NAD - Genz-Benz Streamliner 900

[discreet]

[color=#000000][b]NAD - Genz-Benz Streamliner 900[/b][/color]

[url="http://www.genzbenz.com/img/manuals/gb/Streamliner_900_manual.pdf"][color=#000000][b]http://www.genzbenz.com/img/manuals/gb/Streamliner_900_manual.pdf[/b][/color][/url]

[color=#000000]OK, so I'm pretty late to this party! Nothing wrong with waiting to see if there are any issues or anything, is there? And the main issue is the blue LED fail. As these little lights only illuminate the valves through the little front window and are purely cosmetic, I'm not going to be doing anything about them anytime soon. I got this amp in a trade deal. Having read about 10,000 posts on Talkbass about it, I felt as though I knew what to expect. And I did, to a certain extent. Anyway, let's have a look at it:[/color]


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[color=#000000]It has been said that this amp sounds like an all-valve amp without actually being an all-valve amp. I suspected this not to be true, and I was right. To a certain extent. However, it does get pretty close if you spend a little time with it... but you have to know what it is that you want. Randomly pressing and turning buttons and controls is fun, but could be frustrating if you're looking for a specific tone.[/color]

[color=#000000][size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The STM has a 300-volt all-valve Class 'A' preamp driven by three ECC83 (12AX7) preamp valves utilising six gain stages. The preamp design features a modified passive Baxandall network for the bass and treble along with an active valve-driven mid filter with selectable mid frequencies. I'm of the view that you can't get the 'all-valve bounce' unless you've got a valve power section, and importantly, a valve power section driven by two giant iron transformers, which I believe (rightly or wrongly) is where the huge heft and bounce of a 'real' valve amp comes from.[/font][/size][/color]

[color=#000000][size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]There is also something called '3 Dimensional Power Management analog technology'. The 3DPM™ supposedly adds heft and girth to each individual note, while enhancing the amplifier's responsiveness and headroom and allegedly provides the dynamic and three-dimensional tone and feel of an all-valve power amp design. Hmm, OK. As far as I can tell it's a standard Class 'D' power amp, but Genz say there is also something called an 'SMPS Module' enhanced with their patented 'PHAT' (Proprietary Heat Abatement Technology). I'm guessing this means it's got a cooling fan. [/font][/size][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif] [/font][/color]

[color=#000000][size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The case is reassuringly hefty with a thick aluminium front plate. The buttons and controls have a nice high-quality, positive feel. It's quite heavy (for a lightweight amp) but of course nowhere near the weight of a valve amp. This is a good thing. But let's move on. What's it like?[/font][/size][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I tried it initially with my Barefaced Big One. Now this cab has it's own built-in bottom end and has acres of LOW available and the Streamliner is also known for having it's own built-in bottom end and acres of LOW as well, so I was expecting a fair amount of LOW and yea, there was LOW in abundance. Enough to vibrate my scrotum in quite a pleasing way, but probably not a suitable tone for playing in a band situation. What to do? Well... turn the BASS control to around 10 o'clock and turn the mids up. I'm not used to having any BASS control lower than 12 o'clock so this was a novelty, but it is necessary as the Streamliner does indeed provide more BASS than you'd need at 12 o'clock. It's not a big deal.[/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Talking of MIDS, what we have here is a valve-driven semi-parametric system with a level control and three preset mid frequency options, 220Hz, 600Hz and 2.5kHz. So you can cut (or boost) at any of these frequencies, but I'm guessing they're not tightly shelved at those figures but more likely a smooth curve. The TREBLE control is interesting - not harsh or strident in any way, it can be used in conjunction with the MID set-up to help cut through the mix - the highs are what is generally known as 'glassy' and I'd agree with that. To my ears it works like a passive tone control on a bass, i.e. when you cut the treble you get a usable result, it's not just 'lack of sparkle' as with so many other preamps. The preamp is different in that the EQ controls seem much more interactive than usual... can't explain it better than that.[/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Now, GAIN, GAIN SWITCH,VOLUME and MASTER... what's that all about, then? Well the GAIN switch sets the sensitivity of the gain stage. OK. This means more 'drive' when it's in. The rotary GAIN control sets the input gain of the preamp valve. Then the VOLUME sets the level after the EQ stage but before the FX send jacks. Used in conjunction with the GAIN and MASTER you can have a lot of control over the gain structure appropriate for what you're trying to achieve tone-wise. Then the MASTER volume adjusts the overall output of the amp and the FX return.[/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]So the GAIN controls and the EQ controls are interactive of themselves and with each other. A small adjustment on one has a profound effect on everything else. I'm guessing it's going to take me a little while to get used to this, but I look forward to it... it's an unusual amp. [/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]But what does it sound like? It go BOOM, BOING, THUMP and TWANG. Sounds great with my Hayman bass (which has flats fitted) and also my Jazz (which has half-wounds fitted). Yes, you can get it to sound very hefty but with a nice mid growl and singing top-end. I imagine it would sound great live, so we'll see how that goes. But in my opinion the mid EQ is not as good as that available on the GK MB500 Fusion. That is a lightweight amp that also has a tube driven gain, a switchable-frequency valve-driven mid and EQ set-up and to my mind is more usable. But I've lived with the GK for quite a while, and this GB arrived just today, so I'm going to spend a lot more time with it, rehearse and gig with it, record some sound files and report back. But my initial impressions are that it's a very good-sounding and usable amp. We'll see.[/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Edit: Well after a couple of hours I can say that the amp has a LOT of headroom and you won't want for volume under any circumstances. [/font][/color]
[color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]And this at 500W through an 8ohm cab. I'll try it through my two J12s tomorrow (900W @ 4ohms).[/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]It's definitely got its own 'sound', this amp. It will do 'hi-fi' if you want - there is a lot of clean power on tap - but just having everything at 12 o'clock doesn't mean you've set the amp flat (true for most amps, but especially this one) so again, you'd need to spend time carefully listening and tweaking. Worth it though. The inherent plug and play sounds are very good. In fact it's hard to make it sound bad, a trait shared by the GK MB500 Fusion. If you don't like the colouration this amp provides [i]au naturel[/i], you can work round it without difficulty, but if you do (and I do, very much) then things are a little easier. Life is good! [/font][/color]

