Fanless pro amp for my AV15?

Darren_T · 09-16-2003, 10:18 AM

I've been looking at the QSC amps for my sub, I want a pro amp with a good amount of headroom for future sub upgrades but I really don't want to spend $1,000 on an amp for my sub. The only amps I've found without fans are in that price range though. I'm afraid the fan noise will be annoying since I use my system for regular TV viewing also which means lower volumes and possible fan noise.

Has anyone got a good suggestion for a good pro amp without a fan? Maybe a good pro amp that I can swap the fan with a better fan easily? I've read threads on this topic but never seemed to find a solid answer. I like the specs and price of QSC and Crown...wish I had a K2

Thanks!

Darren

Brian Bunge · 09-16-2003, 10:24 AM

Darren,

The QSC PLX series amps can be upgraded with "silent" fans and it's my understanding that it's as easy as pulling the cover, unplugging the existing fan, and plugging in a new one. IIRC, the fans SPL output is somewhere around 30dB?

Kyle Richardson · 09-16-2003, 10:29 AM

Well, the Crown K1 and K2 are fanless but are in the price range where you didnt want to be. The Samson S1000 is a quiet amp that puts out 500wpc into 4 ohm and 1000w into 8 ohm bridged but note that it cannot be bridged into 4 ohm.

The QSC PLX series amps are fairly quiet but can be easily self-upgraded to a quiet fan that makes them in the same noise category as a projector, which if placed across the room will probably be inaudible.
**Doh** Brian beat me to this recommendation.

Hope this helps.

dave alan · 09-16-2003, 11:40 AM

I've mentioned stewart amps before. You might give them a look.

The World 1.2 is 700W bridged @ 8 ohms and 1200W bridged @ 4 ohms, 1 rackspace, no fan, 11 pounds, around 600 bucks.

The bigger amps (World 1.6 and 2.1) have fans, but the fans are variable speed.

On the pro side, these are proven amps with over 30 awards for design and tone. As a bass player for 30 years, I've tried every power amp you can name. Stewart is hard to beat.

The Crown K series are good amps, but the stewart trounces them at considerable $ savings, and...they do bass better.

I power my entire HT with pro amps. $/watt, sound, balanced connections, reliability, rack mountable, etc., you can't beat them.

Frank Carter · 09-16-2003, 12:02 PM

I could only hear the fan on my Samson S1000 and S1500 if I was within 1-2 feet of them. Fan noice is definitely not a problem with them.

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Darren_T · 09-16-2003, 01:15 PM

Thanks guys,

Looks like a fan won't be much of an issue then. I'm glad to hear the upgrades for the PLX line are a good option if necessary.

Darren

Tracy_L · 09-16-2003, 02:10 PM

Hey Darren

I've got a QSC RMX850 powering my dual AV15 IB. I've had it connected for about 2 weeks now and cannot hear the fan unless I'm standing right in front of it. At seating position (probably about 10 feet away from the amp), even during quiet times of a movie, I can't hear it.

QSC RMX amps
I think I picked mine up for around $260 shipped from northernsound.net

I am quite pleased with my setup!!!!!

Tracy

RichardHOS · 09-16-2003, 02:25 PM

The best value I've found thus far is the Crown XLS line. Very respectable specs (as if that matters), high power, nice clean chassis, and surprisingly low price. 400wpc @ 4ohms will only cost you ~$250 from several dealers.

Loud fans though (a pair of 80mm Xinruilian @ 24.1dBA each).

I have one to play with, and I'm going to take some temp and noise measurements stock and then after swapping out fans for some lower cfm low noise models (probably Pabst - around 12dBA each). I doubt Crown would like that too much from a warranty viewpoint though.

Still, even after fan upgrades you're looking at less than $300 for 400wpc @ 4ohm. Very tempting, and perhaps worth the warranty risk.

Frank Carter · 09-16-2003, 02:48 PM

I've been looking for low priced pro amps lately and happened to notice a few Samson S2000's(1000Wx2) for $499 on ebay. I think that's a pretty good deal, and like I mentioned above, these fans are whisper quiet.

Allen Ross · 09-16-2003, 03:09 PM

why not go used?

The Crown DC 300A has been around for ages and is a known work horse that has plenty of power, especially if you can get one for 200 bucks or so.

Darren_T · 09-16-2003, 03:15 PM

The price on the Samson amps is very attractive although you are stuck with 1000 watts minimum

I suppose I could just run one channel to my sub for now but even 1000 watts is a bit much for one AV15. This is why I like the QSC offerings since you can start off with one channel at 500 or 700 and then you have the choice of bridging mono into 4 or 8 ohms etc... I'm open to the Samsons though as they appear to be a great deal. I just need to weigh the risks of accidently sending too much power to my AV15.

Darren