on the setting of a rear switch. 2. It has an "EQ Expand" switch that give a little scoop in the midrange that can be interesting. 3. It is amazingly light at around four pounds.
My axe-fx journey has taken me through a variety of poweramps: Powerblock 150, ADA Microfet 100, ART SLA-1, 50W tube amp head fx return and a pair of Electro-Harmonix 22 Calibers.
I currently use a pair of EH 22 calibers and I've had very little to complain about except that it takes me several minutes to set them up at rehearsal, or back at home since they don't really live inside my rack. They work great and I highly recommend them for someone who uses guitar speaker cabinets at less-than-bone-crushing volume levels. They could be velcro'd inside a rack I suppose, but I've not done that yet.
So enter the DCM200L- Slightly more expensive than the SLA-1, significantly and appreciably lighter in weight, perhaps a little bit less power, but without the annoying binding post speaker jacks, with the useful "EQ expand" switch, and almost certainly louder than the 22 Calibers. I didn't really want to spend $300USD, but I finally decided to give the DCM200L a try since faster setup time means I'm more likely to play guitar.
My DCM200L arrived about a week after I ordered it and I've used it for a few hours now. I'm happy to report that my existing patches translated fine from the EH 22 to the DCM200L. The DCM200L slipped right into the rig and sounds great. I 'm not sure if there is a fan in the DCM200L, but I've never heard it. It also doesn't seem to get warm even when run wide open for a while. My EH22's don't either and I believe this is the class-D design with the switching power supply.
The EQ expand switch is handy to have, but it could have been more accurately labeled "Mid Cut" since thats what it does. I can see using this switch at lower volumes when I want a "huger" sound without torquing with my presets. I would have preferred presence and depth controls, but there are precious few poweramps with this feature. The new Rocktron 1u Velocity 300 has it, but its pretty scarce and pretty expensive.
After playing the DCM200L for a while through two 1x12 cabinets, I hooked one of my EH 22 calibers to one side of my rig and one half of the DCM200L to the other. Somewhat surprisingly, the EH 22 hangs in pretty well with the DCM200L in this non-FRFR rig in terms of volume. The DCM200L *is* noticeably louder than the EH22, but I expect it is also significantly cleaner at most volumes since the EH22 is made to distort like an amp head. For this reason, the EH 22 isn't really suitable for fullrange cabinets but the DCM200L might be. I haven't tried that yet.
the pros: very lightweight, max power into 4 *or* 8 ohms, EQ expand switch, no noisy fan.
the cons: only 100W per side
Feel free to ask any questions that you might have...
The DCM200L is a 1U 100Wx2 -stereo poweramp with a couple of unique features: 1. The amp can deliver 100W per channel into 8 or 4 ohms depending on the setting of a rear switch. 2. It has an "EQ Expand" switch that give a little scoop in the midrange that can be interesting. 3. It is amazingly light at around four pounds.
My axe-fx journey has taken me through a variety of poweramps: Powerblock 150, ADA Microfet 100, ART SLA-1, 50W tube amp head fx return and a pair of Electro-Harmonix 22 Calibers.
I currently use a pair of EH 22 calibers and I've had very little to complain about except that it takes me several minutes to set them up at rehearsal, or back at home since they don't really live inside my rack. They work great and I highly recommend them for someone who uses guitar speaker cabinets at less-than-bone-crushing volume levels. They could be velcro'd inside a rack I suppose, but I've not done that yet.
So enter the DCM200L- Slightly more expensive than the SLA-1, significantly and appreciably lighter in weight, perhaps a little bit less power, but without the annoying binding post speaker jacks, with the useful "EQ expand" switch, and almost certainly louder than the 22 Calibers. I didn't really want to spend $300USD, but I finally decided to give the DCM200L a try since faster setup time means I'm more likely to play guitar.
My DCM200L arrived about a week after I ordered it and I've used it for a few hours now. I'm happy to report that my existing patches translated fine from the EH 22 to the DCM200L. The DCM200L slipped right into the rig and sounds great. I 'm not sure if there is a fan in the DCM200L, but I've never heard it. It also doesn't seem to get warm even when run wide open for a while. My EH22's don't either and I believe this is the class-D design with the switching power supply.
The EQ expand switch is handy to have, but it could have been more accurately labeled "Mid Cut" since thats what it does. I can see using this switch at lower volumes when I want a "huger" sound without torquing with my presets. I would have preferred presence and depth controls, but there are precious few poweramps with this feature. The new Rocktron 1u Velocity 300 has it, but its pretty scarce and pretty expensive.
After playing the DCM200L for a while through two 1x12 cabinets, I hooked one of my EH 22 calibers to one side of my rig and one half of the DCM200L to the other. Somewhat surprisingly, the EH 22 hangs in pretty well with the DCM200L in this non-FRFR rig in terms of volume. The DCM200L *is* noticeably louder than the EH22, but I expect it is also significantly cleaner at most volumes since the EH22 is made to distort like an amp head. For this reason, the EH 22 isn't really suitable for fullrange cabinets but the DCM200L might be. I haven't tried that yet.
the pros: very lightweight, max power into 4 *or* 8 ohms, EQ expand switch, no noisy fan.
the cons: only 100W per side
Feel free to ask any questions that you might have...
