View other reviews for this product:
Published on 09/05/08 at 04:22
Best value:
Excellent
Kesako?
If you own a powerful amp, you know it is difficult to operate in a small space. When the tube amp is impossible to saturate the power tubes and thus to enjoy their beautiful natural saturation.
How?
- Put a volume pedal in effects loop? Ineffective because it amounts to a volume knob replaced by another, so it will not saturate the lamps.
- To ask a converter lamps to replace the 6L6, EL34 and KT88 by other less powerful lamps (6V6, EL84 ...). Yes, but the sound is more than the original. In the same kind can be a switch to pentode / triode or change the speaker to a less sensitive (close to 90 dB). Again the transformation completely changes your amp and the back is laborious.
The brake power is a power attenuator that sits between the power amp and HP. It works like a big resistor that dissipates a part of the power of the amp as heat. The HP receives less power = less volume.
Easy to install and remove (it's like an external pedal) this system is very efficient and reduces the power of the amp to the request.
How come this? a large box of over 4 kg (still) that is connected to the output of the amp and HP (with HP cables! if not by modifying the output impedance!). 1 input, 2 speaker outputs, a switch to choisr the output impedance (8 or 16 Ohms) and finally a button on the front to reduce the power output of the amplifier up to 30dB of loss of volume, in increments of 3 dB. Reminder: -3 dB = power divided by 2 = -10 dB volume halved. No external power required. An internal fan is automatically activated in case of overheating (never managed to heat at this point!).
Disadvantage:
- You lose the saturation of HP because they are less stressed. But it is a lesser evil compared to other solutions.
- The lamps have a shortened lifespan, but the wear is normal: at equal volume, they are most stressed, what logic you use the unit to a higher power!
- The sound is probably a little color, like everything that is connected to the amp: cables, effects pedals, ... But nothing really mutilate (it's not a vintage wah!) Me that does not shock me really, the sound is enough and what is actually respected by the PowerBrake compared to the reduction of stress on the HP?
- The price: more than 400 euros is very expensive for a large resistance. A book is already a very high-end amplifier tube. Bugera on all lamps, for example (which is cheap for the technology) the additional 400 euros to be balanced with the purchase of an amp higher-end. On a big Mesa Boogie or a big-Rivera, the question is less.
To conclude:
Reduction system effective power, its friendly, easy to use and install. As against expensive, therefore reserved for a small class of high-end amp. Hence the 8 / 10 because it is not really accessible to all.
If you own a powerful amp, you know it is difficult to operate in a small space. When the tube amp is impossible to saturate the power tubes and thus to enjoy their beautiful natural saturation.
How?
- Put a volume pedal in effects loop? Ineffective because it amounts to a volume knob replaced by another, so it will not saturate the lamps.
- To ask a converter lamps to replace the 6L6, EL34 and KT88 by other less powerful lamps (6V6, EL84 ...). Yes, but the sound is more than the original. In the same kind can be a switch to pentode / triode or change the speaker to a less sensitive (close to 90 dB). Again the transformation completely changes your amp and the back is laborious.
The brake power is a power attenuator that sits between the power amp and HP. It works like a big resistor that dissipates a part of the power of the amp as heat. The HP receives less power = less volume.
Easy to install and remove (it's like an external pedal) this system is very efficient and reduces the power of the amp to the request.
How come this? a large box of over 4 kg (still) that is connected to the output of the amp and HP (with HP cables! if not by modifying the output impedance!). 1 input, 2 speaker outputs, a switch to choisr the output impedance (8 or 16 Ohms) and finally a button on the front to reduce the power output of the amplifier up to 30dB of loss of volume, in increments of 3 dB. Reminder: -3 dB = power divided by 2 = -10 dB volume halved. No external power required. An internal fan is automatically activated in case of overheating (never managed to heat at this point!).
Disadvantage:
- You lose the saturation of HP because they are less stressed. But it is a lesser evil compared to other solutions.
- The lamps have a shortened lifespan, but the wear is normal: at equal volume, they are most stressed, what logic you use the unit to a higher power!
- The sound is probably a little color, like everything that is connected to the amp: cables, effects pedals, ... But nothing really mutilate (it's not a vintage wah!) Me that does not shock me really, the sound is enough and what is actually respected by the PowerBrake compared to the reduction of stress on the HP?
- The price: more than 400 euros is very expensive for a large resistance. A book is already a very high-end amplifier tube. Bugera on all lamps, for example (which is cheap for the technology) the additional 400 euros to be balanced with the purchase of an amp higher-end. On a big Mesa Boogie or a big-Rivera, the question is less.
To conclude:
Reduction system effective power, its friendly, easy to use and install. As against expensive, therefore reserved for a small class of high-end amp. Hence the 8 / 10 because it is not really accessible to all.