Sick of solid state

[BrokenRomeo]

Personally, I get way better results going through the power amp in on my Spider Valve HD than I ever got going through any of the SS power amps I tried...just could not get them to work for me...

 

[Sixstring]

Carvin has always been an entry level product. Go to any of the respected Pro audio forums and ask. I would compair to the likes of a Crate tube (Carvin) amp vrs Crest Audio say VHT.

I'm new to solidstate amps when i got my axe it's the first one i ever used really. What is it about the other amps that makes them better exactly, just trying to see if I'm going to need to go ona spending spree lol. If you put a crest next to a carvin would you hear the difference?

It's understandable, I would have done the same thing not knowing what is what and not wanting toss out a ton of cash to buy somthing you don't know a lot about. I'm not bashing Carvin I have owned their produstc and they have there place and for the money they are a great bang for the buck but I would not trust it on a tour. Their is a reason that their stuff is less exspensive and I think it mainly has to do with the quality of the components they use.

If you were to put a Crest Audio up aginst a Carvin at lower volumes you probably wouldn't hear any differance at all but when you turn it up all bets are off and thats just one of the reasons why Creast Audio is more exspensive. We are also talking about a Pro Audio power amps and the application that we Axe users are using them for is rather unorthodox. In all reality the Carvin should be fine but if your having problems with the one you have I would ether send it to Carvin to have it fixed or dump it and buy an ART, Crown or QSC that would be in the same catorgy power wise.

 

[rsf1977]

It's understandable, I would have done the same thing not knowing what is what and not wanting toss out a ton of cash to buy somthing you don't know a lot about. I'm not bashing Carvin I have owned their produstc and they have there place and for the money they are a great bang for the buck but I would not trust it on a tour. Their is a reason that their stuff is less exspensive and I think it mainly has to do with the quality of the components they use.

If you were to put a Crest Audio up aginst a Carvin at lower volumes you probably wouldn't hear any differance at all but when you turn it up all bets are off and thats just one of the reasons why Creast Audio is more exspensive. We are also talking about a Pro Audio power amps and the application that we Axe users are using them for is rather unorthodox. In all reality the Carvin should be fine but if your having problems with the one you have I would ether send it to Carvin to have it fixed or dump it and buy an ART, Crown or QSC that would be in the same catorgy power wise.

thanks sixstring, what do you think is going to be the major difference at louder volumes? I play through (2) 4x12s so this is a pretty important issue for my setup

 

[Sixstring]

It's understandable, I would have done the same thing not knowing what is what and not wanting toss out a ton of cash to buy somthing you don't know a lot about. I'm not bashing Carvin I have owned their produstc and they have there place and for the money they are a great bang for the buck but I would not trust it on a tour. Their is a reason that their stuff is less exspensive and I think it mainly has to do with the quality of the components they use.

If you were to put a Crest Audio up aginst a Carvin at lower volumes you probably wouldn't hear any differance at all but when you turn it up all bets are off and thats just one of the reasons why Creast Audio is more exspensive. We are also talking about a Pro Audio power amps and the application that we Axe users are using them for is rather unorthodox. In all reality the Carvin should be fine but if your having problems with the one you have I would ether send it to Carvin to have it fixed or dump it and buy an ART, Crown or QSC that would be in the same catorgy power wise.

thanks sixstring, what do you think is going to be the major difference at louder volumes? I play through (2) 4x12s so this is a pretty important issue for my setup

I think the one noticeable differance is going to be Clarity and bottom end response. Keep in mind if you go down that road the Creast will be a lot of amp for what your going to be using it for. Not a bad thing just be mindful of where you set the masters that amp will shred your quads.

 

[mitch236]

The real difference in entry level SS amps and "better" amps like Crest are really down to quality control. The sonic differences will be minimal. One other area where the "better" amps will shine is power. Specs are meaningless. Use them as a general guide at best. Many inexpensive amps give gloriously high power specs but when you read the fine print, you find that their specs are a 1 or 2 ohms where the better quality amps will use 8ohms. Another note is that most "better" amps underestimate their power output, and that's why when you comare an inexpensive amp to the "better" amp, the "better amp has more umph.

Bottom line is that if you get an inexpensive SS amp and it works, it will probably continue to work without drama and the sonic differences with even the top shelf audiophille SS amps will be minimal when used with the Axe for guitar.

 

[steveb]

The real difference in entry level SS amps and "better" amps like Crest are really down to quality control. The sonic differences will be minimal. One other area where the "better" amps will shine is power. Specs are meaningless. Use them as a general guide at best. Many inexpensive amps give gloriously high power specs but when you read the fine print, you find that their specs are a 1 or 2 ohms where the better quality amps will use 8ohms. Another note is that most "better" amps underestimate their power output, and that's why when you comare an inexpensive amp to the "better" amp, the "better amp has more umph.

Bottom line is that if you get an inexpensive SS amp and it works, it will probably continue to work without drama and the sonic differences with even the top shelf audiophille SS amps will be minimal when used with the Axe for guitar.

I think another difference is that better power amps will have faster response and recovery times and better "punch". They tend to feel more dynamic in my ( admittedly limited ) experience.