Archon 100w on the way

[krb813]

I just purchased a 100w Archon. I should be getting it Thursday. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone on this forum. I have been lurking here and only posted once or twice and all the info I have read helped me with my decision. I'm moving up from a Mesa Boogie Mark V 25. Hopefully the wife appreciates the volume difference.

Thanks everyone,

Kevin

 

[Boogie]

I just purchased a 100w Archon... Hopefully the wife appreciates the volume difference.,

Kevin

Oh Kevin, I hope you protected your gear in the prenuptial agreement.

:biggrin:

What cab will you match with it?

 

[jc986]

Sweet! I've only had mine for a couple weeks so I guess I'm still technically in the honeymoon phase. It really is an awesome amp though. You'll be surprised how great it sounds at super low volumes too. I don't even switch it to 50w mode and it sounds great for bedroom practice levels.

 

[krb813]

I'll be using a Mesa Rectifier 2x12 cab. I thought my wife would say no due to the other gear I already have. But she said Merry Xmas early.

 

[Tahlee]

Hopefully the wife appreciates the volume difference.

Thanks everyone,

Kevin

haha - hilarious - congrats on the new amp.

 

[alantig]

Congrats, and welcome to Club Archon!

Don't worry about the wife - the 100W sounds great at low volumes, but it also has plenty of giddyup to drown her out! :vroam:

 

[László]

Amplifiers, wives. It's good that you don't have to decide between the two!

Congrats on the new amp.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

The V25 is a phenomenal amp. If you need huge power, you got it. I couldn't ever imagine selling my V25 though. It has 6 incredible voices and can sound all different kinds of GREAT at bedroom to pretty loud volumes. I have a 2 Channel Custom and would like to try an Archon or HX/DA next, but my V25 ain't goin' nowhere! EVER!

 

[CoreyT]

And they just came out with a newer one the Mark Five 35.
My 25 is too loud for me now

I am hoping to hear more on that 5 watt Archon/ Tremonti amp that was discussed a few months back.
Would be nice to see it before Christmas so the jolly man in the red suit can drop me off one.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

5? I thought it was 15. Either way it would be cool 15 with a half power switch would be super cool.

 

[HANGAR18]

Do you still have the 5:25? I have both in my amp collection.

 

[krb813]

Well. The Archon came in. So far I have only had about 20 minutes on it..but so far so good. I think I made a great decision to step up from the Mark V 25.

 

[László]

I agree, good decision!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Well.... if it sounds better than the V25, I'll own one AS SOON AS I hear that. Time to go searching for one.

 

[László]

Well.... if it sounds better than the V25, I'll own one AS SOON AS I hear that. Time to go searching for one.

Keep in mind that it's not really an even-handed comparison to put a 25 watt amp designed for bedroom playing against a 100 watt amp designed to open up on big stages.

The V25 is great for what it is, but the big Mark V will also sound bigger at most settings as well. The comparison of a Mark V and an Archon is one I'd really enjoy, though I'm not really a high gain player, they're both interesting amps.

I had a Mark V, and liked it a lot, though I'm much happier with my PRS amps for what I do, and wound up really concentrating on only one channel of my Mark V, the clean channel, in Tweed mode. And of course, the PRS amps kind of surpass the Mark's clean tones anyway, and have more dynamic range.

But there are certain tones you can only get with Mesa amps, and I'm always going to like them, too. Better to have both and not have to choose!

 

[Boogie]

I'm much happier with my PRS amps for what I do...the PRS amps kind of surpass the Mark's clean tones anyway, and have more dynamic range.

I'm in the same boat, despite being my namesake. For the lack of a better term, my PRS amp is more "hi-if" and refined, for what and how I play. The clean channel, even in 25w class A mode, in the MkIII is fantastic, but when I fire up the SuperD, it pales in comparison. It's all relative. However, switch the Boogie into ch3 and nothing can touch it at that gain level. I've yet to find a pedal that takes the SuperD into that territory faithfully. But that need is pretty rare right now.

Bite my tongue. No sooner do I say 'never' when a new project knocks at my door demanding a more modern, driving and sustaining tone. You just never know. (oops, I said it again) :biggrin:

 

[László]

Bite my tongue. No sooner do I say 'never' when a new project knocks at my door demanding a more modern, driving and sustaining tone. You just never know. (oops, I said it again) :biggrin:

What's the new project?

 

[aristotle]

And they just came out with a newer one the Mark Five 35.
My 25 is too loud for me now

I am hoping to hear more on that 5 watt Archon/ Tremonti amp that was discussed a few months back.
Would be nice to see it before Christmas so the jolly man in the red suit can drop me off one.

Unless it's significantly cheaper, I can't see the advantage to a low power Archon. Even the 100W is as good a bedroom amp as there is in my opinion, assuming you like how it's voiced in the first place of course. Tone stays the same no matter the master setting. Same for my Mesa Roadster.

Something like a DG30, or a JTM45, or whatever mid-gain sort of amp, and sure... A bunch of the character comes from the interplay between the pre-amp and power amp. Not so on the Archon in my opinion. And even with low power versions of mid-gain amps, you still have to crank them beyond what most would consider bedroom volume to get them to sound like their higher power brothers. The real advantage of something like...say... a Marshall 2061x is that you can get a plexi tone when gigging reasonable venues without getting kicked off of the stage. Then again, I can get that with a 50W MDT with the master backed off just a bit any time I want, so I just never really see the advantage of these 5W amps. My only experience with a 5W amp is the Marshall Class 5. Fine amp (in spite of what many say), but it's too loud for a bedroom amp and too quiet to gig.

If a 5W is a bunch cheaper though, and you don't need to play it out, that'd be the only reason I'd consider one.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I wouldn't say that the V25 is designed for bedroom playing. So many places now won't allow super high stage volumes, and honestly, many players have just decided that even where they can get away with it, it's either A) not the best way to do it or B) they better take what chance they still have left to save their ears. With any gain, I'd think the V25 is loud enough for just about ANY stage, and still enjoying listening to music almost as much as playing it, I wouldn't want to be on a stage for long where it wasn't loud enough.

That said, it does do many things better at more tolerable volumes, than my Custom 50. As much as I dig my Custom 50, and as good as the masters are, both clean and gain channels need to be turned up to "pretty loud for home" volumes to really come alive. The V25 and other smaller amps do come alive at lower volumes.

Yes, I know that 6dB (25x2=50x2=full Mark V or 100 watt Archon volume) I'm aware of all the bigger headroom, bottom etc. that bigger amps have. Just saying, I think most people think "5 watts or less" when they think bedroom amp. The V25 with a 2x12 gets pretty loud. "IMHO, your mileage may vary. Consult your physician.....," etc.

 

[CoreyT]

My Mark Five 25 is so loud even on the 10 watt setting I can barely turn up the master with the 2 1x12 cabs.
I bet this thing is gig worthy on the 25 watt setting, maybe even the 10 watt one.