The Steel Guitar Forum

The Peavey Nashville 1000 power amp is advertised as being a "digital power amp". In other places I see it explained as just having a switchmode power supply (as opposed to a linear power supply). Usually a digital amp involves converting the analog signal to digital, processing it in the digital domain, then converting it back to analog. I assume that the Nashville 1000 preamp is analog, that all the tone controls are analog and that the power amp is also analog. The only major signal path difference between this and the Nashville 400, for example, is that the 1000 has a switchmode power supply. This hardly qualifies calling it a digital amplifier although I don't argue that the power supply is the key to any power amp. Power supply regulation, response and capacity are key and no doubt the 1000 does have a great amp. So is it a "digital amp" or an analog amp with a switchmode supply? Ignoring the speaker baffle differences, reverb tank/circuit differences etc. one could retrofit the Nashville 400 with a switchmode power supply and advertise it as a digital retrofit.

Greg

Plain and simple. The Nashville 1000 "does" have a 300 watt all "digital power amp" with an analog preamp.

IMHO, the term "digital" is being used extremely loosely here to fit in with the popularly recognized buzzword. This amp is what is technically termed a Class D power amp. They are theoretically quite similar to a switchmode power supply in design. They are considered switching analog circuits by most electronic engineers.

Sam in AZ <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Sam Marshall on 29 August 2000 at 06:17 PM.]</p></FONT>

Your both right I guess! If it's a class D amp which replicates the analog signal by switching devices (DMOS transistors?) on and off at high speed much like a switchmode supply then it's digital enough for me. It's certainly not just a Nashville 400 with a switchmode supply! I really had no idea and am just trying to learn something here. I found a good link for understanding what Class D is and what IC's are available to implement a class D amp class D amp overview. It appears that Peavey is giving us a lot of value by cranking all of this technology into a $750 street priced amp when you factor in the improved reverb, speaker/baffle changes, etc. More important than this technology stuff of course is that the amp sounds great. Makes me want to sell my Webb amp even! Even so this is the electronics forum and I do want to know more about the design and I'm sure others are curious also.

Greg <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Greg Cutshaw on 30 August 2000 at 11:54 AM.]</p></FONT>

I think that after you have played through this amp, you will be pleasantly surprised and pleased at the tone and power.

Greg,
What are the reverb improvements in the new Session 1000 amp? How does the reverb circuitry vary from the Nashville 400 ? (Besides the 2 spring reverb pan).

Bob

Greg,
You have a great amount of knowlwdge. You are missing one fine point though. The 1000 sounds great..The rest is just a waste of time.

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Steel crazy after all these years.
Emmons Lashley Legrande 111 S-10, Nashville 1000, Peavey Stereo chorus 212, Peavey Classic 50/410, Lexicon MPX 100

It's just marketing, don't worry about it (why are all high end headphones marketed as 'digital headphones').

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www.tyacktunes.com

Good point, Dan. A digital signal and an audio signal are two different "animals".
e.g. you have to convert the "digital" data (a series of DC on and off data bits) out of your computer to "analog" in order to transmit the data over a regular analog (audio range) telephone line and conversely the analog signal coming in has to be converted to digital so your computer can use it.

If you converted a musical instrument's signal to digital and then tried to feed that to a speaker it would not be intelligible.