Plate Amplifiers

[hamerhead]

Since I have time on my hands and no jams in the foreseeable future, I want to turn my pair of cheapy Pyle unpowered PA subs (rated 800W) into powered subs. They are currently powered by a Gemini(!) 90W per channel Stupid-Deal-of-the-Day amp that works fine for what we're doing. It isn't so much for volume as it is for fattening up the sound a bit.

I was looking at the 100W Dayton plate amps at Parts Express, but really have no idea what I'm doing (yet again). To me, a power amp is a power amp, meant to make quiet sounds loud. Will I torch these amps with some kick drum and a little bass guitar? Are they heavy-duty enough? Am I missing something?

[gtrdaddy]

100Watts is pretty low for a subwoofer, especially If you're running two subs, you'll probably need two of those Dayton plate amps. You could feasibly kill the amp running two subs with it. But even 200Watts is low for a sub. You can get into a Behringer 500 Watt powered sub for $300, Crown has some great amps that are super affordable too, or a two channel Behringer 400w @4ohms / channel amp for $250. You'd be much better off.

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-KM750-BEHRINGER-Black/dp/B01M3RHY5K/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=behringer+amplifier&qid=1612377373&sr=8-3 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VQ1500D--behringer-vq1500d-500w-15-inch-powered-subwoofer 

[hamerhead]

Well yeah, I figured one for each cabinet. Otherwise I have 1 powered and one unpowered. Duh, Jamey.

I'm trying to eliminate the separate amp. The mains are powered EVs that I can line out from, which really cleans up the set up. I agree 100W per isn't ideal, but because it's such a light-duty situation (every 6 months or so at non-stupid volume) I was hoping it would fly. It's actually 10 more watts per side than what I'm using now! I just didn't want to cook 'em.

[gtrdaddy]

11 minutes ago, hamerhead said:

Well yeah, I figured one for each cabinet. Otherwise I have 1 powered and one unpowered. Duh, Jamey

Ha! Well now buckaroo, you did say you didn't really know what you were doing, and I didn't know if you had aspirations to wire them both up to the same amp LOL. Sorry if I insulted your intelligence. 

On another note, if you're not maxing them out constantly, you should be ok if it's just light duty output.

[hamerhead]

You cannot insult what does not exist!

I wasn't very clear, was I? My concern is the spikes from the drum hit. Is that harder on an amp than continuous sound? Will a couple of these amps stand up to it? Or does it matter at relatively low levels? It's not meant to thump you hard in the chest. It's just to round it out some.

[gtrdaddy]

It won't matter playing at low levels. I'm sure they'll clip when you push them hard enough though. Light use, it's ok.

[killerteddybear]

This - https://www.parts-express.com/ACT-15X-120V-Amp-600-Watt-Full-Range-Plate-Amplifier-120V-299-2346

[Dutchman]

18 minutes ago, killerteddybear said:

This - https://www.parts-express.com/ACT-15X-120V-Amp-600-Watt-Full-Range-Plate-Amplifier-120V-299-2346

That has compression! And EQ! Cures that kick spike!

[tomteriffic]

Just a consideration... Since you intend to use the Pyles as subs, you might want to choose something with a built-in crossover.  Otherwise those unfiltered low mids are going to muddy things up considerably.