Dare V Series Amplifiers

[ChrisPointon 0]

The Dare range of Amplifiers is available in the Dare V500 (2x 250W), Dare V800 (2x 400W), Dare V1100 (2x 550W) and Dare V1400 (2x 700W). All figures are RMS continuous and based on both channels being driven.

 

For purposes of Evaluation we are reviewing the Dare V1100.

 

The Dare V series all come in a standard 19" rack format, with all models being supplied in a 2U high rack case. The front panel is well laid out, although the cosmetic appeal of the DARE logo is a little garish. The large volume controls for each channels are large and flush with the panel meaning that accidental knocking of the level controls would be almost impossible. The Main Power supply switch is central and affects both channels. The switch itself feels positive and certainly not flimsy.

 

Other features of the front panel include status leds to indicate Power, Signal, Clip and protection active.

 

The rear panel offers connection to each channel by means of Banana style binding sockets or professional speakon plugs. There is sadly only one speakon output per channel which may result in problems if the single output was to ever wear and become faulty. The signal inputs are by way of seperate Jack sockets or XLR Female Sockets, and the amplifier can be driven from balanced outputs. Mains input is by standard IEC fused socket.

 

Also on the rear panel are the mode switches. These allow selection of Bridge Mono, Stereo and Parallel operation of the amplifier, and the limiter switch which allows simple on/off selection of the built in clip limiter. Two very useful additions are the inclusion of a ground lift switch which allows you to safely seperate the mains and signal earths in the event of an earth hum, and also the dual input sensitivity switch which allows signal connection at either the usual standard 0db input and also a higher level input +3db input which are common on some American mixers.

 

The Test - carried out using a single pair of Ohm RWS3 Speakers at 8 ohms

 

At low levels the amplifier sounds crisp and clean, the vocals are easily indentifiable and all frequencies seem to be well defined. As you turn up the volume the signal remains clear but the bass sounds a little muddied and could be a little tighter. Given that this is essentially a budget priced amplifier I will give it 8/10 for the sound quality at this point.

 

2nd Test - Carried out using a borrowed EV Eliminator system

 

Again the output is crystal clear even at the back of a fairly large pub the vocals are well defined and the High Frequency is clear and sparkling, and this remains until around 75% of the amplifiers rated output. However push the amp towards its full rated output and the bass seems to lose grunt very quickly and the earlier tightness at low - medium levels vanishes. The clip lights seem to illuminate very quickly with small increases in bass on the mixer EQ control.

 

Running Evaluation

 

When switched in, the signal limiter is a little bit harsh, and the amount of kick down when pushed is evident in the sudden compression of the music signal, however these are only made to act in the event of overload so should, and do remain transparant during normal operating levels, however the effect of the limiter when it does get to work could be a little more subtle.

 

The cooling could certainly be more effective and as a result this is a very hot running amplifier when flightcased. Dare have chosen not to go with the cenventional front to back cooling, where the fan draws cool air from an external vent and blows it over the heatsink which holds the output transistors. Instead they have mounted the fans internally, directly to the heatsink, with only two small vents cut in the side of the amplifier case to allow cool air to be drawn in. This causes the amplifier to run very hot, even at fairly average power levels, since the fan is effectively just re-circulating air from inside the case which may already be heated by the heatsink and transfomer components. When flightcased the side vents also restrict the air intake even more.

 

Since Heat is the enemy of any transistor, overheating may shorten the life of the output devices and some even limit themselves during periods of excessively high temperature which could in turn reduce the output power. After 4 hours of operation the amplifier was significantly hotter than some of its counterparts in the same price bracket which had the original front to back cooling.

 

Conclusion

 

The Dare V series offers excellent value for money, and features like the switchable signal input level and Ground Lift switch set it apart from its rivals. The Sound Quality at average listening levels is very good and its HF Clarity would make it suitable for Karaoke and PA operations. Sadly this is let down on it's bass response especially at higher power levels and those who intend to run it in conjunction with Bass Bins may be a little disappointed with the overall result. The amount of 'headroom' offered by the V1100 was very limited and it seemed to struggle with loud bass passages similar to those in New Orders - Blue Monday which seemed to eat up all of the units resources.

 

The cooling could certainly be improved and after 4 hours of operation in a pub environment it was far hotter than the majority of other amplifiers.

 

However, if you are looking for a cost effective amplifier that will run an average sized rig then look no further.

[YourBigEvent 0]

Have you got any prices Chris ?

[paula 0]

Was this purely just a test or have you actually taken it out on a gig with you?

[ChrisPointon 0]

I took this Amp out on the road with me - hence the part of the review using the Ohm RWS speakers, these are what I use. I also put it in a pub where I used to work, just for a night, driving their EV Eliminator Subs and Full Range, I wasn't Dj'ing - I was selling him a combined 60mw Red & Green laser (review coming soon) but I was there for the entire gig.

 

The amp he usually uses for these was a Chevin, so there wasn't really an Amp to Amp comparison against a £1300 beast, but he also uses a Warrior 500 x2 Amp in the same rack, to drive a couple more EV's and by comparison this ran a lot cooler, into a 4 ohm load than the Dare.

 

I also noticed when driving a single pair of my own RW series 8 Ohm Speakers that the Dare ran noticably warmer than my McGregor Rm seres. This is where I drew the conclusion about the cooling issue. I thought it a reasonable test, two different gigs covering two different types of music, driving different speakers into both 8 and 4 ohm loads, and the only thing which was noticable in both tests was the heat, which was actually my only real axe grind about the amp itself.

 

If you ever see one of these amps, check out the vents on either side of the amplifier case - about 1/2 way down the length of the case on each side. Inside the Amplifier are the fans and they rely on these to bring in the cool air to circulate over the hot heatsink and drive away heat from the output transistors. Obviously you can imagine how it would affect the cool air circulation being drawn in through these, if the unit was flightcased, even more so if it shared a case with other heat generating equipment - meaning that the amp is drawing in stale warm air which is not as effective at cooling as forced cool air front to back or back to front cooling which is usually the norm on Amplifiers - and remains unaffected by flightcasing.

 

Additional:-

 

I've found an inside picture to demonstrate what I mean

 

http://www.chrispointon.f2s.com/dare.jpg

 

As you can see, the fan placing is not exactly ideal. in a lot of amps the heatsink runs the length of the case and the fan mounted on the back or front panel drawing cool air directly in from the outside. In the Dare, the fans are just screwed onto the heatsink drawing air in from the two side vents which are off side to each fan. Should the side vents be obstructed - ie flightcasing then the air circulation becomes restricted, the inside temperature of the amp will rise since the fans will just be drawing through and recirculating the air which is inside the case.

 

Andy if you want a price PM me the model you are interested in.

[Kingy 0]

Fair review Chris, nice one!