Chevin Research
A6000 Amplifier
By Mark Farmer
Chevin Research Ltd. has been manufacturing amplifiers since 1989
and operating out of Otley, West Yorkshire, England. Chevin is
now producing eleven amplifiers of varying degree of power and
size. The A6000 is a two-channel workhorse from Chevin and was
sent to me for a review.
Features
The A6000 is a 55lb amp is rated to deliver 3000 watts per channel
at 2 ohms, 2000 watts at 4 ohms per channel or 1200 watts per
channel at 8 ohms. At full output this amp flaunts great signal
to noise of -125dB unweighted. The all black 4-rack space amplifier
reaches 15" deep into a rack. With a frequency response of 2Hz-80kHz,
the A6000 covers more than enough of the bandwidth to satisfy
any speaker application. With a retail price of $4700.00 this
amp places itself into a high-end category. Chevin Research proclaims
this is a Linear Power amplifier allowing for a clean, consistent
tone through any output level. The front panel employs a pair
of power switches, gain knobs, and LED metering. Two stacks of
nine LED’s encompass a green power on LED seven green output LED’s
and a red Limiter LED. Both independently controlled channels
are labeled A and B. The front panel also contains plenty of vents
for the four high volume forced cooled fans. The four fans are
temperature (speed) controlled and breathe in from the rear and
out the front panel. The rear of the amplifier touts independent
XLR inputs for channels A and B as well as Neutrik NL-4 connectors
for output to your favorite speakers. A nice addition to the XLR
inputs are a pair of male XLR output connectors I found these
more usable than a switch which parallels input A and B together.
As odd as I found the dual on/off switches mounted on the front
panel a pair of Edison power cables extrude from the rear of the
A6000. The power is internally selectable for the U.S. or abroad,
100-120 volts or 220-240 volts. Some of my favorite features of
this amp are the power on Mute and the Anti-Surge AC ‘Soft Start’
circuit. Immediate protection is available for shorted outputs,
DC output and RF output. When volume levels reach dangerous levels,
a SoftClip circuit inside the A6000 will protect speakers. These
are highly invaluable devices that protect any speaker system
attached to the amplifier.
In Use
As a point of reference I enlisted the help of OATH/GBS studio
owner Tom Boyer to reference the Chevin Amplifier. His speaker
reference system consists of a pair of Tannoy PBM 6.5 and a Crown
DC300 for power. Even though the power specifications are different
this was a comparison of tonality and frequency reproduction between
two amplifiers. We first compared the right channel of the DC300
to the left channel of the Chevin. Our first comment was more
prominent frequencies from 250Hz and below the low-end reproduction
from the left channel of the Chevin. There was also a rich tonality
to these frequencies from the A6000. As we switched back and forth
from the DC300 to the Chevin a slight peak around 2.5kHz stood
out in the Chevin that was not present in the Crown amp. Later,
Tom and I hooked up both channels and played various recordings.
The biggest difference with the Chevin is the image from the two
speakers. The Chevin seemed to move the stereo image out from
the near-field speakers and create more of a three dimensional
image than the Crown. The Crown produced a shimmer of crisp high-end
that seemed slightly less prominent from the Chevin.
At a recent corporate event the Chevin was put to use powering
a pair of 2-way passive delay speakers. Matrix outputs of the
console were used to send signal to a Klark-Teknik DN-360 then
to a Yamaha 2040 processor. The processed signal was sent from
FOH directly to the inputs of the A6000. I used the HPF (high-pass
filter) within the processor to roll off frequencies below 100Hz
since I had subwoofers to reproduce 90Hz and below. Both channels
of the Chevin amp were turned up all the way so total control
came from FOH. The 2-way proprietary speakers are 8 ohms, which
meant each speaker received roughly 1200 watts of Chevin power.
During the events opening remarks, spoken words came through the
Chevin-powered delay speakers with clarity and articulation. In
the rear and sides of the room the band from Nashville sounded
dynamic and had great impact through the speakers. Later in the
evening I pointed one of the delay speakers towards the FOH and
increased the volume in the delay feed, giving the Chevin a little
workout. The low end appeared to swell with increased volume from
the amp, which was a commendable asset. In the rear of the room
a well defined, deep-stereo image was noticeable within the delay
speakers’ sweet spot. This was similar of the 3D image I noticed
during the studio analysis. The slight peak around 2.5 kHz perceived
from my studio demo worked to my advantage in this room and did
not become a problem.
Summary
I found myself fortunate to be using such a quality product; I
called Scott Magruder of the El n Gee club in Connecticut. Scott
purchased a Chevin powered D.A.S. speaker system after head to
head tests of other major names such as Crown, Crest, EAW and
JBL. Scott mentioned the Chevin powered system had, "more transients,
more headroom and sounded better than the other systems tested."
After eight months and once a week cleanings he has not had to
worry about the amplifiers. He also commented, "these amps are
pushing the D.A.S. system to levels of 125dB with no effort at
all."
I also made a call to Sony Studio’s and the Hit Factory in New
York and found out they are utilizing the high-end Boxer studio
monitors. All of these studio monitors are supplied with Chevin
Amplifiers, complete with the Boxer name plate on the front of
the amps.
With my Chevin adventures and the two examples above it is clear
this company has produced a superior product which is unequaled.
How many companies back up their product with a five-year warranty?
This is an indication that the manufacture truly believes in their
product. I would have no problem powering my home theater system
with this amplifier or in a touring application, to amplify subs
or mains in a touring system.
Mark Farmer is a sound engineer with Live Technologies in Columbus, Ohio and
a regular contributor to Pro Audio Review. He can be reached via e-mail at:
mixthat@columbus.rr.com
Product Points
Chevin Research
A6000 Amplifier
Plus
+Depth of sound
+Sonic quality
+Rugged chassis
+Five-year warranty
Minus
-Cost
The Score
A well manufactured, high-end amp
incomparable to other amplifiers for its
sound quality and sound reproduction.
Chevin Research
One Enterprise Drive
PO BOX 987
Old Lyme, CT 06371
PH: 860.434.9190
FAX: 860.434.1759
www.chevin-research.com