Is there a drawback from a seperate 2 channel from a plate amp??

[mj79]

Well im getting a shiva, and was going to pick up a dayton 500 watt plate amp for it but then i see for about $50 more i can get the behringer ep2500, which is obviously huge amounts of power... Sooooo just basically wondering why more people dont go that route instead of getting a plate amp thats 500 watts and $250, over a 2400 watt amp thats $300..??

[Mike P.]

The advantage of the EP2500 is the extra power as you stated, the disadvantage is it has no Hi-Pass filter to protect the sub from over excursion at the lower frequencies. Most plate amps do have a Hi-Pass filter built in. An add on HPF unit costs about $100.

[ironglen]

As Mike said, the hpf will be helpful if you build a ported box and use it for HT duty. If you go sealed, you can likely go either way, I think. The plate amp is easy to manage compared to a 30-45lb pro amp too.

[mj79]

thanks guys.. SO what is the best option, if i plan on possibly powering another sub in the future... ?? I just cant figure out how such a powerful amp is so cheap.. So basically your saying there is no subsonic filter, so there is no frequency limit on the low end?? how about low pass?? does it cut off at some point, like most other sub amps, like 500 hz -250hz, etc?

[ironglen]

mj79 wrote:

thanks guys.. SO what is the best option, if i plan on possibly powering another sub in the future... ?? I just cant figure out how such a powerful amp is so cheap.. So basically your saying there is no subsonic filter, so there is no frequency limit on the low end?? how about low pass?? does it cut off at some point, like most other sub amps, like 500 hz -250hz, etc?

If you're planning for a possible addition later, you could go either way, but if you need more than 2x500w, then I think you should go pro-amp. Those amps are built for different duty, so it's cheaper, but lots of folks use them for home use. The drawbacks are weight, lack of features (usually no hpf or instant turnon, and possibly fan noise. Pro amps will amplify any freq range you supply it. Plate amps have their purpose, they're lighter, can be installed in the box, and often have filters built into it. Did I mention lighter? You'll probably pay a bit more per watt for a plate amp compared to basic pro amp of similar power, especially at the higher range, say, over 500w. I needed a hpf for my ported sub along with add'l gain for the signal between the receiver and pro amp, you might or might not. A plate amp is the easiest to do without reading up on all of the connections, etc with a pro amp, as you can tell.

You're right on with the hpf- protection for vented from nasty low end sound sometimes on soundtracks, but if you go sealed, the design affords the protection. Most people seem to use the built in lpf in the receiver to the sub amp, which is typically set around 80hz, so you should have that covered...

[JCD]

I don't think there is a phase control or EQ on that Ep2500 that appears on the Dayton amp.

Also, the amp is 450watts/pr channel at 8ohms. Bridging it does juice it up, but there are pro's and con's to bridging an amp.

This is not to say I wouldn't be tempted by the ep2500 too..