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Amp recommendation

6K views 39 replies 3 participants last post by  Bstloukal1 
#1 ·
Looking for some recommendations for a new amp to power a sub or a pair of subs. Would prefer an amp with dsp capabilities. I currently have a 2 Behringer 6000dsp's and 1 x 3000dsp's. I'm looking to swap one out and looking for some alternatives. Spec. information that I would be looking for would be a minimum of 2000 "real" watt power into either 2ohm stereo or 4ohm bridged an a high pass filter that I can adjust to at least 15hz as I run ported and passive radiator setups. Price point I'm really up in the air there. I would prefer not to run a seperate dsp like the mini dsp. I'm looking for an all in one unit. Thanks
 
#2 ·
If you like the Inuke's you can always get a 12000. There are a LOT of amps out there with DSP. Which one you may want will depend mainly on budget and convenience/performance. Inuke has one of the easiest DSP's to use and is very versatile.

I myself prefer to have stand alone gear so I use an external DSP and then a simple power amp. 2 ohm would be hard to beat with the Peavey IPR27500. What are you powering?

Do you need 2000watts? 3000?

There are also the high end lineup such as the Powersoft and Lab Gruppen with there very powerful built DSP options also.
 
#3 ·
has anyone bench tested the behringer 12000dsp to see wattage output? I used to use a veldyne sms-1 for tuning but found it easier to use the dsp functions in the behringer and it is just one less piece of equipment that I need. Budget I would like to keep under $3000 as I know there are good items to be had for that and like to behringer 12000dsp 1/3 that. on the wattage if I'm running 2 channels on the amp I would prefer a minimum of 2000w per channel or 3000w bridged. I will have to take a look at the 12000dsp as that has peaked my interest I new it was coming out but didn't realize it had.
 
#4 ·
I believe the amp has been tested. It put out 2700watts at 2ohms per channel. Found this:

Here are my lab notes from the amp testing. As I said before, this is not a comprehensive test. I just looked at what I thought was important, especially power versus time. Both amps held up pretty well with no drama. Since I don't own them, I avoided destructive tests like short circuits, blocked fans etc.

INUKE 12000 SERIAL 1301663AMT
XLR combos, not latching. Speakons and 32A Powercon.
76W idle. Rear to front air flow
Overall inverting! So they must have pin 3 "hot" on the input XLRs. AES standard not followed.
Big changes in frequency response versus load. -7dB at 20K 2 ohms. Output filter not included in feedback loop.
s/n -94dB 20-20K ref full power 8 ohms 1000W. If load removed -86dB because of FR rise.
Maximum output voltage no load 99.67VAC. This is only 4967W/2 if a load was applied. So no way the rated power could EVER be made. Limiters were OFF. We speculate that this amp may have firmware for a lower power model installed. Could not download new firmware.

Power tests
50 Hz Input signal just above clipping. approx 5% distortion 120VAC
Both channels loaded. No cutback observed over the 10 second test period. Tone burst testing did not show any very short term increase in power.
1050W/8 mains 32A
1970W/4 mains 55A
2700W/2 mains 82A I would call this a "iNuke 5400", not 120000

one channel loaded
1190/8
2307/4
3500W/2


That test was done by SpeakerPower manufacturer.

For value you already have a 6000 amp so nothing will beat that in value. If your after huge power it costs more. Clone is an option but very risky. Next is the Peavey. And you can also buy the Crest Pro lite 7.5 dsp. Then for more power you have the Speaker Power amps, Crown and QSC amps.
 
#6 ·
The guy was testing an amp for a forum member.(Buckman) SO he posted the info. The DIY is a small world and a lot of the great designers seem to know each other and frequent forums. Some help us and some dont. While I cant afford a SP amplifier as of now I am going to buy one as soon as I can.

I will buy one for my subwoofer amp. And for other lesser powerful amps there are LOTS of choices. SO hopefully I was able to help you.
 
