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C4 zone amp recommendations


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The control4 8 zone amp in our system has now failed a third time (all red lights on front). It is hooked to a UPS with line regulation since the first time it happened they said it was due to power fluctuation. This is the third one that has failed and so I am not getting another. What would people recommend for replacement? Any dealers please PM with quotes.Thanks

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Just to clarify this is the C4-AMP108, not the C4-16AMP3-B?  I have a bad C4-AMP108, and there seem to be regular threads on here about these things failing.  On the other hand, I have a couple of second-hand C4-16AMP3-B and three of the four zone versions of these.  The older matrix amps seem to be way better than the C4-AMP108, which seems to have been a product that was not built to last.

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Yes, C4-AMP108...
 

Talk to your dealer. These do seem to be a regular problem / ask these days.
i switched to the snapav episode 16 channel (8-zone) and really never looked back, even C4 is moving away from having the audio switch/amp be the same device.
This

Or AMX Alero

Or new C4 Triad ones

Or any relay controlled multi zone amp will replace this amp that has failed.

In fact you can pretty much replace with no dealer intervention as this is switched by a relay and the cabling and stuff it does is dumb.
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On 8/1/2020 at 3:40 PM, pkkaiser said:

The control4 8 zone amp in our system has now failed a third time (all red lights on front). It is hooked to a UPS with line regulation since the first time it happened they said it was due to power fluctuation. This is the third one that has failed and so I am not getting another. What would people recommend for replacement? Any dealers please PM with quotes.Thanks

I have a Russound MCA-C5. Works great. There is a newer model that is similiar, MCA-88.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The New Triad Amps are a much better than the old power amps you have. Those things sucked.

Call me crazy but I miss the crap outta the old 8 zone matrix amp. They still make the 4 zone and I wish they would bring back the 8 zone. It was near perfect (except lack of digital inputs which is fine really)

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5 minutes ago, BraydonH said:

Call me crazy but I miss the crap outta the old 8 zone matrix amp. They still make the 4 zone and I wish they would bring back the 8 zone. It was near perfect (except lack of digital inputs which is fine really)

Why not continue to use them?  What are they missing?

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Just now, zaphod said:

Why not continue to use them?  What are they missing?

They are missing the ability to be ordered from the dealer portal as they are no longer being manufactured. Buying used stuff from sketchy parts of the internet doesn't appeal to me.

For 8 zone your only option is the Triad 8 Zone Matrix + 8 Zone Amp + 8 RCA Cables + Way Longer Installation + Trigger Cables ugh....

I mean dont get me wrong the triad stuff looks and sound amazing. It works great. I'll just always be a Matrix Amp kinda guy from 8 zones or less. I get it for over 8 zones, but under 8 should all be in one box.

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I can understand that if you are a dealer but for an end user that doesn't mind a bit of risk it is a decent option.

I have bought a couple of 8 zone and three (or four?) 4 zone matrix amps on eBay or secondhand in person.  They have all been good.  I have also bought a whole bunch of controllers like HC250s, HC800s, etc.  The only dud I have ever had on eBay was an 8 zone non-matrix amp.  Those seem to have reliability problems as there are lots of threads on here with folks reporting similar issues.

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I personally dislike the Matrix Amp as its not nearly as flexible as separate pieces. However as for options...

Audio Control makes hands down the best Audio/Matrix amps and DSP MultiZone Amps.  You do pay a huge premium for their stuff, but its top of the line. 

Additionally the new 4 and 8 zone Matrix Amps from Anthem are really nice, have sub out, and can do Anthem Room Correction on all zones. 

Both of these include digital in/out's  and have good Control4 Drivers.   I would say the Anthem pieces are a good price competitor to the C4 Triad stuff. 

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