New Pro Amps with DSP

[Radley]

QSC & Lab Gruppen have both come out with some interesting new amplifiers that pack a good amount of punch at reasonable prices.

I thought this note might of interest here because some members like to use Pro amps in their home set ups and it seems a lot of members like to use some DSP for tweaks and crossovers. These are both.

Lab Gruppen has introduced the IPD 2400 & 1200 (http://labgruppen.com/products/ipd_series_touring/). Single rack space, 13 lbs. Dual channels but does not bridge. Very clean and powerful. One can add a wi-fi router and control them from an iPad.

QSC has the CDX (http://www.qsc.com/products/power_amplifiers/cxd_series/) series. Two rack spaces with weights from 18-22 pounds. Bridgeable in pairs.

I've used the Lab IPD2400 in a variety of situations and I like it. I haven't used the QSC yet.

[Mike Caldwell]

From what I've heard the new QSC four channel DSP amps have been a little hit and miss on reliability.
Having said that, all the other amps in the QSC line are solid performers, I use a lot of them in my sound systems.

[Radley]

Absolutely spot on, Mike. I looked around and saw that too. Thanks.

[Mike Caldwell]

Other on board DSP amps to look at would be Powersoft, XTA, Crown and Crest Audio.

When I first read about QSC coming out with a four channel on board DSP amp I started thinking of ways to use them. After the real world reports of abnormally high failure rates started to show up I'm going to let them mature a little then look at them again.

Crown had similar issues when they came out with the original I-Tech amps, after a relatively short time they came out the "HD" version of the I-Techs that took care of the original issues and offered a better DSP platform.

[baldrick]

Anyone tried Crown CTS amps? Some have said they are comparable to iTech but with less power, also avilable as both 4 and 8 channels and plugin DSP similar to iTech.

[Mike Caldwell]

The CTS series is geared to the install market. I know some of the larger models are class I amps, that would make them similar to the I Techs at least in output design. With the addition of one of the PIP cards you could have a DSP based amp. Not sure on the four channel models if the PIP option cards give you any channel routing and configuration options.
Crown just came out with some DSP amps for the install market, not sure what all they can do.

[baldrick]

The newer PIP card is said to be the same as in iTech HD, and the older one the same as iTech.

Normally you can cound "quality" regarding Crown from their damping factor... CTS have the same high damping factor as iTech, >3000.

4 and 8 channel can also be used with DSP: http://www.crownaudio.com/media/wysiwyg/CTs/CTs_Multi-Channel_USP-CN.pdf