Pro Audio 1U and 2U Power Amps

Ok, here goes.
Yesterday I tried out 2 amps in the ProAudio range, the 1600w which currently is going for £149 and the 2400W model at £249. Both 1U, lightweight amps which will run totally stable from 2ohms to 16ohms and are ultra quiet and coool. (they also have a 1U 3200w amp at £349 which wasnt tested yesterday.)
Now don't be put off by the price for starters, these 2 amps are both unsurpassed in quality and workmanship. The company who build and market these are all seasoned engineers and ex pro musos. They provide components for some big names and their stuff can be found in a lot of high end products. Even Mesa Boogie have sent a couple of their M6 Carbine amps over for them to repair when they'd failed to correct a problem in the MosFets. So even though the prices are budget (for the moment) the company is well respected and they aren't gonna be under the radar for long.

So the amps. The first test was just a CD player into a small desk then into a 15" bass and 12" and horn PA system.
Really and truthfully I cant find anything bad to say about them. The response was totally flat, the 2400w amp was easily if not slightly louder than a Crown XTi4000 they had as a benchmark amp. They had the 2400 running flat out and the MosFets and heatsink were lukewarm!! Highs were clear without being harsh and lows were punchy and warm without muddiness or farting. (subjective to the speakers used I know)
So we then ran the Axe Fx through the same speakers. We were all blown away. Ran some Slo100 patches, the bass had plenty of thump, no mudiness, nice 3D midrange and upper mids, highs were awesome, Delay tail offs were crystal clear and reverbs were pure. Again a BIG component were the speakers used but think of this as a FOH sound. The amp certainly had enough in the bag and was super loud. The patches sounded exactly the same as through my studio monitors at home...just amazingly loud! No tweaking of the Global EQ needed.
The 1600w amp was the same sound with less volume.
I placed an order there and then!
I'm going to go back down and try a couple of different speaker combinations to get everything just right but as far as powering goes, I really think this thing will slaughter most amps on the market and is an ideal partner for the Axe FX.....

To be continued!
 
Not having an SLA-2 to compare side by side but I think that the major complaint/bugbear/issue with the SLA-2 is the high frequencies are a little harsh. None of that with the amps I tried yesterday and today, the response is really flat accross the board, plus tons more power for the price.
Both my Velocity 100 and Peavey 50/50 (which has a less gainy rectifier valve in it) still have a little harshness in the high end. The Velocity lacks a bit of that "tubey" midrange but works well but really just isnt loud enough. The Peavey has that clarity without overly colouring the sound to much (before with the stock Peavey 12AT7's in, it made all the AXE patches sound very similar and was impossible to run the power amp sims without farting the low end.) With a less harsh set of valves in it runs really smooth now, however it still weighs a ton and costs a fortune to re-valve!!
The Pro Audio has the power and the clarity and is lightweight too.
I'll be road testing one of these amps in a couple of weeks, hopefully by then I'll have found a solution to which speakers to use in conjuction with this unit!
:D
 
Sounds reeeeeally good...
Oh my god........G.A.S. ......?

How can I connect the amp with a 4x12?
Same as SLA-2 ("pure" cable or banana) or are there some 1/4?
That would be perfect since that's the only thing I don't like bout the ART.
Ok, this + the weight :lol:
 
Lightningboy said:
Not having an SLA-2 to compare side by side but I think that the major complaint/bugbear/issue with the SLA-2 is the high frequencies are a little harsh. None of that with the amps I tried yesterday and today, the response is really flat accross the board, plus tons more power for the price.
Both my Velocity 100 and Peavey 50/50 (which has a less gainy rectifier valve in it) still have a little harshness in the high end. The Velocity lacks a bit of that "tubey" midrange but works well but really just isnt loud enough. The Peavey has that clarity without overly colouring the sound to much (before with the stock Peavey 12AT7's in, it made all the AXE patches sound very similar and was impossible to run the power amp sims without farting the low end.) With a less harsh set of valves in it runs really smooth now, however it still weighs a ton and costs a fortune to re-valve!!
The Pro Audio has the power and the clarity and is lightweight too.
I'll be road testing one of these amps in a couple of weeks, hopefully by then I'll have found a solution to which speakers to use in conjuction with this unit!
:D
Click to expand...

