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Powersoft Digam K3, K20, M50Q
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<blockquote data-quote="Bennett Prescott" data-source="post: 40720" data-attributes="member: 4"><p>What Gets Bennett Excited?</p><p></p><p>So if I don't give a shit about amplifiers, why have these got me all excited?</p><p></p><p><strong>[ATTACH]150049[/ATTACH]Built in DSP</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>The installed K DSP (which you can also get as an upgrade card and stick in your existing K series amps) does everything you would expect. 16 band output EQ. All pass filter. Polarity reverse. High pass and low pass filters of every slope and type desirable. Stackable HP/LP filters by sacrificing an EQ band! Sample resolution delay up to two seconds. FIR filters for "brick wall" crossovers and linear phase equalization, if you're into that type of thing. Load impedance measurement and monitoring. Noise generator. Raised cosine filter input equalization for arbitrary (or familiar) filter shapes, including HPF/LPF on the input. Delay change based on speed of sound (input manually). All this can be adjusted over the network through the <a href="http://www.powersoft-audio.com/en/products/software/armonia-pro-audio-suite.html" target="_blank">Armonia</a> software (which is great, and will even show you the phase of your equalization decisions) or using the front panel controls, but what really piqued my interest were three things that are unusual or impossible in stand alone DSPs.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Look ahead peak limiting.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Real delivered power limiting.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Damping factor correction.</li> </ul><p>Now that's the holy grail. I can limit peaks for real, not after some overshoot. I can say exactly how much power I want delivered to the driver, and not some best approximation voltage setting that doesn't have anything to do with the driver's frequency dependent power consumption. And I can apply negative impedance (I know! It's a real thing! I have no idea how it works!) to compensate for the loss of damping factor due to load presented by cabling between the amplifier and the loudspeaker drivers.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]150051[/ATTACH]That is awesome. These amps have everything a guy could hope for. If only there was a way to put in some voice coil thermal modeling, chained to the peak limiter threshold and some EQ, and maybe integrated excursion prediction for useful excursion limiting, I could get 3dB more... but I digress. This is the top top of available technology today, and frankly the real power limiting is the biggest deal. I know of one other amp manufacturer that can do this, and they aren't doing many of the other things these puppies can do (AFAIK). I want this shit in every amp of every system I ever tune up. For real.</p><p></p><p><strong>EAW Greybox Compatibility</strong></p><p></p><p>I think this is super cool, and gives EAW users the amplifiers they have deserved for many years. Basically, through the addition of a freely downloadable plug in for the Armonia software, <a href="http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/powersoft_announces_eaw_focusing_support_within_k_series_power_amplifiers/" target="_blank">EAW Greyboxes</a> with focusing and everything one expects from the UX8800 can be loaded directly into Powersoft amplifiers. Users can build an amplifier network, configure it for the loudspeakers in use that day, and monitor it from FOH for the duration of the show. I have a few companies I work for that maintain an extensive EAW inventory, and I'm going to do my best to get them to try this out, and hopefully I'll be able to be there when it happens.</p><p></p><p><strong>Digital and Analog Inputs</strong></p><p></p><p>Amplifiers fitted with the K DSP option can accept AES digital or analog inputs. Input A can be switched between analog and stereo AES digital, clocked at up to 192kHz (the K DSP board runs natively at 24 bit 96kHz sampling). Fitting the optional KAESOP (AES Ethernet Simple Open Protocol) makes life even easier. Two front panel RJ45 connectors carry both 100Mbit ethernet for control data and two channels of AES audio. This audio can be input to the amplifier, or provided from the amplifier to the network e.g. so that one amplifier can receive analog or digital audio and then propagate it through the front panel jacks to the others in the same rack with insignificant delay, this simplifying cabling and allowing for more complex preset driven signal routing from up to two analog or three digital inputs.</p><p></p><p>I believe that the KAESOP card is necessary to allow ethernet control of the K DSP card, and that otherwise an RS-485 jack on the back is your way in.</p><p></p><p><strong>Networking</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>[ATTACH]150050[/ATTACH]The final piece of the puzzle, and of specific interest to anyone deploying dozens or hundreds of amplifiers at a time. The same <a href="http://www.powersoft-audio.com/en/products/software/armonia-pro-audio-suite.html" target="_blank">Armonia</a> control software I mentioned at the beginning of this piece can be structured to view a large number of amplifiers in a venue context, like you may be used to with Harman products. That allows comprehensive monitoring and control, not only of one amplifier but of many. Load presets into amps, apply EQ across all of them, and monitor the whole bunch.</p><p></p><p>I found the K series networking extremely easy to use. I plugged a K3 into my home network, jumped it together with the two K20s, and when I opened Armonia they popped right up. It is easy to assign amplifiers names for identification, or to flash their input meter bars. Any configuration changes can be made, amplifiers can be turned on and off, and large groups of amps can be monitored for signal level and power usage, etc. Not only that, but any failures inside an amplifier will be reported immediately (including a loss of connectivity), and thresholds can be set so that if an amplifier sees a component failure through a change in impedance of a loudspeaker attached to it that can be reported as well! Hopefully that doesn't happen to you at a show, but back at the shop just plug a box in, see if the impedance is good (which can diagnose a lot more than a broken VC) and sweep it using the amp's built in tone generator.