Lightweight, affordable, 1u poweramp. Anyone have experience with Monoprice?

[fractalz]

I had the SLA-2 before I got the GT800FX. They are comparable sound wise and both are louder than I need with either a 2x12 8ohm cab or two Xitone wedges.

But the SLA-2 is a beast as far as weight and size. It's super heavy courtesy of massive heatsinks (no fans) and super deep (deeper than Axe Fx!). Also, only banana plug connectors for your speaker cables.

If you stay put, not bad... If you move your gear with any regularity, get the Matrix... Unless you like to workout!

Thanks for the heads up on weight! I’ve refitted my cabs with neo speakers to cut weight. Definitely looking for lighter stuff.

 

[unix-guy]

Thanks for the heads up on weight! I’ve refitted my cabs with neo speakers to cut weight. Definitely looking for lighter stuff.

Definitely stay away from the SLA-2 then! The Matrix is about 6lbs, I think... The ART is something like 31

 

[Sixstring]

And since I'm using a single 16ohm cab on each channel, can someone confirm the load the amp sees so I can rate it right?

Another confusing thing, the cabs are either 200 or 300 watt cabs I think, so if I've really been sending 500watts to each of them as the guy above said how have I not blown them?

Solid state power is all about headroom at volume! Solid state amps don't play nice when clipped (distorted) unlike a tube amp. The higher required volume the more wattage you need to keep the amp from clipping. Obviously there is a point of diminishing return when too much power is not a good thing either, BBN touched on this in his post!

This is the main reason for the high wattage recommendations. General rule of thumb when using Solid state amps is 3-5 times the power of a tube amp assuming an 8 ohm load is being used. Using a 16 ohm load will require an even more power to get the same results.