Hi all~~ In my very limited experience with power soaks, I have never been truly satisfied with what I've heard. But I now find myself in the situation where I need one to keep neighborhood peace. Without spending $300+ for the upper echelon of soaks, which of the 'lower' priced soaks are worthy of transparency, no added overdrive, (which I noticed with my only experience with a lower end unit), and tonal adjustments, if any. The amp I really need this for is my Budda TwinMaster 10, an 18 watt non-master monster. Thanks for all the great help I have always received from you all~~
🕉
POWER SOAK RECOMMENDATIONS
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
-
Stevem
- Posts: 5144
- Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:01 pm
- Location: 1/3rd the way out one of the arms of the Milkyway.
1 others liked this
Re: POWER SOAK RECOMMENDATIONS
What amp is it your wanting to tame?
The best sounding attenuators will be ones like Weber Mass models that use a speaker motor as part of there circuit, not just resistors!
The best sounding attenuators will be ones like Weber Mass models that use a speaker motor as part of there circuit, not just resistors!
When I die, I want to go like my Grandfather did, peacefully in his sleep.
Not screaming like the passengers in his car!
Cutting out a man's tongue does not mean he’s a liar, but it does show that you fear the truth he might speak about you!
Not screaming like the passengers in his car!
Cutting out a man's tongue does not mean he’s a liar, but it does show that you fear the truth he might speak about you!
Re: POWER SOAK RECOMMENDATIONS
Thanks SteveM, The amp is a Budda TwinMaster 10, 18 loud watts.
-
Stevem
- Posts: 5144
- Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:01 pm
- Location: 1/3rd the way out one of the arms of the Milkyway.
Re: POWER SOAK RECOMMENDATIONS
Just keep in mind the way the Human ear works.
For example if you wanted a 1 watt amp to be twice as loud as it was you would need to step up to a amp that had 10 watts of output power, and the same thing works in reverse!
For example if you wanted a 1 watt amp to be twice as loud as it was you would need to step up to a amp that had 10 watts of output power, and the same thing works in reverse!
When I die, I want to go like my Grandfather did, peacefully in his sleep.
Not screaming like the passengers in his car!
Cutting out a man's tongue does not mean he’s a liar, but it does show that you fear the truth he might speak about you!
Not screaming like the passengers in his car!
Cutting out a man's tongue does not mean he’s a liar, but it does show that you fear the truth he might speak about you!
-
The Ballzz
- Posts: 369
- Joined: Thu Oct 24, 2013 7:22 pm
- Location: Las Vegas, NV
Re: POWER SOAK RECOMMENDATIONS
The best attenuators for the $$ start right here:
http://www.marshallforum.com/threads/si ... ing.98285/
and then move onto your workbench! It's a long read, but the first 12 pages or so go into a lot of the details surrounding the testing, theory, etc. It's well worth the read though. I can tell you that I will never again be accused of being too loud with any amp under 50 watts, unless of course I want to be too loud! Tone, feel and response do not get compromised until you are dropped to "people sleeping in the next room" bedroom levels!
The Weber units and many of the others that have a continuously variable "dial" tend to have only a couple or few "sweet spots" that sound good, while most settings in between end up kind of lackluster. One of the main tricks is that along with using some "reactive" components, the ratio of resistance between the series and parallel paths from the amp to the speaker are crucial! John, the starter of the thread, explains it much better than me!
With that said, by the time all is said and done, I'll have one of these installed in every amp I own and possibly even in one or more of my speaker cabinets. If you're adept at sourcing components, these units can be fairly inexpensive to build and ar not very difficult! They do work amazingly well, while keeping your amps safe! I plan to "custom tailor" my builds to each individual amp, as I obviously don't as robust components or as much attenuation for a 12 watt amp as I do for a 40-ish watt amp.
Read/Order Parts/Build/Enjoy,
Gene
http://www.marshallforum.com/threads/si ... ing.98285/
and then move onto your workbench! It's a long read, but the first 12 pages or so go into a lot of the details surrounding the testing, theory, etc. It's well worth the read though. I can tell you that I will never again be accused of being too loud with any amp under 50 watts, unless of course I want to be too loud! Tone, feel and response do not get compromised until you are dropped to "people sleeping in the next room" bedroom levels!
The Weber units and many of the others that have a continuously variable "dial" tend to have only a couple or few "sweet spots" that sound good, while most settings in between end up kind of lackluster. One of the main tricks is that along with using some "reactive" components, the ratio of resistance between the series and parallel paths from the amp to the speaker are crucial! John, the starter of the thread, explains it much better than me!
With that said, by the time all is said and done, I'll have one of these installed in every amp I own and possibly even in one or more of my speaker cabinets. If you're adept at sourcing components, these units can be fairly inexpensive to build and ar not very difficult! They do work amazingly well, while keeping your amps safe! I plan to "custom tailor" my builds to each individual amp, as I obviously don't as robust components or as much attenuation for a 12 watt amp as I do for a 40-ish watt amp.
Read/Order Parts/Build/Enjoy,
Gene
Re: POWER SOAK RECOMMENDATIONS
Personally, I prefer powerscaling / VVR. This solution works well if implemented correctly and will greatly extend the life of your expensive power tubes
Steve
-
The Ballzz
- Posts: 369
- Joined: Thu Oct 24, 2013 7:22 pm
- Location: Las Vegas, NV
Re: POWER SOAK RECOMMENDATIONS
Both solutions can work fairly well, but are still a compromise that increases the more the volume needs to get squashed. Either one can be excellent, when just "takin' a little off the top" of a 10 watt to 50 watt amp so to speak. Crushing a 100 watt monster down to "babies sleeping in the next room" bedroom volumes is a totally different story!
Choices, Choices, Choices,
Gene
-
LightningPhil
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 11:54 am
- Location: Nottingham
Re: POWER SOAK RECOMMENDATIONS
A low efficiency 10" speaker in a slightly oversized cabinet that's stuffed with absorbent fluff works pretty well at dropping a few dB.
Aside from that using an L-pad works great if you like the tone. They can get close to good by tweaking a few amp settings. Not perfect, but the response curve of the human ear will mess up an "all else being equal" volume drop that better options provide.
Perhaps I'm biased as I don't have the good options to compare the result with. Denial is everything...
Aside from that using an L-pad works great if you like the tone. They can get close to good by tweaking a few amp settings. Not perfect, but the response curve of the human ear will mess up an "all else being equal" volume drop that better options provide.
Perhaps I'm biased as I don't have the good options to compare the result with. Denial is everything...