Two Notes Reload II, with "Celestion-Approved Load"

[JiveTurkey]

Power amps in it are good. I haven’t taken it louder than upper 90 dB’s but I believe it can do the job at band rehearsal levels.
And man it is so nice to have that stereo spread into a pair of ‘real cabs’ in the room. Stereo effects loop in it makes it truly wonderful. My VP4 lives in that loop from the day I first put it there.

How would it fare at gigging levels?

 

[Chocol8]

How would it fare at gigging levels?

I am guessing the 215 watt per side power amp is the ICEpower 200AS2 board. That should be 215w into 4 ohms at 1% THD (one channel driven, 150 for both), 120 watts into 8 ohms (1 or 2 channels), and somewhere around 60 in 16 ohms. The max continuous power without thermal shutdown is 85 watts combined, both channels.

So, if you use it with a 4 or 8 ohm cab, it should be pretty loud and hold together well at the output levels you would expect from a 50 watt tube amp, and if you are not hammering continuously, a bit more. That's pretty loud for most gigs this century.

 

[MTB1973]

I am going to try it first with my Axe FX3 and cabs and maybe…get a real amp at some point. Cannot wait.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I am guessing the 215 watt per side power amp is the ICEpower 200AS2 board. That should be 215w into 4 ohms at 1% THD (one channel driven, 150 for both), 120 watts into 8 ohms (1 or 2 channels), and somewhere around 60 in 16 ohms. The max continuous power without thermal shutdown is 85 watts combined, both channels.

So, if you use it with a 4 or 8 ohm cab, it should be pretty loud and hold together well at the output levels you would expect from a 50 watt tube amp, and if you are not hammering continuously, a bit more. That's pretty loud for most gigs this century.

Would 2 cabs be running in parallel? Id either do 2 x 16ohm or a single 8 ohm 2x12.

 

[Chocol8]

Would 2 cabs be running in parallel? Id either do 2 x 16ohm or a single 8 ohm 2x12.

It has a stereo amp, so you could run the two 16 ohm cabs off different sides, or put them in parallel as an 8 ohm load on one side. The output level will be pretty close to the same, and the same as what it would feed the single 8 ohm cab. About 120w max at 1% THD, with a little more headroom on tap for peaks and a limit of about 85 continuous due to heat. That 85 watt limit is going to depend on your playing, but I would not expect most people to have issues with it. First, you have to hammer it continuously without any rests, and second 85 watts is pretty loud for most of us, which is probably why you are buying the thing in the first place!

Here is a full spec sheet. They don't list 16 ohms since that is pretty rare outside of guitar these days, but you can generally guess that the voltage limits will make output half of an 8 ohm load, but thermal limits will be similar.

https://shop.icepoweraudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ICEpower_200AS2_datasheet_1_2.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOorJY-wt_ELqA5W0dydH1GB2uzHAhk9jIUtzQ6gCsZVNxug8g9Cy

 

[Enchilada Jones]

How would it fare at gigging levels?

My guess is about like a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe? Depends on the drummer and how much your band mates depend on your stage volume vs monitors to hear you.

I am going to try it first with my Axe FX3 and cabs and maybe…get a real amp at some point. Cannot wait.

One of the first things I did was plug stereo out of FM3 into it and was very pleased. It’s a trade off though, your real cab/s vs every digital cab in the box

 

[Ross Davies]

I think you’ve confused jellodog and Jarick, which is understandable given the J and their avatars are similar at first glance.

Ha! Nope, I was replying to Jarick in this instance! :)

 

[MTB1973]

Was able to get an open box deal. So far, really liking it as a power amp.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Was able to get an open box deal. So far, really liking it as a power amp.

View attachment 47835

How does it fare against the LX?

 

[MTB1973]

How does it fare against the LX?

It holds up really well so far. I really like the LX but the fan…the FAN…plus, it puts out so much heat in my music room. I also feel like the LX puts out more bass than the Two Notes and I am able to use many more different impedence curves in the Axe 3. Still experimenting but I am liking it very much.

 

[JiveTurkey]

It holds up really well so far. I really like the LX but the fan…the FAN…plus, it puts out so much heat in my music room. I also feel like the LX puts out more bass than the Two Notes and I am able to use many more different impedence curves in the Axe 3. Still experimenting but I am liking it very much.

Not even kidding, the LX and the JVM both are like portable heaters

 

[MTB1973]

No doubt. There are times when I am done playing I will be sweating due to the heat it puts out. It is so nice to turn on the Two Notes and there is no fan noise and no heat. In stereo

 

[JiveTurkey]

No doubt. There are times when I am done playing I will be sweating due to the heat it puts out. It is so nice to turn on the Two Notes and there is no fan noise and no heat. In stereo

It's been bubbling up a bit as a replacement for the Suhr and LX if I ever end up offing it.

 

[Ross Davies]

Was able to get an open box deal. So far, really liking it as a power amp.

View attachment 47835

Very nice rig indeed! I bet this sounds awesome! Glad to hear Reload II is working out well for you!

 

[SonicBlue]

I was fortunate to get a reload II in the first group of units to hit the US and am still really, really happy with it. I run a few pre amps (using the reload II power amp in stereo) and use the load with a 50 watt amp and it just sounds great. Really flexible and great device.

 

[Ross Davies]

I was fortunate to get a reload II in the first group of units to hit the US and am still really, really happy with it. I run a few pre amps (using the reload II power amp in stereo) and use the load with a 50 watt amp and it just sounds great. Really flexible and great device.

Awesome! We're super-pleased to hear that! :)