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Powersoft K3, K20, M50Q (Part II)
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<blockquote data-quote="Langston Holland" data-source="post: 48919" data-attributes="member: 171"><p>Re: Powersoft Digam K3, K20, M50Q (Part 2c)</p><p></p><p><strong>Long Term Tests</strong>:</p><p></p><p>Last time I posted an amp review Ivan "old school" Beaver fussed at me about not socking the poor things with continuous sines. I thought I'd do that in addition to improving a short term test that better indicates what the amp can do in its intended application. This was going to be a quick no-brainer: 20Hz, 100Hz, 1kHz, 10kHz, 20kHz at clip then done. That was the plan. Nothing doing, it turns out that amp manufacturers have figured out that a continuous sine wave is more likely to be an error at the input than anything related to music and takes appropriate action - limiting, protect, tripped breakers, shrieking fans. The first second or so of the sine near the amp's maximum voltage will get through and then it'll be forced downward a few dB or more. So what to report? The initial let-through or the limited output or something in-between? The first would effectively be another short term test, the second simply reports the limiter's behavior, and the third is too subjective. I'd given up on Ivan if it weren't for ARTA's STEPS module that allowed me to develop a test that is reasonably long term (3.7 sec on / 2.3 sec off) and removes the subjectivity from the measurement. It also allowed me to simply recreate a longer version of the CLIO based gated sine bursts that make sense to me given the intended application of an audio amplifier (music as opposed to welding). I call this long term test the i^2Test (pronounced "Ivan's-square-test") contrasted by the cool Apple-like lettering. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>You'll notice that I chose four frequency intervals that simulate the sub, low, mid and high passbands. This is more interesting than a straight 20Hz - 20kHz max output test in that it reveals where the amp's strengths and weaknesses are such that it may help in selection for your application. These frequency intervals were used for both long term and short term tests.</p><p></p><p>In my last amp review I mention that I'm done with watts. The Y-axis of the max output tests are in dBu RMS voltage units regardless of what it says. I used reference calibration in the measurement software to achieve this. Since the stimuli used in all measurements were sine waves, the RMS nature of the measurements mean that the amp was actually delivering 3dB more than that in peak voltage. Another way of stating this is that sine waves have a 3.01dB crest factor. Voltage makes SPL. Watts makes heat. If you have an amp that can produce 2dB more voltage than another amp, that will result in 2dB more SPL. This assumes the loudspeaker can handle the additional voltage and do so without material increases in voicecoil resistance through heating.</p><p></p><p>Actually, the results of the i^2Test were interesting - it's always interesting to see how amps handle abuse far beyond the nature of their intended application. It doesn't really give a proper feel of "dynamic headroom" when compared to the short term tests because it's just too harsh compared to anything approaching the RMS nature of music. On a positive note, it made the 32 gallon SuperBucket™ containing a triatomic thermal inertia compounding agent so hot that it steamed. I have discovered that ARTA, the K20 and the SuperBucket™ make the most expensive clam cooker in the world. Given that the total cost of ARTA and the bucket are less than $200, that's sort of like saying the combined assets of Bill Gates and myself are enormous. I suppose cooking temperature could be regulated by modifying the tone burst sequences.</p><p></p><p><u>The SuperBucket</u>™:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/SuperBucket.JPG" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><u>Triatomic Agent</u>:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/Water.JPG" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The following measurements were made with the STEPS module in ARTA at 1/6 octave intervals with approx. 3.7sec ON, 2.3sec OFF.</p><p></p><p><u>K20 Max LT Output</u>:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_K20.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><u>K3 Max LT Output</u>:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_K3.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><u>M50Q Max LT Output</u>:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_M50Q.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><u>FP14000 Max LT Output</u>:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_FP14000.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><u>IT8000 Max LT Output</u>:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_IT8000.