Power brake PB100 vs Ironman II atteunator

[bobbyvasco]

i have to buy one of these before I buy 1987 x
so which one is better?
is there possible that ironman II has no sound loss? PB100 has as I have seen in a post from here

Marshall Power Brake Attenuator PB100 First Impression

I wonder if the "one wire" mod (bypassing L2 and C1 in the schematic) really improves the tone.

www.marshallforum.com

 

[Tatzmann]

There is no such thing as "no sound loss"
with attenuators.

The more you choke down the volume(power) that goes to the speakers, the more interaction between guitar and system you loose. The speakers are not operating in their optimal zone
anymore, the cabinet doesnt contribute much of its qualities anymore. No feedback anymore.

All you can do is try couple attenuators and decide for yourself if the sound that is achieved at desired lower volume is good enough for you.

 

[paul-e-mann]

i have to buy one of these before I buy 1987 x
so which one is better?
is there possible that ironman II has no sound loss? PB100 has as I have seen in a post from here

Marshall Power Brake Attenuator PB100 First Impression

I wonder if the "one wire" mod (bypassing L2 and C1 in the schematic) really improves the tone.

www.marshallforum.com

I opted for PB100. My amp had a ppimv and the attenuator sounded night and day better so I am very happy with my purchase. The Ironman I believe is way more expensive and has lots of features that you may or may not need. PB100 is bare bones and only does one thing, attenuate. Since the PB100 is only available used I suggest get one, and get an Ironman from a retailer with a liberal return policy, try them both and return/sell the one you dont like.

 

[speyfly]

I have no experience with the PB100.

The primary reason I bought the Ironman ii 100 is, I have a JJ Jr and a O20H that does not support a 4 ohm load so playing through two 8 ohm speakers I would have to wiring them together in a series circuit (less power to the speakers). With the 100 watt Ironman it allows me to run the amps @ 8 or 16 ohms and run the speaker load @ 4 ohms making things really convenient.



Playing at a loud TV volume level, the sound if full, articulate and sounds so good.

 

[scozz]

If I were you I’d look into @John H attenuator.

It gets very high praises here from folks that own them, folks that are in the know.

It’s a lot less money too.

Why do you have to buy an attenuator before you buy the amp?

 

[bobbyvasco]

If I were you I’d look into @John H attenuator.

It gets very high praises here from folks that own them, folks that are in the know.

It’s a lot less money too.

Why do you have to buy an attenuator before you buy the amp?

not buying anything home made.....sorry....

 

[faerdi]

I own the Iron Man II regular and mini attenuator. Both sound equally great. Only thing is when you attenuate down too much, the speakers sound different (sterile). You have to push them a bit, to get „that“ sound.

 

[scozz]

not buying anything home made.....sorry....

No need to be sorry, I was simply making a suggestion,…

 

[JohnH]

Out of Ironman II and Marshall Powerbrake, Im not sure, they are both well respected and a step or two above the most basic attenuators. I think Id be influenced by the fact that the Ironman is new and under warranty, while the PB will be about 30 years old and sometimes switch contacts, jacks and caps get worn

Its probably hard to get an apples for apples comparison, except I know Johan Segeborn has demoed both on his Youtube channel, although a few years apart.

(for me personally, buying one of those is not what I would do. I would do what I do do (!), which is to build one and then I know that it is designed and built right)

 

[colchar]

not buying anything home made.....sorry....

It is foolish to assume that something mass produced is somehow better.

 

[PentodeLicious]

not buying anything home made.....sorry....

You'll change your mind after eating my wife's home made cakes
Also my home made 2204 is pretty bad ass.

 

[PelliX]

It is foolish to assume that something mass produced is somehow better.

Not entirely - but I get where you're coming from. I'll put forth two reasons that are at loggerheads with your statement;

1) If you buy something off-the-shelf, at least a couple of people have had the chance (and been paid) to check for glaring faults, design flaws, errors and so forth. That might not be worth *much* in China, but I've seen plenty of homebrew hackery that would make your average sweatshop assembly line dude cry blood. I've bought gear from 'good brands', inspected it and decided it could be improved - also in terms of safety or longevity. I've bought straight from Chinese places of which I cannot pronounce and hardly spell the name, and I've received kit unfit to use so I understand what kind of crud there is out there.

2) If a company (let's take a multi-national here, someone with a name) like Marshall, Weber, even Bugera put their name to a product and sell it, that comes with legal requirements. They must provide support and deal with warranty cases, etc. Although the end result may sound like shit (hello Bugera), the product will most likely operate for several years without malfunctioning if treated as intended by the manufacturer. Jimmy "The Hack" Doe from two streets away doing you a favor in his mind is not bound by these rules.

The advantages of building a JohnH are merely:
* You decide EXACTLY what you get/use. Want purple painted knobs and resistors arranged in the shape of your genitalia with a weird treble cut? Build away...
* It works out a bit cheaper provided you have the tools as *you're* doing the labor which offsets the fact that you pay more for components than mega-corp XYZ.

 

[JohnH]

......and a couple more advantages too:

1. Its a better design than anything that you can buy for < 5x the $
2. It has been tested hundreds of times around the world on pretty much every type of amp, by different builders and found to work well in every known case
3. If the builder knows enough to recognize something that is built right, and they build it right, then they know its built right.

 

[FleshOnGear]

I think @bobbyvasco ended up buying the PB100, am I wrong?

Attenuators I’ve owned and loved:
Fryette Power Station
Tone King Ironman II
THD Hot Plate

Ones I’ve never tried but I hear great reviews:
JohnH attenuator
Marshall PB100
Rivera Rock Crusher
Boss Waza TAE

One I’ve owned and hated:
Weber Mass 150 (older 2-band version)

 

[FleshOnGear]

BTW, @JohnH, can your design be optimized for a line level output, to be reamped by an outboard power amp?

 

[PelliX]

2. It has been tested hundreds of times around the world on pretty much every type of amp, by different builders and found to work well in every known case
3. If the builder knows enough to recognize something that is built right, and they build it right, then they know its built right.

Very true, though the quality of the product depends on the capability of the builder. DIY guys come in all shapes and sizes across the capability spectrum.

I think @bobbyvasco ended up buying the PB100, am I wrong?

Yup... didn't take him long to complain about the design either...

 

[JohnH]

BTW, @JohnH, can your design be optimized for a line level output, to be reamped by an outboard power amp?

Short answer, yes that's the intent of the line-out. Ill put a longer answer on the design thread later, and tag you to it