Edited August 22, 2014 by discreet

[acidbass]

Very interested to hear your opinions on how this compares with the GB, especially volume-wise!

[ShergoldSnickers]

Still on the list of amps to own, when I get tired of the Eden WT550. Haven't yet, but I know how good the GB sounded with the rest of my gear. Very good indeed.

[discreet]

[quote name='acidbass' timestamp='1408718065' post='2532918']
Very interested to hear your opinions on how this compares with the GB, especially volume-wise!
[/quote]

I presume you mean the GK, Danny? Well the STM has lots of headroom and it's loud, there's no doubt about that. But the GK is loud too. Whether the STM is that much louder than the GK would have to be settled in a laboratory, because winding either amp up even half way on the master is a painful experience and would likely never happen in a real world situation. Either amp is loud enough, put it that way. The fact that one is ostensibly 900W and the other 500W makes not a lot of difference, imho. I never ran out of puff with the Fusion - nowhere near, in fact. This with a drummer and guitar through a Marshall valve combo in a rock outfit. It wouldn't be right to make a choice between the two amps based on maximum output. They are fairly equally matched. I'd say a more useful comparison would be how each deals with the mids. Hope this helps!

Edited August 22, 2014 by discreet

[fretmeister]

I love my Streamliner. Superb amp!

[bertbass]

All you need is a 69er now and your away.

[discreet]

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1408726791' post='2533034']
All you need is a 69er now and your away.
[/quote]

Yes! Doesn't sound half bad through my Big One though. Going to try the J12s next, which will be interesting.

[Merton]

I'll have the Fusion back if you're selling....

[discreet]

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1408729217' post='2533057']
I'll have the Fusion back if you're selling....
[/quote]

Doing a swap - if we both like our 'new' amps it'll be a permanent trade.

[mrtcat]

Just picked a Streamliner up a few weeks back and really liking it. I too have the bass rolled back to 10 o'clock. Sounds great with the 75 Jazz and two BFM 1x12s. Very loud and great weight to the sound. With the gain set up the way I like it the master volume sits at 9 o'clock even with our psychotic drummer.

[discreet]

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1408866813' post='2534076']
Sounds great with the 75 Jazz and two BFM 1x12s.
[/quote]

Yesterday I tried mine with my two BFM Jack 12s. I imagined that because the Jacks are fairly mid-forward and the STM has a naturally big bottom (fnarr) that they would complement each other perfectly, but surprisingly this was not the case - I found there to be a lack of bottom if anything, and the tone was a bit honky... if that's not racist. Having said that, I suspect this tone would be much more suited to a live band situation. You'd certainly have no problem being heard and in the mix (rock band) I think it may well sound totally lush. So I'll need to try both my Jacks and my Big One (fnarr) at a rehearsal and gig them both too before I can make a decision about which to use.

This is the problem with auditioning gear at home and solo, too... you don't ever really get the big picture. Still loving the STM 900 very much though, it's a great amp. No doubt about that.