Paul Arntson
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 3 Jan 2007 7:42 pm |
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First, the backgoround:
I am in the process of finding a portable practice amp.
The criteria are:
1) cheap (<$200)
2) Light (less than 32 lbs)
3) Loud (over 50 W RMS)
So far the two front runners are the Fender Deluxe 90 and the Crate GT80. Now to get to the point of this post:
Naturally I looked at the specs for the Crate Power Block.
At first I was amazed that they spec the power at 10% THD. Is this amp good for any power at all at lower distortions?
Then my hat flew off when I saw that the input is only 35 watts. Are they getting something for nothing here? Is there something that my college professors didn't tell me about power in being less than power out by a factor of 4.28?
Can this thing only maintain rated power RMS for the time it takes to discharge the filter capacitors? (A very sketchy modification of the term RMS...)
If it's really 150W RMS it should reach the threshold of pain and hold it there with a sine wave.
I mean, I know it's a class D amp and so it has to be different, but come on. What are the REAL specs?
I'll go try one out on Friday just because they are so cute, but I am seriously turned off by the phony specs.
(Legal disclaimer)The following words are copied from the Crate(c) website under Fair Use provisions for review and discussion purposes only, and shall not be construed to be unauthorized copying of copyrighted information.
"CPB150 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
Output Power Rating Mono 150W RMS @ 10% THD @ 8 ohms
Stereo 75W RMS @ 10% THD per side @ 4 ohms"
.......
"Power Requirements 120 VAC, 60Hz, 35VA"...
Has anybody else noticed these inconsistencies and maybe has an answer to my confusion??? |
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