#7 ·
Yes and thanks! I was looking at a couple SP plate amps about a year ago and reached out to them. The gentleman who got back to me via email was very helpful and informative. I was looking at one with the dsp function but if I recall correctly I could not get that function as I was not a manufacturer. I ended up picking up a couple of the keiga 52100 (1000w) plate amps instead. I've given those away already but they were increadibly well built amps. The ones I had were around 40lbs each. Do you know if on the rack mount amps if SP sells one with dsp capability that a DIYers could acess. Which amp were you thinking about from them.
 
#8 ·
I'm currently running all diy subs. I have 2 enclosers that are 12" drivers with dual passve radiators each. A single sealed enclosure with dual 12" subs. The subs in them are custom subs from a company called PSI case audio. I also have an acoustic elegance td12h in a sealed enclosure for music. I'm currently working on 2 new enclosures one is a dual 12" enclosure with quad 15" PR's which I will be needing an amp for and a passive radiator setup which I'm still modeling for a jl 13w7 which I bought last week. I will also needing an amp for that.
 
#9 ·
SP wont sell the power amps with DSP unless your a manufacturer.:(

Are you thinking about the AE quad 15 type enclosure?

And yes PSI makes some great PR's. I myself will probably be building a ported 15 using AE PR's in my future.

BUT back to amps if you need the power then I dont know of anything that bests the SP2 12000 amp. For money you could also own a pair of Peavey IPR@ 7500's. I have owned a lot of amps and am constantly upgrading. I dont want to upgrade any more for a LONG time. So I am going with the driver that suits me best regardless of price and buying the amp that beyond doubt will provide enough power. Everything is more expensive but at least I dont have to worry about things performing or breaking down.

I liked the Keiga plate amps also but will be buying a pair of Hypex A400 amps for my system. Can you wire for 4ohms?

The Crest CC5500 amps are very powerful also. You can find these for around 900. There are also Crest Pro 9200 amps which are still around and can be had for under 2000. Neither amp has DSP but the 9200 I believe put out about 4000watts in 2 ohms per channel when tested.

BUT realize when using 2ohms is you are easy on your subs then you will be fine with a normal power point. If you start stressing your amp a lot then you will need to upgrade to a 20amp power point all by itself to the breaker box. 2 ohm when stressed tends to be limited by the wall AC because the caps cant keep up. Many other variables also but thats the basic jist. If you can wire for 4 ohms than a CC5500 could be bridged for about 5000watts into one channel 4 ohms.
 
#10 ·
I am using the Peavey IPR-2 5000 running 2 ohms on my dayton ultimax subs. I was also looking at the Inuke's and other options before going with the peavey and have been very happy I went the route I did. I opted to go with the non-dsp model because, from what I have experienced, the built in DSP on most rack amps is pretty limited compared to something like a mini dsp. For example, the dsp in the Inukes won’t let you eq below 20Hz...How many people are eq'ing below 20Hz? Probably not many. But that is just one example of the limited options with the built in DSP's. The stand-alone Mini DSP units are built to work with REW, are so easy to use and have all the features you could ask for in a much more user friendly setup than the built in DSP's I have seen.

I can highly recommend the Peavey IPR series as far as power is concerned. It has been an awesome amp. If you’re still looking at plate amps as well and want the built in DSP convenience, take a look at Mini DSP's plate amps. They look very interesting and I'm sure the built in DSP on those will be highly capable as well.
 
#11 ·
While not as simple as other EQ's the Inuke can be used to EQ below 20hz. The MiniDSP is more versatile but that is just another option.

And welcome to the forum DevonD. :wave:
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the welcome! As you can see, I've been around for a few years, I joined when I built my theater back in 2009. I enjoy reading and building my own speakers but have never posted before because I know someone a lot more knowledgeable than me will answer the questions others ask.

What do I need to do to use the Inuke below 20? I have been helping a friend set up his 3000 with his two subs and have thus far been unsuccessful in figuring that out.
 
#14 ·
I found the mini dsp setup extremely easy and very well laid out. It is simple enough for everyone to use but has the flexibility and tools to do just about anything you could need. If you'll be using REW to take measurements and create filters all you have to do is tell REW it’s a mini dsp and it will create a file that you can import directly into the mini dsp. No manual programing or anything.