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><u>PL380 Max LT Output</u>:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_PL380.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>(End Part 2c)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Langston Holland, post: 48919, member: 171"] Re: Powersoft Digam K3, K20, M50Q (Part 2c) [B]Long Term Tests[/B]: Last time I posted an amp review Ivan "old school" Beaver fussed at me about not socking the poor things with continuous sines. I thought I'd do that in addition to improving a short term test that better indicates what the amp can do in its intended application. This was going to be a quick no-brainer: 20Hz, 100Hz, 1kHz, 10kHz, 20kHz at clip then done. That was the plan. Nothing doing, it turns out that amp manufacturers have figured out that a continuous sine wave is more likely to be an error at the input than anything related to music and takes appropriate action - limiting, protect, tripped breakers, shrieking fans. The first second or so of the sine near the amp's maximum voltage will get through and then it'll be forced downward a few dB or more. So what to report? The initial let-through or the limited output or something in-between? The first would effectively be another short term test, the second simply reports the limiter's behavior, and the third is too subjective. I'd given up on Ivan if it weren't for ARTA's STEPS module that allowed me to develop a test that is reasonably long term (3.7 sec on / 2.3 sec off) and removes the subjectivity from the measurement. It also allowed me to simply recreate a longer version of the CLIO based gated sine bursts that make sense to me given the intended application of an audio amplifier (music as opposed to welding). I call this long term test the i^2Test (pronounced "Ivan's-square-test") contrasted by the cool Apple-like lettering. :) You'll notice that I chose four frequency intervals that simulate the sub, low, mid and high passbands. This is more interesting than a straight 20Hz - 20kHz max output test in that it reveals where the amp's strengths and weaknesses are such that it may help in selection for your application. These frequency intervals were used for both long term and short term tests. In my last amp review I mention that I'm done with watts. The Y-axis of the max output tests are in dBu RMS voltage units regardless of what it says. I used reference calibration in the measurement software to achieve this. Since the stimuli used in all measurements were sine waves, the RMS nature of the measurements mean that the amp was actually delivering 3dB more than that in peak voltage. Another way of stating this is that sine waves have a 3.01dB crest factor. Voltage makes SPL. Watts makes heat. If you have an amp that can produce 2dB more voltage than another amp, that will result in 2dB more SPL. This assumes the loudspeaker can handle the additional voltage and do so without material increases in voicecoil resistance through heating. Actually, the results of the i^2Test were interesting - it's always interesting to see how amps handle abuse far beyond the nature of their intended application. It doesn't really give a proper feel of "dynamic headroom" when compared to the short term tests because it's just too harsh compared to anything approaching the RMS nature of music. On a positive note, it made the 32 gallon SuperBucket™ containing a triatomic thermal inertia compounding agent so hot that it steamed. I have discovered that ARTA, the K20 and the SuperBucket™ make the most expensive clam cooker in the world. Given that the total cost of ARTA and the bucket are less than $200, that's sort of like saying the combined assets of Bill Gates and myself are enormous. I suppose cooking temperature could be regulated by modifying the tone burst sequences. [U]The SuperBucket[/U]™: [IMG]http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/SuperBucket.JPG[/IMG] [U]Triatomic Agent[/U]: [IMG]http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/Water.JPG[/IMG] The following measurements were made with the STEPS module in ARTA at 1/6 octave intervals with approx. 3.7sec ON, 2.3sec OFF. [U]K20 Max LT Output[/U]: [IMG]http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_K20.png[/IMG] [U]K3 Max LT Output[/U]: [IMG]http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_K3.png[/IMG] [U]M50Q Max LT Output[/U]: [IMG]http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_M50Q.png[/IMG] [U]FP14000 Max LT Output[/U]: [IMG]http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_FP14000.png[/IMG] [U]IT8000 Max LT Output[/U]: [IMG]http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_IT8000.png[/IMG] [U]PL380 Max LT Output[/U]: [IMG]http://soundscapesweb.com/files/PSW/AmpTests4/ARTA_PL380.png[/IMG] (End Part 2c) [/QUOTE]
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