Okay
@Brian Angiel , since you are uniquely equipped to comment, what are your thoughts on the Fryette LXII vs PS-100 vs Matrix power amplifiers with the Axe-Fx?
Honestly my obsession with comparing things is how I ended up with all three. It has nothing to do with shortcomings in any unit. I have a PowerStage 200 in the little gray basket at the bottom of the rack too
First, I don’t know that I could tell the difference between the LXII and the PS100. Sonically, they’re both fantastic. I like the LXII for my Axe, as I can run both 4x12s in stereo. I like the PS100 for the load box (duh) or for applications where I want a power amp that allows me to adjust the Presence and Resonance controls. Those controls may as well not exist on the LXII, as they are a PITA to tweak. I just leave the little dip switches off and run the LXII flat.
Physically, the Fryette units are both heavy as hell. The fans can be pretty loud too. The Matrix is definitely better for portable applications or in cases where low noise floor is critical.
I love the Fryette units for their simplicity. I don’t have to tweak Impedance Curves or anything. Set that to Resistive Load, and the cab is gonna thump as you’d expect. They’re also plenty loud.
Where Fryette loses me a bit is build quality. This is my second LXII. I know everyone says his stuff is bullet proof, but that hasn’t been my experience. My first unit kept losing output. It may have just been a tube, but I only had like 10 hours on the thing, and cracking the LXII open looks like a nightmare. I opted for a swap. With this second LXII and with my PS100, there’s a good bit of play on nearly every jack (IEC, 1/4”, etc). It is a bit worrisome. This is a minor nitpick, but there’s also light bleeding between the Presence and Resonance LEDs. If Presence is ON, there’s enough bleed to make it look like Resonance is ON even though it’s OFF. All told, the Matrix does feel a bit sturdier. I’m less worried about it, at least.
The Matrix sounds great as well, but it requires some additional massaging:
- Have the volume on the Matrix up around 1 o clock
- Set the impedance curve (and you can only choose one, so if you’re running two cabs, you’ve got to compromise a bite)
- Set the Output Type to SS PA + Cab
None of this is necessary, of course, but I still felt compelled to take those steps to get “the best experience”™. Once that’s all done, the Matrix hangs with the Fryette amps. It’s maybe a little more stiff, but no cause for dismissing it as a great power amp.
This has been a bit of a brain dump, and all on mobile at that. Let me know if you have any more questions.
; Sunn O))) who?
Awesome room of doom
