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  #1  
Old 06-09-2017, 10:35 AM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Default Elite Acoustics Engineering D6-8

This amp seems to check off all the boxes I am looking for in an amp. I talked to an engineer at the company and he answered a few questions that I had after looking at the documentation. It will be available in August for around $1,100 MSRP:

http://www.eliteacoustics.com/portfolio/d6-8-2/


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  #2  
Old 06-09-2017, 12:30 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Those boxes being enough channels (4 mono, 1 stereo), phantom power on all four XLR inputs, 3 band EQ with sweepable mids, high bass filters on all channels, limiters on all channels, separate reverb and chorus feeds on all channels, DI out, feed for stereo with a second amp, notch filters on all channels, lithium ion battery power, speaker pole mount.

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Old 06-09-2017, 12:53 PM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
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From reading the webpage, it suggests that it has fully parametric eq on all three bands. Looking at the manual, that doesn't seem to be but maybe a nested menu?
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Old 06-09-2017, 12:58 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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From talking to the engineer this morning, there are a number of features that didn't make the manual. This is probably because it's a digital mixer and they can add features with firmware updates. For instance, there are notch filters on all channels. The knob are also buttons and there are depp er menus with double button presses. This is where the notch filter function is.

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Old 06-09-2017, 02:35 PM
JohnDWilliams JohnDWilliams is offline
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The sound quality from these amps is very, very good. I have two sizes of Sunburst Gear amps and just bought one of the smaller EAE amps.

Not sure what the relationship is between EAE and Sunburst Gear is but the EAE is somewhat improved over the Sunburst - like a version 2. The battery in the smaller EAE lasts longer than the battery in either Sunburst model and the EAE has great sounding reverb.

I've done several small gigs with the Sunburst Gear amps and they are barely loud enough but they sound absolutely wonderful. The small EAE I just got is only suitable for a very small room but it is easy to run a line out to the larger Sunburst Gear. It's still very easy to drive all of them into breakup so setup is critical.

I'm doing a wedding this afternoon with the EAE+Sunburst setup. This will be solo acoustic nylon string guitar (Cordoba GK Studio). Probably rain so it will be inside. Outside would be a real test. Inside still a little iffy since I don't really know what to expect from the room. My other choice would be the Carvin AG300, which can handle a very large room, but it's a lot more to lug around and I have to change places several times for the ceremony.

Also got two of the Sunburst Gear compact speaker stands. This makes for a really compact setup and, with the XVive guitar wireless, no wires and quick setup.

I also have a Crate Limo and had a Taxi, which died, and neither can hold a candle to the sound quality of the EAE/Sunburst amps.

Last edited by JohnDWilliams; 06-09-2017 at 02:40 PM.
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  #6  
Old 06-09-2017, 06:32 PM
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dogdog49 dogdog49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnDWilliams View Post
The sound quality from these amps is very, very good. I have two sizes of Sunburst Gear amps and just bought one of the smaller EAE amps.

Not sure what the relationship is between EAE and Sunburst Gear is but the EAE is somewhat improved over the Sunburst - like a version 2. The battery in the smaller EAE lasts longer than the battery in either Sunburst model and the EAE has great sounding reverb.

I've done several small gigs with the Sunburst Gear amps and they are barely loud enough but they sound absolutely wonderful. The small EAE I just got is only suitable for a very small room but it is easy to run a line out to the larger Sunburst Gear. It's still very easy to drive all of them into breakup so setup is critical.

I'm doing a wedding this afternoon with the EAE+Sunburst setup. This will be solo acoustic nylon string guitar (Cordoba GK Studio). Probably rain so it will be inside. Outside would be a real test. Inside still a little iffy since I don't really know what to expect from the room. My other choice would be the Carvin AG300, which can handle a very large room, but it's a lot more to lug around and I have to change places several times for the ceremony.

Also got two of the Sunburst Gear compact speaker stands. This makes for a really compact setup and, with the XVive guitar wireless, no wires and quick setup.

I also have a Crate Limo and had a Taxi, which died, and neither can hold a candle to the sound quality of the EAE/Sunburst amps.
Interesting, I'm also running the baby Elite Acoustics (A1-4) along with a Sunburst Gear (same company) M3BR8 using the XVive wireless system and it both sounds wonderful and is a miracle of wireless convenience. I use just the A1-4 for very small rooms or in the park and you're right, the Canyon and Hall reverbs in particular are perfect for acoustic guitars - among the best I've heard. Super easy to daisy chain for somewhat larger gigs with these two speakers. I'll bet the big D6-8 is significantly louder and I'd love to hear someones' assessment on that.
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Old 06-09-2017, 08:50 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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It's good to hear such glowing reports of their other amps. I know that little things like the high pass filters and individual channel compressors will also help maximize what you can get out of this new amp.

