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Had heard of this being introduced recently, but haven't seen or heard them yet. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them yet? How do they compare to the EP2500 in durability, sound quality, heat dissipation etc? To say the least, the weight has me greatly intrigued, I currently use 3 EP2500's in my rack now, and I gotta tell you,,,they are heavy all at once!! WHEEWWWW. The price is comparable it looks like, and the connections are all the same as the EP2500, so if they are as good, I might consider switching over to these. But only if they are at least as good.

Any thoughts from all you techies out there?

Scott

I own two EPX3000s and I will be buying more of them as I continue to expand my live sound business. I use them for tops and monitors. Like you, I wanted them for light-weight, and the setting switches are really easy to use compared to tiny DIP switches.

I do not use them for subwoofers. They run out of gas a bit earlier than my EP2500 and RMX2450 amps. I only tried the EPX3000 on my SRX728S subs in 4 ohm bridge mode, though. They would probably perform better at 4 - 8 ohms stereo. I have the same complaint about my Crown XTi 2000 amps on big subwoofer duty, and I use the XTi 2000s for the same jobs as the EPX3000.

FYI I paid $375ea for my EPX3000s when they first shipped to U.S. dealers. You might be able to get them a little cheaper now.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Jeff, thanks for the quick reply. That is good news for me too. The "sub" issue is of concern tho. Cuz if they can't handle the subs, it's possible that they will also run out of gas on my mains. Not likely tho. I use 2 Behringer B1800x Pros with my set-up. I love the heck outa them. They can kick some pretty serious booty I think. But, you say that the EPX3000 might not have enough steam to push them? One EP2500 does the job pretty good, but it doesn't leave a lot of head room either. If I push them for any length of time, I have to put a small fan on the amp to get some hot air off it. Definitely helps. If the EPX3000 doesn't have enough head room, then I probably will opt for keeping the EP2500 just for the subs.

My rack now total weight is in the neighborhood of 275 pounds total. Good thing it has wheels. But I would still like to lighten the load a bunch. I have a place that I can probably get the EPX3000 for around 300 bucks each new. The service sucks there, but hey, I can save a few dollars by putting up with the lack of help there.

The EP2500 has worked extremely well for me, only problem is the weight.

By the way, I only paid $250 dollars for the pair of B1800x subs used. They were flawless, not a scratch on them. So, you see, I love looking for a good deal.

I have two B1800X subs that I use when I need to keep my footprint small or when all my others are busy. The weather here should be really nice on Saturday, so I can listen to them with the EPX3000 and EP2500 if that will help you decide. Do you intend to run them 4 ohm bridge, 8 ohm stereo, or 4 ohms on one channel and another load on the other channel?

Did you consider dividing your system into two racks?

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how they are set up as far as the ohms go. I had someone else actually do the settings on the back. How I hook it up is as simple as it gets with the subs. I use both at once, using two speakon cables, one for each side, I'm assuming that is in 4 ohm mode. The EP2500 is a 2400 watt amp that if split like I have, if i'm not mistaken, becomes 1200 watts per side 4 ohm load. Does this sound correct?

As far as splitting the rack into two different racks, I would probably not wanna do that simply because of the speed of set-up. I am willing to have the extra weight instead of the extra set up time.

Now, going back to the EPX3000, wouldn't it be as good as the EP2500 if it's set up the same way? The amp rating is higher, therefore should give a bit more head room for the same set up. Right? or is the rating mis-leading?

Scott

So channel 1 of the amplifier is connected to sub 1, and channel 2 of the amplifier goes to sub 2? Each B1800X is 8 ohms and in that configuration, you are running 8 ohms "stereo" (though you might send both the same signal.)


I thought that as well, but now I have a short snake in my FX rack and another one in my amp rack. I just plug the two snake cables together. It just takes a minute and I am glad it's setup this way when I have to load in by myself. I use these XLR snake cables which come in several lengths and number of channels, they are good quality and the labels are easy to read: http://www.audiopile.net/products/Patch ... akes.shtml Also I found out last night, the labels glow under black lights.


You would think so, but my experience is that subwoofer loads are harder on amps, especially light-weight amps with switching power supplies. I think the reason is basically because the light, switching amps have smaller capacitors, so there is less "reserve power" stored in the amplifier. In any case, my observation is that my subs will get louder and sound better with my EP2500 / RMX 2450 amps, than they do with my XTi 2000 and EPX3000 amps.

