Subwoofer amp options

[elderblaze]

Building a pair of DIY subs utilizing SI SQL-15, 4 ohm load, rated at conservative 1000 watt RMS power handling. Sealed enclosures, will use Mini DSP to tweak bottom end.

Budget : 1600$

Considerations: Prefer Single Chassis, Prefer NO fans, 12v trigger

Things im considering:

UCD 2k DIY (800$ x 2)
Ice Power 1200 AS1 DIY ($$ not sure)
VTV Pascal X-PRO1 (2500watt x 2) (1549$)

2 ea. Crown 1502, 2002, or 2502, bridged (supposedly quiet fans) (800$) (1000$) (1200$)
1 ea. Crown XLI 3500 class a/b 1350watt per channel (loud fans?) (875$)

Crown is cheapest with biggest feature set. Not sure how it's performance stacks up vs something like Pascal X-PRO1

 

[Sokel]

Why not Ice Power 2000as1?
It's around 100$ more that 1200as1 (550$ for 2000as2-450$ for 2000as1-450$ for 1200as2,350$ for 1200as1) with much more power.
Good thing about them is they already have simple control and report system for just about everything including the trigger you want and also wake up by signal which is even better.

 

[Jason Shep]

I’ve been using a pair of Crown Xli3500’s on my bass cabinets for 3 + years now & very happy with them, very simple workhorses that sound great on bass/subs.
Fans are audible but nowhere near the loudness of Behringer or QSC rmx that I’ve owned in the past.

 

[DVDdoug]

Most home & studio subwoofers are active/powered so have you considered a plate amp?

 

[elderblaze]

i've already built my cab's and did not really want to go with Plate amps. I prefer the more modular, easy replacement of stand alone amps. When amp dies in x years it's easy to just swap in a new one without having to deal with finding the right size plate amp. etc

I keep waffling back and forth between Crown XLS and VTV Pascal X-PRO1. I'm pretty sure it will be one of these two options, but I wanted to get idea's for alternate possibilities. Make sure im not missing anything.

I don't think I want to mess with DIY, as VTV is extremely competitive. Simply not worth the hassle to save 200 bucks, once you figure in VTV is getting bulk rate on modules and have done excellent case work. I've seen the ASR reviews and am aware of their issues. I still find them to be a good value.

The cost issue is one that has me a bit hung up.. Crown XLS 2002 2100 watts x 2 (bridged) (2 units) can be had for ~1000$, is a known value, and has some nice features. The Pascal amp from VTV is a bit more powerful from a likely better amp, with no sub 20 hz roll off, in a much nicer chasis, they both have 12v triggers and speakon outputs. The price difference is about 600$.

 

[tehas]

agree with @Sokel about the icepower 2000as1. They seem to be around $450 a module, and fully self contained so minimal DIY. Their datasheet is much more detailed, including things like duration for which power can be supplied at a given frequency.

The X-Pros seem to be great too and VTV has a nice product at $1540 for 2 subwoofer amps.
the only thing concerning me is this comparative analysis by speakerpower, claiming that there's a high pass filter on them limiting power at subwoofer frequencies: https://www.speakerpower.net/comparative-performance.html

Of course, there's a conflict of interest there ... but I'd love to see one tested. If you elect to go with Xpros, would love it if you sent the unit in to Amir for testing and specifically tested the full power bandwidth, performance from 10Hz and up, duration for which full power is supplied, etc.

 

[elderblaze]

agree with @Sokel about the icepower 2000as1. They seem to be around $450 a module, and fully self contained so minimal DIY. Their datasheet is much more detailed, including things like duration for which power can be supplied at a given frequency.

The X-Pros seem to be great too and VTV has a nice product at $1540 for 2 subwoofer amps.
the only thing concerning me is this comparative analysis by speakerpower, claiming that there's a high pass filter on them limiting power at subwoofer frequencies: https://www.speakerpower.net/comparative-performance.html

Of course, there's a conflict of interest there ... but I'd love to see one tested. If you elect to go with Xpros, would love it if you sent the unit in to Amir for testing and specifically tested the full power bandwidth, performance from 10Hz and up, duration for which full power is supplied, etc.

Dang I have not seen that, bummer. Wonder if I should remove this one from the list. It was one of my favorites too (VTV pascal)

 

[elderblaze]

I think im gonna go with a pair of Crown XLS 2002's.. 2100 Watts, rca inputs, speakons, gain knobs, high/low pass, 3 year warrenty, silent fans, measurements, and a known quantity. Tough to beat. 1000$ a pair. They are ugly, and not a single chasis and do have fans, albeit quiet. So not 100% what I want, but still appear to be unbeatable in other aspects. Behringer is too loud and too unreliable.