Brit Row takes boat loads of Yamaha amps

News

Andrew Low Aug 15 2008, 8:00am

The London-based production company has purchased 80 Yamaha T5n power amplifiers for its rental inventory

Brittania Row Productions has purchased 80 Yamaha T5n power amplifiersto satisfy the companines need for high quality, general-purpose power amplifiers that can be used with a range of point source PA and stage monitoring systems while coping with the diverse range of events that Brit Row services.

“We wanted to find a model of amplifier that can work in a wide variety of situations, will deliver consistently high performance levels and will be extremely reliable,” said Brit Row director Mike Lowe.

“We have a wide range of systems in our rental stock; therefore, having to maintain and service as few types of amplifier as possible has obvious benefits. So we set about finding what we felt was the ideal ‘all purpose’ unit which would offer the greatest combination of flexibility and performance.”

A rigorous testing programme with five key criteria was staged by Brit Row to determine the best choice of amp. “They had to provide the right amount of power, they had to be able to deliver into a two ohm load without falling over, they had to be very versatile, very reliable and of course they had to sound extremely good,” says Lowe.

“Anything and everything on the market which met our power and technical requirements was looked at, on paper at least. Through a lengthy testing process, we then gradually whittled the list down.

“Throughout the process we were comparing them with the amplifiers we already have, because they will have to work alongside them and take up the workload as those amps are gradually ‘pensioned off’. We were also testing them with literally van loads of different speakers.

“Ultimately, the Yamaha T5n amps proved the best suited to our requirements and we’re very happy with that choice.”
Yamaha’s Tn range of amplifiers employs patented EEEngine technology, which combines the audio quality of Class AB amplifier circuitry while maintaining the efficiency of a Class D amplifier.

Developed with a two ohm load, T5n amps deliver 2500 Watts of power and include onboard networking capability for remote control and monitoring.

The company boasts that exhaustive vibration-reduction measures have resulted in unprecedented sound quality, with extraordinary midrange and high end detail complementing solid, commanding bass frequencies. Added features like its durable exterior, large cooling fans and fan guards, replaceable filters were added by Yamaha to make the amps extremely depandable.

“We were extremely impressed with the sound quality and audible detail of the T5n,” said Mike Lowe. “We have only had to make a few very subtle changes to the DSP presets on our systems, like changing eq points by less than half a dB to precisely match the settings of our existing amplifiers. We are also impressed with the networking capability and have ordered several of the ACD1 amp control units.”

The T5ns were put to immeditat use powering sidefills on production rehearsals for Oasis’ forthcoming tour dates. “Oasis can be quite demanding on sidefills, so it was a good test!” stated Lowe.

He continued: “They give us everything we want, they tick all the boxes on power and performance and, of course, we have great confidence in the brand.

“The company has the resources and the will to quickly rectify any problems, but we don’t anticipate any because of their reputation. I’ve bought Yamaha equipment right back to the PM1000 console and they produce the most reliable products.”

“Brit Row’s testing and evaluation process was the most extensive and detailed I have ever experienced from a rental company,” added Tim Harrison, Yamaha sound reinforcement product specialist. “Long hours of extremely detailed and precise listening tests were performed to determine that the required audio quality was being delivered.

“As a rental company, they have a massive reputation and we are extremely pleased that they view the T5n as good enough to satisfy the majority, if not all, of their loudspeaker powering requirements. It proves that the T5n can be viewed as a truly general purpose amplifier.”

yamahacommercialaudio.com