Tapco J-800 Stereo Power Amplifier Review

History: Pro-studio musician with forty years experience, playing all styles on Major Label recordings and National-tours.

Purchase: I bought this J-800 stereo power amplifier from Musician's Friend for $229.00, free shipping included.

What I Like About This Unit: This amplifier performs favorably with those in the higher priced categories, like Crown, Crest, Mackie, and the very venerable QSC amps. Differences are: slight reduction in signal-to-noise ratio, less cooling / more heating, and a trifling reduction in low frequencies (below 60 Hz)and extreme high frequencies (above 18kHz.) That makes it perfect for super-quality reproduction of vocals and digital modeling guitar pre-amps, without going overboard in specs or bucks.

What I Do NOT Like About The Tapco J-800 Stereo Power Amplifier: Nothing, except perhaps that it is made overseas and I prefer to buy American stuff. Mackie knows how to engineer and spec-out production though, so I do not foresee any problems. To hit this low price point, it HAS to be made abroad. If there are any problems with this type of gear, it usually is user error. I run two 8-ohm QSC speakers, so I expect this thing will last. For a 200 watt amplifier ( at 8-ohms stereo,) it is a bit heavier than the high-priced amps. That isn't a big problem in a rolling rack though.

J-800 Stereo Power Amplifier Quality: Built with fully-shielded steel case and rack ears. All knobs and potentiometers feel solid. Pro-Connections are secure, thoughtfully laid-out and clearly labeled.

Summary: Great big bang for the buck! If you power a small stereo portable PA, this is a fantastic bargain! If you are running a house PA for a rock band, this isn't enough juice, but for my small PA and Jazz guitar, it is overkill... far better than those cheap portable PAs and carrying a guitar amp too. I suppose Mackie engineered the amp to run at 4 or even 2 ohms, but I wouldn't try it. As it is, it sounds fine. Put it in a rack, run it right, give it air to cool, and I'll bet this thing will perform for many years. I bet $229 of my own on that wager!

Rating of this product: 5

This Tapco Pro Audio Review Submitted By: Geo Conner

Date: 2008-02-11