</p><p></p><p>This is how amplifiers should be in the 21st century.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bennett Prescott, post: 40720, member: 4"] What Gets Bennett Excited? So if I don't give a shit about amplifiers, why have these got me all excited? [B][ATTACH=CONFIG]150049.vB5-legacyid=2447[/ATTACH]Built in DSP [/B] The installed K DSP (which you can also get as an upgrade card and stick in your existing K series amps) does everything you would expect. 16 band output EQ. All pass filter. Polarity reverse. High pass and low pass filters of every slope and type desirable. Stackable HP/LP filters by sacrificing an EQ band! Sample resolution delay up to two seconds. FIR filters for "brick wall" crossovers and linear phase equalization, if you're into that type of thing. Load impedance measurement and monitoring. Noise generator. Raised cosine filter input equalization for arbitrary (or familiar) filter shapes, including HPF/LPF on the input. Delay change based on speed of sound (input manually). All this can be adjusted over the network through the [URL="http://www.powersoft-audio.com/en/products/software/armonia-pro-audio-suite.html"]Armonia[/URL] software (which is great, and will even show you the phase of your equalization decisions) or using the front panel controls, but what really piqued my interest were three things that are unusual or impossible in stand alone DSPs. [LIST] [*]Look ahead peak limiting. [*]Real delivered power limiting. [*]Damping factor correction. [/LIST]Now that's the holy grail. I can limit peaks for real, not after some overshoot. I can say exactly how much power I want delivered to the driver, and not some best approximation voltage setting that doesn't have anything to do with the driver's frequency dependent power consumption. And I can apply negative impedance (I know! It's a real thing! I have no idea how it works!) to compensate for the loss of damping factor due to load presented by cabling between the amplifier and the loudspeaker drivers. [ATTACH=CONFIG]150051.vB5-legacyid=2449[/ATTACH]That is awesome. These amps have everything a guy could hope for. If only there was a way to put in some voice coil thermal modeling, chained to the peak limiter threshold and some EQ, and maybe integrated excursion prediction for useful excursion limiting, I could get 3dB more... but I digress. This is the top top of available technology today, and frankly the real power limiting is the biggest deal. I know of one other amp manufacturer that can do this, and they aren't doing many of the other things these puppies can do (AFAIK). I want this shit in every amp of every system I ever tune up. For real. [B]EAW Greybox Compatibility[/B] I think this is super cool, and gives EAW users the amplifiers they have deserved for many years. Basically, through the addition of a freely downloadable plug in for the Armonia software, [URL="http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/powersoft_announces_eaw_focusing_support_within_k_series_power_amplifiers/"]EAW Greyboxes[/URL] with focusing and everything one expects from the UX8800 can be loaded directly into Powersoft amplifiers. Users can build an amplifier network, configure it for the loudspeakers in use that day, and monitor it from FOH for the duration of the show. I have a few companies I work for that maintain an extensive EAW inventory, and I'm going to do my best to get them to try this out, and hopefully I'll be able to be there when it happens. [B]Digital and Analog Inputs[/B] Amplifiers fitted with the K DSP option can accept AES digital or analog inputs. Input A can be switched between analog and stereo AES digital, clocked at up to 192kHz (the K DSP board runs natively at 24 bit 96kHz sampling). Fitting the optional KAESOP (AES Ethernet Simple Open Protocol) makes life even easier. Two front panel RJ45 connectors carry both 100Mbit ethernet for control data and two channels of AES audio. This audio can be input to the amplifier, or provided from the amplifier to the network e.g. so that one amplifier can receive analog or digital audio and then propagate it through the front panel jacks to the others in the same rack with insignificant delay, this simplifying cabling and allowing for more complex preset driven signal routing from up to two analog or three digital inputs. I believe that the KAESOP card is necessary to allow ethernet control of the K DSP card, and that otherwise an RS-485 jack on the back is your way in. [B]Networking [/B] [ATTACH=CONFIG]150050.vB5-legacyid=2448[/ATTACH]The final piece of the puzzle, and of specific interest to anyone deploying dozens or hundreds of amplifiers at a time. The same [URL="http://www.powersoft-audio.com/en/products/software/armonia-pro-audio-suite.html"]Armonia[/URL] control software I mentioned at the beginning of this piece can be structured to view a large number of amplifiers in a venue context, like you may be used to with Harman products. That allows comprehensive monitoring and control, not only of one amplifier but of many. Load presets into amps, apply EQ across all of them, and monitor the whole bunch. I found the K series networking extremely easy to use. I plugged a K3 into my home network, jumped it together with the two K20s, and when I opened Armonia they popped right up. It is easy to assign amplifiers names for identification, or to flash their input meter bars. Any configuration changes can be made, amplifiers can be turned on and off, and large groups of amps can be monitored for signal level and power usage, etc. Not only that, but any failures inside an amplifier will be reported immediately (including a loss of connectivity), and thresholds can be set so that if an amplifier sees a component failure through a change in impedance of a loudspeaker attached to it that can be reported as well! Hopefully that doesn't happen to you at a show, but back at the shop just plug a box in, see if the impedance is good (which can diagnose a lot more than a broken VC) and sweep it using the amp's built in tone generator. This is how amplifiers should be in the 21st century. [/QUOTE]
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