EP2500 real power testing results

[Eskimo]

No, I didn't perform these tests - there's too many people thinking that the EP2500 makes 2400 watts when powering a mono 4 ohm load.

Here's a summarized result from this thread:
www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=855865

20hz only, since that's what we care about.

8 ohm stereo - 450 wpc
4 ohm stereo - 635 wpc
2 ohm stereo - 815 wpc

8 ohm mono - 1335 watts
4 ohm mono - approx. 1600-1700 watts (based on 2x the 2 ohm stereo reading, and confirmed by the 8ohm mono vs. 4 ohm stereo)
2 ohm mono - 1165 (quickly overheated and shut down)

It should be noted that other than the voltage being kept at 120V, these were worst case scenarios.. Music is not a sine wave, so I'd believe that there's more in it for a short burst, though one person did report hard clipping trying to get 2000 watts from a 4-ohm 10ms burst (where the test got just over 1900 watts cleanly), so maybe not?

It's still a great value for money, but it's no 2400 watt amp.

[jman]

ibsubwoofers.proboards51.com/index.cgi?board=amps&action=display&thread=506

[jman]

The ep2500 can do ~1900 watts in these tests.

1900 vs 2400 is virtually irrelevant. 1200 vs 2400 would only be a 3db difference is maximum output. I'm running 2 ohm stereo to my 4 avalanche 18's and I have not seen the clip lights even flash in months and that is with peaks surpassing 120db. 120 or 123 or 126, not important.

It's also interesting to see that the crown k2 is really no better than the ep2500 as far as pure wattage goes. Both amps put out about the same into various loads. The crown is definitely better made and will last longer/fail less often. But for the cost of a k2, you could have 2 backup ep2500's stored away.

[Eskimo]

Dec 12, 2008 14:09:17 GMT -7 jman said:

ibsubwoofers.proboards51.com/index.cgi?board=amps&action=display&thread=506

[jman]

I'm thinking about rewiring my array for 8 ohm stereo. I have 4 drivers each with dual 2ohm coils so my only options are (assuming all coils used)

2 ohm stereo
4 ohm mono
8 ohm stereo

4 ohm mono doesn't work on my ep2500. The second I turn the amp on the clip light stays lit on channel 1. 2 ohm stereo works, which is odd since it's basically the same load. But the amp does run quite warm at 2 ohm stereo, even at idle.

The difference would be 450 watts/ch vs 815. The amp clip lights never flash even when I'm hitting peaks above 120db and that's with +8db@20hz half octave width on my BFD.

[FOH]

I'm guessing you checked all the normal caveats, ie., all DIP switch positions, no ch 2 input, take it out of parallel mode, ch. 2 pot all the way down,.. etc.? I've seen other posts on various forums with issues such as this. I've read contributors claim it's a known issue. I've read power cycling helps, I've read the lamp stays on until signal is applied, I've even read it's a warning indicator to show the amp's bridged status.

Anything additional since you tried?


Good luck