Harley Benton block 800b

#41
martin-75- said:
Thank you for your opinion agedhorse. I hope we are not getting too much off-topic. I'm wondering what mods you mean. I am not that technical and I'm guessing you are :) The mods being made on mine are the ones suggested in the "final list".
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I only saw one schematic posted, the gain mod is missing critical non-inverting input bias.

My experience is that most mods result in unexpected problems, this would be no exception.
 
#42
Hi guys,

Thinking to sell my Darkglass M900 and get one of this, as I process all my sound with my Helix LT and I'm just using the M900 power amp.

What do you think ?

Thanks and best regards.
 
#45
Obviously, the Darkglass is a much, much higher end product, but, I also wonder just how much of that difference is in the power amp? Can anyone here explain that difference in technical terms and in real world performance? Does it come down to actual RMS power output, speed/response, minimum load requirements?

This is something I've been struggling to wrap my head around since class D power amps in general, and IcePower specifically (as well as Pascal, to some extent), have become ubiquitous. The IcePower amps, which I'm guessing is what is in the HB800, have earned a very good reputation, and they can be found in some incredibly affordable packages. So, budget amps vs high end amps, are there big benefits in the power section, or is it all in the preamp and other features? (obviously, you have to pay more to get more power, everything else equal.)
 
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#46
I’ve made a picture of the poweramp inside. Hope it helps. I like it but I have no comparison with more expensive modern amps personally.
 

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#48
BassikLee said:
So, a quick search says that W1304 is a version of their 700 AS1 power module. According to ICE, it's capable of 1000 watts into 2.7ohms.
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I wouldn't go less than 4ohms with the HB800b though. The implementation of the power amp can affect its min impedance rating, so I'd stick with what it says on the back of the amp.
 
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#50
Because of large regions of sub-nominal impedance on many bass cabinets, I would not recommend operating the ICEPower module below nominal 4 ohms unless there is additional dynamics management circuitry included in the amp's design.

I regularly see 4 ohm speakers with SIGNIFICANT low frequency spectrum well below 4 ohms, which encroaches on the 2.67 ohm MINIMUM load (note that they do not specify this as NOMINAL load, there is an important difference between minimum and nominal)
 
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#51
martin-75- said:
I’m discussing the poweramp with my technician right now. I’ve send him the datasheet:
https://icepower.dk/download/1652/

If he responds with something off interest for this topic I’ll report.
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The technician withholds his opinion. He is intrigued that ICEpower makes the best out of a class D poweramp. (Class D is not hifi). But he did mention that the powerrating is 270 and not 700. But that should be enough in a band.

agedhorse said:
Because of large regions of sub-nominal impedance on many bass cabinets, I would not recommend operating the ICEPower module below nominal 4 ohms unless there is additional dynamics management circuitry included in the amp's design.
Click to expand...

Please take this advice.
 
#52
martin-75- said:
The technician withholds his opinion. He is intrigued that ICEpower makes the best out of a class D poweramp. (Class D is not hifi). But he did mention that the powerrating is 270 and not 700. But that should be enough in a band.



Please take this advice.
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If your technician thinks that the power rating of that module (700AS1) is 270 watts, I respectfully suggest that he find another line of work. He is simply wrong, period. I have the nationally recognized safety lab test results to know this as a fact, not an opinion.

Technicians are often under-educated, they do not understand what they are looking at and make their opinions without understanding the facts and data. I see this an awful lot unfortunately, and it's a disgrace to those technicians who are truly qualified.

Also, class D has nothing to do with hi-fi of not, it is simply the operating class of the power amplifier.
 
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#53
What this all proved is my lack of good knowledge. It is of no help if I put all these wrong statements up here.
Also I can get in problems with translation in English and technical terms. So I regret making confusing statements. I have no technical background.

Thing is that I really like the HB bass block, but I would not consider to sell my TE or BasKing FT for it. (Eventhough it all may or maynot be considered qualifying gear)
 
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#54
bassically_eli said:
Obviously, the Darkglass is a much, much higher end product, but, I also wonder just how much of that difference is in the power amp? Can anyone here explain that difference in technical terms and in real world performance? Does it come down to actual RMS power output, speed/response, minimum load requirements?

This is something I've been struggling to wrap my head around since class D power amps in general, and IcePower specifically (as well as Pascal, to some extent), have become ubiquitous. The IcePower amps, which I'm guessing is what is in the HB800, have earned a very good reputation, and they can be found in some incredibly affordable packages. So, budget amps vs high end amps, are there big benefits in the power section, or is it all in the preamp and other features? (obviously, you have to pay more to get more power, everything else equal.)
Click to expand...

That's my point, I know that Darkglass M900 should be in another league according to his price, but I'm just using it as an expensive power amp and not using the preamp (and no intention).

Just thinking on selling and get the HB bass block and get some cash.

Thanks everyone and best regards !
 
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#55
Well, Had mine on back order for a few months and finally got one in March. Several reviews said they hated the preamp/EQ, and at first i didn't like that it didn't sound like my GK MB500 (which has a "warmer" sound), but after a while I realized it's a brighter sounding amp and can be tweaked to a good tone and had more "definition". I'm in two bands and one the guitarist and drummer try to outdo each other volume wise. When I brought in this amp the singer said "Hey, I can finally hear you well". It's much heavier and taller than my GK amp, but as amps go it's still light and small.

The amazing part is shipping was $34 from Germany to the US and took 4 days. I've ordered stuff from China and that usually takes 3-6 weeks.
 
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#58
the fan is on frequent enough but I have not found it to be a distraction in "home" use. So I would say quiet from that perspective - I have a GK, a DarkGlass and TH., the HB is one of the lowest noise between these (DK being that loudest) - in live/band situation you will certainly not hear it at all
 
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#59
No gigs in the near future, so I can't justify dropping money on this amp head, however Father's Day is on the horizon
and last Fathers day the family got me a bass, so I will be throwing out not so subtle hints in the race towards June 19th :) gas is a terrible thing when you already own a crazy number of amps already. 12 that are gig worthy (100w or more)
4 practice amps 60w or less. I got two amps last year 200w Elf and 300w Peavey max115 if this sounds like a cry for help it isn't I'm a bass player ha ha ha
 
#60
rtslinger said:
gas is a terrible thing when you already own a crazy number of amps already. 12 that are gig worthy (100w or more) 4 practice amps 60w or less. I got two amps last year 200w Elf and 300w Peavey max115 if this sounds like a cry for help it isn't I'm a bass player ha ha ha
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Yea, I had a 500w head and was with a band where the drummer used tree trunk sized sticks and the guitarist had too much amperage. Tried forever to get them to quiet down. Now with the HB800B they say they can here me. SMH...
 
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