My hearing has been damaged by lots of loud shows (both as a musician and as a soundman) and all I'm really interested in now is performing is performing with small groups in intimate low volume venues.

One of these plus a simpler version as an extension might be exactly what I need.
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Old 06-09-2017, 09:03 PM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
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I've yet been playing hear a bad or even 'meh' report from a user of these. Anyone who doesn't like them out there?
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Old 06-09-2017, 10:30 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnDWilliams View Post

I've done several small gigs with the Sunburst Gear amps and they are barely loud enough but they sound absolutely wonderful. The small EAE I just got is only suitable for a very small room but it is easy to run a line out to the larger Sunburst Gear. It's still very easy to drive all of them into breakup so setup is critical.
How much difference do you see between the two sizes of amps? Is the bigger one still "barely loud enough"?

Quote:
I'm doing a wedding this afternoon with the EAE+Sunburst setup. This will be solo acoustic nylon string guitar (Cordoba GK Studio). Probably rain so it will be inside. Outside would be a real test. Inside still a little iffy since I don't really know what to expect from the room.
How did the wedding go?






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  #10  
Old 06-09-2017, 10:46 PM
JohnDWilliams JohnDWilliams is offline
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The wedding was outside after all. Got rained on just a little but the couple really wanted to do it outside. It was at a winery and it was beautiful.

They wanted two microphones for the ceremony so I set up the Sunburst M6BR8 on a short stand near the front and plugged two SM58s into it along with the line out from the EAE A1BR8. I played off to the side and had the A1BR8 near me.

This worked fine since the the mics were not for singing and there was no need for reverb. Of course I piled on the reverb for my guitar and that went through both amps.

The coverage was fine and it was loud enough for 100 people but just barely. Anyone thinking of getting these amps needs to be aware that you have to be sensitive to the gain and they might still not be loud enough for your needs.

I also played "cocktail music" after the ceremony at a different location. Crazy convenient to just pick up the whole affair and move it in one trip. Too bad the connection between amps isn't wireless. It is XLR so it could theoretically go a very long way but some sort of wireless would be really cool.

I play jazz using BIAB tracks played back from my iPad running the OneTrack app. Using Bluetooth the track playback is also wireless. I could play tracks from my phone and keep the phone in my pocket.

Both of the amps were on for more than two hours and the battery level indicators still had three lights (full).

I'll use this setup again. It is like playing through good studio monitors. Very rich and detailed.

M6BR8

Last edited by JohnDWilliams; 06-09-2017 at 11:06 PM.
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  #11  
Old 06-10-2017, 10:21 AM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
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"I also have a Crate Limo and had a Taxi, which died, and neither can hold a candle to the sound quality of the EAE/Sunburst amps."

I wasn't suggesting that there's any comparison in sound quality. I'm glad you said this though because it affirms what I tell people looking for battery powered amps all the time - there are a ton of choices that'll work but there's very few that actually sound anywhere close to good. Still people are obsessed with the $150 price point, so I keep an eye on the bottom end of the market just to be sure people know what the choices are and I know what they can expect when they buy this stuff.

I'm intrigued by the Sunburst Gear/EAE amps and with this D6-8 in particular. There's a ton of competition coming at this higher end of the market (Hughes+Kettner Era1, Mesa Rosette, on the AC end, Array systems on the battery side) and it's going to be harder for someone who's already invested in an inverter/battery /charger system to jump in here, as that just widens the field of choices.

Paying attention to the owners of this expensive gear is going to be more important soon, so you don't have to buy twice...
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Old 06-19-2017, 07:54 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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I just found this video:

https://youtu.be/ZMrTnX1To7E


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  #13  
Old 06-20-2017, 12:59 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Wow! That does check a lot of boxes!
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  #14  
Old 06-20-2017, 01:34 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Default Elite Acoustics Engineering D6-8

The one thing they got wrong in the review (I believe) is the way the aux sends work. In the manual it describes two aux sends as does the reviewer, but in a "sell sheet" on their web site it describes two TRS aux sends/returns which would be quite a lot more useful.


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  #15  
Old 06-20-2017, 01:42 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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There is actually quite a lot that this review misses: notch filters, sweepable parametric EQs, high pass filters, compressors, etc.


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