Power Soak Under $200...
- Thread starter zozoe
- Start date
ehdwuld
A Ficus
The Behringer PS1 is cheap $129 new
has XLR and line outs
The volume control for the line outs is somehow tied to the powersoak overall volume
The jet city is exactly the same but slightly more expensive becaus of brand name
There was a super cheap one on an electronics warehouse
You can get an L-pad and an 8 ohm resistor and make one
Any time you you reduce volume you loose some highs or lows , i can't remember which
You will have eq for the volume change regardless of the system used
The Behringer gets super hot when working
Ignore the smeel its just the oils burning off
Its not on fire
Dont cover it with a blanket
None of them
has XLR and line outs
The volume control for the line outs is somehow tied to the powersoak overall volume
The jet city is exactly the same but slightly more expensive becaus of brand name
There was a super cheap one on an electronics warehouse
You can get an L-pad and an 8 ohm resistor and make one
Any time you you reduce volume you loose some highs or lows , i can't remember which
You will have eq for the volume change regardless of the system used
The Behringer gets super hot when working
Ignore the smeel its just the oils burning off
Its not on fire
Dont cover it with a blanket
None of them
This isn't right. Some of them handle the load by converting it into heat and dissipating the heat. THD Hot Plate for instance is specifically designed to heat up. I use a Weber Mass sometimes and it heats up a little bit too.
I haven't used an attenuator that sounded as good as a master volume for what I do. Every one I've tried makes the highs sound dead. I'm not a big fan of power tubes running full out anyway. YMMV.
JMP/HBE
Well-known member
There are resistive & reactive loads. I have a hot plate and its a compination of both types of loads and has a fan. Ive had a scholz power soak too. Neither get hot enough to smell.
Behringer products are crap and there's 20 years of internet chatter to back that up.
You get what you pay for. If you aint paying you aint gettin.
I rarely ever use any attenuator thats the way most amps are meant to be.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Yeah, I'm pretty sure if they're all dissipating the same amount of watts, they all get as hot as each other. Maybe some are meant to dissipate the hate along a larger area or have better ventilation or whatever. But set to the same attenuation, they should all dissipate the same amount of heat, theoretically. It's not like the energy magically disappears if you spend more money.
Personally, I think the most thought-through attenuators that sound the best get expensive. At 200, you have to make some compromises. Wether they're still good enough is up to you.
At 200, I'd also consider other alternatives like maybe a mini practice amp head like a Joyo or maybe one of those Bogner/Diezel/Friedman 20W offerings.
Personally, I think the most thought-through attenuators that sound the best get expensive. At 200, you have to make some compromises. Wether they're still good enough is up to you.
At 200, I'd also consider other alternatives like maybe a mini practice amp head like a Joyo or maybe one of those Bogner/Diezel/Friedman 20W offerings.
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Fender_Punk
BerriesAndCreamologist
If you're amp doesn't have a good master volume, then putting a volume pedal in the effects loop is a good way of attenuating the sound.
most of my amps dont have a master volume or an effects loop. i have an old weber mass 100 that suits me well, but as others have said, the more attenuation you apply, the more tonal change you get. its part of the reason i have so many amps of various wattages. grab the right amp for the gig and have at it
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Behringer has tried to use the entire internet to dissipate the hate, but it hasn't worked well for them.
JMP/HBE
Well-known member
My hotplate never got hot. never smelled and the fan never kicked on because it was never hot enough.
My Scholz power soak never got hot or smelled either.
If a product is Engineered to handle the load & job you should never have a problem.
Conversely tubes, & amps always sound glorious just before they blow and smell.
I don't use an attenuator, why do you need one? If it's because of where you live(neighbors) I'd go with a smaller amp, or one with a headphone jack. The Vox amplug line is awesome. Little headphone amps that sound really good. The fact that I don't use an attenuator is why I'm on a first name basis with the local fuzz. Sometimes I just dgaf. I use headphones in my Line6 spiderjam or one of my Vox amplugs late at night to keep the wife happy. On days when I'm actually trying to be a good neighbor the Vox AC10 fits the bill(with lots of drive added via efx pedals). For 200 bucks or less, there's a lot of options for smaller amps, amps with headphone out, or headphone amps. Hope you find a solution.
