EAE D6-58 vs Carvin AG200

[Mr.November]

I play in an acoustic duo with my sister. We both play guitar and sing. I purchased a Carvin AG200 back in 2014, and it has been a great amp for our needs, with 3 XLR inputs and two 1/4” inputs with simultaneous use as the XLR ins. Some gigs have come up where we won’t be able to plug in to play and I have been looking at battery powered amps. These are 3 hour gigs and singing and playing without plugging in is quite taxing on the voice. The EAE D6-58 looks like it would be a great fit for our needs, but am wondering how it might compare to the Carvin. I’ve only read good things about the EAE D6-58, but am hesitant to sell what I know works well for our situation for an unfamiliar amp. Would the 120W of the EAE D6-58 hold up as well as the 200W of the Carvin AG200, volume wise? Does the phantom power on the EAE D6-58 apply across all 4 XLR inputs and does it effect the length of battery use you get out of it? Does phantom power for a non-condenser mic effect the performance of a mic? Any thing else I should be looking for?

[bsman]

There are currently a lot of ‘power banks’ - lithium ion batteries that also incorporate inverters that would allow you to run your carvin without access to an outlet. I have a Jackery 240 that provides more than enough, I think, for any situation I might find myself in. About $200, and as a bonus it’s a useful tool for charging phones, etc. during a power outage. There are many such on the market, with a wide range of prices and capacity. This might be something that would allow you to not have to replace a perfectly good amp.

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by Mr.November

I play in an acoustic duo with my sister. We both play guitar and sing. I purchased a Carvin AG200 back in 2014, and it has been a great amp for our needs, with 3 XLR inputs and two 1/4” inputs with simultaneous use as the XLR ins. Some gigs have come up where we won’t be able to plug in to play and I have been looking at battery powered amps. These are 3 hour gigs and singing and playing without plugging in is quite taxing on the voice. The EAE D6-58 looks like it would be a great fit for our needs, but am wondering how it might compare to the Carvin. I’ve only read good things about the EAE D6-58, but am hesitant to sell what I know works well for our situation for an unfamiliar amp. Would the 120W of the EAE D6-58 hold up as well as the 200W of the Carvin AG200, volume wise? Does the phantom power on the EAE D6-58 apply across all 4 XLR inputs and does it effect the length of battery use you get out of it? Does phantom power for a non-condenser mic effect the performance of a mic? Any thing else I should be looking for?

Are you driving the Carvin AG200 to maximum volume? I have a feeling that either amp would be fine.

If you are happy with the Carvin, you might want to consider some sort of LiON powered inverter, which could power the existing amp for several hours.

Having said that, the D6-58 is a pretty awesome amp. Mine arrives tomorrow. I have used the D6-8 for a couple of years but I want a little more power.

As far was the rest of your questions, yes the phantom power goes across the four XLR inputs. I’m sure it affects the battery life on a charge, but my guess is that it is negligible. As is always the case, phantom power has no effect on dynamic mics.

One thing about the D6-58 that is really cool is the amount of control with the mixer. There are high pass filters on all the channels for instance, which really helps when you are pushing the amp. There are also compressors on each channel which also helps. There are also sweepable mids. The stereo 5/6 inputs are great if you are using something like a keyboard or a guitar pedalboard. There is also three DSP: a dedicated reverb, a dedicated chorus, and a dedicated delay which can be assigned to any channel. There is also a three band EQ on the local speaker, and yet another EQ on the stereo balanced line outs. There are also two extra TRS which are assigned to a stereo AUX send for monitors! The outputs can be reassigned if you want. The mixer is incredible! It is about the same level of depth as a Bose T4S.

On top of all the incredible features, the sound is just incredible. Not that there is anything wrong with the Carvin sound, but the sound of the Elite Acoustics stuff is more in line with what you would expect out of a home studio setup with reference monitors than the live sound gear we are all used to.

[Mandobart]

I joined AGF several years ago when I was looking to put together a battery powered inverter for my Carvin AG300. My Google search brought me here.

I ended up with a Cotek 200 W pure sine wave inverter and a 35 amp-hour deep cycle battery. It will power my amp for about 7 hours at normal performance volume. IMO this is a better way to go, if you don't mind hauling your amp and an inverter with battery. No stand-alone battery powered amp that I've tried sounded anywhere close to as good as my Carvin.

[lkingston]

People who haven't tried the Elite Acoustics amps don't realize how good they sound. There is no sacrifice involved in them being battery powered at all.

They don't sound like live gear at all actually.

If you were to put a system together with a powerful studio reference monitor and a Bose T4s mixer, you'd be at about the same level. It really is live studio level sound.

As good as the Carvin amps were, they aren't even close. Frankly, neither is Fishman or AER. Anyone who has played through one can hear that.

The bummer is that you can't try one anywhere. It is an expensive leap of faith for most of us.

