Light weight power amps

[glocke]

So really the only thing that prevents me from using my favorite setup (Demeter pre/SF2) is the weight of the power amp that drives it.   I am using a QSC RMS 850 that weighs in around 27-30 pounds.  This makes for a combined weight of 40 pounds or more when you add in the demeter, sf2, and power conditioner.
 
The sound of this rig is just so good it really is a shame to leave it as my practice/recording rig.  Plus once people hear it I keep getting asked to bring it out to gigs, but I just find the weight to be too cumbersome.  Part of it is laziness on my part, physically I can easily manage that weight, but I know if it was lighter Id be more prone to take it out.
 
For years Ive looked at poweramps like the Stewart world 1.2/1.6 and marveled at their light weight and power ratings.  Does anyone have any experience with them, are they reliable ?

[elwoodblue]

Funny,  
 I was just having that conversation last night with my drummer.
 My 6 space rack consists of a Stewart world 2.1,
F1-X, SF-2,Behringer racktuner, and a furman power conditioner. The Stewart website says the power amps are only 17 lbs. so I guess my rack must come in at under 40 lbs, but it sure seems heavier everytime I lift it to the top of the cab.
 I just rewired my 3-15 cab to stereo and was experimenting with using another preamp for the top 15 (Ampeg SVT-llP) and the sound is so good that I decided to add a second 4 space rack to accommodate it and the GT pre I am using to switch from clean to overdrive...so that means an extra trip to the car when setting up and an extra 20 lbs to whole rig. I'll see tonight at practice if the sound I'm getting at home is heard with all the other instruments.
 I'm asking myself Is too much just enough?.
 
Back to your question... I found my Stewart 2.1 to be very reliable and it even runs pretty cool.
 It has plenty of headroom (especially bridged for Mono. I think it's over 1600 watts at 4 ohms.)
 
 I haven't played through a QSC so I can't compare/contrast the sound.  
 I have been using a Stewart world 600 for my home studio monitors and recently for amplifying V-drums at a small gig and I've never had a problem. I'd give the Stewart gear a '10' for reliability .
 So you might be able to shave 10 lbs. if you went that route. It would be good to hear from someone who has experience with both the Stewart and QSC power amps.

[briant]

I've been using a Stewart World 1.6 for roughly 7 years with absolutely no issues.  It's a great amp.  Tons of power and weighs next to nothing.

[briant]

...and 40 pounds really isn't much all things considered.  My rack is roughly that when you add the weight of the rack itself and the Aguilar DB 628.
 
An SVT head is nearly 100 pounds.  I hauled around an 8 space road case for a few years that was well over 100 pounds.  I'm thinking I must have been insane at the time.  It's the only logical explanation.

[crgaston]

Greg, I'm guessing you're well over 50 with that setup.  I've got a 21 pound QSC PLX 3402 (which is a great amp) in a 4-space Gator shallow rack which goes over 40 with an F2B and DS5R.  The great thing about the PLX amps is that they fit in the shallow rack (with speaker cables removed and stuffed in back) instead of a full-size one.  Makes it much more portable.

[crgaston]

And not to bust your bubble, but a big part of the awesomeness of that rig might very well be the heavy transformer.  They DO make a difference in punch and presence.  If I ever end up with a house gig or roadies I'm getting an old Crest 7001.

[bassman10096]

I've used a QSC PLX 2402 for about 5 years with various preamps (currently an Eden Nav) with great results and a weigh hovering around 20lb.  Very pleased with the sound and handlability (is that a word?).  Then I got very curious and picked up one of the first Crown XLS Drive Core 2500s to ship.  10.75 lbs and roughly same power specs as the QSC.  Took it out on a gig the other afternoon and couldn't tell the diff between light (the QSC) and ridiculously light (the new Crown).  The jury's still out, but this amp's got another nice feature:  Onboard crossover, low and high pass filters.  Just scroll through the menu to set crossover points or filter cuts.  You can switch between stereo, parallel and bridged using the same pushbuttons (I hate dipswitches!).  Time'll tell, but I think I'm liking it.

[edwin]

I'd be curious to hear your long term assessment of the amp. I just won a Crest CA9 on ebay, so I'm going the opposite route. I think it might be a fairer comparison to measure the Crown against something like that than the PLX series. Compared to the weightier amps out there, I found that the PLX2402 I had didn't really bring the depth of tone and low end that some other amps do. Lots of power, though, in what was then a nicely light weight package! I also think that QSC has great features and flexibility.
 
Keep us posted! My CA9 will hopefully arrive this week and will get a workout at the Boulder Theater on Saturday.
Edwin

[David Houck]

Edwin; who are you playing with now?

[edwin]

I'm freelancing around Boulder/Denver. Next weekend is with Colorado Dead cover band Shakedown St. They've been around for a long time, although the membership has evolved a lot. It's a fun time!
 
I've been thinking about trying to get a funk band together, but haven't put a lot of time into it.

[sonicus]

edwin,
 I recently won a Crest VS900 on ebay . So far it has work quite well at rehearsals. it is clean ,crisp  and has a Damping factor of >1000:1 @8 ohms 10-400HZ. I will put it to the real test at an outside gig at the end of June. My current experimental signal path  is Alembic  F-1X BI-Amped discrete outputs to 2 Furman P-Q3's to Crest VS900 with Low frequencies to a  MESA 4/10 Road Ready Cabinet  Loaded with Electrovoice speakers and  High frequencies to a 2/10  PAS infinite baffle design with 2/10 Electrovoice. It is nice and punchy for a compact rig.  The gig is as a substitute bass player for a Local band of which I have known the players since the 1970's .