Rockville RPA16 Review (Pro Amplifier)

[beefkabob]

Perfect amp for a strip club. Lots of power for lotsa, lotsa bass oomph, and such an environment isn't low noise anyway.

So glad we have your expertise.

 

[vkhong]

The amp would be great for a set of subwoofer and tactile transducers. That's a lot of LFE and rumble!

 

[phoenixdogfan]

It's cheap enough that you could build your own sound proof room to house a couple of them.

 

[Doodski]

I searched for internal pics although the search results where apparently not of the specific model tested here. A teardown would be a pain in the butt with that big bolt holding the transformer down. So I don't think a teardown is practical for a quick easy removal of the top cover.

 

[DanielT]

Cerwin-Vega or Klipsch from the 80’s. Rock that frat house!

Buy some PA bass elements / drivers plus:

Compression drivers?

How common are Compression drivers for Hifi speakers, for home use, home hifi that is? I do not see them that often. How is it that? Too expensive? Difficult to design good speakers with? What about Compression drivers regarding FR, directivity and distortion? They have a high sensitivity, I...

audiosciencereview.com

Then forward with the saw. Carve something together. Not so careful as long as it sounds a hell of a lot. The bigger and uglier the better.After that ... party ...

Edit:
Or some cheap Piezo Horn, tweeters...

 

[Billy Budapest]

Most of the subwoofer freq. range THD seems low enough and tons of power. Seems like this would make a killer sub amp for an extraordinarily low price.

Agreed—in that application or in a PA, this would work well. I guess the designers were going for extremely high power at all costs, damn the technical performance.

 

[DanielT]

I searched for internal pics although the search results where apparently not of the specific model tested here. A teardown would be a pain in the butt with that big bolt holding the transformer down. So I don't think a teardown is practical for a quick easy removal of the top cover.

Pic

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/3000-wattts-for-300-rockville-rpa16.3164409/

 

[Doodski]

Pic

Yes, I saw that one pic although the 6 or so pics of the amp that I found where all different. So I did not want to trust any source for a pic to be posted at ASR. That pic you posted does not have the bolt going through the top for the transformer and the heatsink appears to be very small for this kind of power output even for a class D amp. Perhaps they have different revisions of the same model. Maybe I am just over analyzing this.

 

[DanielT]

Yes, I saw that one pic although the 6 or so pics of the amp that I found where all different. So I did not want to trust any source for a pic to be posted at ASR. That pic you posted does not have the bolt going through the top for the transformer and the heatsink appears to be very small for this kind of power output even for a class D amp. Perhaps they have different revisions of the same model. Maybe I am just over analyzing this.

Amir gets to bring out the screwdriver.

If it matters so much now, I dont know. But it's still a bit fun to see.

Edit:
The more I think about it. That POWER amp does exactly what it's supposed to do. Maybe not to low volume listening for home HiFi, but that's not its purpose (as others in the thread also pointed out).
Maybe for subwoffer for home HiF.., hm ... maybe ...

 

[Larry B. Larabee]

This looks like a good starting point for after market mods. Another 10db reduction in noise/thd would make this useable. Most of the junk looks like emissions from the transformer which can be reduced by repostioning/ twisting. The RPA12 in the series may have less noise (smaller transformer) and it still puts out 500/700w into 8/4 ohms. Possibilities on a budget for sure.

 

[ClassicGuy]

I am a little hesitant to cast a vote here. Measurements are so poor from audiophile perspective that it deserves a poor rating. But maybe it should be judged as a cheap alternative for PA purposes.

 

[DonR]

I am a little hesitant to cast a vote here. Measurements are so poor from audiophile perspective that it deserves a poor rating. But maybe it should be judged as a cheap alternative for PA purposes.

I would judge it for its intended market rather than trying to make it fit in as an "audiophile" piece of equipment. It would work just fine in a concert or other live environment. I have pro amps at home and they need to be modified (fans unplugged) to be acceptable.

 

[ClassicGuy]

I would judge it for its intended market rather than trying to make it fit in as an "audiophile" piece of equipment. It would work just fine in a concert or other live environment. I have pro amps at home and they need to be modified (fans unplugged) to be acceptable.

Another thing going against it is that it falsely claims to output 10,000 watts, but measurement shows it doesn't even hit 1000 watts.

 

[Doodski]

Another thing going against it is that it falsely claims to output 10,000 watts, but measurement shows it doesn't even hit 1000 watts.

I searched Rockville and apparently a class action lawsuit was in place some years ago for using such exaggerated power output figures.

 

[PeteL]

I would judge it for its intended market rather than trying to make it fit in as an "audiophile" piece of equipment. It would work just fine in a concert or other live environment. I have pro amps at home and they need to be modified (fans unplugged) to be acceptable.

Depend on the concert environment. A crowded bar absolutely, but there are certainly nice concert halls out there where people actually listen and hi-fidelity matter.

 

[DonR]

Depend on the concert environment. A crowded bar absolutely, but there are certainly nice concert halls out there where people actually listen and hi-fidelity matter.

I think the intended market is in the company name "Rockville".

 

[DonR]

Another thing going against it is that it falsely claims to output 10,000 watts, but measurement shows it doesn't even hit 1000 watts.

Yes, dubious advertising is bad regardless of the market.

 

[Helicopter]

Buy some PA bass elements / drivers plus:

Compression drivers?

How common are Compression drivers for Hifi speakers, for home use, home hifi that is? I do not see them that often. How is it that? Too expensive? Difficult to design good speakers with? What about Compression drivers regarding FR, directivity and distortion? They have a high sensitivity, I...

audiosciencereview.com

Then forward with the saw. Carve something together. Not so careful as long as it sounds a hell of a lot. The bigger and uglier the better.After that ... party ...

Edit:
Or some cheap Piezo Horn, tweeters...

You're going to want that Piezo sizzle to balance out any muddiness. A resistor and a capacitor for the crossover. 3/8 inch plywood is good, or go all out and use half inch. Once you build these cabinets and speakers, you'll have the perfect setup for listening while the table saw is cutting something during the next build.

 

[Sal1950]

Another thing going against it is that it falsely claims to output 10,000 watts, but measurement shows it doesn't even hit 1000 watts.

I searched Rockville and apparently a class action lawsuit was in place some years ago for using such exaggerated power output figures.

That should qualify them for a spot on the High End registry, Fibbers Extraordinare! LOL

 

[Dmitri]

You're going to want that Piezo sizzle to balance out any muddiness. A resistor and a capacitor for the crossover. 3/8 inch plywood is good, or go all out and use half inch. Once you build these cabinets and speakers, you'll have the perfect setup for listening while the table saw is cutting something during the next build.

The perfect shop amp! I always wear hearing protection anyway!