Obrienp Posted November 16 Share Posted November 16 Quite a few questions bound up in this. The Monza is rated at 600 watts at 8 ohms. I have two gigging amp heads that I am very happy with:: a Blackstar U700 and a MB LMIII 500 but they are only capable of delivering 250 and 300 watts respectively at 8 ohms. While their max is as much as I am probably ever going to need, it does mean that they would be running at their ragged edge at this volume, which I don’t think is going to give the full clean sound I would like. My instinct is that I need more headroom in the amp, so that it can deliver 300-400 watts without being stretched, thus producing a full clean sound. Does this make sense, or am I just falling for an urban myth? I don’t want to be spending money on a new amp unnecessarily, especially as I like what the U700 and LMIII can deliver. If I was to consider an alternative it would need to be able to operate at 8 ohms for the Monza, 4 ohms for my BF Two10 and 2.67 to run both simultaneously. That seems to narrow my choice down to some pretty expensive hardware. If I was going to spend that sort of cash, I would want the amp to have some of the extra features that the U700 has like built in compression, variable overdrive and amp voicings, preferably controllable via footswitch. What do you folks think. Do I need a more powerful amp, or would I just be spending money for not much gain? If I do need to go down the more powerful amp route, what should I be looking at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted November 16 Share Posted November 16 The speaker power rating is the maximum, not the minimum. For that matter the 600 watt rating is thermal. Chances are it may not handle anywhere near that before reaching its mechanical limit. I'd make sure that something's broken before trying to fix it. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted November 16 Share Posted November 16 I think if you plugged in a 250W Trace Elliot amp, which is around 160w @8 ohm, it would get very very loud. Try your current amps out before over thinking it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted November 16 Author Share Posted November 16 Thanks folks. I think you have saved me from a lot of unnecessary expenditure. A bit of research was suggesting one of the Mesa 800 heads would tick all the boxes but they start at well passed £1K! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted November 17 Share Posted November 17 I think the spec for the Blackstar U700 says it will drive a 2.7-ohm load. If so, you could run your Monza and Two Ten together no problem. How it'll sound is another matter; I've tried a few different cabs with the Monza and the result has been a reduction in overall sound quality every time (despite being louder). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted November 17 Author Share Posted November 17 49 minutes ago, stevie said: I think the spec for the Blackstar U700 says it will drive a 2.7-ohm load. If so, you could run your Monza and Two Ten together no problem. How it'll sound is another matter; I've tried a few different cabs with the Monza and the result has been a reduction in overall sound quality every time (despite being louder). Yes, it works. I’ve tried it but the Two10 sounded like it was struggling with its share of the work load, so you are right: louder but not necessarily better. What I was more concerned with was an amp to get the best out of the Monza on its own but consensus seems to be to stick with what I have got. The need to run at 2.7 was only if I was going to get another amp and was to keep my options open. Looks like I’ll just stick with what I have for the while. I’d love to have a Messa Subway Plus but that’s champagne tastes for lemonade money as far as I am concerned! 😀 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubbybloke68 Posted November 18 Share Posted November 18 My tec amp puma 900 is 600watts at 8 ohms and sounds fantastic through my monza (s) x 😊 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted November 20 Share Posted November 20 I agree when I used the Eich T900 with my Monaco cab it sounded awesome for sure The only cab that was better was the Vanderkley 212 MNT but it has two 12’s not one like the Monaco 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted Saturday at 13:29 Share Posted Saturday at 13:29 To be honest if you want more, stack another Monza on top of the first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted Saturday at 14:39 Author Share Posted Saturday at 14:39 58 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said: To be honest if you want more, stack another Monza on top of the first. That is definitely on my wish list but before I went there (money permitting), I wanted to know if I was getting the most out of the one I already have. I just wondered if I would be better off with an amp with more output and therefore, more clean headroom. Consensus seems that I should stick with what I have got. Also I was wondering whether I should keep saving and stretch to a Monaco instead of another Monza but then I would be mixing 10 and 12” drivers. Just that a mate, who recently got a Monaco, was saying how much more he “felt” the bass than with his two BF One10s. I know it’s not comparing apples with apples but I can’t help but wonder if the size of the driver has something to do with that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder Posted Saturday at 14:52 Share Posted Saturday at 14:52 I know we are always going to get conflicting answers here on Basschat because we all have different experiences. Personally I would get a more powerful amp first to allow for more clean headroom. Then I would add another duplicate speaker. Never mix and match, always use the same speaker to match sound and technical specifications. Please don't have go... It's only my personal opinion. 🤠 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted Monday at 21:08 Share Posted Monday at 21:08 I think @stevie uses a Trace Ellliott 1200. It does sound good 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msb Posted 21 hours ago Share Posted 21 hours ago Is your volume maxed out at gigs? If it is you might look at more power. So if you still have some headroom I wouldn’t worry about changing things , unless you really want to try out another amp. I have modular mixed cabs that were designed to be used together , but most gigs only require a single cab. Generally have a ton of headroom. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted 15 hours ago Share Posted 15 hours ago On 16/11/2024 at 00:28, Obrienp said: I don’t want to be spending money on a new amp unnecessarily, especially as I like what the U700 and LMIII can deliver. I think you have answered your own question You like what you have, so this is only a theoretical worry about whether it will be loud enough. The only test of whether it is loud enough is to use it as it is. Doubling the amp power won't double the sound level just increase it a bit, 3db at best. If you don't need the 3db why throw money at a non-existent problem. FWIW I use my Monza with a Warwick Gnome more often than not and have no problems with just 130W on tap. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted 12 hours ago Share Posted 12 hours ago On 25/11/2024 at 21:08, Phil Starr said: I think @stevie uses a Trace Ellliott 1200. It does sound good He does. And I think he blames me for it. But it does sound bloody good! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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