Thanks Tom. I have been trying to get a handle on them. I was
troubled by their lack of 2 ohm rating, and their tech support (at
least the couple of people I have spoken with) do not seem to have
much background as techs. But some of their data looked good and the
guys at SVS subwoofers seemed to like them (at least the model you
use). Thus my interest on the F1200. According to Samson it is
sonically identical to the S1000 (i.e. that have not crippled it in
any way), the former has greater bandwith (its rated to 50Khz as
opposed to 20Khz) and power, but the latter has nicer features and
higher damping factor. The differences not withstanding, I think I
may be correct in assuming the greater bandwith and lesser damping
factor should have no sonic effect. So it all boils down to is it the
same quality as the S1000, and herein lies my dilema. The people
telling me yes are the same techs I found wanting in other areas

"Arny Krueger"

What about your beloved Mackies or the new Behringer amps.

Another friend of mine who builds his own ribbons has a Macie M1400.

Sounds like a good start (no pun intended)

That can work, although the base fan noise seems higher on the Mackies than
on the QSCs. The Mackie puts the fan at the base of a horn that is pointed
right out the front of the amp.


I see, that is why you always mention the fan noise. From your
experience with your own 1200, would a resistor slow it down enough to
mitigate the noise, or do you feel it will always be a potential
factor (especially in quiet scenes/music moments)?

The Behringers I
understand may be copies of the QSC and could be had for $300.

I've heard people say nice things about them, but I don't know anybody who
has one.

Try eBay. USA 850s and 900s are the most common "find", usually
closing around $200. Will 375 wpc or so do the job for you? How much
does it take to damage that ribbon? It would be good to not be able
to go there.

I think 375 he should be perfect. I would never listen to it that
loud, but it would have more than sufficient headroom for peaks and
the ribbons should easily handle it. BTW, I seem to remember reading
some negative stuff on the 900s, but I'm not sure.

People like to **** on em because they do a lot of humble work. They are
clean and they last.


That is good to know, the more options I have the better off I'll be.

Believe it or not, one stated goal of this running crapmouth act on RAO is
to get me to stay away. The good news is that there are a goodly number of
other audio groups.

Your comment about the group being a lot more civilized in the days of Zippy
are regrettably quite true. The irony is that some of these creeps were
friends of Zippy.

I did not care much for Zip's reactions in the later years (I found in
his early years he could be a pain, but he also seemed to have more to
contribute), and I think that may have been part of the reason I moved
to other forums (e.g. Basslist), but now the area has become a virtual
wasteland engaged primarily on adhominems and reproduction of the same
story time and time again.

It is sad to see, but I guess it is also to be expected considering
the medium.

Again, thanks Arny and thanks Tom (love your work on subs, especially
the article dealing with your DIY basement sub).

Regards,
Goyo