NAD: Blackstar Amped 1

[Jarick]

Two new amps in one week!

Actually bought this before the Orange Rocker 15. I wanted a decent mono solid state power amp to run with my modelers into the Orange cab. This guy had pretty good reviews and it could be run either as a flat power amp with basic EQ controls or as a single channel amp with variable preamp/poweramp modes.

Right off the bat, this sounds better than anything else I've tried for this purpose. I was using the Katana Artist as a power amp and cab for a while but it sounded a bit harsh and fizzy. The Orange cab helped, but I still needed to cut the treble a bit. The Rocker 15 effects return actually sounded worse than the Katana, it had a lot more harshness.

But the Blackstar is a little smoother in the top end and the various amp models sound better without tweaking. The EQ is really useful too for quick adjustments without menu diving. It can go really loud, but on the 1 watt mode it's perfect for home. It still has a good low end thump with the 5153 model, again much better sounding than the Rocker tube amp I was using the last couple days (for this purpose anyway).

 

[Badonkey Kong]

Very cool! Glad it's working out for you.

 

[AFKAEjay]

The Rocker 15 effects return actually sounded worse than the Katana, it had a lot more harshness.

Ime most powersections add a little brightness, also SS. With full models that include a poweramp, you double up on that brightness.
So..on my feed to poweramp there’s a high shelf taking a couple of db off…pretty much by default. I bet ya you could make that orange rocker sound great.