By Mark Farmer
In the past I have said that the system processor
is the ‘heart’ of a sound system. With this in mind, the amplifier becomes the
oxygen to power the system.
Features
The Tsunami (the "t" is silent)
HQ2002S is a two channel stereo amp putting out 980 watts x 2 at 4 ohms. According
to the provided manual this measurement is with 0.1% Total Harmonic Distortion
at 1 kHz Input sensitivity is pre-set at 0 dBu or 0.775 volts. Signal to noise
is clean at greater than 100 dB. Channel crosstalk is greater than 60 dB. This
amp does all this by utilizing the Switching Mode Power Supply (SMPS). According
to Tsunami, this circuitry provides reliable operation that is not effected
by unstable voltage. Two variable-speed cooling-fans bring in air from the rear,
which exits from the front vent panels of the amplifier. The front panel has
four standard rack screw holes and carrying handles towards the outside of the
front frame. The front panel has control and monitoring of the output level.
To oversee gain Tsunami installed four LED’s, two green for input and two red
for overload. Two inset black volume-knobs allow for gain control. Additionally,
next to the large power switch, Tsunami has provided a green power LED and a
red LED that show power-on status and protects mode prospectively. One amazing
part of this package is the weight of this amp. At 12.5 Kg, it can be easily
put into a DJ package or a musicians rig for easy travel. This weight reduction
is due largely in part to the switching power supply being used.
After opening up the box, I was quite impressed
with the layout of the amplifier rear panel. The layout is quite thought out
and makes sense in the proper design of any amplifier. The input section is
very separated from the output section as well as the power supply cord. This
all means less interference between circuitry. The fans are located toward the
outer edges with the input section taking up the right quarter of the rear panel.
This space was used quite well, by installing two-way input jacks that are dual
use. This connector has a female 1/4" jack in the center and XLR connector
towards the outside of the 1/4" connection. Just below, a set of male XLR
jacks are available to take these same inputs out to another device needing
the same signal. These jacks avoid the use of ‘Y’ cables and are a definite
plus. A Dual-Bridge switch is located directly below these input/output jacks
for stereo mode or Bridge Mono use. The rear panel is very well marked with
all the proper labeling. This labeling makes it much easier to
wire the banana output jacks since, some larger well-known amp designers are
not even marked this accurate. In addition, unlike some newer amp designs, Tsunami
has installed both (banana) binding posts and Neutrik™ NL-4 connectors. Lastly,
the pin wiring configurations and output wattage as well as an EMI Filter are
labeled and installed on the rear panel.
In Use
During a recent event with the Dayton, Ohio
Symphony I put the Tsunami amp to use as a front fill amplifier. Prior to use,
I allowed a few hours of burn in period. The amp powered a total of four Bose
402 speakers. Pairs were jumped together on each amp channel to put roughly
a four-ohm load on the amp. During TEF® tests the amp showed no major signs
of changing the signal. No buzzes or hums were prevalent during any of the symphony
performances or rehearsals. The overall sounds pleasant and rich in the first
three rows, which were being covered by the front fills and Tsunami amp. Reproduction
of the fifty plus microphones was accurate and sounded much like the mics themselves.
I noticed some amp hiss at first use but managed
to reduce the noise a bit, by turning the gains down from max a few clicks and
sending more signal from the FOH mixer. With further experimentation of this
amp, the signal to noise could be determined better therefore reducing the noise
floor.
Summary
The weight, ease of use, low cost and flexibility
of this amp all make it a worthwhile investment. Musicians, DJ’s, small sound
systems and schools or churches could all benefit from the acquisition of the
Tsunami HQ2002S amplifier.
Mark Farmer is a live sound engineer with Live Technologies Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. He is a regular contributor to PAR. He can be reached via the internet at: mixthat@columbus.rr.com
Product Points
Tsunami HQ2002S Amplifier
Plus
Low cost
Weight
Rear panel layout
Temperature controlled fans
Minus
Somewhat noisy
No external adjustment of input sensitivity
The Score
A powerful, lightweight, switching amplifier that provides good sound at
a modest price.
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