zapco studio 500 0r zpa 0.5

[jason584]

what would be the best way to go for sq im running 5 way cdt es comps up front for a 10 way front stage

[Eric D]

Both amps will sound similar. The ZPA is around twice the power of the Studio 500. However, it is around twice the size (I am pretty sure).

[jason584]

thanks im a zapco guy but the zpa does more power and i need alot

[The Golden One]

a few things should be considered before you just try to jump into the zpa scene these amp's can be like untamed beast, unlike most amps they are more in control of what is going on and not you. the power that's in them is not something that can be tuned out the power is there and can come on strong, and when it dose your speakers become the victim. you also must meet all the requirement's that phoenix gold recommends in every way with these amp's or you will smoke your speakers, just consider that these are not something you can just hook up and then just go to town.

[jason584]

yea you right im running 5 speakers a side a 6 inch mid bass es-06 es 04 mids es-010 tweets and imaging tweeters and a center channel they can take a ton of power. im running them thur the cdt 300cc crossover they can take the amp no problem. the one on ebay zpa 0.5 for 525 with linedriver is that a good deal?

[ttocs]

strange I always thought the zero points were just like almost any other amp....

[The Golden One]

ok how much power are the crossovers and speakers rated at can they handle 300 watts rms per side then the dynamic peaks that come after they are heated up?

[jason584]

the mid bass alone can take 200 watts rms i would go active but that would mean i would need alot of amps lol right now i have a zapco z600c2 running on the front stage but need a high power amp for my idmax 12

[The Golden One]

you know you do have to invest quite a bit more into your system when you run a zpa amp or two, you may even have to change your whole setup just for these amps. i already had experience with phoenix gold amps before going with the zpa's, but i still had to relearn alot and change alot of things to run them.

[jason584]

alot of change? i know they need a line driver and i have two batteries for the amp what else do i need?

[Eric D]

a few things should be considered before you just try to jump into the zpa scene these amp's can be like untamed beast, unlike most amps they are more in control of what is going on and not you. the power that's in them is not something that can be tuned out the power is there and can come on strong, and when it dose your speakers become the victim. you also must meet all the requirement's that phoenix gold recommends in every way with these amp's or you will smoke your speakers, just consider that these are not something you can just hook up and then just go to town.

This is without a doubt the most retarded post I have ever read on this forum, and ranks high on the list of all time retarded posts I have ever read on ANY forum ANYWHERE...

[ttocs]

I thought the same but bit my tongue. I just remembered that golden one puts pg on a platform that no one else here does, no matter how crazy we are about pg and hoped the newb would know the same.

[The Golden One]

a few things should be considered before you just try to jump into the zpa scene these amp's can be like untamed beast, unlike most amps they are more in control of what is going on and not you. the power that's in them is not something that can be tuned out the power is there and can come on strong, and when it dose your speakers become the victim. you also must meet all the requirement's that phoenix gold recommends in every way with these amp's or you will smoke your speakers, just consider that these are not something you can just hook up and then just go to town.

This is without a doubt the most retarded post I have ever read on this forum, and ranks high on the list of all time retarded posts I have ever read on ANY forum ANYWHERE...

i take it you have never actually ran these amps in you own vehical for any lenght of time and actually tapped into their dynamic power, also these amp's do have other perameters that must be met or you will damage either the amp or speakers or both and it's not just power and signal, i would explain it but that's something that take's a bit more of this

[ttocs]

a few things should be considered before you just try to jump into the zpa scene these amp's can be like untamed beast, unlike most amps they are more in control of what is going on and not you. the power that's in them is not something that can be tuned out the power is there and can come on strong, and when it dose your speakers become the victim. you also must meet all the requirement's that phoenix gold recommends in every way with these amp's or you will smoke your speakers, just consider that these are not something you can just hook up and then just go to town.

This is without a doubt the most retarded post I have ever read on this forum, and ranks high on the list of all time retarded posts I have ever read on ANY forum ANYWHERE...

also these amp's do have other perameters that must be met or you will damage either the amp or speakers or both and it's not just power and signal, i would explain it but that's something that take's a bit more of this

that could be said for almost any amp..... The zero points are nice and they have some power but they are not able to walk on water or anything special.

[Eric D]

What does putting them in a vehicle have to do with anything? If I feed them 13.8V on my test bench with my 200A power supply, that is a better case scenario than running them in a car.

And who would guess, they produce the same underrated power levels of any other PG amp from the same era. Putting them in a car does not magically get them to output more power. And a watt is a watt. These amps are not mysterious, and are not magical, and are not really all that special. They sound good, and they produce more power than rated. How is this so special?

Besides that, dynamic power not worth discussing...

