Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Power amp sizing for 2x BF BB2 in stereo


stoo
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

I've got a pair of Barefaced Big Baby 2s which I normally power with a GK MB500... sometimes on its own, sometimes with a Zoom B3 straight into the FX return. No problems with volume, although on the odd occasion I've only taken one cab, I have sometimes had to push the GK preamp into dirtier territory than I'd prefer.

When I ordered the cabs, I got them with pole mount top hats, so I could potentially use them as a PA pair, but I never got round to getting a suitable power amp to drive them. I'm just trying to work out what I'd need to make the most of the cabs.... judging by barefaced's recommended amp power page, something between 600 and 800W seems appropriate.

Crown XLS stuff seems to get recommended a lot, so I had a look there, .... the 1002 or 1502 look great for a mono stack, or single cab in bridge mode, but even the 2502 only goes up to 2x440W @ 8ohm and is already up to £485

If I forgo the weight savings of class D and look at the XLi3500, that overhits it on power at 2x1000W @ 8ohm, and is about £630.... but at that sort of price point I'd be tempted to just trade my BB2s in for FR800s or some RCF ART 712s or something similar.

Behringer NX6000 looks promising, claiming 2x 1600W into 8 ohm for less than £300, but presumably that's some sort of peak marketing watts rather than continuous rms honest watts? I've read various reports suggesting divide those figures by anywhere up to 4 to get a realistic number, so we're back down to 400w a side...

 

Is there something i'm missing here? At the moment it looks like the most cost effective option is getting a pair of XLS1002s and running both of them bridged, one per cab.... but that just seems like a mad way of doing it. Is there something else that might fit the bill better?

Cheers,

Stu

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is this to use as a bass rig or as a PA system? I think you're perhaps underestimating just how much power you'd get from one Crown amp. You said that the 2502 'only' goes to 2x440W. In what kind of gig is 880W for a bass amp not enough? I could see why you might want more power for PA use, but at that point you are looking at next level amps really.

I bet if you used a 2502 as a PA amp you'd probably find that you had enough volume. My FR800s have inbuilt 600W amps, so about 1-2dB louder than the Crown at full tilt, and they're never anywhere close to full tilt. If you want a pair of FR800s I know someone who'd do a good deal on them. Hint hint, nudge nudge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's more the PA side of things that I was thinking of - for bass in mono even the XLS1002 looks like plenty as it'll bridge to 1100W @ 4 ohm if I'm running both cabs, or 700W @ 8 ohm if just one.

It's not even that I really need a new amp - our drummer has a small PA which is up to most of the gigs we do where PA isn't provided by the venue.... but it's always irked me that I've got these whopping PA cabs that end up sat at the back of the stage just ticking over most of the time. It'd be nice to be able to use his PA just for monitors, and stick the Barefaceds out front.

Also, the inner child in me just wants to find out what they'd be capable of given a big enough amp :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, stoo said:

It's more the PA side of things that I was thinking of - for bass in mono even the XLS1002 looks like plenty as it'll bridge to 1100W @ 4 ohm if I'm running both cabs, or 700W @ 8 ohm if just one.

I can confirm that 1200W through two BB2s (albeit self-powered in my case) is quite a thing to stand in front of.

11 hours ago, stoo said:

It's not even that I really need a new amp - our drummer has a small PA which is up to most of the gigs we do where PA isn't provided by the venue.... but it's always irked me that I've got these whopping PA cabs that end up sat at the back of the stage just ticking over most of the time. It'd be nice to be able to use his PA just for monitors, and stick the Barefaceds out front.

I've done it a couple of times. Whenever we play somewhere new I'll always take both cabs, even though I normally leave one in the car. We turned up at this tiny bar so I used one cab for myself to cover the whole venue and we put the other on a  stand. That one 600W cab did 4 vocals, a kick drum and some bass barely ticking over. I've only ever used both as a recorded music PA, but the two of them did a pretty rocking disco for about 200 people.

11 hours ago, stoo said:

Also, the inner child in me just wants to find out what they'd be capable of given a big enough amp :D

Hearing damage 🙂

Edited by Jack
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

1 hour ago, Jack said:

I can confirm that 1200W through two BB2s (albeit self-powered in my case) is quite a thing to stand in front of.

I've done it a couple of times. Whenever we play somewhere new I'll always take both cabs, even though I normally leave one in the car. We turned up at this tiny bar so I used one cab for myself to cover the whole venue and we put the other on a  stand. That one 600W cab did 4 vocals, a kick drum and some bass barely ticking over. I've only ever used both as a recorded music PA, but the two of them did a pretty rocking disco for about 200 people.

Sounds ideal! :D

1 hour ago, Jack said:

Hearing damage 🙂

Well I wasn't planning on standing right in front of em when they're cranked right up....... well, not for long anyway 😛

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...