February 3, 200817 yr Author I've had direct experience with them. They don't do rated power and the transistors and capacitors in them have a nasty habit of burning up and sending square waves to your speakers.We had 35 of them (3000's, 2000's, 1200's, 600's) in an installation that ultimately led us to replace the 16 blown HF drivers in our 16 Box EAW KF761 Line array.We've moved on to better things.Holy crap! Good thing I was leaning toward the Rotel amps. Thank you for allowing me to learn from your experiences. This is one of the main reasons I made this thread, to make the best choices I can with my limited experience. I think I am going to narrow the amplifier choice down to Rotel at this point. They seem to have a fantastic rating for quality and reliability. I will add to the first post whenever I make a decision so that people who just want a results page don't have to look through what is, in my opinion, going to be a decent sized thread.Thanks John!
February 3, 200817 yr Author Another inquiry, they chose to use MDF and then paint it. I would like to do a nice wood finish. Any suggestions? I have in my mind a "light" "cherry" color. It won't match this room but it will make them stand out and that is huge for me. Not that 6'-7' tall line arrays with 4 subs won't, I really want them to pop and be soothing at the same time.With that said, I have built boxes using MDF and know I won't get the results I want with that, so what kind of wood should I be looking for? Birtch possibly. I don't want to go crazy with the cost of wood, but it may be necessary to achieve my goal.Let me know what you all think.
February 3, 200817 yr I might have missed it, but how big is your listening area/room for these monsters?
February 3, 200817 yr Author I might have missed it, but how big is your listening area/room for these monsters?It is divided into 3 areas two of which are attatched rooms. The two attatched room have standard 8' ceilings and the main room the ceilings start at 8' and increase to the peak of 11'-1 1/2" peak in the center of the room. The floor measurements are 15'- 6" X 15-10 1/2". This is the main listening area. The other two are 9'-6" X 11-3" and 5'-10 1/2 X 11'. So the total area that they will need to fill is medium in size.
February 3, 200817 yr For amplifiers, take a peak at Adcom GFA-555's (versions I and II). I've got one and love it to death. They can be picked up in great condition for about $300-$400 on ebay and audiogon all the time. They are bulletproof solid state amps that can put out gobs of power.For the original design you posted up, I would seriously consider separating the subwoofers from the line arrays. You are going to want some flexibility with subwoofer placement and having them attached to the arrays will severely limit that.Looks like a fun project!
February 3, 200817 yr Author For amplifiers, take a peak at Adcom GFA-555's (versions I and II). I've got one and love it to death. They can be picked up in great condition for about $300-$400 on ebay and audiogon all the time. They are bulletproof solid state amps that can put out gobs of power.For the original design you posted up, I would seriously consider separating the subwoofers from the line arrays. You are going to want some flexibility with subwoofer placement and having them attached to the arrays will severely limit that.Looks like a fun project! I will look into that amp. Do you happen to have the specs on it by chance? The price sounds right. Not that I am opposed to spending, I just want to maximize output/clarity per dollar. I guess we all try and accomplish that to one extent or another.I have no issue seperating the subs. I thought about doing that before and though that this would greatly simplify the enclosure construction. The only would be dropping the hight of the stage lower and if that would negatively effect the sound. I suppose I could just leave the area where the subs would be as a "stand" built into the main enclosure. I like the idea of having dual/dual subs with infinite placement options to eliminate as many dead spots as possible.Thanks, I will send you the pics as well as post them here if the project turns out nice. we shall see.Chris
February 3, 200817 yr Author Still looking for opnions on the Bohlender Graebener RD50 Planar Transducer ($566.50)Link to spec sheet. (PDF) http://www.partsexpress.com/pdf/264-710.pdf
February 4, 200817 yr 200 watts per channel (8 ohms) 325 watts per channel (4 ohms)The GFA-555's can also be bridged.Here is more info on the amps...http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/678/http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread...light=adcom+555
February 4, 200817 yr Author 200 watts per channel (8 ohms) 325 watts per channel (4 ohms)The GFA-555's can also be bridged.Here is more info on the amps...http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/678/http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread...light=adcom+555Great information. Thanks Lukas. I will see what I can find out on availability and pricing. Unfortunately it is time for another busy week.
