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Nice score!

Compare and Contrast: Archon-H

Archon is heavy, top to bottom. It has huge lows thanks to the 6L6, and lots of headroom, thanks to the 100W power stage. That helps with both cleans and crunch, as it keeps it tight under all circumstances. The overdrive in the Archon is big and bold, with a TON of gain. If you have the gain above 11:00 you're very compressed. There is a strong mid bite that cuts through, and is present even when the gain is very low. So you never really get the gain channel to get smooth when it cleans up - it always has some bite. I like that, but it's not a one-channel amp. Both channels are very wide-spectrum, so you have to really dial up the mids with a band so that you don't wind up all mush, unless you have the bass player stay VERY low in the frequency spectrum. It also helps to run the gain lower for better clarity.

Note that these comments are all with a 2x12 recto cab. For the combos, I don't like the boxy tone. I think it's both the open-back format and the choice of speaker.

I only have the H as a combo, so I can't comment with a big cab. However, the H combo is a fairly large volume closed cab. It has by FAR the best lows and overall frequency response of any combo I've ever played, other than the formerly-mine 1965 Deluxe Reverb, which doesn't have great balance, but is idiomatic in its tone (it sounds the way we all expect it to sound exactly as it is).

The H, despite being 50W, still has 6L6, and is enough headroom for a very clean tone on the clean channel, and holds up well on the dirt channel. The dirt channel dials back very well, such that even with gain at 3:00, I can turn the volume down on my tele and get pretty clean out, without the ever-present bite of the Archon gain channel. I currently use the H as a single-channel amp, as the dirt channel sounds so good across the gain spectrum, and is very responsive and fun to play, especially with my T57. I can't overstate how much fun that amp is. I put a delay in the loop and leave it on the dirt channel and just go for it. Clean, breakup, dirt, full-out, it is SO killer.

I got the H because I wanted a good-sounding, small-ish combo for gigs where I had to leave the rack and 2x12 at home, and the H is that combo. I also wanted an amp that was not just another Archon, but that really gave me something different, but that I could also use to do the same stuff. The H is that amp.

If I had to choose only one, it would be the Archon, just based on what I play. But I am thrilled to have both.
 
Archon is heavy, top to bottom. It has huge lows thanks to the 6L6, and lots of headroom, thanks to the 100W power stage. That helps with both cleans and crunch, as it keeps it tight under all circumstances. The overdrive in the Archon is big and bold, with a TON of gain. If you have the gain above 11:00 you're very compressed. There is a strong mid bite that cuts through, and is present even when the gain is very low. So you never really get the gain channel to get smooth when it cleans up - it always has some bite. I like that, but it's not a one-channel amp. Both channels are very wide-spectrum, so you have to really dial up the mids with a band so that you don't wind up all mush, unless you have the bass player stay VERY low in the frequency spectrum. It also helps to run the gain lower for better clarity.

Note that these comments are all with a 2x12 recto cab. For the combos, I don't like the boxy tone. I think it's both the open-back format and the choice of speaker.

I only have the H as a combo, so I can't comment with a big cab. However, the H combo is a fairly large volume closed cab. It has by FAR the best lows and overall frequency response of any combo I've ever played, other than the formerly-mine 1965 Deluxe Reverb, which doesn't have great balance, but is idiomatic in its tone (it sounds the way we all expect it to sound exactly as it is).

The H, despite being 50W, still has 6L6, and is enough headroom for a very clean tone on the clean channel, and holds up well on the dirt channel. The dirt channel dials back very well, such that even with gain at 3:00, I can turn the volume down on my tele and get pretty clean out, without the ever-present bite of the Archon gain channel. I currently use the H as a single-channel amp, as the dirt channel sounds so good across the gain spectrum, and is very responsive and fun to play, especially with my T57. I can't overstate how much fun that amp is. I put a delay in the loop and leave it on the dirt channel and just go for it. Clean, breakup, dirt, full-out, it is SO killer.

I got the H because I wanted a good-sounding, small-ish combo for gigs where I had to leave the rack and 2x12 at home, and the H is that combo. I also wanted an amp that was not just another Archon, but that really gave me something different, but that I could also use to do the same stuff. The H is that amp.

If I had to choose only one, it would be the Archon, just based on what I play. But I am thrilled to have both.

fascinating take. i too prefer the Archon over the H, which is why i have two of them, but i'm not a fan of the H's clean. i only have the head version of the H though so my mileage obviously varied.
 
Thanks!

I got my first H used, and the guy I bought it from had GREAT tone. He had the knobs set in a way I would have been hard-pressed to find. The clean channel sounds great. But the dirt channel... just can't stop playing.

 
Now ya gotta get another Archon cause it's sad and feels less loved.;)
 
My H actually had two advantages over my C50. It had been sent back to PRS for all the latest updates, so it actually had a better sounding clean channel (best I've ever owned) and a quieter loop. If my Custom 50 had that clean channel and that loop noise level, I'd love it even more! My loop is noisy in my current setup, and since the same loop cables moved to other amps ISN'T, I haven't chased solutions. And the cleans are great. Just not quite as great as the H I had. That said, the few features that were added to the Custom are certainly a worthy upgrade.
 
My new H sounds quite different from the old on the dirt channel - much brighter. I'm going to see what speaker is in it. The old one has a CL80.

The knobs are also different. Did they change from round to pointer knobs at some point? The new one was sold as NOS.
 
My new H sounds quite different from the old on the dirt channel - much brighter. I'm going to see what speaker is in it. The old one has a CL80.

The knobs are also different. Did they change from round to pointer knobs at some point? The new one was sold as NOS.
The speaker could be settled in on the old one, the new one might get there with more play time.
 
Compare the tubes if you bought the other wo
My new H sounds quite different from the old on the dirt channel - much brighter. I'm going to see what speaker is in it. The old one has a CL80.

The knobs are also different. Did they change from round to pointer knobs at some point? The new one was sold as NOS.
Could be tubes as well.
 
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