[Mr.November]

Originally Posted by bsman

There are currently a lot of ‘power banks’ - lithium ion batteries that also incorporate inverters that would allow you to run your carvin without access to an outlet. I have a Jackery 240 that provides more than enough, I think, for any situation I might find myself in. About $200, and as a bonus it’s a useful tool for charging phones, etc. during a power outage. There are many such on the market, with a wide range of prices and capacity. This might be something that would allow you to not have to replace a perfectly good amp.

I was looking into something like this as an option. It would be an invaluable tool to keep my sump pump running during a power outage, but it doesn’t sound like it would power a 200W amp for three hours straight. I’ve tried to lookup the amount of power the amp needs, but can’t find it on the manual or the amp itself. If it can only power a 60W TV for three hours, it doesn’t sound like it would last long enough for my needs. I will definitely be looking into purchasing one of these in the future though.

[varmonter]

Well ive never heard the
carvin but ive been more than
happy with everything
ive bought from eae.
2 amps 1 mixer.
I think their quality and
sound is top of the heap
for acoustic pro sound.
I can only see it as a step or two
up from the carvin stuff.

[Mr.November]

Originally Posted by lkingston

Are you driving the Carvin AG200 to maximum volume? I have a feeling that either amp would be fine.

If you are happy with the Carvin, you might want to consider some sort of LiON powered inverter, which could power the existing amp for several hours.

Having said that, the D6-58 is a pretty awesome amp. Mine arrives tomorrow. I have used the D6-8 for a couple of years but I want a little more power.

As far was the rest of your questions, yes the phantom power goes across the four XLR inputs. I’m sure it affects the battery life on a charge, but my guess is that it is negligible. As is always the case, phantom power has no effect on dynamic mics.

One thing about the D6-58 that is really cool is the amount of control with the mixer. There are high pass filters on all the channels for instance, which really helps when you are pushing the amp. There are also compressors on each channel which also helps. There are also sweepable mids. The stereo 5/6 inputs are great if you are using something like a keyboard or a guitar pedalboard. There is also three DSP: a dedicated reverb, a dedicated chorus, and a dedicated delay which can be assigned to any channel. There is also a three band EQ on the local speaker, and yet another EQ on the stereo balanced line outs. There are also two extra TRS which are assigned to a stereo AUX send for monitors! The outputs can be reassigned if you want. The mixer is incredible! It is about the same level of depth as a Bose T4S.

On top of all the incredible features, the sound is just incredible. Not that there is anything wrong with the Carvin sound, but the sound of the Elite Acoustics stuff is more in line with what you would expect out of a home studio setup with reference monitors than the live sound gear we are all used to.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever turned the Carvin main volume up past 65%. It has been loud enough for every venue that I’ve used it, indoors and out. I would guess that the D6-58 would be loud enough for every scenario that I would use it for as well.

While the idea of a LiON is quite practical, it doesn’t get me excited enough to go out and buy one. A new amp on the other hand, well that’s a different story, especially if it is an upgrade from what I’ve got now. I look forward to hearing what you think about the D6-58 once you get yours.

[RogerPease]

You could get an inexpensive plug in watt-hour meter. It will tell you how much
power your amp consumes on an actual gig, as well as the peak power requirement.

That would give you a real basis to judge. As fine of an amp as the AG200 is it’s a
little old now and information will be hard to find.

You can also use it on your fridge and other stuff around the house.

Just a thought, _Roger

[Mr.November]

Originally Posted by varmonter

Well ive never heard the
carvin but ive been more than
happy with everything
ive bought from eae.
2 amps 1 mixer.
I think their quality and
sound is top of the heap
for acoustic pro sound.
I can only see it as a step or two
up from the carvin stuff.

It would be great if there was a way to compare and contrast all the different options before purchasing, but unfortunately that will probably never happen. I purchased the Carvin AG200 based on the features it had and crossed my fingers that I liked the sound of it. I don’t have many complaints, but at the same time, I don’t have much to compare it to. I’m strongly leaning towards purchasing the D6-58 then selling the one I don’t like as much. Thanks for the input.

[Mandobart]

You'll have no trouble selling your Carvin if you decide to. They don't make them anymore.

[lkingston]

Well I got the D6-58 today. In the volumes you can play in the house it sounds exactly like my D6-8 (which is excellent). All the controls are exactly the same, so I dialed up the sound I like in a couple of seconds. The wood cabinet is beautiful. I also got the case and the little foldable wedge they sell. Everything is top quality. The bag is lightly padded and the insides of the two pockets feel like they are velour lined and soft.

When you play through this amp, it sounds like you invited someone into your home studio and are playing with your studio mixer, effects and reference monitors. It really is that good!

As I said before, I was very happy with my D6-8. It was loud enough every time I used it. I just wanted the extra headroom and the side mounted controls so that I could lift it higher in the air. The beautiful look of the wood casing pushed me over the edge in making me decide to order it.

As I type this, I am listening to music on it from my phone Bluetooth. It sounds like a high fidelity listening (but mono) speaker. There really isn't anything else like it.

[lkingston]

I was thinking I would keep the D6-8 because of it's smaller size, but the size difference really isn't that much. At the volumes you can play in a house, they sound exactly the same. I will either sell it or give it to my son. I'm not sure yet.