I'm not nearly as familiar with the dsp in the Inuke but the time I have spent with it I was not all that enjoyable compared to the mini dsp. There might be a way to import REW filters the same way a mini dsp does but I wasn’t able to find it. That means you have to manually program each filter and its parameters.

The DSP in the Inuke is a great tool as well but for me, as a beginner to using dsp units and REW, the mini dsp was much easier to use and has worked flawlessly from day one. I'm not afraid to plug back into it and try making changes to see what different results I can get as I learn more. I avoid going into the Inukes DSP as much as I can. I'm sure some would disagree with me but this is just what my experience has been.
 
#15 ·
thanks on that. I will take a look at the mini dsp. I used a velodyne sms-1 for a bit with my old receiver. I got rid of it when I picked up the inuke dsps and swapped out my receiver to the denon x4000. my question on the mini dsp would be model to look at. I am running 2-3 subs with dedicated amps to each. I am probably going to add a forth amp and sub for flexibility. let me know your thoughts on that.
 
#16 ·
If you already have pro amps for your subs then definitely get the 2x4 balanced version. The nice thing about the balanced version is that you can run XLR and still have the option to use RCA connections if you need to. IF you get the unbalanced version you'll only be able to use RCA connectors and if you run an RCA into an XLR you run the risk of getting a humming or buzzing because of the ungrounded XLR connection.

In addition, the balanced version has higher power outputs on it which are more compatible with pro amps and their higher input sensitivity requirements. I started out with a minidsp unbalanced and when I switched to DIY subs and pro amps I had a hard time getting a good signal to the amp. I bought the 2x4 balanced and the problem was immediately solved. In my opinion, if you’re running pro amps the balanced version is the only way to go.
 
#17 ·
I am wondering if I should pick up a mini dsp and turn off the HPF on my behringer and see how it goes. I downloaded the REW a few months back as I thought I may go that route before getting the DSP models. what mic would you recommend. I would like to see how my current amps sound with the HPS off and adjusted through mini dsp. do you know what HPF setting can be used on the mini dsp or can they be set say at like 12 or 15hz
 
#18 ·
You can put a 7hz Hpass on the MiniDSP if you wanted. :D

MiniDSP sells a UMIK microphone that is very good. Only thing better is the Omni Mic that you can buy at PE.
 
#26 ·
The mini DSP 2X4 has 2 inputs and 4 outputs so yes you can use one minidsp for more than one amp. Since the inukes have 2 channels each you could run 4 channels on 2 inukes with one minidsp. If you want to run more amps off of one minidsp then you would need to go up to something like the 8x8 or 10x10 but I dont think those have balanced XLR connections so they might not be the best option.
 
#24 ·
on my behringer 3000dsp I was playing around with it yesterday and noticed that on the limiter when set to zero it only shows around 85v with a wattage output of around 1800. is this normal as I see others able to adjust that much higher. it is run in bridged mono. on my 6000dsp I can adjust the limiter to around 99v which reads around 2400w output. anythoughts on why the difference in the limiter on these units an why the 3000dsp will not go higher.
 
#25 ·
ill follow back up later this afternoon and give you the eq settings to make the adjustments. I do not have the information at the office. it deals with adding a negative HS filter and a couple other adjustment. you can get it down to 15hz. I did some measurements a bit ago and it works good.
 
#27 ·
Here's what I did on my 3000dsp. On the filter xover screen I put a high pass at 20hz the a butters worth at 12db. On my eq I added a high shelf 12fter at 20hz with a -5db gain. This is what I've done to get me from a 20hz to 15hz on the filter. I've been looking for other ways of doing this today and have seen a couple posts that I'm looking for clarification on. The information. Above was given to me from a different post a while ago. Hopping to see if I get clarification on a couple other ways thAt in love a similar process but using the dynamic eq section also. If anyone knows of another way to "trick" the dsp please post as I am always interested in options to test out.
 
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