I will try the B1800X subs with the EPX3000 on Saturday. You might be totally happy with them as I bet you don't drive them terribly hard. The reason I cared which amp I was using with my SRX728S subs is my amps are all under-sized for those subs anyway, so I wanted to at least know which ones were best for them.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

The ohm loading may very well be 8. How you answered is exactly what I do. Seems to make the subs work just fine. Although, I don't have much head room. The B1800s are 800 watt speakers so that doesn't leave much play. But they still sound great and add to the overall mix. I do push them once in a while, especially at the end of the night when I am playing a set of dance music. I turn up the system almost to the max, but usually only for about 3-4 songs while I am tearing stuff down.

Now as far as splitting the rack, it's more than just the cables, it's also bringing in the gear. Splitting the gear would also make for another trip from the outside. Besides that, the one rack isn't all that bad, only the getting it in and out of the van. Other than that I like how it's set up. Looks impressive and works like a charm. One thing that I am planning on doing is buying an enclosed trailer with a ramp door to make things much more efficient on loading and unloading. Plus it gives me extra space for ALL of my equipment, not just what my van can carry.(for the "just in case" scenario ) But that's in the future.

I would be interested to know how the EPX3000 do for you when you experiment this next weekend. I might consider bridging one for mono use with only one sub if I ever do larger outdoor gigs. (very very strong possibility too)

Thanks for your input Jeff, very much appreciated.

I have a 6x12 with a ramp and side-door. It was a great purchase. If I could do it over again I would buy one with electric brakes, a flood light outside in the back to assist with loading, and a battery box to run those things. I hope it doesn't snow much this winter or I will be driving really slow to some jobs.

I can get two rigs at once into mine with a little bit of stacking and still have room for a cooler that keeps my drinks and snacks fresh! That ramp is awesome but it still sucks pushing a 250 pound amp rack up it by yourself.

On the subject of light-weight amps, you might also wait until the Peavey IPR-series are shipping and some reviews from end-users are available. They claim tons of power from amps that weigh only 7 pounds. How they do this is beyond me, but Peavey has a reputation for making excellent amplifiers that last a long time. Here is the page: http://www.peavey.com/products/ipr/index.cfm

They were supposed to ship two models before December, but dealers are saying late-December now, so you might have to wait a while. It could be worth it though!

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Just looking at the Peavey line of new amps. All I can say is "intriguing". I'm not a big fan of Peavey, but I gotta say that is totally incredible as far as the weight goes. Looks like Guitar Center is going to carry at least one of them, possibly two. The price is right, too. Now if the specs and durability are good too, then we have a winner. Thanks Jeff for the heads up.

On the subject of the trailer, what I have been wanting is a 6x10 ramp trailer with side door. It's gotta be the extra tall, cuz I'm 6'-1" and don't wanna smack my head. It should also have the E-ring track on both sides for strapping, lights inside too. Hadn't thought about the brakes, but makes sense, especially in my area. The weather is always a big concern here. I keep checking the classified every day, but really am just wishing right now. I won't have the money til spring, or until I sell my Scout II. Am looking forward to being able to put all my stuff in the trailer. My plans are someday to be able to do car shows and larger outdoor venues (i'm really close now). The trailer would be a definite asset for that.

Guitar Center will have the IPR 1600 and 1600DSP at first, but I think they will carry the whole line as it becomes available from Peavey. Perhaps they won't have the more expensive models available in their retail stores.

Here is a PSW forum thread from a guy who recently bought a new trailer: http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.p ... 3&th=48122 His is bigger than what you want and thus more expensive, but he got a fantastic price on that package and all the options except e-track. If you have to buy a new one I would do what Tom did and spend some time wheeling and dealing. I over-paid for my trailer at Home Depot but I didn't think to call the companies near me that actually make them, I only called "retailers" like Lowes, Home Depot, and a few car dealerships that also sell trailers and commercial vehicles. Stupid on my part, lesson learned.

I don't have e-track and it might be nice but I wouldn't let that be a deal-breaker if you find a used trailer for sale cheap. When my trailer is full there is no room for things to shift around anyway, and when I have some gear unloaded I just lay speakers down to keep things from shifting. I know my speakers get a little scuffed up from that, but they are going to get scuffs from being moved around anyway. That's what paint is for.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

One of my main objectives of this thread is to see if and how I can reduce weight of my system without sacrificing sound quality. On top of that is the money issue too. If it is way to expensive to go "small" then its not really worth it. But if there are ways of me reducing weight in amps and speakers. That is also the purpose of my other thread. (see Carvin thread)

Since it's just me when setting up and tearing down, I wanna find the most efficient ways of doing this without sacrificing sound quality or breaking the bank.

Scott

Okay, I think the EPX3000 is basically fine on subs in 8 ohm stereo. The lower current draw must be a lot easier on the amp. I think you will be happy with it in that configuration.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