matybigfro Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 Just wondering if anyone has considered using something like this as a power amp to drive a bass cab with floor moddelers or pre-amp pedals instead of a full bass head? Are there any draw backs that need to be considered or short falls in its design? https://doukaudio.com/collections/digital-amplifier/products/nobsound-g2-pro-hifi-subwoofer-full-frequency-mono-digital-power-amplifier-300w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 You'd also need a transformer to power it at 32v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlefeeder Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 1 hour ago, Acebassmusic said: You'd also need a transformer to power it at 32v. In the packing list at the bottom of the linked page, it says that the 32v psu is included. It looks better made than some evilbay alternatives, and there are amplifier chips that will deliver ~100-200W bridged with a supply voltage of that order, but I'd take the quoted power with a pinch of salt, and I'd be wary of running it at max power 'just to see what it is capable of'. I realise this is inconsistent - I don't believe it and I don't advise checking it out - but one of the limiting factors with single chip amplifiers is getting rid of the waste heat, and this one has a small heatsink and no fan. David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 There are reviews on the linked page, and a few of them say it's a bit quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 300W is achievable, but not at 32V and probably not in that enclosure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 It says the power supply is 32v 5A. That's 160 watts. I very much doubt that it operates at close to 200% efficiency. 🤥 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 There is no such thing as a digital poweramp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyc Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 11 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said: It says the power supply is 32v 5A. That's 160 watts. I very much doubt that it operates at close to 200% efficiency. 🤥 Maximum input voltage is 48v which would correspond to their claimed "300W" power. Of course it's all marketing, and still 240W < 300W; they're probably playing fast and loose with RMS vs peak power. For what it's worth, I use a Fosi Audio that's very similar to this. As a hi-fi, it is truly excellent. As a bass amp, it's truly excellent ... as a practice amp. I've never gigged with it, because I have never need to. Built quality is very high, but it's clearly not meant to be thrown into your gig bag. The speakers connections are either bare wire or banana connectors so not designed for frequent plugging unplugging, so that will fail eventually, probably at the worst moment. Also, the components are almost certainly not assembled with excessive vibration in mind, which is the sort of thought you would absolutely want put into a proper gigging amp. The pots feel very nice, but I'm under no illusion that drops which I have inflicted my other pieces of equipment would ruin the Nobsound's, er, knobs. In short, if I was forced to use it on a quiet gig, it absolutely would do the job sonically and I'd be pleased with the results, but an amp is not just about its sound: I would need to rely on it. Because of that, personally I wouldn't use this as my main amp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 4 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said: There is no such thing as a digital poweramp. There is, but the term is very loosely applied to amps that aren't fully digital, like Class D. Quote Maximum input voltage is 48v which would correspond to their claimed "300W" power. Of course it's all marketing, and still 240W < 300W; they're probably playing fast and loose with RMS vs peak power. Maybe they're TC watts. 😄 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassmanPaul Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) 12 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said: There is no such thing as a digital poweramp. That was my first thought too. if they got that fact wrong what else did they fudge? Seriously if you want quality you'll have to pay more than ninety bucks for it! Edited November 21, 2023 by BassmanPaul 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said: There is, but the term is very loosely applied to amps that aren't fully digital, like Class D. Maybe they're TC watts. 😄 Class D is not partially digital either, not based on a CPU running binary 0s and 1s based software, and I have hard time imagining how a poweramp could possibly based on that. Try to look up the definition of digital. Edited November 21, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 🍿 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyc Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 30 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said: I have hard time imagining how a poweramp could possibly based on that. Switch-mode power supply "chunks" can be aligned with the frequency responses of digital signals: there is no digital analogue conversion (DAC) and therefore you could consider that to be a digital poweramp as there is no analogue signal involved at all. As far as I know, this means of amplification is only available using class D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) 7 minutes ago, chyc said: Switch-mode power supply "chunks" can be aligned with the frequency responses of digital signals: there is no digital analogue conversion (DAC) and therefore you could consider that to be a digital poweramp as there is no analogue signal involved at all. As far as I know, this means of amplification is only available using class D. It's all analog technology though and not digital. Look up the definition of digital. Edited November 21, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyc Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 It's the opposite. There is no analogue signal in the example I gave. In fact, this may well not be true, but I could believe that the D could stand for digital, as is in effect utilizing a step function alternating between two values to create pulses which are summed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 The reason there are no truly digital amps where our needs are concerned is a speaker can't make use of a digital signal. Many amps have some type of A/D conversion of the input signal, which is amplified by pulse wave modulation that requires low pass filtering before the speaker can make use of it. That makes them quasi-digital. AFAIK PWM amps were called Class D because when invented in the 1950s it was the next available letter in the alphabet. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassmanPaul Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 24 minutes ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said: AFAIK PWM amps were called Class D because when invented in the 1950s it was the next available letter in the alphabet. Precisely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 "digital" is such an abused word it just slides past me now. I have a pair of headphones branded "digital". I heard that WC Boggs had trouble deciding whether to brand their new crapper "digital" or "quantum" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 20 minutes ago, bremen said: "digital" is such an abused word it just slides past me now. I have a pair of headphones branded "digital". I heard that WC Boggs had trouble deciding whether to brand their new crapper "digital" or "quantum" I hope it's digital - who wants smearing and, God forbid, tunnelling in that situation ? 🥺 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 13 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said: The reason there are no truly digital amps where our needs are concerned is a speaker can't make use of a digital signal. Many amps have some type of A/D conversion of the input signal, which is amplified by pulse wave modulation that requires low pass filtering before the speaker can make use of it. That makes them quasi-digital. AFAIK PWM amps were called Class D because when invented in the 1950s it was the next available letter in the alphabet. IMHO, it is better to consider Class D amps as modulator/demodulators (modems) or radio transmitter/receivers, where both actions happen within a single unit. PWM is a form of modulation like AM or FM. At no point does the signal in a class D amp need to be converted to 1s or 0s. In some cases, manufacturers may use digital circuits to control aspects of the amplifier, but it is not a prerequisite. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekomatic Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 4 hours ago, bremen said: "digital" is such an abused word it just slides past me now. I have a pair of headphones branded "digital". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 4 hours ago, bremen said: "digital" is such an abused word it just slides past me now. I have a pair of headphones branded "digital". I remember in the 80s when CDs were introduced everything from receivers, tuners and amps to speakers and even wires were labeled as 'Digital Ready', giving the impression that you needed to upgrade to play CDs. The only change that had been made to the gear was the addition of the 'Digital Ready' sticker. 🤥 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 Ice cream was so much tastier when it was analogue 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 (edited) 10 minutes ago, bremen said: Ice cream was so much tastier when it was analogue Exactly ! You didn't go the ice cream van and ask for 'A 1100011 please !', did you ? Edited November 22, 2023 by ahpook 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 20 minutes ago, ahpook said: Exactly ! You didn't go the ice cream van and ask for 'A 1100011 please !', did you ? You win the internet today. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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