February 14, 200817 yr Author So I have been on Audiogon since my last post. The Adcom's, Rotel's, and Parasound amps fly off the "shelf" very fast. I will continue my search. I really would like to have all matching amps on this project. So it will come down to what I can find when I am 100% ready to buy. I am still searching for a great tweeter to round out the project.
February 14, 200817 yr Look into Hafler DH-500's as well...I'm looking around at SS amps in that power/price range as well, if I pick up Ryan's MGIIIA's I'll need a good 400W+ at 4
February 14, 200817 yr Author Look into Hafler DH-500's as well...I'm looking around at SS amps in that power/price range as well, if I pick up Ryan's MGIIIA's I'll need a good 400W+ at 4 Nice, what are you working on?
February 14, 200817 yr Author I'm a big fan of used QSC rack amps.....Haven't found any of those yet. I will keep looking.
February 14, 200817 yr Author One last thing, I found a post on AVS forum that dealt with the tweeter issue. I found others that have done the same project. Unfortunately I left there with more questions.
February 14, 200817 yr Look into Hafler DH-500's as well...I'm looking around at SS amps in that power/price range as well, if I pick up Ryan's MGIIIA's I'll need a good 400W+ at 4 Nice, what are you working on?Another setup I can't afford Haven't found any of those yet. I will keep looking.There's a ton on Ebay, the problem with pro amps is that you might need to modify or replace a fan to quiet it down, but that's pretty well documented usually...
February 14, 200817 yr Author Look into Hafler DH-500's as well...I'm looking around at SS amps in that power/price range as well, if I pick up Ryan's MGIIIA's I'll need a good 400W+ at 4 Nice, what are you working on?Another setup I can't afford Haven't found any of those yet. I will keep looking.There's a ton on Ebay, the problem with pro amps is that you might need to modify or replace a fan to quiet it down, but that's pretty well documented usually...I noticed a lot of that, replacing the fans. Even threads about the Adcom 555 needing this done when bridging the amp. I think i will stick with the first two choices then.
February 14, 200817 yr The beauty of pro amps (in my opinion) is that if you get good ones, the build quality is excellent, power is cheap, very tough, aren't very expensive, and power is cheap (have I already said that? )
February 14, 200817 yr Admin This is a great topic, and I hope to learn from your project, even though my goals are on a smaller scale.
February 14, 200817 yr Author This is a great topic, and I hope to learn from your project, even though my goals are on a smaller scale. I am sure I could benefit from you more than you could from me. I know this project is well above my experience and comfort level, fortunately for me this is how I do just about everything. Here is the post from AVS. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=967307The discussion started out with tweeter selection, specifically the Bohlender Graebener RD50 transducer I was asking about earlier. It morphed into a line array discussion that included people that have done, with alterations, the design I originally posted. There are a ton of pics there and if you click on some of the mebers links in their sigs, you can get even more versions. One guy used 6- Dayton mids with the RD50 and an entirely different sub (seperate). Another used 9- Vifa PL-14 midwoofers and 8- Stryke Audio RTW2 tweeters and also a seperate sub stage.You should start a thread about your project. I would like to see what you and others are up too.
February 21, 200817 yr Author I found an Adcom GFA-555 for $435 on Audio gone exceot sale is pending. Still trying to hold out for the Rotel's but if I find 2 of those around that price I might have to use those.
February 21, 200817 yr Admin Good luck on the Adcoms. I am not a HA pro by any means, but everyone that lives around me who has one seems to love it.
February 21, 200817 yr Author Good luck on the Adcoms. I am not a HA pro by any means, but everyone that lives around me who has one seems to love it.The only reason i had added that amp to the list was on the recommendation from Lucas. Is there any reason you would strike it from the short list of amps?
February 22, 200817 yr Admin No not at all, just saying a few of the high dollar systems I have heard near me that I get jealous over have had Adcom equipment and the owners love the stuff.
February 22, 200817 yr Author No not at all, just saying a few of the high dollar systems I have heard near me that I get jealous over have had Adcom equipment and the owners love the stuff. Gotcha. The prices are dropping. I will wait and see where they go.
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