Sounds very promising... any info as to if their are going to sell in the US market? these sound like the little amps I've been waiting for. At half the weight and 4 times the wattage of an SLA-2 if it's that good I will be waiting with wallet in hand as soon as they get here.
 
It seems you could purchase from ebay...maybe I am mistaken, but looking at the auction....there was no objection to shipping out of the country as long as shipping was covered.
 
gittarzann said:
It seems you could purchase from ebay...maybe I am mistaken, but looking at the auction....there was no objection to shipping out of the country as long as shipping was covered.
Click to expand...

Powering is wrong for the typical U.S. 120 VAC.
 
They are willing to ship anywhere as the OP stated. Ive fired off an email to the guys regarding the voltage thing. Let you know what they say.
 
Any news here?
Can't find pics anywhere else and the pics on their website are pretty small and without the rear panel.
I'm really interested in these amps but it's not very easy to find some useful information.
 
Great thread......
Would this ASHLY amp spec out as Pro Audio and suitable for the AXE FX ?

http://www.ashly.com/sra-2150.html

SPECS

SRA 2075
SRA 2150
SRA 4075
SRA 4150

Signal to Noise (20 Hz-20 kHz, unweighted)

>98 dB
>98 dB
>105 dB
>105 dB

Power Consumption (Pink Noise @ 4 Ohm)

1/8th Output
18.75W
37.5W
37.5W
75.0W

1/8th Draw
39.0W
74.0W
64.0W
125W

1/8th Current
0.69A
1.24A
1.10A
1.98A

Idle Power
17.0W
30.0W
20.0W
36.0W

Idle Current
0.30A
0.52A
0.35A
0.62A

Output Circuitry: Class D

Voltage Gain: 26 dB, 36 dB sensitivity (selectable)

Frequency Response: 20 Hz - 20 kHz, +/- 1.0 dB

Damping Factor: - 8 ohm load, < 1 kHz > 200 into 8 ohms

Input Impedance: 20 k ohms, balanced

Maximum Input Level: +21 dBu

Cooling: Convection

Front Panel Indicators per channel: Clip & Signal

Front Panel Indicators: overall power, standby, protect

Attenuators: Per channel front panel

Input Connectors: each channel 3- Pin Euroblock

Output connectors: each channel Screw terminals

Amplifier Protection: Output Overcurent, DC Output, Main Supply Rail Overvoltage, Chassis Temperature, Inrush Limiting, Mains Fuse


Power Cable Connector: 3-Prong IEC

Dimensions 19" x 1.75" x 11" (All)

Weights
SRA 2075
SRA 2150
SRA 4075
SRA 4150

Net
9.0 lbs
10.0 lbs
9.0 lbs
10.0 lbs

Shipping
16.0 lbs
16.5 lbs
16.0 lbs
16.5 lbs
 
That Ashly amp doesn't even seem to be in the same ballpark as the ProAudio one. The connectors on the back are a bit weird as well....maybe the amp is more for the "install" market than pro use. The ProAudio amps kick out a LOT more power too so it's like comparing apples to oranges...
Asphyx... drop them an email....I know they're busy but they are pretty approachable guys and will answer any questions....I know they're also a bit snowed under with orders at the moment and some other things. I'll be testing one of these VERY soon I hope, so hope to let you all know hopw they perform under "Live" conditions. :cool:
 
It looks to be an entry level studio monitor type of amp. The lack of any XLR or 1/4" inputs and the headphone out is the giveaway.
 
OK! Sorry it's a bit late. Recovering from gigs and the World Cup footy!

