EA Review - iAMP 200 WZ combo

By Karl Coryat

Review reproduced with kind permission of Bass Player Online

Euphonic Audio iAMP 800

List price:
iAMP 200WZ Combo: £ 1299.00
WZ-112P Powered cab: £ 949.00
approx. street price: £ POA

Pros: Cool EQ; Very natural-sounding high end; Hi-fi tone especially attractive to players who double on electric and upright;

WZ-112P extension gives flexible, modular extensibility;
Powered cabinets can work with other heads and preamps

Cons: Inconvenient mute-switching.

Contact: Overwater 01228 590591; www.euphonicaudio-eu.com

Euphonic Audio s iAMP 200 Wizzy combo ( list) brings together modern technology with an interesting but nearly forgotten speaker-cone concept. Boasting an amplifier section that s basically a lower-powered clone of the iAMP 800 head, the 200 s most interesting feature is its custom Eminence "whizzer" speaker cone. Unlike a tweeter, which moves independently of the woofer, a whizzer-which first appeared in early hi-fi equipment-is a small paper cone fixed to the woofer s center. As is the case with a coaxial tweeter, both cones move along a common axis, reducing the phasing that can occur between two separate cones when the cabinet is heard from different angles and distances. The result: The combo has a very natural-sounding high end. While conventional piezo tweeters can sometimes sound "spitty," with detached, artificial-sounding highs, the EA s top end sounds warm and thick. We played a commercial CD through the iAMP 200 s stereo in and were struck by its clear transparency-it s like a great-sounding home-theater speaker. As such, it might be particularly attractive to players who double on electric and upright.

Euphonic s WZ-112P powered cabinet ( list) is another way-cool idea. It incorporates not only the 200 Wizzy combo s cabinet and speakers but also its 200-watt power amp. The 112P connects to the combo s preamp section (or to another 112P extension cab) via a standard XLR mic cable, allowing you to add power to your system in modular "blocks" without taxing your primary amplifier s power. Since each cab is powered separately (with its own power cable), you can daisy-chain and spacially configure your cabinets however you need them. That s a great idea. The powered cabinets can work with other heads and preamps as well-the XLR wiring configuration is similar to a DI's-although you may need a 1/4"-to-XLR adapter or adapter cable.

All Euphonic Audio speaker cabinets use transmission-line (rather than conventional ported or sealed) designs; EA is currently the only manufacturer using this engineering-intensive approach. For more on transmission-line cabinets, see Bass Tech, September 01.