Amp for 2 DR250 and 2 T39 :: inuke vs. XLS vs vs Crest ProLite vs. IPR

[billkatz]

All speakers have premium drivers: T39s have Kappalite 3012LF, the DRs have the deltalite 2510.
I have a driverack PX, so I don't need DSP in the amps.
I will most likely buy from Northern Sound and Light. I have an account and like their prices.

The first tradeoff is - do I need 4 channels or will 2 be OK (subs/mains) This will be for backyard parties, both for recorded music and for my son and his friends to play music. It's really for my son. I understand that mono is usually OK for live music.
Will the driverack sum the stereo inputs if I run mono out?

For 4 channels, the iNuke NU4-6000 looks attractive. But I"m worried about the comments that about the longevity of these amps. And the lack of PFC. And the voltage is a lit low for 3012LFs.

For two channels, the Crest ProLite 3.0 looks nice. It puts out 60V and appears to be a close cousin of the IPR. (NSL doesn't carry the Peavey IPRs) About $30 or $40 more than the inuke.

Then there's the Crowns. I've known Crown as the standard for PA amps for 30 years. The XLS, while their cheapest line, seem to get good reviews here. But the XLS are more expensive than the other 2.

Comments?

[Grant Bunter]

The displacement limit for the DR250 is around 40V with the 2510. The cab will exhibit distortion before it hits that mark.
If it was me, I'd be thinking 20V over that in available power is to much, but others will disagree...

[BrentEvans]

Crest Prolite and IPR are the same amp, for all intents and purposes. I just ordered 4 IPR2 7500s, and I have 3 IPR3000s in my current rig. The 7500s are replacing 1600s which are being sold into an install.

The IPRs do fine. So will the Prolites.

If you can afford two of them, get them. One is technically sufficient, but you can do stereo with two and you'll have a backup if one ever fails. In my experience the only way to make an IPR fail is to hook it up to a person and send a 1k tone through it at way more than full power. Not fun for the person or the amp.

[Bruce Weldy]

You are leaving out the one amp that would be perfect for you.....QSC GX7. Proper power for the subs and plenty for the tops.

I use the XLS series....several of them. But, for subs I run three of 'em bridged - there just isn't enough power from the biggest one (2500) for the subs...thus bridging the 1500s.

The QSC is a better match for tops and subs on one amp. I've run two of these with another band's sound system for the last couple of years - and we pound 'em pretty hard - never a hiccup.

On the PX - to run mono, just plug into the left side out out of the left side. Feed the highs to one side of the amp and the lows to the other. Run the amp in stereo mode....you're done. It's the easiest setup that there is.

[BrentEvans]

You are leaving out the one amp that would be perfect for you.....QSC GX7. Proper power for the subs and plenty for the tops.

GX7 is way more weight and money than IPR3000, and it can't go below 4 ohms. IPRs are rated to 2 ohms and are quite comfortable there.

[Bruce Weldy]

You are leaving out the one amp that would be perfect for you.....QSC GX7. Proper power for the subs and plenty for the tops.

GX7 is way more weight and money than IPR3000, and it can't go below 4 ohms. IPRs are rated to 2 ohms and are quite comfortable there.

No, GX7 is a totally different amp from the GX3 and 5 (28 pounds). It's lightweight at 15 pounds. You are right - it's not 2 ohm capable, but that isn't an issue in this case. The QSC has more power than the Peavey....and I like that for subs.

I'm sure any of the amps would work fine, but I can only talk to the ones that I've actually used.

[BrentEvans]

No, GX7 is a totally different amp from the GX3 and 5 (28 pounds). It's lightweight at 15 pounds. You are right - it's not 2 ohm capable, but that isn't an issue in this case. The QSC has more power than the Peavey....and I like that for subs.

I'm sure any of the amps would work fine, but I can only talk to the ones that I've actually used.

That's still twice the weight.

Gx7 is a decent amp, but a really odd thing with newer qsc models (gx, gxd, pld, cxd) is that available output voltage swing takes a hit when you go below 8 ohms. Qsc will Tell you that it's a power supply design decision. The iprs don't really have this problem. Roughly the same voltage swing is available at any impedance.

[Bruce Weldy]

Gx7 is a decent amp, but a really odd thing with newer qsc models (gx, gxd, pld, cxd) is that available output voltage swing takes a hit when you go below 8 ohms. .

I wonder if that's true for the GX7 as it's a totally different design than the other GX models. I run two JBL 2x18 subs at 4 ohms each off a GX7 and can't even light the red light on it....and we hit it pretty hard. The tops are only 8 ohms each.

Seems like they just stuck in the GX7 so that line would have a higher powered amp.

[BrentEvans]

Gx7 is a decent amp, but a really odd thing with newer qsc models (gx, gxd, pld, cxd) is that available output voltage swing takes a hit when you go below 8 ohms. .

I wonder if that's true for the GX7 as it's a totally different design than the other GX models. I run two JBL 2x18 subs at 4 ohms each off a GX7 and can't even light the red light on it....and we hit it pretty hard. The tops are only 8 ohms each.

Seems like they just stuck in the GX7 so that line would have a higher powered amp.

According to the specs, it applies to the gx7. It probably shares the amp topology with pld and cxd.

[Drey Chennells]

More of the same feedback here.. we're using IPR or prolites at this point, prolites have 1.7x capacitance as IPR, I can't tell a difference. Highly recommend either, warranty support is right on also.

[ripNdeb]

My IPR3000 put out 70 some-odd volts so I had to run the limiter on the DCX2496 at the minimum (-18db if I recall) to get to the 50 volt limit. I ran 4 T39s w/ it very comfortably.
I've been considering the NU4-6000 as well; but, tell me about the comments on the longevity issues. I think that amp would be great to run tops in stereo and have two separate monitor channels to work with.
BTW, if you're interested in stereo tops it ain't happening w/ the driverack px.
I put one in a church install. Then they decided they insisted in running in stereo w/ aux fed subs...arrghhh.

[Bruce Weldy]

BTW, if you're interested in stereo tops it ain't happening w/ the driverack px.

And why is that?

[sine143]

yeah please expand on that... considering I have 3 stereo top rigs with the driverack px... LOL

[ripNdeb]

Stereo with aux fed subs and only two inputs?

[Bruce Weldy]

Stereo with aux fed subs and only two inputs?

As far as I can tell, nowhere in the thread has the OP said he wanted aux-fed subs.

There was another thread where we discussing that with someone else....maybe that's what you are thinking of.