Amplifier Showdown

[TonyB 0]

Just aquired a Tapco J1400. As it was second hand (but hardly used) thought I had better test it as soon as I got home.

 

Just happened to have a couple of other amps nearby so thought I would do a comparison.

 

Just decks, mixer, amps to 12" inch tops.

 

The amps are (price is a rough average from the internet):

 

Tapco Juice J1400 310w @ 8 Ohms £220

Numark Dimension 3 300w @ 8 Ohms £220

T.AMP 350w @ 8 Ohms £162.17

 

First the Tapco. Sounded a bit thin. Lacked bass, turned the bass EQ nearly full up and reduced the treble and mid range a bit to get an acceptable sound. Made the speakers sound a bit harsh

 

Next the Numark.

Definitely more bass so less EQ required than the Tapco. High & mid range needed less reduction. There was still a bit of a "muffled" sound compared to the Tapco. Mid range wasn't as clear as I would like. Little bit of harshness but not as bad as the Tapco

 

Next the T.amp. Best bass out of the lot. Bass EQ near normal. High and mid range only turned down a little bit. Nice smooth sound with very clear mid range. In my opinion, best out of the three. And its the cheapest so I know which one I would buy again.

 

At the moment I use the Numark for the tops and T.Amp for the Bass bins (450w@ 4ohms).

 

Will give the Tapco a try with the bass bins at the weekend to see if it is better with just the mid/highs. Definitely wouldn't use it on its own for full range with a 12".

 

I will admit that I am a bit of a bass head and all my rigs have bass bins so other peoples opinions may differ.

[McCardle 1]

Nice review and a good read

[Andy Dunn 0]

Sorry,but just to clarify are you using an amp which delivers 350w into 8 ohms to feed bins which are rated at 450w at 4 ohms?

[TonyB 0]

Sorry,but just to clarify are you using an amp which delivers 350w into 8 ohms to feed bins which are rated at 450w at 4 ohms?

 

No, sorry, other way round. Bins are 300w at 4 Ohms and amp gives 450w at 4 Ohms. Compressor/limiter stops them being over driven.