Right. I tested out the Pro-Audio 1600 amp last night. My normal rig consists of Axe-FX (natch) output1 to FOH with Redwirez 5150 cabs in stereo, output2 (3 o clock) to my Peavey Classic 50/50 valve power amp. Amp sims on and cab sims on obviously. From the 50/50 to a customised Marshall 8412 cab (lightweight mini 4x12 with the baffle slanted more and speakers changed)
The Pro-Audio 1600 obviously took the place of the Peavey in the signal chain.

OK. Inputs on the 1600 are balanced XLR and RCA phono's. Seeing as Output 1 was in use and my splitter cables were elsewhere I used the phono sockets via some adapters. Outputs on the amp were Speakons.
(had a chat to the guys that were there and the idea of swapping the phono's for 1/4 inch jacks would be a possibility, just that their original intention was pro audio market which now seems to be shifting to guitar!!)

Quick soundcheck with the amp. Using a Soldano based patch. Now on the Peavey I run the Resonance at 12 o clock and the prescence at 9 o clock. Using the 1600 the bottom end just kicked the Peavey's ass. More warmth and thump. Moved a helluva lot more air. Oh and volume on the 1600 was at 3 o clock!! It was LOUD! (Sound engineer came over and whined and explained his signal wasnt affected etc!!)
Brought the mid/highs on the AFX up slightly on the global. 2k,4k & 8k all up by 1db. That gave the top end some sizzle without being harsh. We played for 2 hours and there was none of the usual ear fatigue from the top end. The clean patches had lots of sparkle and still alot of warmth but the mid/hi gains were awesome. No farting on the bottom end (like the peavey sometimes did with PA sims on) and no rumble on the end of chords.
The 1600 sounded just as valve like as my Peavey, no colouration though and none of the harshness on the top end that the ART is said to have. Finally felt like I was having the AXE do its job on its own with NO interference from others and boy did it sound sweet. Made some huge clams cos I was so busy turning round to the amp to smile at it, I'd forget what I was supposed to play!!
The amp I used was a demo one from the plant with NO fans in it. Production ones WILL have fans but saying that, the 1600 performed for 2 hours plus and was no warmer than my Peavey with the fan running. Good to know incase of a fan failure that the thing will not throw a "wobbly" and shut down mid gig.
My other guitarist (ex player for Danny Vaughan over here in the UK) ordered one on the spot he was so impressed. (he's running an old style Velocity 300 with a B**s GT10!!) He heard the difference in sound the amp made.
Volume wise in real terms, I normally run the Peavey about 12 o clock on volume. Plenty loud enough for animal like drummers on risers knocking seven bells out of them. I actually had to turn down the 1600 slightly at the start though, output2 to 2 o clock and the 1600 to 2 o clock as I was having trouble hearing the drummer!! That's a first for me!! lol

I honestly think this amp will be seen with a lot of Axe FX's in the future. It really is the dogs b***ocks!!

I asked about USA voltages and they said they were no problem but whether that was a case of "no problem switching the guts about" or "no problem just plug in" I dont know. Best to check with the guys I think.

For me at least, I have the biggest part of the puzzle solved. Now maybe a couple of Passive Reactors or similar and it FRFR heaven!!

Cheers for reading
John
 
Thanx for posting ;)
Sounds fantastic. I already dropped them a mail yesterday and asked for more information.

The only thing I don't like are the phono inputs but when they swap them with 1/4 inch this would be perfect.

My rig is almost identical to yours so your description helped a lot.

Maybe a smaller version would be more than enough for me. I always run the ART at full volume and control the loudness with the Axe-Fx which is at 10 to 11 o'clock in the rehearsal room and about 12 o'clock when we play live.
 
Lightningboy said:
Road tested the 1600 amp last night! Will post a review shortly when I've sobered up enough! Great night :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

If you could post some pic's of the amp, their web site is not very informative. It would be nice to see the back and guts close up.
 
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