[The Golden One]

What does putting them in a vehicle have to do with anything? If I feed them 13.8V on my test bench with my 200A power supply, that is a better case scenario than running them in a car.

And who would guess, they produce the same underrated power levels of any other PG amp from the same era. Putting them in a car does not magically get them to output more power. And a watt is a watt. These amps are not mysterious, and are not magical, and are not really all that special. They sound good, and they produce more power than rated. How is this so special?

Besides that, dynamic power not worth discussing...

i have a 0.3 on my power supply now it's the audio authority 277 i got from db incognito. im not saying that there is more power in a car it's just you deal with road noise and the environment of the car that changes the sound quite a bit, plus it's a confined space.

[jason584]

wow seems like the zpa is a monster im scared to try it out now lol.I found a zapco studio 500 tone has one for sale. the zapco seems like a better buy.i wont have to use a line driver or worried about any problems with caps drying out with the zapco or least hope not? I now i will have to replace them at some point in time.my z600c2 has not let me down yet.still want to try the zpa tho.any more suggestions on with amp i should go with?

[ttocs]

see now that is what we were afraid of... The .5 is a big amp and throws some power but is just an amp. It does not have nor need a flux capacitor nor 7.7 gigawatts of power. Like any other high powered amp I would recomend a good bat, alt and big 3 upgrade but I would recomend that with any amp that size probably even the zapco

[Eric D]

The ZPA amps are not monsters. They are just as efficient as any other Class A/B amp, and if you know what you are doing they will serve you as well as any other quality amp such as Zapco. If anything the larger MS amps are more "monsters". The MPS2500, MS2125, and MS2250 all have more powerful capabilities than a ZPA. Besides, they are dual mono which is a real audiophile feature, and the ZPAs are not.

I am still shocked PG went with an all discrete design (no op amps) in the ZPAs, but gave them a shared power supply instead of dual mono.

I personally like the ZPAs more, but not due to snake oil, smoke and mirrors, or any other misinformed rantings. I like how the ZPAs are non traditional designs (not just an aluminum extrusion with a board in it), and I like fan cooled amps.

[Eric D]

Also, you don't need a line driver to run a ZPA. That is an "old wives tale" which managed to gain a lot of traction over the years and has everyone thinking a ZPA won't work without one. A 2V deck (pretty much any deck on the market) can drive a ZPA to full output. Now, if you want to clip the hell out of the amp and distort everything, then yes you will need to get a line driver to do this, as a 2V deck requires the gain setting to be near max on the ZPA.

[jason584]

I HAVE A ECLIPSE 8053 AS MY HEAD UNIT THAT IS 8 VOLTS AND A PPI PAR 245 AS MY EQ AND A PPI DEQ 30 BAND. I HOPE THAT IS ENOUGH VOLTS FOR EITHER AMP I CHOOSE.

[ttocs]

yea the design is the only thing that they really stood out with. Would be a cool line to come out with a retro series I am sure we could all agree.

[jason584]

what about the old ms amp which one put out 250 x2 at 4ohms would that be a better choice for sq and where could i buy one?

[Kurt Wild]

If anything the larger MS amps are more "monsters". The MPS2500, MS2125, and MS2250 all have more powerful capabilities than a ZPA. Besides, they are dual mono which is a real audiophile feature, and the ZPAs are not.

What? If we look at the specs, an MS2250 and ZPA 0.5 are about equal. You can get 1kW out of each.
But the MPS 2500 and MS2125 are only about half a kiloWatt. RMS. Please clarify, I'm very interested in these babies.

I am still shocked PG went with an all discrete design (no op amps) in the ZPAs, but gave them a shared power supply instead of dual mono.

What? The ZPAs power supplies _look_ like dual mono. So you're saying they are actually parallel?

[Eric D]

The power supply of the MPS2500, MS2125, and MS2250 are all basically the same components. And they are good for maybe 2000W. Since the Class A/B output section is only 50% efficient, you can get about 1000W to your speakers, the rest is wasted as heat. (the power supply has its own efficiency, but it is pretty high) The load you use on each of these amps is how you get your 1000W output. Even the MPS2500 can do this at the right load.

Yes, the ZPAs are not dual mono. The two transformers are tied together, as is much of the supply. One big supply. I have never really verified it, but there is a possibility one transformer is for the low voltage, and the other for high voltage. If this is the case the amp is even more compromised. I doubt this is the case though. Either way the MS amps have bigger physical components such as transformers and transistors. These parts can take more abuse. The smaller TO-220 devices used in the ZPAs are packed close together which makes for high thermal density. This is just one reason they blow up or catch fire. Most older PG amps have capacitor issues due to age, but some burn in other ways. If you look around the forum, I just repaired a ZPA0.3 where it caught fire, and this happened to have nothing to do with capacitors.