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Post new topic Power in old buildings, and class D amps
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Author Topic:  Power in old buildings, and class D amps
Tommy Boswell

 

From:
Virginia, USA
Post  Posted 5 Jul 2016 5:09 pm    
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Are class D amps more sensitive to a drop in voltage than tube amps?

Putting the question another way, will an old tube amp with big-iron transformers keep the volume going when band is pulling more power than the old building can supply? And perform better than a class D in that situation?

Obviously, I don't play in classy places. Smile


Last edited by Tommy Boswell on 6 Jul 2016 3:28 am; edited 1 time in total
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Tim Marcus


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 5 Jul 2016 6:23 pm    
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the class D modules I use have a universal voltage input. Anything between about 100 to 260 volts and the amplifier continues to output 300 watts. I would imagine that the Quilter and GK class D amps are designed the same way.
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Jim Sliff


From:
Lawndale California, USA
Post  Posted 5 Jul 2016 9:47 pm    
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IT depends on the specific amp and what its tolerance is to voltage variance.

I've played so many screwy places over the years with questionable power that I carry a power conditioner and voltage regulator.
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Scott Duckworth


From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
Post  Posted 6 Jul 2016 4:22 am    
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I remember our gospel group used to sing in a old wooden church with no AC, wood heat, 3 light bulbs, one ceiling fan, and one outlet. We had to use a ground adapter to plug into the outlet. Never had a problem.
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Brian Evans

 

From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
Post  Posted 9 Jul 2016 5:12 am    
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Old fashioned transformer based amps are quite a bit more susceptible to voltage sag, and far less efficient in the first place. They draw a lot more power to produce a lot less power than a Class D amp. A Class D amplifier can be made so that it can take in a wide range of input voltage, it chops it up and re-makes it into DC voltage, and the output MosFets switch it out in a highly efficient manner. Your 300 watt Class D amp might be drawing about the same as four old fashioned 100 watt light bulbs at max power, but less than one on average, and far less when you aren't pushing a lot of volume. Your stage lights are what is drawing all the power these days!
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