Help! looking for a Power Amp

[shaebert]

Im in a band, and i have 2 JBL 15' 250W speakers along with some other smaller ones, im buying a Mackie board, and all i need now is a Power Amp to power my equipment, i have picked out about 3-4 power amps i was intrested in and where around the same price, i was woundering if you guys could help me select which power amp will be the one for me,

Behringer - EuroPower EP2500 - $350
QSC - RMX 1450 - $400
Crown - XLS 602 - $440
Peavey - PV-1500 - $380
Yamaha - P2500S - $400

so yea if i could get some feedback that would be great, im looking for the Power Amp that i can get the most wattage, quallity and cheapest priced out of these peices of equipment, Thx - Shane

[andy13]

you might also try looking into Ashly Audio. They have some really good amps. I have a FTX-1501 that puts out 175 watts @ 8 ohms. I use it in my home theater. It cost around 1000$. They have others in your price range. They have an excellent warranty. Very good sounding too. It is even THX certified. (for what ever its worth)

[proaudio]

Im in a band, and i have 2 JBL 15' 250W speakers along with some other smaller ones, im buying a Mackie board, and all i need now is a Power Amp to power my equipment, i have picked out about 3-4 power amps i was intrested in and where around the same price, i was woundering if you guys could help me select which power amp will be the one for me,

Behringer - EuroPower EP2500 - $350
QSC - RMX 1450 - $400
Crown - XLS 602 - $440
Peavey - PV-1500 - $380
Yamaha - P2500S - $400

so yea if i could get some feedback that would be great, im looking for the Power Amp that i can get the most wattage, quallity and cheapest priced out of these peices of equipment, Thx - Shane

Hi, I would either get Crown or the QSC amp.They are both very good companys. Crown has a new Flagship IT-series. TEC award winner 2004. All the tours use one or the other .Sometimes Lab.Gruppen in Europe. The Crown has More Power so probably go with the crown, 380w per channel in 8ohm and 600w in 4ohm.The B model has 2 Speokon outputs the A 1 mono speokon output. RMX1450 280w 8ohm and 450w 4ohm, it is easier to clip . The RMX2450 $600.00 gets 500w 8ohm 750w 4ohm in stereo.QSC is easy to set up for bridged or parrralel mono and clip and high pass filter. they also have 1/4 and xlr input were Crown xls602b has only xlr input.The QSC PLX1602 gets 300w 8ohm and 500w 4 ohm stereo about 600.00,Made in USA, Lightwieght good for transport.
For the price QSC and Crown have the best amps.Behringer to noisy, Peavey and yamaha don't sound as good. Mackie Mixer VLZ series sounds good CFX and DFX not so good.You can get TC electronics M300 Reverb for around 200.00 for the mixer.Some of the same reverbs as the M3000 $2000.00 reverb. TC one of the best reverb companies.
Add an EQ later, DBX,Rane,TC Electronics EQ Station,BSS,Klark Teknic,Ashley.
Good Luck

[pbaron]

These are probably a bit larger than what you're looking for, but I thought I'd copy this post from a ProSoundWeb forum:

Hello,
I thought I would add my 2 cents to this discussion.
I run a small audio contracting company in Chicago, (Critical Sound Engineering) as well as being a pro piano player, vocalist and band leader.
In my inventory, I have Crown 3-MA2400 x 600, 2-MA2400, 1-MA3600 x 1200, and a couple MA3600vz, as well as 2 QSC PL236.
There are definitely pros and cons between the two. I will impart my observations about both, based upon what I observe on actual gigs.

PL236:
The weight is a definite plus. Having this much power in a lightweight amp is a real boon. The DIP switchs in the rear are convenient and flexible, and having a Speakon connector as well as barrier strips on the back are quite convenient for wiring into a rack.

The QSC has a slightly harsher sound, and a slightly thinner sound than the Crown. (to my ears)

Crown MA:
I utilize the PIP cards on these amps for driving my M2X (MacPherson) speakers as well as the MacPherson Monoliths.
I have never, ever, in my 25 years of using Crown amps had a Crown amp fail on a gig.
I have had 2 older QSC's catch fire, although that was years ago.
The Crowns do require a larger AC distro, but usually on my gigs this isn't a problem (mostly larger hotels and ballrooms, some clubs are a problem).

The Crown amps sound slightly warmer and fuller (yes, I know that's subjective) than the QSC's.

If all else is equal, plenty of AC power, etc, and I were grading the Crown vs. the PL 236 on SOUND ALONE, to my ears the Crown (all the models) sounds better, although not by a great degree, and not enough that any audience member would notice it.

So, if sound quality alone is your only criteria, get the Crown. As you notice, however, I own both.

I really like the lightweight aspect of the PL236, and the price is considerably less than the Crown. It has a shorter depth than the 2400 or 3600, so there's a bit more room in the rack behind the amp. It is also a lot more convenient to have a free standing single 236 in a 3-space rack to carry around for smaller gigs than a 2400, or 3600, which are considerably heavier. My 236's get used mostly on monitors, sometimes subs.

If forced to make a choice, though, as much as I like the QSC PL236, it still doesn't beat the MA3600 or MA2400 for sheer reliability and sound quality, although it's very close. IMHO absolutely nothing beats the Crown MA2400, 3600, or 5000 for professional touring live sound gigs.

One last note: If sound quality is the only factor, neither one of these amps sound as good as the top of the line Crest amps. However, you simply can't depend on the Crests enough to trust them to live sound shows. I've had too many failures with several older Crests I was using. And then there's Crests peculiar method of wiring their XLR inputs with pin 3 hot, instead of 2 hot, like the rest of the world. In a studio, or club installation, the Crests would be fine (although for an install, I'd still use the Crown for sheer reliability).

I hope these musings have been useful.

Phil Baron