Since founding Ace Audio in 1992, Mike Goodreau has grown his sound hire company to serve the differing needs of entertainment venues and events throughout New England. His six employees are constantly on the go for this well-regarded “first call” sound hire firm, delivering top-flight FOH and monitors for outdoor festivals, jazz cruises, corporate events, theaters, fairs, churches and regional touring acts.
Goodreau recently added Crest Pro 200 Series power amplifiers to his rental racks because of their light weight, compact size, durability, reliability and high-fidelity output. “Crest Amps have a long history of superior sound quality and reliability,” said Goodreau. “Crest Amps are requested on more tour riders than any other amp, so there is a far greater comfort level with Crest Audio amps when they leave the shop on a job.”
Given that Ace Audio provides sound reinforcement for the whole spectrum of venues and events, it’s no surprise that they often encounter less-than-ideal conditions. Case in point: unreliable electricity. It’s enough to drive a sound engineer crazy, but Goodreau has faith that his Pro 200 Series amps won’t let him down, even in the face of overwhelming AC adversity.
“We go into a lot of venues where maybe a sound system shouldn’t even go, like inadequate, generator-driven cruise ships with AC power and other venues with substandard low voltage,” said Goodreau. “Even when we don’t have enough electricity available, the Pro 200s, with their low current draw, always perform beyond expectations.”
Additionally, Goodreau points out, “The Pro 200 amps don’t trip breakers even when four of them are on a 20 Amp circuit. A huge advantage for us is not worrying, ‘Are the amps are going to cut out?’ when we know the power in the room is inadequate. Therefore, we’re free to concentrate and put our best effort into mixing the show.”
Goodreau’s crew also appreciates the portability of the Pro 200 Series amps. “Aside from the fact that the Pro 200s are less expensive than a lot of the competition, the light weight and compact size of the amps is a big plus,” said Goodreau. “We load the amps on and off trucks, drag them across fields and move them into clubs everyday. Believe me, we looked into all of the options for about a year before we made the switch, and we’re happy we went with the Pro 200 Series amps.”
The Pro 200 Series’ IGM Impedance Sensing and Automatic Clip Limiting (ACL) also helps Goodreau and his Ace Audio staff. “The IGM Impedance Sensing prevents overdriving the Pro 200s into hard clipping,” said Goodreau. “It’s a very unique amplifier protection circuit that’s a great feature for the rental market. It makes me a lot more comfortable when I rent the Pro 200s to people I don’t know. What I do know is the Pro 200s are going to come back in perfect working order, again and again, for a long time to come.”
All Crest Pro 200 Series amplifiers occupy 2RU and weigh 25 lbs. The Pro 8200 delivers 1450 Watts per channel (4500 Watts bridge mode) into 4 Ohms; the Pro 7200 provides 1000 Watts per channel (3300 Watts bridge mode); and the Pro 5200 has 525 Watts per channel (1800 Watts bridge mode). U.S. MSRPs are as follows: Pro 8200, $2630; Pro 7200, $1970; and Pro 5200, $1600.